Best underhood connection point for battery ground cable?

BOBMCT

MEMBER
2007 HYUNDAI SANTA FE
3.3L
6 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
125,000 MILES

After experiencing battery and charge issues I checked my negative ground connection, and it was corroded. I cleaned it all and attempted to remount the clean cable to the original point which is under the TIPM. Unfortunately, the threads were only 1 level thick and when torqued the hole stripped. So, I need to mount the ground to an alternate place. What would be the best connection to use near the engine? I've read that mounting it to an actual engine mounting bolt would be best. If so, what device should I consider? The metal intake manifold? The metal thermostat housing? Any suggestions/advice greatly appreciated.

Sunday, January 19th, 2025 AT 8:14 AM

5 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
50,162 POSTS

So, there must be two ground points off of the battery, one on the engine and the other to the chassis. The one to the chassis can be a smaller gauge wire while the one to the engine must be a large gauge. Looking at the image of the cable it looks like it might go over to the chassis and then loop to the engine block, I would make sure these cables are in good shape, I would find a good place such as a mounting bracket near the engine or transmission. If you upload images I can help you. Check out the images (below). Let us know how it goes.

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Sunday, January 19th, 2025 AT 10:53 AM

BOBMCT

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Sorry for the delay. The orig negative cable connected directly to the inner body panel under the TIPM/Fusebox. There were two bolts that were corroded. The cable is in great shape (I wire wheeled it) but the mounting hole stripped out meaning I need to find an alternative mount point. But there was only ONE cable/wire coming from the negative terminal.
I watched another video where the mechanic connected the replacement cable to the strut tower pictured in the attached photo. While he drilled and used a threadcert I do not have that. So, if I completely remove the paint from one of the strut mounting bolts on the same tower do you think that would suffice as a suitable ground?
Someone suggested use a transmission to engine bolt to hold it but those seem extremely difficult to get to.
Thoughts?

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Tuesday, January 21st, 2025 AT 12:31 PM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
50,162 POSTS

Yes, you can use the strut tower, but you need another cable going to the engine or transmission, any bolt about that size should be good, and the wire must be battery cable size. They make them on Amazon, here it is for $18.

https://amzn.to/3WvCn5r

Let me know if you need anything else.

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Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025 AT 8:43 AM

BOBMCT