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anyone have a battery cable keep coming loose?

29K views 39 replies 22 participants last post by  steve513 
#1 ·
For the third time, lighting up my dash board, the negative cable keeps going loose. Maybe I should replace it?
 
#3 ·
It used to be, and maybe it still is this way, but battery clamps came in two sizes because the posts on the battery were different sizes. Were your clamps changed and someone put the same size clamp on both posts? i don't recall which post was larger.
you could always order the cables from Quadratec that could eliminate the problem of adding electric connections.

https://www.quadratec.com/products/17004_9003.htm
 
#4 · (Edited)
I have that terminal setup right now.



The negative cable keeps coming loose, not matter how tight it is.

It's the OEM one and was never messed with.
 
#6 ·
All original


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#7 ·
Seems the other posters have not experienced what you AND I have. My negative terminal clamp is the original OEM one as well and I have had this make me loose my mind at least a dozen times. Unfortunately it happens just infrequently enough for me to momentarily forget before I remember it's just the negative terminal loose. It happened on the OEM battery, then on the single Odyssey battery and now on the dual battery setup. My solution has been to sleeve the negative terminal in thin aluminum flashing I had laying around - like thinner than a soda can material. This has worked but I have always had replacing that POS neg terminal on my to do list, it just falls down the list until it jiggles loose. Washboard really helps it along. Sorry I didn't have a fancy or elaborate solution but I do know what you're experiencing.
 
#8 ·
My negative clamp loosened up. First at home and although the nut was original and F*&Cing tight, it was loose. Then on the trail, Jeep wouldn't start. A "real" mechanic in our group took one of my small allen wrenches and put it between the battery post and terminal, temporarily getting contact till I got home. I spent all of $7 at auto zone for some cheap terminals and they are 10000% better than the garbage Chrysler ones. Zero problems since putting these on, even with the addition of a winch.
 
#9 ·
What kind of battery do you have?
I used to have an Odyssey and I could never get the (OEM) clamp tight enough on it.
 
#11 ·
Diehard. Did with OEM Battery too.
 
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#10 ·
Just pick up a battery post shim from the parts store. You may have to cut it in half to let the clamp fit over it. Tap the clamp all the way down to the base of the post with the (half) shim installed, then tighten the nut. It won't come loose again.

Mark

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#13 ·
Dirt Boy and everyone else, do yourselves a favor and get a set of these.https://www.quadratec.com/products/17004_9001.htm Shims, sleeves, cheap replacement clamps and all else are a waste of time and money. Especially those sleeves that fit over the lugs. The Q-tec ends aren't exactly designed to work on the newer JKs but you can either modify by cutting and trimming the oem cable ends, as I did, or replace those oem ends by soldering on new ends that will fit properly. I've added a lot of electrical and needed the better connections. My negative clamp first came loose a month after I got the Jeep new in '14. I put these on then and have had absolutely zero issues since.
 

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#25 ·
Thanks
 
#18 ·
I have a NAPA Battery, and my cable to post is nice and tight. Maybe the tolerances of the post very by manufacture..not sure..
 
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#20 ·
I don't know either but if that is the case it just makes more sense to use a lug with more adjustability to assure a better fit doesn't it? The cheap oem ends only have a few thousandths adjustability at best to begin with. I know in my shop we have cured a plethora of electronic gremlins by going a different route.
 
#21 ·
May be a bit of a redneck fix, but I have done it more times than I would like to admit - and it works. Lots of times the clamp is tightened to it's extent, but is still loose on the terminal for good contact. I loosen up the clamp while on the terminal, then get a small finishing nail and gently tap it in between the clamp and terminal being careful not to puncture the battery. This adds enough thickness that when the terminal is tightened again, it gets a good grip. Once tightened, the excess nail sticking up is snipped off. Hate to admit how many times I have done this, but never had any issues afterward.
 
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#26 ·
I struggled with Xmas tree dash lights, voltage spikes, all kinds of weird behavior with my negative battery terminal all because I had accessories on the concave nut terminal. Nothing can be keeping that nut from screwing tight since that is what drives the clamp tight against the post. It was a head slapper once I realized what I was doing wrong.



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#31 ·
Battery clamp issues? Not here.



Exactly. I read all of this and wonder how I got so lucky, not a problem at all. 2015 JKU-R Hard Rock. OEM battery for 4 years, now recently a new Optima H-6. I am an electronics/electrical professional and a Ham Radio operator. I literally have wiring going everywhere, but absolutely perfectly installed, the dealer cannot tell my work from factory. Never once have I experienced an OEM BATTERY CLAMP issue.

My method.... first of all nothing gets connected to the nut made for tightening the clamp. Under each battery clamp I do have the RED/GREEN felt anti-corrosion washers. The bottom of each washer is smeared with Lithium Grease to help prevent corrosion. If you look at your battery carefully, you may see the post is raised on a little step. Make the felt washer slip down over that step. Using a socket of the proper size and a small hammer, set the socket on the top of the clamp and gently tap the battery clamp down snug on the post before tightening it.

Keeping the top of the battery clean will go a long way to prevent corrosion. But then I'm a retired soldier and a stickler for proper P/M. I'm the guy who gets 333k-miles out of a Mitsubishi 3.0 V-6, over 300k on a Ford E-350, a 1976 DJ5 still on the original 6 and two 1970 Honda motorbikes all original. Maintenance is the key.

I always keep a couple of paper clips in a vehicle. They can be useful for many things from an emergency tooth-pic to clamping things together, your imagination is the limit. In said emergency where the battery clamp will not tighten, slip a paper clip between the clamp and the battery post. It will get you home. I would never leave it that way...... nuf said.

Best of luck with it.

Mike-5 -- El Paso, TX.
 
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