Do battery cables go bad?

[buckeyefarmer]

Yes, had it happen. Bad crimps.

 

[jaxs]

I agree with the not likely bad cables part. Moving the truck a little bit while in 4th gear which turns the engine a little bit is a pretty fail proof way of getting it to start with the starter. The starter gear is new along with the rest of the starter. The part of the ring gear I was able to see looked perfect. The starter came with a shim but I don’t use it. It said don’t use unless needed and I didn’t know how to measure clearance so I decided to try without it. I didn’t hear any abnormal sounds and the new starter worked flawlessly for probably 2 weeks so I decided the shim probably wasn’t needed.

Proof positive that starter is locking.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

When i jump started my tractor a couple weeks ago, the rivet on the jumper cable clamp, between the 2 sides of the jaw, glowed bright red from the current going to the other side. The cable only fastened on one side of the jaw.

 

[4570Man]

Proof positive that starter is locking.

So I should remove starter and install shim? What is the definition of locking? I’m pretty sure the starter gear is never engaging when it fails to start. You can hear the solenoid clicking is the only sound it makes. Usually it will start after a few tries without rolling the truck.

 

[stuckmotor]

Off topic but on grounding...

We went to the beach in high school and stayed late... time to go and one of the two cars had a dead battery... no jumpers and no one else around...

I said we need to have the bumpers of both cars firmly touching and then doubled up some speaker wire positive to positive... it worked.

I saw a guy who only had only one jumper cable try the bumper to bumper trick. His cable was in bad shape and it didn't work. I'm glad you had better luck.

 

[jaxs]

So I should remove starter and install shim? What is the definition of locking? I’m pretty sure the starter gear is never engaging when it fails to start. You can hear the solenoid clicking is the only sound it makes. Usually it will start after a few tries without rolling the truck.

"LOCKING" is the term used to describe drive gear improperly engaging ring gear teeth then failing to dis-engage and retract to resting position. The repeated clicking of solenoid might be enough to shake it loose (no hammer blow required).

 

[RickB]

Cables absolutely go bad, they can corrode from the ends along the individual strands and look perfectly fine from the outside. Two examples of cables prone to failure are New Holland TC Class 2 tractor positive cables and early Ford Powerstroke positive cables.

 

[3Ts]

I have had cables look fine from the outside, but had the wires inside corrode. They had turned green and powdery. I only found it by tracing voltages when the car quit working.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have read people on this site claim that cables go bad internally. Except for the ends, I don't believe this, although I may not be correct.

I have a generator with such issues. Corrected connections and even changed the starter. If the battery voltage isn't right up there, it won't say boo.

12 volt is a really lousy voltage for such applications!

 

[RickB]

I have read people on this site claim that cables go bad internally. Except for the ends, I don't believe this, although I may not be correct.

I have a generator with such issues. Corrected connections and even changed the starter. If the battery voltage isn't right up there, it won't say boo.

12 volt is a really lousy voltage for such applications!

Correcting no crank or slow crank symptoms by replacing cables after cleaning the connections on the old cables without improvement is pretty convincing. Voltage drop testing is helpful.