Battery cable locations

[DON MEDON]

I have just discovered that my TD’s battery cables may have been reversed. The red cable is screwed into the floorpan, and there is a wire labled #45, which I believe is a ground, attached to it. On the other side, the black cable travels into the car. If anyone has a photo of their trunk compartment with battery and cables attached, please post it so I can check this out..I have only had this car for 2 weeks, and the battery had been discharged after the first day, so I took it out. Any help or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks..Don

 

 

[Larry Murphy]

  Don, The actual color of the battery cables does not matter. Some one may have used a red cable instead of a black one. Look at the battery and attach the cables with the -terminal connected to the ground and the + terminal connected  to the starter.I think this is the one you refer to as going into the car. The terminals on the battery are always identified with a + and a -. The + is slightly larger than the – .Many replacement battery cables are universal and will fit either battery terminal. Make sure that no wire connected to the + battery terminal is connected to the car body . With all switches and lights etc turned off there should not be any sparks when you connect the battery cables.

[DON MEDON]

Thanks Larry

From your answer, I guess I was correct in assuming that the color of the cables are miss-matched by the PO

Can I also assume that the Positive cable should not have any ground connection, ie. screwed into the frame?

Also, considering that my battery is in the front of the car, where does the positive cable terminate to, and where does the negative cable terminate to.?

In a rear mounted battery, the positive cable goes to the starter and the neg cable goes to ground on the engine block. I have the pdf’s from this site, but I cant find the location of the battery cables.

Any more help would be appreciated.

Don

 

[Paul Mossberg]

Don,

The wiring from the battery is the same, regardless of where the battery is located.

The cable from the negative battery terminal is usually grounded to the chassis, not to the engine block.

 

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[Larry Murphy]

 Don, You are correct, no connection from the positive cable to ground.Regardless of the location of the battery the positive cable runs to the starter,it’s just longer and it should be well insulated and secured to protect from damage.

 The ground cable from the battery should have a tight bare metal connection to the pan and there should also be a strap or cable connecting the engine or the transaxle to the pan.

 I have actually never seen the routing of the cables in a front battery car but I know that the positive cable MUST be protected from shorting out on any metal that it passes through.

    Larry

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