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Battery and Battery Cable Replacement.
I'm posting this here so that anyone else who might be searching for answers with google can find it. When I searched, I found nothing, so this might save someone some time. Good luck! ---- On Saturday evening, my car wouldn't start. I just heard a clicking sound. I figured it was the battery, so Sunday morning I went and picked one up. It was a fitting size 5 from Costco... I paid around $40 for it. When I got home, I started to remove the old battery. The black connector came off fine, but the red connector was totally corroded. Try as I might, I couldn't get the bolt off... I even hammered in a small sized socket, and stripped the bolt with that too. It was totally stuck. The red wire connects to the car in two places... one wire goes to the fuse box, and the other goes to the starter. I removed the wire from the fuse box, and snipped the end going to the starter so I could remove the battery. I recycled the battery, then went to Napa Auto Parts to try to get another red connection wire. At Napa, they told me the part was too new, and I would have to go to the dealership. The dealership was closed on Sundays, so I was SOL. The red connection wire is custom to Saturns... standard GM cables (6 gauge etc) won't fit. Monday morning I went to the dealership and got the connector. It was $51. Connecting the wire to the fusebox was easy, but connecting the to the starter was a bit more difficult. I lifted the car using a sears 3 ton floor jack underneath the drivers side door. After putting the holding jack underneath, I was able to crawl under. The starter is found in the middle of the car, even with the door hinge/wheel. The wire connected with just one bolt... I was able to easily access the bolt, replace the wire, and remove the old one. It was a little cramped, but not too bad... it should be fairly easy to do after lifting just one side. Anyhow, I realize this is a somewhat rambling narrative, but here's what I learned: 1) The Saturn 2000 SL1 red battery connector is custom. You can't use the standard GM connectors. 2) The red battery terminal connects in two places. If you decide to replace it, be prepared to lift the car. 3) You need two types of wrenches/sockets. I used SAE and Metric... I needed the 10mm and the 8mm, but most of the bolts were SAE (5/16 etc.) I'm no expert, so feel free to reply with anything that I might have misstated. As I was just under the car 2 hours ago, I'm pretty sure about the details, but I may have forgotten or misstated something. Like I said, I'm no expert, and this was my first time changing out the battery and battery cables. Cheers, Chris Gutierrez email: gcgutier (at) hotmail (dot) com http://www.chrisgutierrez.org |
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"Chris Gutierrez" > wrote in message
om... > Battery and Battery Cable Replacement. > <snip> > I ... went to Napa Auto > Parts to try to get another red connection wire. At Napa, they told > me the part was too new, and I would have to go to the dealership. The > dealership was closed on Sundays, so I was SOL. The red connection > wire is custom to Saturns... standard GM cables (6 gauge etc) won't > fit. <snip> Ah, so GM is still pulling that, are they? Many years ago, on a family vacation in the Orlando, Florida area, I rented a Geo from Alamo Rental. Someone broke one of the headlight housings while we were at one of the area attractions. "No problem," thinks I, "I've replaced them before, I'll just pop in to a K-Mart and pick up a headlight assembly and a cheap set of tools and replace it!" You've probably guessed by now that the Geo headlight assembly was a custom size. I returned the unit to the K-mart and went in search of a Geo dealer. The part was so new that even the dealer didn't have one! OT post-script: Alamo sent me a bill for some ungodly amount for labor plus material to replace the headlight. I sent them two checks -- one for the amount K-Mart charged for the normal-sized assembly and one for the balance -- and a note telling them that if they ever wanted my business again they would destroy the second check. They cashed both. I've never been back to Alamo. Fortunately, we've always had good experiences with Enterprise! ![]() |
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In article >,
"Steve" m> wrote: > Ah, so GM is still pulling that, are they? Oh yeah. I *DREAD* the phrase 'Saturn only part, only the dealer has it, sir'. it's basically a polite way of telling you to bend over and smile. Pigtail for the IAT sensor - $26. Lifters at $35 a pop. $150+ for the stupid chain and guide assembly (ironically, $80 for it if you buy the parts one by one) Geos are rebadged Suzuki. Some Pontiacs were rebadged Daewoo. The Chevy Aveo is a Suzuki, I'm not sure what the Cobalt is, but I'm guessing it's nonstandard GM too. I'm guessing it'll suck, too. Why can't GM make a decent sedan? Then again, I was in a Blazer the other day. Nice hump on the passenger side for the catalytic. They couldn't move it back 1 foot and put the bump under the seat? And people BUY these things? |
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