[I live in the middle of nowhere and NAPAs way up here dont carry the same stock as Napas south of the border do. Plus ,the nearest NAPA is 2 hours away] Why don't you come on down and join us!

 

I tried those numbers on the napa sight but got no return under the Napa part # and got brake master cylinders under the non-napa part #
Is this a discontinued item?

 

Some very good advice but I'll kick in a few cents worth: in roughly 40 years of wrenching I've seen the #1 cause of battery and electrical problems being: LATER! That is, not attending to regular Preventive Maintenance and putting it off 'til later. Bad grounds, faulty connections, leaky batteries, corrosion, and all sorts of other gremlins and spooks are most often caused by poor maintenance or inattention to details. Even when that's not the cause it's the cure!

Parts store cables are fine IF you're not running a hi amperage alternator, and IF you grease up the lugs and connectors with a coat of dielectric grease. Doesn't hurt to shoot a little WD-40 under the cable sheath to prevent that hidden corrosion. Some time with a toothbrush type wire brush, some contact cleaner and some dielectric grease can be the difference between a pass or fail ignition [gasser] and charging system. How often do folks check the water level in their wet cell 'no maintenance' batteries? Oh, maybe never.....

I'm just as guilty as most others, BTW so I'm not even going to make excuses

JimmieD

 

Heres a link to some AWESOME battery cables. I bought these and love them. They took me about an hour to install. The only thing I had to do extra was run the solenoid trigger wire down the left side positive cable to the starter. I just took the trigger wire out of the cable covering on the original cable. Piece of cake and GREAT cables.
http://www.custombatterycables.com/a.../dodge_ram.htm

 

SEARCH is awesome. I just found this thread, the NAPA p/n's given match with napaonline.com, it even says they are in stock at my local store

 

I was about to replace my battery cables 2 weeks ago until I closely examined all of the cables.

I wanted to make them work soundly by checking them now so as not to have any problems during the rest of the winter.

I realized after talking to some friends is to re-work the cables where they attach to the battery terminal. I pulled them off, cleaned the terminals and the cable clamp. I then slightly modified the cable so as to get a better clamp around the battery terminal.

I them put the red and green felt around the battery terminals and put the cable end back on the battery.

I prev. went to Loews hardware and got 2 inch 5/16 bolts and nuts. The stock bolts were approx 1 inch.

I bolted the cable clamp to the bettery terminals. I then added the various accessory terminal ends to the 5/16 bolt next to the prior nut (with a washer).

By seting things up this way, I am able to torque the battery clamp down tighter without over tightening the accessory terminals and battery to battery terminal end. The accessory and 2nd battery terminals are tightened without having to use a lot of torque.

Also, I am able to take off the accessory terminal ends WITHOUT loosening up the battery cable clamp(s) which helps greatly when adding/updating accessories. Since I have many accessories, this makes my maintenance easier.

I then sprayed the battery terminals with the Permatex battery cleaner/sealer.

 

Can you post a pick of your handy work. I would love to do the same thing. Thanks!!!

 

Guys, also check out this site:

www.custombatterycables.com

They make custom cables, sell every part you could need and there is also lots of good info like cable lengths and such, for those building their own cables.




I have a couple of pics from when I first did the group 31 conversion - have since switched to Optimas:

 

Dave: For the best price on the Optima's try Sam's Club. When I bought mine I found them to have the best price but they only had one in stock. Went to AutoZone and they matched Sam's Club price.

John (DH)

 

WYododge - I don't have a picture yet but just look at Dr. Evil's batter picture and make note of the bolt/nut that tightens the battery cable to the battery post.

I guess the part of my notes that might be confusing is when I removed some of the battery cable end material which then allowed both sides of the clamp end to come closer together thus allowing for a more secure clamp when tightened on the battery post. Both of my cable ends were touching prev. when I tightened the battery cable ends.

The bolts are 5/16" bolts/nuts are are approx. 3/4" to 1" long. I put a 2" bolt on and tightened the first 5/16 nut down tight which tightens the the cable to the battery post.

I then add the accessory wires on the same bolt and then add a washer and the 2nd 5/16 nut.

I cleaned all of the posts and sprayed the Permatex battery spray on all the terminals. Now I can add or remove any of my accessory wires without un-tightening the battery cable.

How this is more clear.... If not, I'll take a pic this weekend.

PS - I went by NAPA and purchased the Military battery clamps shown in Dr. Evil's picture but have'nt installed them yet since my current ones are still ok.

 

I could swear both my trucks came new with two nuts on the battery clamp bolt on the driver's postive.
Either that or I put them on and can't remember

 

I've reworked many battery clamps by re-shaping with a channel-lock & filing material.

The stock battery clamps came with a double ended bolt. The long side squeezed the clamp and the other side was for the grid heater, fuel heater, & fuel solenoid lugs. Dealer cannot source them either.

 

BTW
Nice job on the cables there Doc. Mine look very similar, but with factory cables and new lugs.
I made complete new cables for other guys, but never did the same for me. I changed jobs and don't have access to a Greenlee Gator (crimper) to fix the lugs. I won't use any other crimper.

 

How much did NAPA charge you for the clamps? One of the post on this thread said about $4 per clamp. I went to NAPA yesterday, they wanted $11 apiece. I didn't know if they had gone up that much or if it was the mark-up it my local NAPA store.

I would like to change mine to the military style, last time I got new batt. the guy tightened them so they will not clamp anymore.

Thanks
Floyd

 

BlackImpala - They were very expensive! I had to bite the bullet on this one.

I bought 5 positive and 5 negative clamps and didn't realize that they are identical except for a very small "+" or "-" on one side of each clamp.

Mine were $12 each but now I have extras to put in my inventory so I won't need to purchase addt'l ones.

What I should have done was check eBay first. I saw an auction after I bought mine. Ten (10) was for sale in one (1) lot and I watched the auction end for $26 and they were all NEW.

I'm looking for a Heavy Duty crimper now and probably will purchase the hammer type lug/cable crimper.

Hope this helps.