A car that is not starting properly or starts with difficulty often leads a car owner to jump to the conclusion that the battery needs to be replaced. Many times the battery is not the root cause of the problem, but it is instead a loose connection between the battery and battery cables. Learn to fix loose battery cables and you might avoid unnecessarily spending money for a battery.
Use a wrench to loosen the bolt on the positive battery cable connector. Remove the connector from the positive battery terminal.
Place a plastic baggie over the positive battery cable connecting clamp and secure it temporarily with a rubber band.
Remove the negative battery cable from the negative battery terminal, just as you did for the positive cable in Step 1.
Clean both battery terminals and the connectors on the battery cables using a terminal cleaner and a wire brush. Dry them off with a clean rag.
Place the negative battery cable connector clamp onto the negative terminal on the battery, and tighten the bolt. Tighten it firmly, but be careful not to strip out the threads.
Remove the plastic baggie from the positive connector. Place it onto the positive battery terminal, tighten it with the wrench, and you are finished.
