# Frayed Battery Ground Strap Almost Down To Its Last Strand!

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/frayed-battery-ground-strap-almost-down-to-its-last-strand/205669>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** kia, rio\
**Created:** [May 14, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/frayed-battery-ground-strap-almost-down-to-its-last-strand/205669 "2026-05-14T21:40:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![gudenteit](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/gudenteit/32/3004_2.png) [@gudenteit](https://community.cartalk.com/u/gudenteit)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/frayed-battery-ground-strap-almost-down-to-its-last-strand/205669/1 "2026-05-14T21:40:16Z")

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![20260512165142](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/d/f/df2ee1e431086cd899ea16ef3c61a74303cf0ca2.jpeg)  
 ![20260512164742](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/5/6/567cb2d718809e3f7c83a57a8cbe837e6b5b80eb.jpeg)

This 2016 Kia Rio has a a seriously corroded and frayed braided geoundstrap! I now have replaced it.

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**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 14, 2026, 9:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/frayed-battery-ground-strap-almost-down-to-its-last-strand/205669/2 "2026-05-14T21:54:32Z")

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Using bradded steel rather than copper for a battery cable was an economic choice, any other economic compromises in a Kia?

Also, looks like you got your money’s worth out of that battery, April 2019?

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**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 14, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/frayed-battery-ground-strap-almost-down-to-its-last-strand/205669/3 "2026-05-14T22:01:59Z")

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WOW, that is near unbelievable glad you fixed it. At least it was shorting out to ground.

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**Author:** ![gudenteit](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/gudenteit/32/3004_2.png) [@gudenteit](https://community.cartalk.com/u/gudenteit)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/frayed-battery-ground-strap-almost-down-to-its-last-strand/205669/4 "2026-05-14T22:08:13Z")

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The braided cable was copper not steel, I could see that when I cut the braided strap out of the terminal on the battery post clamp. I couldn’t find a replacement on Amazon, and to go to a place like Auto Zone and have them find it and probably have to special order it would be expensive i bet. So I pried the clamps loose on the terminals, spliced and soldered a short section of 4 guage standard insulated ground cable in. To rig up a replacement cable with a ground bolt lug on one end, and a battery post clamp on the other end would not work right because the battery post clamp has an ammeter sensor in it with a socket for a plug and wires to carry the ammeter signal to pehaps a circuit board, or maybe the cars onboard computer?