Hello,

I'm a novice and came here to look for some advice. My '99 Grand Cherokee has a severed positive battery cable (something that I found out about after getting the vehicle and driving it for quite a while without problems). A couple of days ago while driving the vehicle, it died. Had to have it towed and that's when I looked under the hood and noted that the positive battery cable had been damaged and had been rigged back together.

I cleaned up the wire as best I could and attempted to form a conduit bridge using a pair of 4-gage copper hubs and crimping together to restore the circuit, but it's not enough to provide current from the battery to the solenoid.

I am looking for some advice on how to go about replacing the battery cable because I'm not really sure where the starter is located on this particular make and model of vehicle. Any diagrams would be very, very helpful.

Any advice would be also helpful. Thank you very much in advance.

Thanks,

Jason

 

ok haha battery cables dont just break haha theres something wrong. since its the positive cable I would think the battery is out of spec? Or do you have any aftermarket electronics drawing power from the battery? is it an after market battery?


Also before you change your cable are you ever going to put a sound system in your ride?

 

Sure they do - if they're corroded inside the jacket (fairly common,) the copper conductors will eventually experience mechanical failure and the cable will self-sever.

OP - Track the positive cables out, there should be two. One goes to the Power Distribution Centre (big box with fuses & relays,) and the other goes down to the starter motor.

You can measure the cable and get a "universal" job at a local parts house, which is somewhat workable. Make sure to get one with sufficient length, and an extra heavy-gage (10-8AWG or thereabouts) "tail" to accept the PDC lead.

OR, you can measure the cables and I can quote you out a set of 4AWG replacements. I'd need your measurements because I don't have them for the 99WJ yet, with any engine (no trouble making them, I just need to know how long.) I've been making replacement battery cables for a few years now, and you should be able to find reviews on a few boards - and Eric Zappe (www.ericsxj.com, IIRC) did one as well.

Link's in my sig, if you want to know more.

 

@ D'Agostino - Thanks for the reply. To be honest, I got the vehicle used and I'm not sure why the cable severed. Everything is factory original, electronically speaking, at least from what I can see. The battery is an EverStart Maxx that I bought this past summer brand new from Autozone. I had the battery tested before looking further into this problem and it is still carrying an excellent charge. No, I don't have any plans to install anything. To be honest, I am aiming to trade the vehicle back in pretty soon since taking a job that is 73 miles away.

@ 5-90 - First, let me start by saying that I really appreciate posting to the topic I posted on rather than taking it into another direction. I have started tracing the cable. The part leading to the PDC is in great shape and not needing replaced, so I intend to leave that one in place. I haven't been able to lift the jeep up to access the undercarriage portion of the engine yet (waiting on a cousin to bring by some ramps tomorrow so I can get under there). From the top of the engine, the cable snakes around toward the center of the engine and then dives down between the firewall and the engine block out of sight. Do you happen to have a diagram that shows the underside of the engine along with the location of the starter?
Once disconnected from the solenoid, I'll measure and see if I can get the cable from the parts store (they do have 4AWG cable of varying lengths in stock, hoping to have the right size and if they don't I might take you up on the offer for the quote).

Thanks,

Jason

 

You can go to any "good" car audio shop and buy some 0gauge wire and all the little goodies to connect it to the battery and the starter. I am big in to audio, and any good stereo guy chops out all the factory power and ground wiring!

 

What engine is in your WJ? If it's the 6-242, you'll find the starter motor down on the passenger side, pointing back into the transmission bellhousing, at the rear of the engine.

If it's the V8-287, I'm not sure (having not seen one in the flesh,) but I'd start by looking at the passenger side rear bottom. That's most often where you'll find RWD starter motors - although there are some notable exceptions (like the GM "NorthStar" V8 and "ShortStar" V6 - where the starter motor is in the intake valley.)

The starter motor itself is usually readily identifiable as a pair of cylinders, mounted one atop the other. The smaller one is the solenoid, and is about the size of your fist, with two wires going into it (one large cable from the battery, one small wire from the PDC.) The other cylinder is about 4" across and probably 8-9" long, and is the motor proper. It will always be at the rear of the engine - it engages a ring gear on the flexplate (flat plate that forms the connexion between the torque converter and crankshaft,) so that narrows down the looking considerably.

As far as why the cable severed, the explanation I gave is borne of experience. Most makers simply cast the lead battery clamp around the copper wire - which means that the juncture there is not sealed, and acid vapours can get in and screw things up. When I make a cable, that crimp join is protected against corrosion and sealed to prevent intrusion and contamination. I've had to deal with gear failure - gear I build therefore will not fail. I put a lot of work into making sure of that, and I take the fact that my repairs and designs don't fail as an article of faith (means I tend to overbuild and be conservative in my ratings - but it's an effective balance between "reliability" and "pure overkill," and I don't seem to be the only one who is happy with my work!)

The part leading to the PDC is probably fine - but it's also going to be cast into the clamp (generally,) and it will either have to be cut and reterminated or replaced outright anyhow.