Broke spade connector on end of ground wire... - Toyota Yaris Forums

IsLNdbOi · 02-04-2010, 11:56 PM

So I was trying to remove the ground wire from the battery today to install a new head unit.

The nut was very, very tight and in the process of trying to remove it, the spade connector of the ground wire broke off w/ the nut and bolt still attached to it.

Am I SOL or is this something a car repair place can fix easily?

1NZYaris1 · 02-05-2010, 04:47 AM

buy an aftermarket earthing kit .

IsLNdbOi · 02-05-2010, 05:31 AM

It's hard to describe the wire I'm talking about. The ground wire I'm talking about is the stock one that's connected to the negative terminal of the battery. It's pretty short and it looks like part of it is coming from somewhere behind the battery and there's a thinner wire that branches out and goes the opposite way of the main wire. The spade connector on the end of the main wire that attaches to the negative terminal of the battery is what broke off. That thinner wire that branches out is connected to a flat piece of metal attached to the spade connector. There's a nut and bolt that keeps this thinner wire attached to that flat piece of metal and if I could get that nut and bolt off, I could just attach that to the negative terminal as well and be done with it.

It's kind of impossible to get that nut and bolt off now though since that part broke off the flat metal piece and I can't hold it in place to screw the nut off (it's very, very tight).

All of what I described is difficult to understand w/o pics., but it's too dark out now to take some.

IsLNdbOi · 02-05-2010, 05:51 AM

Here's a picture:

The red line is where it broke off, so the part that clamps on to the terminal is gone. The part circled in yellow is the nut that I cannot get off. Since the original clamp is gone, I can't secure that end of the ground wire to anything to keep it still / in place to get that nut off.

I went to Autozone and got a new clamp. The clamp has a part that extends out that has a built in screw (circled in green).

If I can get that nut and bolt off (circled in yellow on the first picture), I can simply slide that end of the ground wire into the new clamp I got at Autozone.

WeeYari · 02-05-2010, 08:15 AM

I personally would have removed the ground cable from the battery terminal, and given that terminal a good cleaning while at it. Lots of corrosion there and it certainly needs a cleaning.

Can you pry open the crimping tabs on the nut piece still attached to the cable? Remove it, and crimp the new clamp assembly back in place.

IsLNdbOi · 02-05-2010, 02:17 PM

The picture above isn't of my car, I just found it in another thread and it showed what I was talking about so I "borrowed" it.

What are these crimping tabs you speak of? I don't see them, unless they were attached to the part that broke off.

All I have now at the end of that ground wire is the piece that nut and bolt are attached to. If I can remove that nut and bolt, I can insert the new clamp into that hole the nut and bolt were in.

yaris-me · 02-06-2010, 03:10 AM

Mix baking soda with water and soak it. It will neutralize the acid and remove the corrosion. This will make easier to remove the bolt.

IsLNdbOi · 02-06-2010, 03:26 AM

I finally got it out. I went to some Toyota dealerships first, but all of them wanted to charge $55 and up just to remove the bolt and repair the end of the ground cable.

So I took my car to a local body shop and they were able to remove the bolt easily. All I had to pay was $10 for the mechanic's lunch.

02-04-2010, 11:56 PM	#1
IsLNdbOi Drives: Polar White - 5 Door '09 LB Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 1,285	Broke spade connector on end of ground wire... So I was trying to remove the ground wire from the battery today to install a new head unit. The nut was very, very tight and in the process of trying to remove it, the spade connector of the ground wire broke off w/ the nut and bolt still attached to it. Am I SOL or is this something a car repair place can fix easily?

02-05-2010, 04:47 AM	#2
1NZYaris1 View User's Garage Drives: Yaris Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 2,566	buy an aftermarket earthing kit . __________________ http://www.microimageonline.com/forums/index.php

02-05-2010, 08:15 AM	#5
WeeYari View User's Garage Drives: 06 Polar White 5dr, 13 Soul 4u Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Georgetown, Ontario, Canada Posts: 5,740	I personally would have removed the ground cable from the battery terminal, and given that terminal a good cleaning while at it. Lots of corrosion there and it certainly needs a cleaning. Can you pry open the crimping tabs on the nut piece still attached to the cable? Remove it, and crimp the new clamp assembly back in place. __________________

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02-05-2010, 05:31 AM	#3
IsLNdbOi Drives: Polar White - 5 Door '09 LB Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 1,285	It's hard to describe the wire I'm talking about. The ground wire I'm talking about is the stock one that's connected to the negative terminal of the battery. It's pretty short and it looks like part of it is coming from somewhere behind the battery and there's a thinner wire that branches out and goes the opposite way of the main wire. The spade connector on the end of the main wire that attaches to the negative terminal of the battery is what broke off. That thinner wire that branches out is connected to a flat piece of metal attached to the spade connector. There's a nut and bolt that keeps this thinner wire attached to that flat piece of metal and if I could get that nut and bolt off, I could just attach that to the negative terminal as well and be done with it. It's kind of impossible to get that nut and bolt off now though since that part broke off the flat metal piece and I can't hold it in place to screw the nut off (it's very, very tight). All of what I described is difficult to understand w/o pics., but it's too dark out now to take some.

02-05-2010, 05:51 AM	#4
IsLNdbOi Drives: Polar White - 5 Door '09 LB Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 1,285	Here's a picture: The red line is where it broke off, so the part that clamps on to the terminal is gone. The part circled in yellow is the nut that I cannot get off. Since the original clamp is gone, I can't secure that end of the ground wire to anything to keep it still / in place to get that nut off. I went to Autozone and got a new clamp. The clamp has a part that extends out that has a built in screw (circled in green). If I can get that nut and bolt off (circled in yellow on the first picture), I can simply slide that end of the ground wire into the new clamp I got at Autozone.

02-05-2010, 02:17 PM	#6
IsLNdbOi Drives: Polar White - 5 Door '09 LB Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 1,285	The picture above isn't of my car, I just found it in another thread and it showed what I was talking about so I "borrowed" it. What are these crimping tabs you speak of? I don't see them, unless they were attached to the part that broke off. All I have now at the end of that ground wire is the piece that nut and bolt are attached to. If I can remove that nut and bolt, I can insert the new clamp into that hole the nut and bolt were in.

02-06-2010, 03:10 AM	#7
yaris-me Learn to Relax Drives: 2007, Meteorite, LB Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 2,070	Mix baking soda with water and soak it. It will neutralize the acid and remove the corrosion. This will make easier to remove the bolt.

02-06-2010, 03:26 AM	#8
IsLNdbOi Drives: Polar White - 5 Door '09 LB Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 1,285	I finally got it out. I went to some Toyota dealerships first, but all of them wanted to charge $55 and up just to remove the bolt and repair the end of the ground cable. So I took my car to a local body shop and they were able to remove the bolt easily. All I had to pay was $10 for the mechanic's lunch.