Generally if a single click then the starter is out, if multiple clicks then a low/bad battery.

 

Hey guys, so I have a theory as to why my battery died. Please read IndianaTom's post here:

One thing to be careful about. When you disconnect the Negative terminal of the battery make sure you don't loose that tiny cone shaped NUT that clamps the terminal together. I was very careful but still managed to let it slip out of my hand the second time I tried to reinstall it.
That thing went into the Abyss never to be seen again and believe me I tried looking for it on the ground in the car, etc. It was just gone with the wind. I figured no big deal put another nut on that stud. Well not so fast. There was a reason that nut was tapered and cone shaped on the bottom. When you tighten it down that cone goes into an opening and tightens the terminal around the battery. I had several nuts that fit that stud on the battery terminal but none of them had the cone part on the bottom so none of them were able to tighten the terminal. Okay, I figured go to my local Chevy Dealer and get another nut. Not so fast young man. That nut is part of the terminal the parts manager said. Okay, then give me a terminal and I just use the Nut. Not so fast Young man, that terminal is part of the battery cable. Okay, then give me the battery cable. Okay, I can order that for you for a mere $189 Dollars.
WHAT???!!! I told him that is lunacris. In order to replace that little tiny nut I need to buy a new cable costing over 180 bucks? That is just insane. I tried looking for this stupid Nut again but could never find it. I guess the only thing I can do is cut off the terminal and put on a Universal terminal. This Chevy Impala Terminal is the crappiest system I have ever seen to secure it to the battery. So if you do take off that precious NUT. Be very, very careful and DO NOT LOOSE it!

I also lost the cone shaped nut IndianaTom is talking about. I thought I could just replace it with another nut, which I did, since the cone-shaped nut doesn't actually hold the cable to the battery. With regular nut, car ran fine until for 2 weeks until I was out of town and left the car sit for 4 days. Now the battery won't start and battery is totally dead.

If the cone does in fact serve this purpose, do you think this is what caused the battery to die? Where can I get another one? What would be my best option from here? IndianaTom talked about a universal terminal....

 

Just saw this on a Corvette forum regarding the possible cause of a dead battery:

Incorrect terminal nuts on battery (they must be cone-shaped nuts or else the clamp won't tighten). Ok, now I strongly think this is why my battery is dead. Where can I get the proper cone-shaped nut?

 

Try a junk yard maybe you will get lucky there.

 

Here is a thread all about this PITA problem:

Looking For Battery Terminal Nut - Corvette Forum

Some guy in the thread found one of these cone nuts on Ebay. I can't believe that Chevy's solution is buy the $100 cable if you lose a 20 cent nut!?! If anyone can locate one of these nuts on the net and let me know, I would certainly be most grateful. Thank you!!!

 

Wait a minute, if you follow that link, it appears a dude is selling them right there for $5! Hell yes count me in buying it!

 

C6 Battery Failure - LS2 Forums

Heed this and my crappy experience as a warning not to lose that nut!

 

For future reference, there is no reason at all to take the nut off, just loosen it.

 

and duct tape it's end to the terminal after you loosen it :biggrin:

 

pulling it off might make you want to die :lol::yikes::gaah:

 

That's what makes them Chevy?

 

Received cone nut in the mail today. Screwed it on tight, jumped it, took about 5 minutes until the dead battery had enough juice to start the car. Drove it into work, drove back, no problem. All seems well. As always, thanks everyone for your input.

 

took about 5 minutes until the dead battery had enough juice to start the car. Drove it into work, drove back, no problem. All seems well. As always, thanks everyone for your input.

One thing I like to do when a battery goes dead in a car is to properly charge it back up using a good quality automatic battery charger. No sense putting all that stress on the alternator.

Should have held those nuts more tightly... :yikes:

You'd think us guys would learn that lesson by now ...

 

Glad to hear k3: don't loose anymore nuts

 

Happy to hear it worked out

Agreed, watch your nuts

 

Should have held those nuts more tightly... :yikes:

 

My 2007 Impala is doing the same thing. I have changed out the starter, alternator, and battery. It did not fix the issue. I'm thinking of hauling it off to the junk yard.

 

Hey I was wondering if anyone has a link to the piece I've found myself in a similar situation losing the nut. The other links are dead

 

I've read in other posts people getting rid of the GM ridiculousness and putting a proper terminal on once and for all.

Super Start SK7001 - Battery Terminal | O'Reilly Auto Parts

All of $3! PLUS, have you looked at how much surface area the OEM terminal contacts the battery terminal? It's got to be the skimpiest Ive ever seen on a car!

 

i lost.. help

my 2006 impala 3.5 will click loud when i turn the key but won't crank. i put new starter, new battery, fuses and it still does the same. the last time i started it i pulled to the other side of my driveway and went back to it 5 mins later and this ever since.

 

my 2006 impala 3.5 will click loud when i turn the key but won't crank. i put new starter, new battery, fuses and it still does the same. the last time i started it i pulled to the other side of my driveway and went back to it 5 mins later and this ever since.

I'm thinking bad ground. It may have just enough conductance to allow the solenoid to engage making the clicking sound, but not enough conductance - ie, too much resistance - for the starter motor to turn. Trace the ground wire from the starter, and also the ground wires from the engine block to the body/frame. Lastly, check the ground wire from the battery. In all cases, you're looking for a corroded junction.

One other thought is that the new starter could be bad. That's unlikely, but in the re-man world, it's not unheard of.

Doug

.

 

2010 impala 3.5 wont start ,

Hi this is my first time here , i have an impala 2010, it wont start.
i put a new battery ,new starter,new battery cables and new ignition switch,and nothing. i also check the purple cable for loose connection
it is wiard, when i connet my battery charger the car start ,if i leave it charging for a few minutes it start but after a few it wont start only click

thank you any advice will be appreciated

 

Hi this is my first time here , i have an impala 2010, it wont start.
i put a new battery ,new starter,new battery cables and new ignition switch,and nothing. i also check the purple cable for loose connection
it is wiard, when i connet my battery charger the car start ,if i leave it charging for a few minutes it start but after a few it wont start only click

thank you any advice will be appreciated

A couple thoughts on this. Put the charger on the battery and let it charge overnight. Then try driving it some tomorrow (but only stop/shut it off at your house). See if it still won't start after being off a while.

Another thought - you said the battery was new, but it seems to show symptoms of being bad, so I suggest getting it load tested.

If the battery is good, and fully charged, but the car won't start after being off for a while, I'm thinking you have some sort of phantom load pulling it down - a rather big phantom load. But chasing one of those can be very difficult. Do you know how to use an ammeter?

Doug

.

 

^ fausto, may search "parasitic drain".

 

Thanks for yours quick respond
i will try that today ,let you know how it goes