I changed my Positive Battery Harness

[Rick Norwood]

I replaced the positive battery harness on my 2000 Jimmy SLE, which is probably the same as most S-10 Blazers. I will relay my experience as my Dealership quoted me a price of $200 (parts, labor and tax) to do this job. This may sound incredibly simple at first glance but the positive battery cable on this model is actually more of a harness. If were as simple as a single cable with a couple of pigtails coming of the positive battery terminal, I wouldn’t be writing this.

I had to buy the new harness from the Dealership for Approx. $78 USD as three different parts stores did not carry it. I would also recommend that you buy a couple of feet of the black plastic corrugated heat shield to replace the existing shield that is probably pretty toasted that protects the old cable. There are two different sizes, 1/2 inch and approx. 1 inch. get a couple of feet of both.I would highly recommend that you allow your truck to completely cool before attempting this, as the exhaust manifold and most everything else will be very difficult to work around if hot.

I started by disconnecting both side post leads of the battery, removing the battery hold down clamp with a ½ inch deep well socket. Take the battery completely out of the truck and set aside. Using a ½ inch regular socket, remove the two bolts that hold the battery tray to the front wall and remove the tray by picking it straight up and out of the truck. Take care when removing the bolts and tray that you don’t loose the little spring clip nuts that can fall down inside the support columns of the front wall. If this happens, I found that removing the front headlight by pulling the two plastic headlight retainers from the inside of the front wall, and dropping the head light out will usually provide access to these hidden areas and fortunately I was able to retrieve the nut. About 6-8 inches below the battery tray is a junction box where one of the battery cables is connected. Open the plastic door and follow the battery cable down into the box and disconnect the nut with a ½ inch socket. There are two wires in the box, so be sure to follow the lead down and remove the right one. Next follow the lead to the back of the alternator, and using a ½ inch socket remove the nut holding the wire and remove the cable. I had to put a slim ½ inch open end wrench behind the cable right up next to the alternator to hold the stud to prevent it from loosening while trying to remove the nut. The next thing is to remove the lead from the starter. This is a bit tricky as there is not a lot of room due to the motor mount being in the way. I found the best access was in through the right (passenger) tire well. Remove the tire if necessary. Using a ½ inch socket, loosen and remove the nut from the starter and remove the cable. Before you can remove the entire harness from the vehicle, there is a clamp underneath that also supports the Transmission oil cooler lines that has to be removed. I used a 10mm socket and found that the best approach was from the front of the truck but access to this clamp is available from either the front or the rear. The only thing left to remove was a few plastic wire ties and the entire harness can be removed from the truck. Once you have the harness out, lay it out on the ground and attach the plastic heat shield (either remove the old shield or use new if you bought it) to simulate the old configuration. Installation of the harness is the reverse of the removal. The only other tip I can give is that the starter lead on the new harness is a large straight eyelet that I had to bend in a 90° angle (The old one was also bent 90°). Be very careful when installing the starter lead to the starter that you don’t short the eyelet out on anything as you are working in very close quarters. Even though the battery is not connected yet, if you short out the lead during install, there will be sparks etc. when the battery is finally connected. The whole job took me about two hours and saved me over $120. USD.

[BlazerLT]

60 bucks an hour saved.

I'd say that was definitely worth it.

[RedLT]

I wish I could have changed my starter in only 2 hours. I swear some cars and trucks need to come with a warning like "Warning: You may get really pissed and nearly beat holes in your truck if you try to change the ****** yourself"

[DINO55]

My vote is a sticky, Ricky....Nice write up