- Oct 30, 2004
- 11,442
- 32
- 91
Is there such a thing as having a bad battery cable bolt, perhaps one that has rusted?
So I installed the new battery and connected the cables to the terminals. I turned the key in the ignition--power comes on (good sign) but then I go to start it and heard a clicking sound and then nothing. I pulled out the key, reinserted it, turned the key, and nothing. I thought, OMG, I fried my car!
So I checked the ignition fuses--they were fine. The bolt for the negative terminal never seems to feel like it fully tightens up (you keep turning and then it loosens again), so I disconnected and reconnected the negative cable bolt twice and now the car starts up fine.
Do I have some sort of a problem with the bolt on my negative battery cable?
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...In the end, my wife convinced me to just bring the battery into the Costco even though we didn't have a membership. I had originally bought a Costco battery back in 2007, then exchanged it for a new one in early 2010 (thinking that my starting probs were caused by a bad battery and having no idea that it was a neutral safety switch issue.)
Costco gave me a full refund of the original 2007 battery purchase and I agreed to buy a membership. So I was basically able to get a new Kirkland 700 CCA battery and Costco membership for about $72. Not bad I guess; same battery as the one that died. However, we did end up spending $140 on food at Costco after that.
So I installed the new battery and connected the cables to the terminals. I turned the key in the ignition--power comes on (good sign) but then I go to start it and heard a clicking sound and then nothing. I pulled out the key, reinserted it, turned the key, and nothing. I thought, OMG, I fried my car!
So I checked the ignition fuses--they were fine. The bolt for the negative terminal never seems to feel like it fully tightens up (you keep turning and then it loosens again), so I disconnected and reconnected the negative cable bolt twice and now the car starts up fine.
Do I have some sort of a problem with the bolt on my negative battery cable?
-----------------------------------
...In the end, my wife convinced me to just bring the battery into the Costco even though we didn't have a membership. I had originally bought a Costco battery back in 2007, then exchanged it for a new one in early 2010 (thinking that my starting probs were caused by a bad battery and having no idea that it was a neutral safety switch issue.)
Costco gave me a full refund of the original 2007 battery purchase and I agreed to buy a membership. So I was basically able to get a new Kirkland 700 CCA battery and Costco membership for about $72. Not bad I guess; same battery as the one that died. However, we did end up spending $140 on food at Costco after that.
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