P38A Replacing Negative Battery Cable

Jake Hewitt said:

Afternoon all. I have just replaced the negative cable as the connector wouldn't tighten, and the cable was too short to cut and attach a new one.

I suspected the cable I got from Halfrauds may not be up to the task as its about half, maybe two thirds as thick as the original.

On trying to start the car, she won't do anything, a vague beep on turning of the key.

Is this going to be the cable not being heavy enough?

Suggestions for a replacement cable?

Thanks all,

Jake

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wammers said:

Might be a tad more expensive than Halfrauds. https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-YTB101550

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Grrrrrr said:

I'd have thought plumes of smoke would be the symptom is the cable isn't thick enough. Did you rub all rust away for a good connection?

Back to basics: what's the battery like? If it had a bad connection it might not have been charging.

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wammers said:

Might be a tad more expensive than Halfrauds. https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-YTB101550

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Jake Hewitt said:

Certainly a little more expensive

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wammers said:

But it is the correct one for your car.

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Jake Hewitt said:

Yes it is!

On closer inspection, the original splits in front of the fuse box, and it looks like it's earthed there too.

I thought it was just routed that way, I'm guessing that is an important part to miss out..

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Jake Hewitt said:

No plumes of smoke, I'll pull the ground off the body and give that a good rub down. See what happens.

Battery is good, it's been charging just fine since I put a new alternator on it a year or two ago.

The terminal was so loose that it would just pull right off, I figured I better do something about that.

Was very handy for all the work the car always needs though...

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Jake Hewitt said:

Yes it is!

On closer inspection, the original splits in front of the fuse box, and it looks like it's earthed there too.

I thought it was just routed that way, I'm guessing that is an important part to miss out..

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Datatek said:

It's easy to make up your own cable, the wire and fittings are cheap to buy.

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Jake Hewitt said:

Will split it tomorrow and earth at the point in front of the fuse box, hopefully they will solve that.

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Jake Hewitt said:

There we go then! Will correct tomorrow, thanks.

As an aside, when I got back to the car yesterday, it had a little residual air in the bags, then dropped further.

Tried to give it 15- 20 minutes to fill up the tank and then adjust the height, but it wasn't moving an inch.

The compressor (new two years ago) is running but sounds a little strange, rattly perhaps? Is this a sign that internal seals need to be renewed?

I have new front bags and new rear ones coming tomorrow, but it'll be useless if I can't put any air in them!

Thanks @wammers

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wammers said:

Look at my post in the tech archive to test compressor output and various other things.

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Datatek said:

Might smoke if the cable is too thin.

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Jake Hewitt said:

Kept an eye on, seems fine.

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