The battery on my 2007 Outlander just died. I think it is the OEM. I wanted to get a battery with a higher cold cranking amp. So I got a Diehard Gold with 690 CCA. I just found out that the + connector does not reach the terminal and about 1" too short even when pushed. The connector is like a right angle bent metal piece attached to the cable. Because of that right angle bend, I cannot push to reach the terminal which is more to the middle of the battery than the old one. I hope I am making sense.

Anybody had this problem and how did you solve it? I am hoping I won't have to return the battery.

Thank you.

 

how bout getting a longer cable...probably cheaper than a battery...

 

Thanks for getting back. It is not really an issue of the cable being too short. At least 2 fat cables (maybe even 3, I am at work and cannot remember), the terminal crimp/connector and a metal L bracket are screwed together making it quite inflexible near the connection. You've got to see it.

Anyways, I solved it for now. I added a short cable between the terminal crimp/connector and the existing cables and taping generously over the connection. Should last the life of the new battery. When this one dies, I'll pick the next one more carefully.

My problem did not end there last night. I failed to start with the new battery. The motor turned a bit less enthusiastically than normal and the battery sign was still on on the dash. I was a little surprised as it was a brand new battery from the store shelf. So we jumped with another car. The motor turned the same way. I mean not more rigorously. It did not start after a few tries. Then it started at about 3rd or 4th tries. I drove around a bit to charge it. After leaving overnight, it started OK this morning and I drove to work. I am now wondering if the new battery is not fully charged as should be or the starter is going too.

 

I'm always leery of testers that measure battery capacity. At work, I'm responsible for remote location battery backup units. Through the downturn, I've been refurbishing smaller units and redeploying them. I have a few sealed lead acid batteries that I use for testing. I can put it in one UPS and it'll think the batteries are at full charge, the next unit 1/3 charge with only a 5 minute difference...lead acid batteries do not discharge that quickly with no load.

On the other hand, I recently had to change out the starter in my Ranger...what a pain in the rear. However I've noticed that for the last month or so, it wouldn't turn over quite as fast. Fortunately, the starter on the 3.0 is right in front and should be an easy swap. Ranger's was not easy at all.

 

I have driven it for a few hours and started a number of times. So far so good. Also went to see my mechanic. He thinks the starter sounds fine and I probably got a poorly charged battery from the store. Hopefully the battery will last a while.