Side Post Battery Cables

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gotyourgoat

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Never mind on my other post, this is what I'll be doing! Even better no problem going back to side terminal if needed.

Oh I like the hold down to. I'm telling you plumbers tape is so handy. My bird pens are chain link panels, and the panels are held together with that stuff and bolt works great. I've seen it used as exhaust hanger too.
Haha thanks. That's doubled over for safety.;)

Not a fan of household stuff (like ******* :mad:wood screws) on vehicles but I only had broken garbage to begin with. So with the leftovers of the old tie down, a couple random nuts on one side and a wing nut on the other it's tight and easy to remove if needed.

Plus those original battery hold downs are expensive collectors items.o_O
 

Camar068

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I've got a battery distributor here locally. When I was recycling some batteries, I asked about cables. They make them onsite. When I did the LS swap, I measured everything and they made it. I ran the normal type off the top post of the battery for the truck. For the LS, I ran them to positive and negative monster posts on the firewall from the side posts on the same battery. Then everything LS related runs to those posts.

I got all four cables made for the same price as you can get 2 standard replacement cables from typical parts stores.

Do most truck stops make their own cables? Might be another option.
 

SirRobyn0

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Haha thanks. That's doubled over for safety.;)

Not a fan of household stuff (like ******* :mad:wood screws) on vehicles but I only had broken garbage to begin with. So with the leftovers of the old tie down, a couple random nuts on one side and a wing nut on the other it's tight and easy to remove if needed.

Plus those original battery hold downs are expensive collectors items.o_O
"Not a fan of household stuff (like ******* :mad:wood screws) on vehicles" Ya I agree. Like wire nuts. Talk about inviting corrosion in. I also would not use plumbers tape for exhaust hanger, but I have seen it. I do think for something like a battery hold down where the aftermarket ones are pretty much crap any more these days anyway that's fine. Quick, easy, functional.
 

HotRodPC

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"Not a fan of household stuff (like ******* :mad:wood screws) on vehicles" Ya I agree. Like wire nuts. Talk about inviting corrosion in. I also would not use plumbers tape for exhaust hanger, but I have seen it. I do think for something like a battery hold down where the aftermarket ones are pretty much crap any more these days anyway that's fine. Quick, easy, functional.
Amen !!!
 

Ricko1966

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"Not a fan of household stuff (like ******* :mad:wood screws) on vehicles" Ya I agree. Like wire nuts. Talk about inviting corrosion in. I also would not use plumbers tape for exhaust hanger, but I have seen it. I do think for something like a battery hold down where the aftermarket ones are pretty much crap any more these days anyway that's fine. Quick, easy, functional.
So what you're saying is that a wire nut is not as good as a weatherpack connector? That's like saying it's not safe to stack 3 chairs because you don't have a step ladder.
 

bucket

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"Not a fan of household stuff (like ******* :mad:wood screws) on vehicles" Ya I agree. Like wire nuts. Talk about inviting corrosion in. I also would not use plumbers tape for exhaust hanger, but I have seen it. I do think for something like a battery hold down where the aftermarket ones are pretty much crap any more these days anyway that's fine. Quick, easy, functional.

Lol, you just reminded me that I once used plumbers tape and self-tappers to hold my mufflers together. I got another 6 months or so out of those puppies!
 

SirRobyn0

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So what you're saying is that a wire nut is not as good as a weatherpack connector? That's like saying it's not safe to stack 3 chairs because you don't have a step ladder.
I must admit to using some shady **** as height increasers in my younger days.
Lol, you just reminded me that I once used plumbers tape and self-tappers to hold my mufflers together. I got another 6 months or so out of those puppies!
If I'm honest I have to admit to having used wood blocks and bailing wire to keep the tailpipe from banging around on an old Dodge Van I use to have.
 

SirRobyn0

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Hey guys, ingenuity and usin what we had got us thru a lot, especially when we were broke!!!.........back in the day

That is so true. And I wanted to say this earlier but couldn't figure out how to phase it, but on the farm sometimes you gotta make do with what ever is on hand to repair something. Just driving into town and back for parts will set you back 1/2 a day and that's assuming the parts store has what is needed in stock. Generally speaking I'll fix equipment and sometimes the truck with whatever I can to get by, but I'll order parts right away and fix it right in short order. This time of year having one of the trucks or tractors out of service is a serious problem. Look at this past weekend, I had the square in the field bringing in hay, and the Dodge in town filling the water tank. If I couldn't have gotten the Dodge running what would I have done. I guess I would have had to forgo the hay for the water. I had to let my helper drive my square to.... Arrr I hate letting other people drive my square. I usually have him drive the Dodge, but did not trust his ability to jump across the starter solenoid to start it. Now this is what SUCKs to me about having a day job. I will be at the shop Monday through Thursday this week and since the stock tanks will be filled directly from the tank on the Dodge I won't be driving it in so the soonest I could possible fix that will be this Friday.
 

Havasu

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Great post, I really want to switch my side posts to a top post also. I hate reinventing the wheel, so could any of you fine folks please share what length your custom top-post cables were? If it makes any difference, my '83 Suburban has a 455 V-8. Thanks in advance!
 

Raider L

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I found out that my original battery is supposed to be "side terminals"! In a '74?? I found it on that plate thing that lists all the stuff on the truck. I would have assumed a '74 would have been old enough to still have top terminals on the battery, but no there it was. No matter I use a top post and probably always will.
Also, I have several things that need wires attached to the ground post coming from various things, like my MSD Remote Timing Control, tach, and the ground wire for the head lights, and the extra ground for the chassis are all attached to the negative post of the battery by way of ring terminal ends on each wire.

What I've done was drill a hole in the top of the post and run a self tapping screw into the hole. Then if it's not a closed ring wire end it's a split terminal wire end so all I have to do is unscrew the screw a little bit and slip the terminal end onto the screw and then tighten the screw down against all the ring and split terminals. Then I remove the screw and move all the small wires aside and loosen the battery terminal and wiggle it off the post if I'm taking the battery out or working on the truck and need the cables off of it.
 

AuroraGirl

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I found out that my original battery is supposed to be "side terminals"! In a '74?? I found it on that plate thing that lists all the stuff on the truck. I would have assumed a '74 would have been old enough to still have top terminals on the battery, but no there it was. No matter I use a top post and probably always will.
Also, I have several things that need wires attached to the ground post coming from various things, like my MSD Remote Timing Control, tach, and the ground wire for the head lights, and the extra ground for the chassis are all attached to the negative post of the battery by way of ring terminal ends on each wire.

What I've done was drill a hole in the top of the post and run a self tapping screw into the hole. Then if it's not a closed ring wire end it's a split terminal wire end so all I have to do is unscrew the screw a little bit and slip the terminal end onto the screw and then tighten the screw down against all the ring and split terminals. Then I remove the screw and move all the small wires aside and loosen the battery terminal and wiggle it off the post if I'm taking the battery out or working on the truck and need the cables off of it.

I would suggest making a bus bar for your ground needs that has one connection to the battery snd then various points you can hook a ring terminal or whatever you have without having to funk with the post

you could use a trailer wiring box

or you could use any number of aftermarket or Oe stuff.

Also, gm invented the side post in the early 70s and really ******* stuck to those guns all the way to now like they are afraid to admit it wasn’t inherently better or something


The idea is the sheathing on the posts is fully encapsulated and the only part exposed to air is the screw. Well, we all know exactly how well that system worked out and exactly how little extra cable length gm gave and how little we like the design because in my experience it’s still corrodes just like a top post BUT YOU CANT SEE IT abd it’s also harder to clean unless you remove all the rubber from the equation then it wouldn’t work right. Sometimes the double stack on the positives just never want to cooperate.

oh and it’s so ******* easy to strip lead threads with a lead screw and sometimes it’s because the screw has so little engagement from factory once it’s in the cable opening that it’s essentially going to pull the threads OUT and functionally give you a harder to reach starting point as far as thread engagement.
Quick fix for factory cables? Cut the rubber and the bs off the end, grind down the high spots(or flatten on a small anvil or something), and you have essentially a large ring terminal you can screw down on a marine terminal for your favorite top post battery to go in.
**** the side posts

I literally did the first mod to my park avenue when I bought it even before balancing the tires(they were shaky), was convert the car to top post and then install a top post battery. I did that while it was in the stall waiting to get tires balanced. I technically broke a rule because “we couldn’t work on our own cars” presumably so we couldn’t **** it up and then have the company dish out or something but I didn’t care I was leaving days later lol

tht car had a easy to convert system tho, the battery cables were two piece design that had a insulated box on top the battery where it was lug to lug with a short 10 inch long cable with the side post. Since it was on top of battery I just put marine terminals 2 inches forward where it was connect from factory and threw away the side post lol
 

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