Dibbons

Autozone list 17 cables that "fit". I need help finding a direct fit positive battery cable replacement for my wife's 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4X4 4.0L. Mopar parts always lists this older stuff as "discontinued". Thank you.

97grand4.0

If you go home depot and get some #2 copper THWN wire and a couple lugs you can make your own which will probably work as good or better and you save a few bux too. Probably #4 would also work fine. Won't be pretty as the nice red ones, but, ..

Dibbons

Thanks, but the cables that are factory sealed on the ends are what I am looking for. The replacement battery terminal on the positive post (someone put on for my spouse recently) had so much blue-green acid fluff on it yesterday I almost though I had seen a monster. I may be wrong, but I believe anything other than factory sealed cables leave too many cracks and crevices for acid to collect and turn into a mushroom cloud.

97grand4.0

Nah, you are wrong. Lol. People have made their own since the beginning of time. Now, you do have to make the connections tight, and the $1 cheapo ends aren't going to hold up. Also some NoOx compound helps but the main thing is getting them tight. Tight is the rule with electrical connections, speaking as an electrician of some 40 years. But the auto stores do sell the brass ones, what I use. If you can you should solder the starter lug on. that will never corrode.

MaskedMallard

Did you ask someone at the Jeep dealer if it was discontinued or are you assuming it's discontinued?

This company, along with several others offer a different solution.
https://www.ksuspensionfab.com/store...Upgrade.html#/

Dibbons

Discontinued per website Mopar Parts Giant 56009783AE.

MaskedMallard

If you call the Jeep dealership, you might get lucky by having your Jeep dealer put it on the parts locator. A dealership out there might have a NOS (New, Old Stock).

country2

https://somarmotor.com/battery-cable...rokee-xj-4.0l/ allows me to add it to cart som maybe they have them in stock. Also that part number sems to be for the entire wiring setup. Now I don't know anything about this site and never heard of it so....

XJpax

go to Jeepcables.com and buy a whole kit and you'll never regret it!

Dibbons

Jeepcables.com shows 7 cables all together, is that correct for my applicaton?

XJpax

Ya, it will be the positives you need and all the grounds, and they are SUPERIORLY burley

*I have no connection to Jeepcables except my own positive experience

BlueRidgeMark

There is absolutely ZERO legitimate reason to go #2. The factory is 6 gauge, and it's adequate. 4 gauge is a nice upgrade. I did that on my 97, and plan to do the same on my 98. Anything bigger is just a silly waste of copper. The only thing it gets you is bragging rights that yours is bigger.

If you are running winches, etc, run what you need to the winch. Running bigger to the starter or block does absolutely NOTHING for a winch. The power to the winch doesn't ride on that cable. That's one of the most stupid "upgrades" in the whole battery cable mess. "Yeah, I need a bigger cable to my starter 'cause I got a gnarly big winch!" It's brain dead. If you've upgraded your alternator you might need to go up one size on that. But again, the starter lead and block ground have nothing to do with that.


Dibbons, you have to understand that in many car enthusiast circles there is a lot of senseless one-upmanship. Since few people really know anything about electricity, battery cables are a great place for this "mine is bigger than yours!" nonsense to show up. Hey, if bigger is better, than biggest must be best, right? Nope.

4 gauge is a very nice upgrade, and upgrading your cables is really not a bad idea. But you don't need 7. Why is this company selling a 7 cable kit? It's that "few people really know anything about electricity" thing again.


Let's take a look at what you have:

1. The main cable to the starter motor. (Factory is 6 gauge)
2. The main ground to the engine block. (Factory is 6 gauge)
3. A smaller hot lead (B+) to the PDC (Power Distribution Center) (IIRC, this is 10 gauge.)
4. A smaller ground wire going to the fender (near the battery. Again, 10 gauge.)

That's it. 4. Not 7.

So where are they coming up with 7? They don't list a description of each cable, but I think I can guess. In addition to the ones above, they may be adding:

1. Head to firewall.
2. Dipstick to firewall.
3. Alternator to battery (this is how the battery gets charged by the alternator).

1. The ground from the back of your engine's head that goes to the firewall is a braided strap. People insist on replacing this with some big gnarly cable, and think somehow that's better. It's not better. In fact, it's not as good as a braided strap. That particular ground has a particular purpose (suppressing radio interference from the injectors pulsing) and that braided strap from the factory is much better than a cable. This is because RF (radio frequency) energy travels mostly on the surface of the conductor. It's called "skin effect". A big fat cable almost away has LESS "skin" than a braided strap. A bigger braided strap would be fine, but you do NOT need some big fat cable there.

2. On a 2001, I don't think you have a ground at the dipstick. I don't have one on my 97, and I haven't checked my 96. I don't really know what years have that. I know earlier ones do, and an upgrade there is really a good idea for those that have it.

3. Unless you are upgrading your alternator, there is zero reason to upgrade the cable from it to the battery.

That kit also includes a completely unnecessary MegaFuse.

Now, I don't know that company and have nothing to say about their quality or honesty, good or bad. I can say they really don't understand electricity, but it's clear they have completely bought into the battery cable one-upmanship nonsense that plagues the Jeep community. That doesn't make them dishonest, just confused. (Or maybe they are dishonest. I have no idea.)


So, what should YOU do? You have options!

1. You could keep trying to find the exact fit, and forego any upgrades. That would be fine if you can find the part.
2. You could buy their kit and just use what you need.
3. You can get a custom cable made to just replace the current starter cable in the same gauge, no upgrade.
4. You could get custom cables made in 4 gauge for the starter and block.
5. You could get custom cables made in 4 gauge for the starter and block, and 8 gauge for the PDC and fender ground.

From looking at their kit, I think the ONLY option above that is completely plug-n-play for you is Option 1. Find the stock part. I don't have much hope that you will find it, though.

That leaves you with 4 options that require a bit of finagling on your part. The reason for this is that the stock part actually marries two cables into one, and you can't easily duplicate that (but more on that later). Crawl under your Jeep and take a look at the cable going to the starter. You'll see the big cable comes into a plastic fitting which has the connector sticking out of it. Easy enough. However, there's also another wire going into that same connector. It's one nice, neat, factory molded package. That's where the finagling comes in. You have to figure out a way to add that small wire into the equation. I just extended it a bit and added the proper size ring terminal, and attached it to the same post as the main cable. Easy for me because I have the knowledge and the tools. I can share the knowledge, but you'll have to buy the tools. This is going to be true of any option other than #1. You'll have to decide what kind of job you want to tackle.

If you decide on 3, 4, or 5, I can highly recommend BestBoatWire.com for your cables. I have upgraded a couple of vehicles with their cables, and have been very pleased with the quality and service. I like to get the clear heat-shrink on the ends, so I can keep an eye on what's going on in there. Good stuff.

Let us know what you want to do. I can walk you though the process if you like. If you go with #5, you really should upgrade the connection to the fender. It's not really very good, but an upgrade isn't difficult. Again, I can walk you thought it if you like.

Dibbons

current situation

Don't ever want to see this state of corrosion, and someone replaced the terminal (to the factory cable) not very long ago. Hence, since we decided to keep the car forever, wife and I would prefer factory style OEM cable replacement, whatever that is, at whatever price it is. Don't need to "upgrade" the caliber of the cables for any reason. Thank you!

BlueRidgeMark

Okay, then option 1 is your choice. Not the best choice, but not a bad choice. The sticker is, it may not be available. Just keep searching. Really, your best bet might be to find one in a junkyard. There are sites where you can put in what you are looking for and they will search nationwide for a part.

97grand4.0

Yeah, I'll buy the #4 copper is all that's necessary. According the the NEC table 310-17, a single THWN copper conductor operating at an ambient temperature of 86F, in "free air", is rated at 125A. So if it's hotter than that under your hood, you would de-rate from there, However a starter cable only operates momentarily. So you could up-rate on that factor as well. One key would be the insulation, THWN is actually not what you would want under the hood. You want the oil and heat resistant, which would be not sold at home depot. The nec lists nothing for automotive apps. But it does show type MTW listed for machine tool wiring that is oil resistant, and good to about 200F. I think most automotive battery starter cables are thicker than number 4, and they are rated by some regulation for the intended use. Not that electrically a 4 wont carry starter current, just that the wire needs to have suitable qualities to operate in the environment. But Ill stick with my thwn.