I have a flickering battery light very occasionally. The alternator and battery check out (per AutoZone) so I'm thinking that I have a connection or ground issue. I was going to clean the battery terminal connectors and check for any grounding issues. In doing this, is there anything that I should do special with disconnecting the battery? I'm not sure that I have a radio code (my forum research is inconclusive). My point is that before I mess something up with disconnecting the battery, I thought that I'd ask you guys. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Nah, no special procedure -- I just disconnect ground, then the positive (in that order, so you make sure your wrench doesn't hit the frame/metal of the car when you're undoing the positive cable). good luck.

If your cables won't snug up, it's a known issue with these older D2's that the negative cable needs to be replaced (Atlantic British makes one)

 

First, the factory battery clamps are known to be a not great design. In my experience, the negative side clamp can be difficult to tighten adequately. Some people shim it for a better fit. There are battery shims that slip over the battery posts to provide a tighter fit. Years ago I actually used a toothpick as a shim and it did the trick. Later, I used a small screw driven in between the post and the clamp. That worked well too. But in recent years I've gone to simply squeezing the sides of the clamp with Vise Grips to deform it slightly (i.e. make it slightly oval). That too has worked fine. The overachievers here insist you need to cut off the factory clamps and install replacements with a more conventional design. My opinion, backed by experience, is that's not necessary.

As for the radio code, I found somewhere online or elsewhere in the last year that a radio security code is not necessary unless the dealer enabled that feature when the truck was new. I have a code for the radio in my truck, but I have never needed to use it. Others here have reported the same. There's no way to know whether or not you'll need the code for your radio until you disconnect and reconnect the battery. That said, you'll need to replace the battery at some point so you may as well find out now about the code.

 

Ditto on the poor wedge style factory clamps. I was off-roading in a very remote area on Vancouver Island last year. Truck died suddenly. Original thought was a CPC. However, one of my buddies had the insight to check the battery connections. It appeared tight. However, the offroad vibration would jiggle the connector just so slightly to lose voltage. We ended up using aluminum foil that got me going for the next few days until we were able to get back to civilization. I ended up adding shims to the battery post and no issues for the past year.

 

Great. Thanks guys. Its my Sunday project.

 

Nothing special, as someone mentioned it's good technique to disconnect the negative side first then the positive and then when reconnecting do the positive side first and then the negative. That way if while working on the positive terminal your metals tools accidentally contact a ground you won't have an electrical connection.

I upgraded to MIL Spec connectors after getting sick of always having to deal with battery shims and poor electrical connections. It's a worthy upgrade.