Positive battery cable replacement.

volare 77

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looks like part number 3843767 for 76 f body slant 6.

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volare 77

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I bought it thinking it would work on a V8 but I`m pretty sure it is shorter IIRC.
 

shadango

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The battery end looks like what the 80 Volare /6 needs.....not sure about the starter end......

Wondering if it is the same part?

Could you measure the total length?

what would you want, shipped, for it to 15132? You can PM me if you prefer.
 

volare 77

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What i found (IIRC) on some cables changes were made on the brown wire connector. I will measure it when I get home and PM you. I would think the starter end would be the same.
 

shadango

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Here is what we have......seems like it is the same except for the relay end of the brown wire.....I should be able to splice in the plastic connector end....

Our pink wire was apparently cut at some point and butt-connectored. Wouldnt mind changing that to a disconnect.....wonder if the plugs are available anywhere to match your cable?

My son measured it as best as he could in the car and got around 48"...so I would bet the 46" you got is correct.

My biggest concern was that larger white connector....looks the same to me......you??

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volare 77

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white connector looks the same to me, you probably can use the old brown wire connector at the relay and just put in a new terminal end in it. or maybe a 76 starter relay would work
 
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shadango

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If your not hellbent on NOS the ebay ones are pretty decent and priced well.
I considered them.. And being frugal the $20-30 price is good.....

But....I figure (assume?) that the quality of a NOS from many moons ago will be better...proper gauge wire, proper crimp at the clamp end, the right white plastic connector (I hope) etc......The original one on the car lasted 40 years......not sure I trust the chinese aftermarket stuff? This is my sons car that he has away at college with him...needs to be 100% reliable.....

And honestly, one of the reasons also is that the ebay ones are black....versus red with the NOS...lol

"A fool and his money...."..... LOL
 

XfbodyX

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I got to bust on ya a bit here, you said, needs to be 100% reliable, dude its a 40 year old f body that would fry wires when new, no crash protection, air bags, im confused. :)

But really we all know china parts are hit and miss but as shown in the pics the repop actually is of good/better quality as they make replacements for even current rigs.

The batt connection is more HD, the white plug you mentioned concern about is dead on and even a heavier gauge wire and its not just the cover.

And I got to ask, why a repop neg. wire vs nos if 40 yr old nos is better, there are plenty of nos negs around.

But really I hope your son has a good safe trouble free school year.

I use NOS on my restored cars but repop on the others and no issues.

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XfbodyX

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Volare77, Sorry to post this here, as I cant recall my login on the other fmj site but there is like five wire harnesses for our f-s. AC, Non AC, diff alt, ect.

A couple dont have the provision for the fender turn sigs.

In these pics of a nos, non turn sig, harness.

One side is just the headlight,marker/turn/inside fender turn, two grounds then up to the alt, other side headlight,marker/turn/inside fender turn, two grounds then up to the ign. box, and im forgetting the horn wire, thick green.

Ive boxes of used that I sep. mostly by ac/non ac the divide into fender blinkers and non.

These are all non fender ones in the pics. There too nasty to dig them all out and even harder in the cold.

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shadango

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Safety is relative as is "reliability".

Safety -- Have had that discussion with "concerned" relatives who have shunned me because I dare put my kids in "old cars" when "new cars are so much safer".

And dont get me started on all the "automatic" BS newer cars have....IMHO these "features" are turning us into morons behind the wheel, morons who do not know how to respond to a situation if the car doesn't do it for us.

In my "reliability" comment I was referring particularly to the reliability if the CABLE ITSELF, but since you brought it up....

Reliability-wise, I would much rather have my son in a 80s or earlier car that is easy to maintain and diagnose than in a 2000s-up beater full of computerized crap that has to be extensively troubleshot to fix which translates into $$$ and inconvenience. I have had my 72 Cuda for 10+ years....drive it all the time weather permitting....and the few times I had any issues they were easily fixed on the roadside. Older "modern" cars I had required tows.

As for the repop negative cable --- we needed one in a pinch during the reassembly and one was available local........so we gave it a shot.

And its just one wire.............The positive is 4 wires, special connectors etc.

I prefer NOS as a first-stop for certain things unless I know for sure that an aftermarket is somehow better.....on ebay, you do not know til you get the product sometimes. And I have used enough chinese sourced aftermarket stuff on a variety of vehicles I own to know the problems one runs into with them.

In your pics you show a "thicker" black cable.....well, there is no way to know what size core is in that jacket....plenty of data out there to say that some aftermarket wires look thicker due to fatter insulation but have the same or even thinner cores. Cut them both in half and compare cores for a true comparison. Depending on what vendor you pick for these parts, they may be as good as or worse than OEM/NOS. I have very seldom seen aftermarket common replacement parts that were engineered BETTER than originals......not including PERFORMANCE aftermarket parts that is.

The "bigger" white plug doesnt help me as I am using the existing original second half which would be smaller if what you show holds true......if they do connect ok (and that would be a major concern), the extra size for the larger white half doesnt net anything. And the gamble is that it WONT fit.

So I am deferring to NOS in this instance- Like I said,,,,the original lasted 40 years on this car. Should be good going forward.
 

XfbodyX

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Im glad im in the shop today, your killin me here. Im hard headed too and like and use nos junk all I can but in some instances I will buy and inspect a repop. Too bad we cant get rear quarters, from anyplace.

Look at the pick, the plug is proper male/female fit into a NOS wire harness I just didnt want to click it in, but the pic I posted did make them look a bit different in size for some reason.

I cut one long ago to see if I was getting miffed but its a legit cable.

Thats good on the NOS thing, though it had been on ebay for like a year and a half maybe and id of snatched it for myself if I didnt have a few and it was a bit long for the V8 app, but they pull over $200 for the last V8 one so im sure you did good.

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shadango

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My biggest issue and point of all this is unless one has bought a particular part number of a particular brand from a particular vendor, there is no way to know for sure what you will get on ebay until you get it. And even if you have done all that, sometimes THOSE change.....

There are numerous listings for the "same" cable on ebay.......unless there is just one manufacturer of that cable in the world, who knows WHICH one is "the good one", right?

Heck, even "OEM" and I am sure NOS products can have varying degrees of quality depending on certain factors.

I have bought and used some really decent quality repop "made in china" stuff. And I have been stung on some as well.

To me, NOS means "at least the quality of what was on the vehicle before".....I have grown weary of trying to save a few dollars in the search of "a good cheaper one". In most cases, going NOS has never been a mistake, aside from paying a little more up front ....and again, if the OEM cable lasted 40 years, like I said, and in an area where even the slightest difference or defect can leave you at the side of the road, I would rather pay a little more for that.

If we are talking about an oil cap or a trim ring, I might try a cheaper product if it looks good in pics.

We recently replaced the heater core and condensor in the heater box on the volare......had to return the (chinese made aftermarket) heater core twice to get one that had the pipes in close enough place to fit the box without hacking the box up. That was a hassle. If I could have found a "NOS/OEM" heater core, I would have gladly paid double for the convenience of not having all the runaround to get one that fit.

And for electrical stuff --- stuff that freaks me out to begin with (its like black magic voodoo stuff running through all those squiggly plastic snakes IMHO...LOL) --- I would rather err on the side of caution.

I recently had to replace the stator on my 1994 yamaha ATV. I found the stator right away for like $40 on ebay...numerous listings. But the more I researched, there were many reports of the "chinese" ones being hit or miss....and sometimes having to jimy rig them to work properly as far as the wiring.

Changing the stator on this ATV is a pain.....not horribly HARD, but not a job I want to do again for a while....and I sure dont want to break down in the woods, in the mud, miles from a road.......so I spent the $250 on an OEM sourced one thru Ricky Stator, who assured me it was the same exact part as what the dealers wanted $300-400 for. When it arrived, it was indeed "made in japan" and looked EXACTLY like what I was taking out, down to the wire color and sheathing.

I am a frugal guy.

But I spend the $$$ when it makes sense.

Volare77 was asking a reasonable price for it, and I could find no others right now, so it made sense.

Plus, its RED....... ;)
 

XfbodyX

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I fully understand, I learned the hard way on the only replacement turn sig cancel plate on my truck, I cut and chased wires for two days then put the old one back in that wouldnt cancel a right turn and all worked as it should and still didnt cancel....grr.

I just manually returned it from that day on.
 

shadango

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I fully understand, I learned the hard way on the only replacement turn sig cancel plate on my truck, I cut and chased wires for two days then put the old one back in that wouldnt cancel a right turn and all worked as it should and still didnt cancel....grr.

I just manually returned it from that day on.
Oh the things we do to drive old iron. LOL

But -- at least we CAN do it.....

Try fixing anything on a 2010 anything...LOL

My Ram '12 1500 Pickup has three computers under the hood alone. three or 4 more under the dash. Nothing but wires.

Good luck EVER trying to fix that stuff in 40 years....LOL
 
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