It's an odd time of year for it here, but the battery just gave out (any battery that makes it through our summer usually cruises on until January--but the car spent weeks between use for a while).

Anyway, now that I have the correct battery in it, the clamps are still lose once fully tightened.

What makes an appropriate shim? Or, is there a safe way to reshape the clips? At the moment, it seems that they're sized for a larger post.

I actually went dead and couldn't start at the mall. Popping the hood, I saw that the ground clip had come clean off (I presume from a bump in the road)>

 

Local parts store should have shims in stock for a couple bucks or so. But first, make sure you're seating the clamps all the way down onto the widest part of the tapered battery post.