PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

1995 Bonneville SE - Automatic - 80k+ miles

I'm looking to buy a brand new OEM battery cable. The whole cable that goes from the battery to the alternator and starter. Its only about 6ft max but when I search online I'm getting results for 16ft cables for $200 for this car.

Here is my problem: The car has died 3 times on me in the past 2 weeks. All 3 times in the same exact spot and time. The car is started up for the first time in the morning and once I get out of the driveway it dies 3 houses down the block, same house everytime. This past weekend I thought it was the corroded bolts connecting the cable to the battery so I replaced them with brand new ones from the auto part store with some dielectric grease. I also took a wire brush and sand paper to the positive connectors and removed a bunch of the corrosion. They are actually copper again and not green. I thought that was the solution but the car just died again.

The starter is fairly new and replaced not even 2 years ago. The alternator doesnt look bad. I believe the battery is fairly new.
The next easy/cheap item to replace is the battery cable but no local store has an oem style cable. Does anyone have a link? I guess I'll have to order online.

If the new cable doesnt fix the issue the next step will be to have the battery tested. If all checks out OK whats next to check? Could it be the CAM, MAF or some other sensor?

Thanks guys!!

malves85 wrote:1995 Bonneville SE - Automatic - 80k+ miles

I'm looking to buy a brand new OEM battery cable. The whole cable that goes from the battery to the alternator and starter. Its only about 6ft max but when I search online I'm getting results for 16ft cables for $200 for this car.

Here is my problem: The car has died 3 times on me in the past 2 weeks. All 3 times in the same exact spot and time. The car is started up for the first time in the morning and once I get out of the driveway it dies 3 houses down the block, same house everytime. This past weekend I thought it was the corroded bolts connecting the cable to the battery so I replaced them with brand new ones from the auto part store with some dielectric grease. I also took a wire brush and sand paper to the positive connectors and removed a bunch of the corrosion. They are actually copper again and not green. I thought that was the solution but the car just died again.

The starter is fairly new and replaced not even 2 years ago. The alternator doesnt look bad. I believe the battery is fairly new.
The next easy/cheap item to replace is the battery cable but no local store has an oem style cable. Does anyone have a link? I guess I'll have to order online.

If the new cable doesnt fix the issue the next step will be to have the battery tested. If all checks out OK whats next to check? Could it be the CAM, MAF or some other sensor?

Thanks guys!!

Check this site out for your cable replacement. http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php
Battery maybe new but if it's leaking (Corrison and corroded battery terminals) then I would consider a possible replacement.
I would have the alternator tested just to make sure that this is not the problem as well, your local parts store can do this for you.
MAF, I kinda doubt it, sounds more like an electrical/charge problem.

I've suffered thru the random stalling as well. I am still using the OEM cables at this point, but I added a washer between the 2 cables, which allows the bolt to hold better. Haven't had a stalling issue since I added the washer. I too, had a difficult time finding someplace that sells the exact battery cable required for my car, even at rock auto. Maybe there's not a true OE cable out there anymore? I will do something different, rather than retain the 2 cable ends stacked on one side terminal, if I end up needing new cables at some point, I do not like the way these work, and the trouble that they have given me over the years.