Mopar Battery Cables
The insider’s guide to Chrysler high-amp connections

story and photography by Tom Shaw

Battery cables don’t last as long as the rest of the car. They corrode, they split, they break, and then they get tossed.

Now that restorers are interested in getting their cars to look factory fresh, the battery turns out to be an item in need of restoration guidance. With the car’s original parts lost to the ages, how do you know what it’s supposed to look like?

Well, we turned to Mopar “anthropologist” Frank Badalson. Frank knows ‘em frontwards and backwards and has taken Mopar research to new heights. Frank consistently gets it right down to the tiny details, and along with business partner Roger Gibson, offers parts for sale. Some are meticulously crafted reproductions. Others are original sourced parts off the original tooling.

Frank took us on a spin through the rights and wrongs of Mopar battery cables. If you’ve ever wondered how to get your Mopar battery cables tails just right, you’re in the right place.

1. These are the three different cables that were used in production Hemi cars, 1966-’71. Negative battery cables for street Hemis are frequently misunderstood. Up top is the small, secondary ground cable — this one’s an original — that attached to the firewall on one end and the rear of the passenger’s side intake on the other. Frank stresses that there is a big problem with these cables being incorrectly installed on 1970-’71 Hemi cars. This cable is not correct on them. It was used only on 1966-’69 Hemi cars. By the way, on cars with electrical systems acting strangely, weak connections on this cable are often the culprit.

2. Getting up close and personal with the three different negative Hemi battery cables shows the 1970-’71 terminal (right). This is the only cable that incorporates the secondary ground strap. The 1966-‘681/2 terminal (middle) uses a large side-cable terminal. The terminal used on 19681/2-’69 cables (left) is smaller overall. Note that the 1966-’69 cables have no integrated secondary ground cable.

3. This is where the negative cable connects to a Hemi engine. It simply bolts to the front of the driver’s side head. 1966-’69 Hemi cables can also be mounted in other locations, like the water pump housing. The cable is attached to the engine before it gets painted, and hangs while the paint is applied. After painting, the engine side of the cable will be Hemi engine orange. Overspray patterns will vary, but the orange paint can transition back to unpainted black insulation partway down the cable, or the whole cable can be painted orange. After examining many original cars, the paint pattern appears to be completely random. This applies to all years of Hemis and big-blocks.

4. This is the negative cable’s engine connection on an untouched 1969 440 4V. The cable goes between the throttle return spring bracket and the intake manifold. Like the Hemi cable, it gets painted along with the engine.

5. While we’re on the subject, this is the correct bolt for 1970-’71 negative cables that use the small, secondary ground wire. This bolt fastens the secondary ground to the radiator core support. This is another original source, non-repro bolt. It is a 1/4-20 thread, with 3/4-inch long shaft, and 7/16 hex flange head. It features a paint-cutter pilot tip that cleans any paint off the threads as its tightened to ensure an effective electrical connection.

6.This is where the secondary ground lead connects on 1970-’71 cars. On pre-1970 cars, a separate ground lead was installed at the back of the engine block on 383/440, and on intake manifold on a Hemi.

Source:

Frank Badalson
Auto Restoration Parts Supply, L.L.C. - www.rogergibsonautorestoration.com - (804) 275-2155