[BillD1953]

man oh man....to the original poster....dont buy a twin engine 3 or 4 battery bank boat and try to sort out or work on the 12V dc circuitry !!!

but wishing you good luck on getting the negative cable back on the battery.

[Taunto]

No point in taking it to the dealership now...

If you came in with battery draw complaints, and i seen your battery post looking like that with marks and being spread apart that someone has been working on it (if the car is relatively new) then you would receive no warranty and it would be customer pay diagnosis

but Not all dealers/ techs are the same

[DrivingPassion]

Gee ... show some compassion and encouragement, guys.
Why so much put down ? People have to start somewhere.

[grocerylist]

Thanks for reviving this quality 5+ year old thread!

[TrboMike]

Originally Posted by boba8523

I've loosened the nut from the terminal clamp enough to the point where the bolt is now moving too when I tighten/loosen...

Here is what is happening:

The bottom part of the bolt is square. It lays against a flat surface so it cant turn while you're turning the nut at the top (see red line in picture, that is the flat surface). Once you loosen the nut at the top too much the square part of the bolt lowers enough that it passes the the flat part, now it spins. If you're past this and you want to tighten, you need to push or pull the whole nut/bolt up so the flat part holds the square bolt end so you can turn the nut again. Put a finger under the bolt and push up while you turn the nut at the top, or put a flat screwdriver under the bolt to hold it all up while you turn the nut.

Why it didnt work: that nut and bolt squeeze the bracket around the soft metal of the battery terminal. Once you loosen it, its probably still dug into the soft metal and you cant lift it. The solution would be to pry something in the middle of the bracket to spread it out and then pull it up over the terminal, or just pry the whole thing up until it pops off.

Why bother tho: I dunno why you're removing the bracket from the battery terminal, it would have been much easier to just unbolt the other end of the ground where its bolted to the body. Just make sure if you unbolt that end that it cant touch anything metal after its disconnected as that would be the new ground and the car would have power again.

When I first touched a car I wasnt mechanically inclined either, gotta learn by doing it (and making mistakes)

[jzeiler4]

That is all good info but the OP has not been on this site since 2017...

[TrboMike]

Originally Posted by jzeiler4

That is all good info but the OP has not been on this site since 2017...

Sigh.

[nazali]

Originally Posted by Abax335

Honestly if you have to ask I woukdnt be working on the car.

But since most people are stubborn and don't take advice yes, but disconnect it off the battery post not at the body unless you are trying to do a draw test

^^^ not trying to be a dick, but this reply is spot on

[Eviltaco]

I have the same problem.My car barely started in -40 c and then my traction control and stability stuff shut off.

So i went to hook up a battery maintainer and made the mistake of trying to take the nut right off.Its not designed to.Like who knew that? Its a nut on a battery post.I grounded the maintainer properly to frame of the car but the wiring on the maintainer is too short to tuck away nicely.A 10mm wrench holds the square end but it just slips off.