DIY battery cables
02-13-2007 | 10:43 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Race Car
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 3,627
Likes: 1
From: Rochester, NY
DIY battery cables
Anyone make their own cables? Mine are both too long for my liking (with an Optima on it's side) and really pretty twisted. The insulation may not like being bent to meet the terminals and pushing them through the fire wall to make them fit better leaves too much hanging over the exhaust manifold.
Who has made there own and what cable gauge did you use? What lugs and connectors are appropriate? Is the autoparts store generic stuff adequate?
Who has made there own and what cable gauge did you use? What lugs and connectors are appropriate? Is the autoparts store generic stuff adequate?
02-13-2007 | 11:13 AM
#3
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,011
Likes: 0
From: Livonia, Michigan
I made some new cables up for the '84. The negative wasn't a big deal, I even made up a secondary ground that connected to the lift ring on the back of the cam tower.
The positive was a bit of an issue. There was no way I was going to remove the old cable from the wire loom running down the firewall, so I just cut the cable ends off as short as I could and left it - this scarred the heck out of my mechanic when he saw the exposed cable end - he thought it was still hot.
The factory cables are 5mm which works out to be between 4 and 6 gauge. I like to go a little overboard, so I used 2 gauge welding cable, which has a finer strand and is a lot more flexible. I found an industrial supplier who would sell bulk cable and fittings, so I bought a 25' roll of cable and a bunch of battery terminal connectors and lugs (I bought a bunch with different sized holes; but you can just get a relatively small one and drill it out to what you need) Just cut the cable to length, strip off the end, and solder on the lugs or terminal ends. You need a propane torch to solder it - basically just put the end in a vise, heat the heck out of it, melt solder into the end cup, stick the wire in and keep the heat on until you see the solder draw up into the wire. I then used shrink wrap to finish off the ends.
One thing you do need to be careful of - when you make the connections to the starter, make sure you route the cables and bend the lugs so they don't short or touch anything else down there. I used a better grade lug which was physically bigger than the factory lugs; I actually had to grind down a bit of one side to make sure I had clearance.
I felt a big difference after replacing the cables; the starter would crank stronger and the gauges and lights seemed a little brighter.
The 25' is more than enough to do two cars, probably three.
The positive was a bit of an issue. There was no way I was going to remove the old cable from the wire loom running down the firewall, so I just cut the cable ends off as short as I could and left it - this scarred the heck out of my mechanic when he saw the exposed cable end - he thought it was still hot.
The factory cables are 5mm which works out to be between 4 and 6 gauge. I like to go a little overboard, so I used 2 gauge welding cable, which has a finer strand and is a lot more flexible. I found an industrial supplier who would sell bulk cable and fittings, so I bought a 25' roll of cable and a bunch of battery terminal connectors and lugs (I bought a bunch with different sized holes; but you can just get a relatively small one and drill it out to what you need) Just cut the cable to length, strip off the end, and solder on the lugs or terminal ends. You need a propane torch to solder it - basically just put the end in a vise, heat the heck out of it, melt solder into the end cup, stick the wire in and keep the heat on until you see the solder draw up into the wire. I then used shrink wrap to finish off the ends.
One thing you do need to be careful of - when you make the connections to the starter, make sure you route the cables and bend the lugs so they don't short or touch anything else down there. I used a better grade lug which was physically bigger than the factory lugs; I actually had to grind down a bit of one side to make sure I had clearance.
I felt a big difference after replacing the cables; the starter would crank stronger and the gauges and lights seemed a little brighter.
The 25' is more than enough to do two cars, probably three.
02-13-2007 | 02:24 PM
#4
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 962
Likes: 0
From: Baltimore MD
I got a custom length neg cable from this guy:
http://custombatterycables.com/
It was cheaper and better then I could make by a good bit.
It was pretty tight getting it through the firewall grommet but other then that it worked perfectly.
edit: Forgot to mention that the length for the neg cable is a 32" main and 12" aux cable. It was also ~$40 with shipping.
http://custombatterycables.com/
It was cheaper and better then I could make by a good bit.
It was pretty tight getting it through the firewall grommet but other then that it worked perfectly.
edit: Forgot to mention that the length for the neg cable is a 32" main and 12" aux cable. It was also ~$40 with shipping.
Trending Topics
02-13-2007 | 09:19 PM
#8
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist
Site Sponsor
Rennlist Member
Rennlist
Site Sponsor
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,059
Likes: 11
From: Under Your Car
These are the set that I built awhile back.
The milspec terminals you can get at napa for about 5 bucks. You can also buy cable by the foot, IIRC I used either 0 or 2 gauge on the main wires, and maybe 4 on the alternator to starter run. I will have to check. I have my engine out right now, so I can get a look at the cables and see what I used. I soldered all the terminals on, then smeared some dielectric grease on the connections before heat shrinking, then slide on the wire sheathing, and heat shrinked those ends on. You will need to re-use the small wires that go to a connector on the firewall (in the alternator to starter line, or get some new terminals and re-use the original connector, and run new wire.
I got the following stuff from www.cableorganizer.com
4 to 1 heatshrink.
Wire sheathing for the cables.
From Napa
Cable lugs
Bulk cable
Milspec terminals
The milspec terminals you can get at napa for about 5 bucks. You can also buy cable by the foot, IIRC I used either 0 or 2 gauge on the main wires, and maybe 4 on the alternator to starter run. I will have to check. I have my engine out right now, so I can get a look at the cables and see what I used. I soldered all the terminals on, then smeared some dielectric grease on the connections before heat shrinking, then slide on the wire sheathing, and heat shrinked those ends on. You will need to re-use the small wires that go to a connector on the firewall (in the alternator to starter line, or get some new terminals and re-use the original connector, and run new wire.
I got the following stuff from www.cableorganizer.com
4 to 1 heatshrink.
Wire sheathing for the cables.
From Napa
Cable lugs
Bulk cable
Milspec terminals
02-15-2007 | 07:54 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,301
Likes: 1
From: Oconomowoc, WI
I replaced mine with this kit here: http://store.summitracing.com/partde...er=1&part=SUM%
It looks great against the other Aeroquip hoses I have and I did a dual negative wires from the terminal to the bellhousing and then to the chassis by battery itself.
It looks great against the other Aeroquip hoses I have and I did a dual negative wires from the terminal to the bellhousing and then to the chassis by battery itself.
02-15-2007 | 10:12 PM
#10
Thread Starter
Race Car
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 3,627
Likes: 1
From: Rochester, NY
Not seeing anything Charlie. I may try and hit up Napa for the parts Doc is showing in his post. I'd like to try and find some high strand count welding cable, should be a little more flexible than the big ole fat wires that are more common.
