The typical underengineered battery cable end that is too small and then overheats over long term use to melt the plastic insulation. To create massive sales of OEM battery cable sets since they are assemblies that cannot use the normal battery cables you find in the parts stores.

New battery cable time. I made up my own battery cables many years ago out of bigger cables to stop that issue forever.

Leave the pretty battery cover off and the original type cables will last longer, the cover stops fan air from cooling the cable ends off to get even hotter.

There was a recall years ago on the early cars over this, they sometimes caught on fire when the plastic began to burn.

The main bulk of the terminal shown there is crap too, the bolt will tighten like tight but the terminal can still be moved by hand (loose) even with bolt very tight if the terminal gets cleaned inside the post bore to get to fresh clean lead for a better connection. Ford idea of that clamp type was a massive fail that causes lots of trouble when people think the cables are tight but they easily spin loose. Next the alternators then blow out from overwork when the bad connection stops alt charging from getting to the battery, the alts are weak and known for that.

 

The typical underengineered battery cable end that is too small and then overheats over long term use to melt the plastic insulation. To create massive sales of OEM battery cable sets since they are assemblies that cannot use the normal battery cables you find in the parts stores.

New battery cable time. I made up my own battery cables many years ago out of bigger cables to stop that issue forever.

Leave the pretty battery cover off and the original type cables will last longer, the cover stops fan air from cooling the cable ends off to get even hotter.

There was a recall years ago on the early cars over this, they sometimes caught on fire when the plastic began to burn.

The main bulk of the terminal shown there is crap too, the bolt will tighten like tight but the terminal can still be moved by hand (loose) even with bolt very tight if the terminal gets cleaned inside the post bore to get to fresh clean lead for a better connection. Ford idea of that clamp type was a massive fail that causes lots of trouble when people think the cables are tight but they easily spin loose. Next the alternators then blow out from overwork when the bad connection stops alt charging from getting to the battery, the alts are weak and known for that.

Thanks for the insight. Will keep these things in mind. I wish I had the wherewithal to switch the terminal cables out, but probably above my pay grade.

 

Is it cranking at a normal speed? If so then no your issue is not the battery cable

 

Are you referring to the sound it makes when cranking? If so, it sounds like it is struggling to turn on. It will sound like it’s about turn over and never does.

 

If it’s not cranking (engine not turning) or cranking slow then your first thing to do is replace those cables since you stated the battery is new. It’s not rocket science to make your own replacements. You might even be able to take the old cables to a local shop and have them make new ones for you with a larger gauge wire for less than what Ford charges.

Stuart

 

If it’s not cranking (engine not turning) or cranking slow then your first thing to do is replace those cables since you stated the battery is new. It’s not rocket science to make your own replacements. You might even be able to take the old cables to a local shop and have them make new ones for you with a larger gauge wire for less than what Ford charges.

Stuart

Thank you for the suggestion - will check with local shop to see how much they will charge and then decide.

 

The first thing I do if working on one of these is to cut off the OEM battery terminals to replace them with positive biting old school type that can never slip loose like the OEM does. You can spend $500 in repair and then feel utterly stupid when you grab the OEM terminal to have it spin free. One really big reason why the cables overheat to corrode in the first 6 inches, the second being the cables are smaller than what my bikes use for the starters.

 

I tried following the battery terminal wiring harnesses to figure out where the big 3 connections need to be redone/replaced and while doing this found that there is no conductivity coming from the positive terminal cables. I took some images of the trajectory that the positive cables follow and don't see where it connects to the alternator. Can someone please let me know where it is connecting to in my image? Also followed the harness past the alternator and found that it leads to some part that I am not familiar with. Can anyone identify what that is (see third image)? Thanks!