I am just Teaching myself how the Cables are connected to the Car Battery.

I do not Drive because I have very bad Eyes but I just wanted to know.

I do know at the End of the Cables there is the Metal Piece with a whole in the center.

The Battery Terminal will go right through the Metal Piece with a whole in the center.

On the one side of the Metal Piece with a whole in the center is the Bolt.

You use a Ratchet to titan the Bolt and make the Metal Piece with a whole in the center grab the Battery Terminal.

I watch a lot of videos on YouTube and think they are missing something.

Am I not right after they put the Bolt into the Metal Piece with a whole in the center at the other end they put a Nut?

In all the videos they just say use the Ratchet to unscrew the Bolt and do not say anything about the Nut.

 

There are many different kinds battery cables.

The bolt (not the nut) on "old-fashioned" battery cables is generally captured by the clamp body. This was commonly done by simply using a square-head bolt that sat on a recessed flat on the clamp and the side of the clamp itself next to one flat prevented it from turning.



Look at the back and you will see the bolt head and how it can't turn due to the adjacent flat on the clamp.

 

The normal design of battery terminal contact uses a square-headed bolt (red circle). The head engages a shoulder (green arrow) that is part of the clamp.

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There are many different kinds battery cables.

The bolt (not the nut) on "old-fashioned" battery cables is generally captured by the clamp body. This was commonly done by simply using a square-head bolt that sat on a recessed flat on the clamp and the side of the clamp itself next to one flat prevented it from turning.

View attachment 332748

Look at the back and you will see the bolt head and how it can't turn due to the adjacent flat on the clamp.

I step away for a minute before I hit post and this is what happens….

 

I step away for a minute before I hit post and this is what happens….

Been there, done that.

 

Here is a good video showing you somebody I think using a Ranch to undo the Cables from the Battery.

They just turn the Top end of the Bolt and I see no Nut on the Bottom of the Bolt.

Am I seeing this Right?

If so how can the Bolt be in without a Nut at the other end?

 

And why do we disconnect the negative first?

If you do the positive first, almost anything you smack the other end of the wrench with will be grounded to the negative- you will cause a dangerous direct short.

 

Here is a good video showing you somebody I think using a Ranch to undo the Cables from the Battery.

They just turn the Top end of the Bolt and I see no Nut on the Bottom of the Bolt.

Am I seeing this Right?

If so how can the Bolt be in without a Nut at the other end?

Two people have already explained to you why you don't need to use a wrench on the bolt. In the video, he is NOT turning the bolt, he is turning the nut. Do you understand the difference between a bolt and a nut? There might be a language issue at play.

The bolt on the negative terminal appears to be a carriage bolt.



The square part under the head is set in a washer with a square hole.



The washer on something like a battery clamp would be square, instead of round, and may have a tab on one side that is bent down over the side of the post preventing it from turning, or it may use the same principle as the square-head bolt and rely on the clamp body itself to keep it from turning.

In the video, you can clearly see the washer that the carriage bolt is set into. This appears to us the clamp body to prevent rotation.

 

Here is a good video showing you somebody I think using a Ranch to undo the Cables from the Battery.

They just turn the Top end of the Bolt and I see no Nut on the Bottom of the Bolt.

Am I seeing this Right?

If so how can the Bolt be in without a Nut at the other end?

The type of bolt in the thumbnail is like a carriage bolt. It has a round head but underneath that is a square portion of the bolt's shaft that mates with a square recess in the connector.

They get the name carriage bolt because they were invented to allow blind (that is, with access to only one side) tightening of bolts in carriage (like the horse-drawn type) frames. The square part is invisible but it works the same as the visible kind, holding the bolt from turning as the nut end is tightened (or loosened).

They are all useful for cases like hinges, hasps, and other hardware that requires one side to be secure from tampering.

 

In many of the videos I watch about 'resurecting' old cars they most often do not tighten that nut, they simply place the connector on the battery terminal and hammer it down, often with a wrench - everything is a hammer!

 

View attachment 332758

That looks an awful lot like a 0.75" positive-terminal clamp that someone has attempted to fit to the 0.7" negative terminal.

 

I see the Post above of the Photo of a Bolt and the Nut on the Ringht Hand Side.

I just thought I see in the video the Bottom of the Bolt sticking out and the Guy is turnning the Top of it.

This is why I was thinking why is he nut turning the Nut at the Bottom of the Bolt.

So it is all because of my Eyes.

So let me know what he is turnning is the Top of the Bolt am I Right?

 

He is turning the nut. On the + side, it looks like the head of a hex head bolt, but if you zoom in you can see that it is the nut with the bolt coming through it just so it is flush.

 

In many of the videos I watch about 'resurecting' old cars they most often do not tighten that nut, they simply place the connector on the battery terminal and hammer it down, often with a wrench - everything is a hammer!

Yes, and a good way to ruin a terminal. A simple Google of "battery terminal spreader" will bring up the correct tool. Loosen the nut and remove terminal. If the terminal does not want to slip back on use a spreader and open it up then slip it over the battery terminal and tighten the nut. That or just hammer away.

Most new batteries use the side mount terminals.

Ron

 

Thanks.

 

You can use a Wrench but some videos show you people using a Socket Wrench.

Google says you should use an Open End Wrench.

I was looking for videos on all these Wrenches and can not find them.

 

You can use a Wrench but some videos show you people using a Socket Wrench.

Google says you should use an Open End Wrench.

I was looking for videos on all these Wrenches and can not find them.

You can use a socket wrench, an open-end wrench, a box-end wrench, and adjustable wrench, or any other kind of wrench that you can get onto the nut without damaging it. The main thing to really watch out for is being sure that, if the wrench slips or if the nut comes loose suddenly, that you don't end up shorting the positive to the negative.

This is much more likely to happen if you are disconnecting the positive terminal while the negative terminal is still connected, because the wrench only has to touch something that is connected to the car's ground. So I like taking off the negative terminal first and, if there is any chance of touching the positive terminal (or anything connected to it), I put something there that will physically block it and that is non-conducting. But, usually, all I have to do is just think for a moment and position the wrench so that, if something slips, it will move away from the positive terminal. Since I'm usually the one that put the cables onto the battery, this is seldom difficult since I always position the clamp with this in mind when I install it.

 

You can use a Wrench but some videos show you people using a Socket Wrench.

Google says you should use an Open End Wrench.

I was looking for videos on all these Wrenches and can not find them.

Use insulated tools.
If you don't have an insulated spanner, use one that is shorter than the distance between the two battery terminals.

 

that you don't end up shorting the positive to the negative.

Been there and done that. When I was 16 in 1966 I was working in an Exxon service station. Back then batteries came dry and we added the acid and then charged them. Rather than Positive terminal first without thinking I connected Negative terminal first. When tightening the positive my wrench hit the chassis. One heck of a bang as three cells blew their caps off. Ruined a brand new battery and thank God for the deep sink which was my eyewash station that fateful day. To this day I remember it was a 64 Chevy Impala. The battery was still cooking off hydrogen gas and all it took was a spark to have an explosion. The battery now had a nice convex top which fortunately held.

Ron

 

Thanks to everybody for the help.

I did find a video on all types of Wrenches.

Thanks for everybody for the time.