Negative battery cable...

[86RangerDrew]

Has anyone else noticed how easy it is to sink a lot of money into their Ranger?...But damn,I love this truck...Anyway...New question...I purchased an OEM negative battery cable ($42..whew) but am somewhat baffled as to where it connects "under the engine"...I quickly traced it and found that it connects in front of the oil filter...I have to change the oil anyway,but before I take it to my mechanic,I was wondering if anyone could help me out...Is my assumption of this close?...Sorry if I confused anyone...

 

[Ozwynn]

I don't know, but I have yet to ever buy an OEM ground cable. I buy the cheep ones and ground the battery to the engine block, frame, and body. Seems to work well for me.

 

[MAKG]

Just remember -- solid pieces of conductor don't care where you connect them.

Any empty bolt hole (and there are several) works for the engine block. Some of the cables -- particularly the starter cable on 4.0L manuals -- are too long to find in the auto parts store. But you CAN make your own.

I don't think I spent much more than $42 rebuilding the whole charging and cranking system wiring (it was BAD).


I do suggest OEM style battery cables because they are more weathertight than the clamp-type ones. But that's still an auto parts store purchase, not Ford.

 

[AllanD]

It's an otherwise unused bolt hole on the side of the block.

It's a 10mm threaded hole but the proper bolt (on the bracket that SHOULD be part of the battery cable assembly) has a reduced hex size for a 10mm thread bolt, 13mm.

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