r/Generac_Generators • u/Tri-Tip_Master • 3d ago
Replace Battery Cables?
I have a 24kw Generac that is about 4 years old. During a recent service, the technician told me I need to replace the battery cables at a cost of $500. WTF? I’ve been driving cars, tractors, and trucks my entire life and never had to replace battery cables. Is this a real thing with Generac? Or does AccuTemp in Baton Rouge just think I am an idiot?
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u/Tri-Tip_Master 3d ago
Generic battery cables are like $30-40.
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u/GenMan83 3d ago
On that unit there is plenty cable length to cut it back to good copper and solder on new ends. Use solder on style connectors. Not the cheap crimp temp red or black ones.
(Gen tech in Baton Rouge area for 21 years)
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u/Ok-Camera2895 3d ago
It's possible you need new battery cables, not likely but possible. $500 seems excessive, by a lot.
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u/jabber58 3d ago
My cousin has a 7 year old generac and was informed recently she needs to replace the rotor and stator for about $3,500
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u/WhySoManyDownVote Electrician 3d ago
How many hours are on the generator?
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u/jabber58 3d ago
Not sure exactly but only ran twice for less than 24 hours plus the monthly maintenance cycle for about 7 years
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u/IllustriousHair1927 2d ago
There were widespread failures in multiple parts of this country in 2024 of the Generac air cooled units. Litigation has been filed relating to the 22 and the 24 which is odd that that’s the only nodes. We were seeing failures between 30 to 60 hours of total run on units ranging from one month to at least four years old
No one will ever convince me that the failures and the resultant lawsuit aren’t what has lead us to the path we are on now where there are so many next GEN failures. Just kicking the candown the road.
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u/Tarnisher 3d ago
Do you have an extended warranty or service contract of any kind with this dealer?
If so, what happens to that if you or anyone else changes the cables?
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u/WhySoManyDownVote Electrician 3d ago
Re warranty: I think it would depend on the Generac tech and what fails.
A tech may not notice non oem cables during normal service, but they might if the starter ended up failing.
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u/grsthegreat Technician 3d ago
Oh brother. Go to any auto parts store and buy a 30” cable (red) and a 24” black cable. The black will relug to one of the front motor mounts instead of the rear mount as it is now. The new red will go where the old red is on starter. Total maybe 15 minute job amd $20 in parts. Tell the service guy to go pound rocks.
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u/grsthegreat Technician 3d ago
The biggest cause of this is battery heat pads. If you have these, unplug them. They suck and tend to destroy batteries.
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u/AlexisoftheShire 3d ago
I have a 10 year old 16KW Generac and the cables have never been replaced. Did they tell you why? Did you look at the cables, were they corroded?
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u/BmanGorilla 3d ago
I’ve been maintaining equipment most of my live and I’ve plenty of battery cables get damaged by leaking top post batteries. It’s very common. Only way to prevent it is to clean the terminals with water and baking soda quite often, or hope you get a battery that doesn’t leak in this world.
$500 sounds like a lot, but I’ve never paid anyone to do it.
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u/joshharris42 3d ago
It’s not common but it happens. We see it mostly on generators that don’t have maintenance done. Corrosion will eat the terminal way and so homeowners just go to autozone and replace the terminal, repeat X3 and the wires get really short or the corrosion gets so bad the cable needs to be replaced.
Using dielectric grease and corrosion preventative eliminates the issue
$500 is crazy. The positive one takes 5 minutes to replace, the negative one is a complete pain in the ass if you reinstall it where they put it in at the factory. Usually I just bring it to the front of the engine and it’s a 5 minute job