How to remove the stubborn battery grounding bolt under the A/C compressor (2 Viewers)

[TLC4K2]

Fresh off the problem of removing/replacing my tranny and T/C fill bolts, now my latest headache is trying to remove my neg battery grounding bolt. I'm not talking about the smaller bolt very conveniently located on the passenger side wall. I'm referring to the longer battery cable that snakes down underneath the A/C compressor and is mounted to one of those bracket bolts. I'm having ongoing electrical issues and that grounding location is the last thing to check; I've already replaced everything else. But I can't get that <insert expletive here> bolt to come loose. I can get a 17mm wrench on it, but can't get the leverage to turn it. I don't have the vertical clearance to get a socket head+ratchet on there. Husband suggested something called a crow's foot, but they all seem to come with a 90deg attachment angle, and I don't have clearance for that arrangement either. Anyone have any tricks they can recommend? I'm already planning to relocate that cable to a different grounding location. Given that, I'm seriously thinking to just cut the old battery cable as close to the A/C compressor as possible, and buy in a nice new heavier gauge cable, to be grounded elsewhere. I don't like that "cut it and leave it" solution for a variety of reasons but I'm running out of ideas. Suggestions?

 

[toy_tek]

Tha cable is actually bolted to the engine mount. Even if you could break the nut loose, it’s likely you wouldn’t have clearance to remove it.

Your options as I see it are
1 remove the PS pump and compressor
2 cut and reroute the ground to another spot on the block
3 leave it and add an additional ground to the block.

 

[MWM1]

I went through the recently on my 1988 FJ62. Check out posts below:

FJ62 Pesky negative battery cable at passenger motor mount

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope you have a wonderful time with your family. I am attempting to install Mark’s beefy battery cables on my 1988 FJ62. I am in conundrum on removing the negative battery cable as it attaches to the passenger side motor mount. The AC compressor is in the way. Is...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Skniper]

@TLC4K2 post #10 in the above linked thread. Do that.

 

[TLC4K2]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I'm 90% of the way to just cutting that old negative cable and bringing in a new cable to a new ground location, but I wanted to eliminate some other possibilities first. So we spent some quality time yesterday and today testing various things, and found a few potential culprits. That negative cable is still Suspect #1. When I tested continuity between the negative ground and the other end of that grounding cable, I got really intermittent continuity readings on the multimeter. The cable is good and tight at both ends, but since I can't see the end under the A/C compressor, and I can't remove that bolt, I have no idea how corroded and/or gunked up it might be. But the wild swings I was getting on the continuity testing tells me that my ground is currently pretty poor.

We also brought around my husband's 3/4 ton GMC pickup and jumped the FJ60, to see if it was the starter having issues. As soon as we hooked everything up, it started right up and ran smoothly. We tried again right after disconnecting everything, and I literally watched that voltmeter just drop down into the red as the starter clicked a few times then gave up. I took that to mean that the starter is fine. It's either the battery, the negative ground, or possibly both.

Now a question: would there be any harm in testing the ground by hooking up another ground cable (say, the Neg side of a jumper cable) that ends somewhere on the frame or engine block? I seem to recall seeing that someone else had left their existing ground in place, but added a second cable. I was going to test that idea by attaching the Neg jumper cable to that sidewall ground, then the other end of the jumper cable to a nice beefy point on the frame. Would there be any danger in that, and would that give me a good "proof of concept" way to provide a better ground, without spending money (yet)?? Thanks all!

 

[3_puppies]

no issues using jumper cables to test the grounding theory
that was going to be my suggestion

 

[Beams37]

I left that ground in place but added a new HD ground to a new location.

 

[TLC4K2]

Finally resolved this, at least in terms of the weak starting. It was the battery! Just shy of 3 years old, and it was showing a full charge, but it just didn't have the cranking amps anymore. We took it back to the Napa where we bought it, and they still had the purchase record. Swapped us a brand new battery, and a receipt showing $0.00 due. That was a nice exchange. I had assumed the battery was OK and was checking everything else; turns out the battery itself went bad before its time.

That being said, I'm still planning to upgrade the rest of the cables for the starter, beginning with the ground. I found a better grounding point for it, and I'll be replacing that cable sometime soon. For the time being, nice to climb into the truck, turn the key, and have everything fire right up.