Changing battery cables

[serrano2782]

Hey everyone whats going on. I want some advise on an issue im having changing the battery cables in my C-10. The negative cable is connected to the starter which is behind the passenger side headers. My ratchet cant get in there to take out the nut. Anyone changed it without having to jack up the truck? Any suggestions?

[too much stuff]

Originally Posted by serrano2782

Hey everyone whats going on. I want some advise on an issue im having changing the battery cables in my C-10. The negative cable is connected to the starter which is behind the passenger side headers. My ratchet cant get in there to take out the nut. Anyone changed it without having to jack up the truck? Any suggestions?

Should be the positive connected to the starter. Should be a red cable. (doesn't mean it is) Try a long extension or maybe a ratchet wrench.
Disconnect the battery before you do anything.

[serrano2782]

The positive was connected to the alternator. Is that wrong?

[cdowns]

positive to starter

[serrano2782]

Does the positive cable need a ground wire to the fender?

[too much stuff]

Originally Posted by serrano2782

Does the positive cable need a ground wire to the fender?

Do not ground out the positive. If you are looking at the smaller wire that goes to the fender, that is not a ground. That is a junction block that the smaller wire goes to.
Post up a pic and maybe we can see if something doesn't look right.

[PHATTIRE67]

Positive to starter negative to alt bracket. To get at mine I removed starter and supporte it with wire for more clearance. Its only 2 bolts

[serrano2782]

I think if I jack my truck up I can reach it from the bottom. But my jack is at my uncles house and thought I could get around it. I'll try again tonight. Thanks

[cool68]

why do you think the negative cable is going to starter and positive to alternator bracket? positive from battery goes to starter and negative should go to engine block with another ground from block to frame. if cable is close to headers be sure to route away from them or use protective heat cover. buy good quality large cables, not a place to try to save money. disconnect cable from battery then see if you can get an open end/box end onto cable nut on starter. otherwise wait until you can jack truck up.

[serrano2782]

I will tonight

[GASoline71]

Look at the top of the battery to see the + and the - near the posts. Previous owner could have put different colored cables on the truck. The POSITIVE cable goes to the starter. The GROUND does not go to the alternator bracket, as the bracket is on the drivers side in 67-72 C10 trucks. 1973 and later rigs with a long water pump has the alternator bracket on the passenger side, and that is where the ground went from the factory. Bolted to the top of the bracket (not the alternator itself). If you have bracketry that has the alternator on the passenger side, then it's not original to the truck.

You can attach the ground to the passenger side cylinder head or to the most forward header/exhaust manifold bolt.

Gary

[serrano2782]

YEs GAS. I believe the previous owner made a lot of changes to it. I will give it a look when I get home later

[serrano2782]

Hey GAS btw the alternator in my truck is in the right center of the engine and the cable was connected to the top of the bracket. Should I have any concerns about this?

[54blackhornet]

Serrano , please go get a wiring diagram before you do anything please ! The Positive (Red) to starter ! Negative goes to engine block ! Please double check, lot of AMPS in that battery, be safe ok ! Glad you asked a lot of questions if not sure......

[GASoline71]

Originally Posted by serrano2782

Hey GAS btw the alternator in my truck is in the right center of the engine and the cable was connected to the top of the bracket. Should I have any concerns about this?

Cars and trucks with long water pumps had the bracket on the passenger side with the negative cable connected to it from the factory. I would think it would be just fine. Post up a pic when you can.

Gary

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by GASoline71

Cars and trucks with long water pumps had the bracket on the passenger side with the negative cable connected to it from the factory. I would think it would be just fine. Post up a pic when you can.

Gary

Yes. A 5/16 bolt with a star washer underneath it.......

Original poster, you need to make double sure you get this deal right. If you get your cables switched like you mentioned above (positive to the alternator bracket) you're gonna get a crash course in arc welding.

Positive goes from battery + to the 3/8 stud on the starter solenoid. There is also a smaller positive wire from the + terminal to the junction block on the fender near the battery.

Negative goes from the battery - to the alternator bracket like mentioned above.

There should also be another ground wire the goes from the engine block to the frame.

[Poppa Wheelie]

If you mean that you are having a tough time physically disconnecting the cable from the starter, gang some socket extensions together and fish them thru from in FRONT of the crossmember. You will probably need about 18". This works for me. Yes you will probably have to jack the truck up to do this.

[GASoline71]

To add... there should also be grounding straps from the engine to the cab, and I believe there was one from the frame to the passenger inner fender as well.

Gary

[hugger6933]

Also you in all this about wiring talked about a jack , please let me break in for a second to say please be careful and block that truck up on blocks or stands guys/gals. Nobody should trust their lives to a 10 cent China o-ring and 1/4 pint of jack oil. Blocks are cheap they could be old wheels or blocks of wood but they are valuable in shop safety. working on these old trucks can be great stress relief or creators but the addition of unsafe working conditions around it on top of that lessens the enjoyment we take away from it. I hate to be a kill joy but I lost a friend due to an unsafe situation that he placed himself into and he had been around stuff all his life. Jim

[swamp rat]

Thank you Hugger6933 for posting this, if he is having this much trouble with the battery leads then i would only assume he would also not use jack stands or some other form of safety blocking under the truck to keep it from falling on him.

Red flags are flying allover the place on this one, anybody ever seen a battery blow up? or a vehicle fall because the jack slipped or the car/truck rolled a little?

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Red flags are flying allover the place on this one, anybody ever seen a battery blow up? or a vehicle fall because the jack slipped or the car/truck rolled a little?

Yes, for the original poster and anyone else following this
Always always always use jackstands....and be 100% sure to disconnect the ground (-) cable from the frame before doing any electrical work. This way if there is any spark from a draw on the system, it will be away from the battery.
Yes, I have blown up a battery when disconnecting it from a charger that I thought had turned off by the timer. It sparked and blew everywhere, luckily I was wearing glasses at the time. My shirt and jacket didn't fare so well....

[bigmac73]

from the knowledge base he is displaying here, somebody in his area might want to go over and help him out.

[Lou Boffa]

I gotta agree guys. This one has me worried.

[hamjet]

At the 'very least' wear goggles or safety glasses when ever playing with battery terminals, I do ever since I googled "batteries exploding." It's not pretty...

[motorcritter]

Mixing up battery cables can be a source of expensive trouble, or severe physical damage (to one's body). Also, I don't think you can have enough grounds, in any automotive (or motorcycle) electrical system. Don't cheap-ass the cables, either.

I had a car roll off the blocks it was sitting on, it was an old Chevy (early 60's), the K-member bottomed out on another block that happened to be there. It went down slow, too, so I turned my head to the side, so it wouldn't get smashed, and when the car stopped moving, I thought I was dead, until I moved my hand. I yelled, my father picked the car up enough for me to slither out. He had gotten diagnosed as having had a mile heart attack a few days earlier. Adrenaline is a helluva drug! I still have the scar on my chest where something snagged me. A few weeks later, a friend of mine was working on a motor home/tour bus- it fell off the jacks- killed him. I still give every vehicle a 'shakedown' before I get under it- jack stands, 2 or 4 post lift, big wooden blocks- anything. I don't think I'll get another chance like I had all those 45 years ago.