# Battery Terminal - 2nd time around **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [May 11, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261 "2016-05-11T02:41:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@scj](https://community.cartalk.com/u/scj)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/1 "2016-05-11T02:41:30Z")
2000 Mercury Villager. I found a guy who rigged a solution to this problem a year ago. But now it needs to be redone. The two links are to pictures off the internet and show what it should look like. The third picture is what mine looks like now. The cable-assembly-harness or whatever you want to call it isn’t made anymore and no one has one anywhere. But I think I just need to rebuild the connector. I also can’t find a Villager in a salvage yard. So I need to rig this up again so it will connect to the terminal. Any suggestions would help. Thanks. [![](http://pic.photobucket.com/bwe.png) ](http://pic.photobucket.com/bwe.png)[![](http://pic.photobucket.com/bwe.png) ](http://pic.photobucket.com/bwe.png) [https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13177168\_10205753470828313\_7946067656867683937\_n.jpg?oh=0bc563d82e83703e98ce500cee67928f&oe=57AF688E](https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13177168_10205753470828313_7946067656867683937_n.jpg?oh=0bc563d82e83703e98ce500cee67928f&oe=57AF688E) ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/2 "2016-05-11T02:48:45Z")
Looks like a fairly standard battery terminal, If you have enough length you can put on a standard terminal end after cutting off the bad stuff ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/3 "2016-05-11T02:49:52Z")
How about replacing the battery cable? they are $41 at Rockauto. ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/2X/2/24a846557750a9496f4ea1615667e1db5b17c950.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 2:57am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/4 "2016-05-11T02:57:46Z")
@Nevada_545 , Way too easy! ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 3:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/5 "2016-05-11T03:01:07Z")
Only one picture showed up on first view of the disconnected battery terminal. Gotta change my opinion to agree with @Nevada_545 .Noticing the amount of crud prbably time for a new battery also as battery may be outgassing through the case causing your corrosion issues. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 3:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/6 "2016-05-11T03:01:58Z")
**“I also can’t find a Villager in a salvage yard”** The Mercury Villager was actually manufactured by Nissan, and is nothing more than a rebadged **_Nissan Quest_** , so if you can locate a Nissan Quest of the same vintage in a salvage yard, you will find that it is mechanically **identical** , and that the ONLY substantive difference is in cosmetic details and nameplates. Failing that strategy, I think that the advice from both Barkydog and Nevada is very practical. ---
**Author:** ![scj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@scj](https://community.cartalk.com/u/scj)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/7 "2016-05-11T03:44:52Z")
I can get the part. But why is that the Nissan dealer, the Ford dealer and every website but this one says they don’t make them anymore and no one has them. Plus the prices they had if they were available were anywhere from $200 to $500? Scheez. I was calling it a positive battery cable and here they’re calling it the starter cable. Maybe that’s the difference. So it looks like I would just remove the old red connector and insert the two wires into the new and that would be it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![ken\_green](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/ken_green/32/816_2.png) [@ken\_green](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ken_green)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/8 "2016-05-11T03:46:00Z")
You can rebuild a harness. Those stupid battery cable multi-harnesses severed only one purpose . . the assembly line. Now it’s not on an assembly line anymore so you can repair one wire at a time. Take the whole harness off and layit out on you bench and gut it like fish. . .well… unwrap it all so you can see all the individual wires. . . repair as needed. . . wrap it back up , or not, depending on space and practicality. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/9 "2016-05-11T03:54:51Z")
Sometimes the battery cables are integrated into the wiring harness for assembly line speed, this makes them very expensive to replace. However there is sometimes a overlay cable available for replacement. When the cable is part of the harness you don’t have to remove it from the harness, just strap the new cable to the old harness and cut the ends off the old cable. ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/10 "2016-05-11T05:38:02Z")
If all the old wires are cut and stripped back and securely connected to a new universal cable end all will be well. $2.50 and 30 minutes later the problem will be solved. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 6:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/11 "2016-05-11T06:13:20Z")
@“Rod Knox” that is what I thought until I saw the extra piece connected to the terminal, is that a replacement part also? ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 6:26am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/12 "2016-05-11T06:26:11Z")
Those two wires have spade connectors that plug into the red connector. The spade connectors can be replaced with eyelet connectors and bolted to a common lead battery cable end but some people fear doing any modifications. ---
**Author:** ![scj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@scj](https://community.cartalk.com/u/scj)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 4:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/13 "2016-05-17T04:50:51Z")
Ok. Got the new cable and put it on. I hooked it all up and everything is good except for one thing. It starts and drives fine but when sitting and idling like at a stop light it starts to chug pretty noticably. You can really feel it through your feet. This is something it wasn’t doing before but then I remembered that the two connectors seemed fairly gummed up so I’m assuming that the chugging might have to do with that since that’s the only thing that changed. So I unplugged them and took a picture. Is there a good way to clean these? Or what would the clips be called so I could just get new ones as they come off as well. [https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p280x280/13245394\_10205790529474756\_6869028883642821692\_n.jpg?oh=8066a409e382baa4b828858b201a0a3a&oe=57D3B9DA](https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p280x280/13245394_10205790529474756_6869028883642821692_n.jpg?oh=8066a409e382baa4b828858b201a0a3a&oe=57D3B9DA) [https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13254229\_10205790531114797\_2286735276976787257\_n.jpg?oh=3fe0836bedca0d8c6bedeed3f195327e&oe=57D2F7C8](https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13254229_10205790531114797_2286735276976787257_n.jpg?oh=3fe0836bedca0d8c6bedeed3f195327e&oe=57D2F7C8) ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 7:17am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/14 "2016-05-17T07:17:09Z")
Suggest you post the results of a couple of electrical measurements when this happens, during idle presumably. - Voltage between the two battery posts. - Voltage between the two battery cables where they connect to the posts. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 7:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/15 "2016-05-17T07:40:33Z")
I don’t know if it the cause of your driveability problem but those two connectors appear to be in poor condition and should be replaced. This goes back to what Rod Knox implied, cut off those old connectors and use common aftermarket connectors. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/16 "2016-05-17T11:59:27Z")
Could it be that if the battery was disconnected the computer lost its memory for engine controls and it’ll take a little time for it to relearn the proper settings? ---
**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/17 "2016-05-17T17:42:55Z")
It could be alternator drag if the battery is in a low state of charge. See if it improves after a few hours of daily driving. ---
**Author:** ![Cougar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cougar/32/21348_2.png) [@Cougar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cougar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-terminal-2nd-time-around/93261/18 "2016-05-17T23:44:20Z")
Along with cleaning those connectors in picture clean the engine grounds also. Bad electrical grounds can cause this kind of problem also.