Battery cables

[89fester]

Got home today and tried starting the Festiva. Still wouldn't turn over. Cleaned the terminals, still nothing. Jumped it and started right up. Checked voltage at the battery and its right at 14.4v.

Battery cables look original and are probably corroded under the insulation. Has anyone found one in a parts store that has all the specific connections, or do I have to go with a universal? One thing I noticed on the ground/neg side, is midway to the starter the cable is grounded to the chassis under the battery tray. So I was hoping to find one that had this and any other weird connections already built into it.

89 L

[ericsmith32]

Have you had the battery tested? It can show a good charge but have a bad cell. As far as Diehard goes I used to trust them also, but during my last inspection they tested the battery and it showed it was good for 305CCA and it was 405CCA . This is on a diehard battery and is ony two years old. Compared to a 6yr Exide it cranks slower in this single digit weather . Any cable wiill work as long as it has the right ends. You could try putting new ends for the battery first, the stockers are weak in my opinion.

[Tim]

Have you checked the fusible links?


Regards,

Tim

[89fester]

There are no other tell tale electrical problems, everything else works. It is acting like a dead to low battery. But in my experience the starter in the first thing to act up when it can't draw enough amps. The rest of the cars electrical pulls next to nothing and the headlights are bright. So that leads me to believe the battery is in decent shape. The battery is less than a year old and an Interstate. I will get it checked this weekend. The stock cables look thin and weak. Once I got it running and warmed up it started up a couple more times with no problems. I think it has to be the battery or the cables. We'll see.

89 L

[89fester]

Got to thinking about the situation, drove home yest. in bumper to bumper with the headlights on and heater cranked on high for about 20 mins. When I checked the voltage at the battery earlier tonight, I got 14.4 with nothing turned on and the car running at fast idle. Tonight, drove it around a while, headlights on, heater on, pulled in the driveway, measured the voltage, 9v with HL and heater on, and around 11-12 with both off and the idle closer to normal. So it seems that the alternator is not putting out enough juice. I guess after 173k its tired.

Shut her off and tried to start it back up, nothing, dead. So I guess I might have to pull the alternator and have it tested. Might try to find a local starter/alternator shop for rebuild pricing instead of going the parts store route.

89 L