Battery cables

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I was looking at older threads and have a question, saw this thread that left me puzzled. https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-battery-cable-routing

This is the OP first comment:  "Negative cable goes from battery, to the voltage regulator then to the engine... right?"

  My car currently has the neg cable from the bat to the engine block, and from what I know that should be the way it works.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The original style neg. cable has a ground connection for the chassis that is attached by one of the screws in the voltage regulator and then the end does go to the engine. 

That blue positive cable is not original. Hard to see it all in there. This car has lots of options, P.W., rear window defogger and convience group so lots of wires.





 
Yours is not correct. The chassis also has to get a ground. Grounding (or lack thereof) is the most common cause of lights, gauges, radio, and/or heater not working. The tab connected to the lower screw on the voltage regulator is how the chassis is grounded.

This issue has been discussed many times on this forum, search some more.

The picture in this link clearly shows the tab:

https://www.npdlink.com/product/battery-cable-set-concours-light-duty/101973/202869

 
Soooo y'all are saying the neg cable is attached to the body and the engine block. I have this spare battery cable around, will this set up work if I run the yellow ended one to a screw in the body or is it best from terminal to body then to block?



photo hosting

 
I would want a bigger wire than the small one that you show in the picture. It has to provide ground to all of the lights, including the headlights, the heater blower, the gauges, and the radio. Do it right, now, and you'll prevent a lot of problems later.

You could use the one in the picture, if you run the big wire to the voltage regulator screw and then another cable of the same size from the voltage regulator to the engine block.

 
Just go buy the correct cable(s) from NPD or others. They aren't that expensive. 

Make sure the paint is removed from under the contact points, whether it be under the V/R or on the block. On the block, there should be a bolt hole somewhere under the water pump if I remember just for the ground cable. Like Don alluded to, do it once, do it right.

 
Just go buy the correct cable(s) from NPD or others. They aren't that expensive. 

Make sure the paint is removed from under the contact points, whether it be under the V/R or on the block. On the block, there should be a bolt hole somewhere under the water pump if I remember just for the ground cable. Like Don alluded to, do it once, do it right.
Geoff, you're missing the "L" shaped bracket for the battery that mounts to the fender apron.

 
Just go buy the correct cable(s) from NPD or others. They aren't that expensive. 

Make sure the paint is removed from under the contact points, whether it be under the V/R or on the block. On the block, there should be a bolt hole somewhere under the water pump if I remember just for the ground cable. Like Don alluded to, do it once, do it right.
Geoff, you're missing the "L" shaped bracket for the battery that mounts to the fender apron.
 How right you are! The reason is I have a fake Autolite battery cover over a generic flat top battery, so it no longer fits. Good eye though. Not many even know there should be a small L bracket there.

 
Just go buy the correct cable(s) from NPD or others. They aren't that expensive. 

Make sure the paint is removed from under the contact points, whether it be under the V/R or on the block. On the block, there should be a bolt hole somewhere under the water pump if I remember just for the ground cable. Like Don alluded to, do it once, do it right.
Geoff, you're missing the "L" shaped bracket for the battery that mounts to the fender apron.
 How right you are! The reason is I have a fake Autolite battery cover over a generic flat top battery, so it no longer fits. Good eye though. Not many even know there should be a small L bracket there.
I found out a few years ago about the "L" bracket and Don@OMS hooked me up! It really ties the battery in a lot better. I don't have a cover like yours, I got the "Real" Autolite Reproduction Battery and it's holding up very well now!

 
Geoff, you're missing the "L" shaped bracket for the battery that mounts to the fender apron.
 How right you are! The reason is I have a fake Autolite battery cover over a generic flat top battery, so it no longer fits. Good eye though. Not many even know there should be a small L bracket there.
 I don't have a cover like yours, I got the "Real" Autolite Reproduction Battery and it's holding up very well now!
 I see, deep pockets eh! 

I have zero justification to buy one for now. The exchange rate, Canadian to US, is way too high to be buying much of anything.

Nice that you have the "real thing" though.

 
just did some cleaning and discovered that I apparently have an original battery cable, it looks 50 years old and is connected under the voltage regulator like the picture in the 2nd post. Will of course replace as it looks like it is on it's last legs.

 
 How right you are! The reason is I have a fake Autolite battery cover over a generic flat top battery, so it no longer fits. Good eye though. Not many even know there should be a small L bracket there.
 I don't have a cover like yours, I got the "Real" Autolite Reproduction Battery and it's holding up very well now!
 I see, deep pockets eh! 

I have zero justification to buy one for now. The exchange rate, Canadian to US, is way too high to be buying much of anything.

Nice that you have the "real thing" though.
I purchased a reproduction Autolite battery in '92 or '93 for 99 bucks (yep, that cheap) and back then they had acid in them of course. At some point while I was driving on the autobahn the battery started to boil over and ruined a few things that were freshly chromed, sic. So, fast forward to now, when the new AGM technology came available with the Autolite batteries, I just had to have one ($315 shipped)! First battery I received had a cracked case, second and third one wouldn't hold a charge, this is battery number four and holding up very well!

 
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