Negative battery cables

FRUSTRATEDP

MEMBER
2002 MAZDA TRIBUTE
3.0L
6 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
250,000 MILES

I'm trying to figure out what this negative battery cable connects to. I think it was disconnected either when I had the alternator or starter replaced but that happened 4 and 2 weeks ago, respectively.

I kept getting a battery signal so I decided to get a new battery, thinking that the bad alternator damaged my old one. And no one noticed the cable out of place until I installed the new battery (I had repairs done and got multiple testing from AutoZone prior because of the continuous battery signal).

Considering that a chunk of time has passed, I'm trying to avoid arguing with the shop over the cable but I am having trouble finding the answer to my question. If it's a pretty simple fix, I don't mind doing it myself and avoiding another trip to the shop.

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1 Reply

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,494 POSTS

That isn't a stock cable, that also isn't a factory battery connector. From the look it seems the connector was replaced and the cable was added because there is a bad ground connection somewhere else and that bypassed that. If the system is charging and you have no issues with starting or any other electrical issues I'd just remove it. The cable in the battery connection should go to the rear of the engine and grounds it, then there is a ground lead from the engine to the body. It's possible that ground was a problem and this one was added as an attempted repair. I guess you could connect it to a good body ground like a clean area on the strut tower or something but it shouldn't be needed.