So I just got a new AAA battery about 6 weeks ago. I went to start the car last night - and nothing. Opened the hood checked the connections and the negative bolt that connects the battery to the cable/metal disc thing is loose and not making enough of a connection. To further annoy me, I put the 8mm socket on top of the battery after I had got done trying to tighten it - and down it fell into whatever abyss the windshield washer fluid reservoir goes - took the whole battery out searching for it, looked all around from under the car - it seems to be trapped somewhere that I can't get to - but still "in" the engine compartment down there somewhere - along with the rubber grommet for the clutch bleeder valve that did exactly the same thing about 1 month ago.....never to be seen again.
So, the questions are: how do you go about retrieving things that fall down into that particular spot? And more importantly - how are you supposed to deal with what appears to be a problem with this particular type of battery. I had the same thing happen on a previous battery and after going through 2 sets of new cable bolts - (they are all exactly the same size) - just gave up and got a new battery. The difference this time is that this battery is brand new whereas the other one was ancient and needed to be replaced anyway. The problem isn't with the hard metal on the bolts it is on the soft crap that is actually inside the battery "posts" themselves. It doesn't help to ask this from anyone other than guys like us who have the 75 type batteries because they don't know what I'm talking about and it is a lot easier to come up with a solution with either top-side posts or protruding posts rather than the nightmare type in the Cavaliers.
Any help or suggestions/solutions would be appreciated.
They key with GM side-post batteries to just make them snug. Because the threads in the terminals are made from lead they are SUPER soft and easy to strip with a standard sized wrench. You can strip them by pushing an 8mm wrench with 1 or 2 fingers. Usually what I do for best contact is snug it down with minimal force, back it off, then snug it down again, with very minimal force; almost only enough to keep it from being backed off by hand. That gives the protrusions on the cable ends a good chance to bite into the soft lead terminal and make a good connection. As for finding the stuff you dropped.. good luck. A long extendable magnet helps. The wrench is probably wedged under the battery tray. It's actually a separate piece that's spot welded to the car.
"In Oldskool we trust"
