What size battery cable to you recommend for a relatively long span; from trunk to engine bay, let's say 300 amp draw? Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
how big is the engine? Is it 12v? Is there a way to put the battery closer to the engine? How important is weight in this vehicle? #4 might work, or #00 might be necessary. It depends.
It's a 354 Hemi in a '33 Plymouth coupe. Definitely no room anywhere else for the battery. It's 12v. Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
#0 would probably be good for that. Make sure you have a good ground path, also. Short, fat cables connected well to the frame should work fine.
I bought cable from "gaugewireandcable" on Ebay and was very please with the price,delivery time and product. No connection (hah!) to these folks, just a deal that went well. I bought 4 gauge for a HAMB era tractor and it was very flexible.
For my '31 Ford coupe, I used a 2/0 welding cable from the trunk to the starter and same for bat negative to frame through a bat disconnect switch. Also used a Ford style starter solenoid in the trunk so that the starter cable is only hot when starting. My cable is a little oversized - 1/0 will work fine.
I'm so cheap I used an old jumper cable. Probably about #4 but it's only spinning 135 cubes, and does it effortlessly with a geared mini-starter.
For the length of a car, always use 00 welding cable and make sure you get the correct ends and attach them properly. 00 cost a little more but it’s worth it in this case. And like Redrodguy says, there are a couple of ways to wire it. Bones
Spend the extra money and run a ground cable to the starter, you will never have starting issues. Bigger is better, road trucks and buses run 4/0 and sometimes thats not big enough!
I can't imagine any old 30's coupe having a very long battery cable, even from the back of the trunk to the starter. Most wont be more than maybe 10' long. But 1/0 is enough if you run the correct fine strand cable. I often use 2/0, but that's just my choice. Both of my hotrods have trunk mounted batteries, and I've never had any starting issues.
Thanks for all of the quick responses! I'll be pulling the old cable out tomorrow morning and getting a length. Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Amazon has a 1/0 cable set that has 15 ft each............one red and one black for $70 They offer other lengths in the same ad. https://www.amazon.com/Copper-Premi...&keywords=welding+cable&qid=1611164475&sr=8-5
Three things: 1. What you could do. 2. What you should do. 3. What you will do. Over the years I have seen some crazy stuff that shouldn’t have even worked, but did! That doesn’t mean a fellow “ should” do it, it just means he could do it. Let’s hope he won’t do it. One thing comes to mind, while I was a winch dealer I had a scraper guy come in with winch problems on his trailer. He had an eight thousand lbs winch, which can draw a huge amount of amps mounted on his trailer. He was powering it with 12 gauge wire , 25 feet long and alligator clamps on his truck battery! I told him that won’t work! He told me it has been working..... for two years and hundreds on cars.... it’s just not working now! Just an example, wire is wire and motors are motors. Bones
Welding cable, but make sure that you support it well with clamps along the way because it really flops around otherwise.
What Jim said. I have a tendency to overdo my cables and run #oo but jim is correct here. Try and run your ground as short as possible. I have been known to use the ground cable from a 6V car but like my hot that is overkill.
The problem with being an engineer, is that I always look at "what will meet the requirements", rather than "what is the maximum effort I can put forth".
The problem with that is that we know what is the least we can get by with. It keeps us on the edge but it also gives us an edge to be on.
It’s not any more effort to run a larger cable, and only incremental cost to buy. It’s also nice to have room to grow. One of my 302 powered cars has way more battery cable than needed for the current engine. But I’ve got big enough cables that I won’t need to change them when I drop in the boss 429 I’ll buy after I win the lottery! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My current build is a pickup, and the battery will be at the front corner of the bed. Battery cable lengths are 12'. I planned to run 2/0, but when I went to the store to buy it, I discovered it only came in 10' lengths or 25' lengths. I was shocked how much they wanted for a red 25' roll, and a black 10' roll. Then I saw a pair of 2/0 20' long jumper cables on sale for $28! It was almost a shame to cut up the new jumper cables, but I did it anyway. I ran the well supported cables to the front and have connected them to a pair of remote battery jumper posts. I was intending on connecting the positive cable to a shut off switch at the battery, at the time, a lot of places listed them, but no one had them in stock. The truck is not on the road yet, maybe I'll look again as it gets closer to being road worthy. Gene
I go to advance auto parts and buy their battery cable. They sell it by the foot. It cranks my 12.5 to 1 334 inch small block Ford with no problem. I run the positive all the way from the battery through the shut off switch to the solenoid and to the starter. The ground goes to the roll bar in the back. Then I run a short cable to the engine block. I have built many cars with using the chassis to ground. Why add the cost of a ground cable when the chassis is running the length of the car. That way you can just use 2 short ground cable's. Has worked for me for over 50 years of building cars. Sent from my SM-A505U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
A lot of the jumper cables are not pure copper wire. They’ll still work but that’s why they’re so much cheaper than welding cable. Also you usually need more cable than you think. I have a car that’s 13’ bumper to bumper, the battery is at the front of the trunk and the starter is at the back of the engine, but it takes about 12’ of cable to snake around from back to front. Welding Cables were about $100 for a 25’ roll. One time my car heat soaked in the lanes at the track and my friends had to push start me at the water box. Not having that happen again was worth $100! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have been working with large trucks, tractors and heavy equipment all my life, and my gramps owned an IH dealership, so I have spent a lot of time with cables and such. Also used to play softball for a local electrical contractor/ supply house, and my buddy was the warehouse manager. In '78, we needed some cable to put the battery in the trunk of my 406 car, so we hit the scrap bin behind the warehouse. Found a 17' long "scrap" of 4/0 aluminum cable, some ends, and borrowed the hydraulic crimper. Main cable runs to the firewall mounted solenoid, and a 2' ground straight to the frame. Another 2' long piece of welding cable from the solenoid to the starter. At the time, I did not have a "good" starter sitting around, so I put a 3-bolt FE nose on a stock 302 starter and gave it a try with the 14:1 427- spun it fine, cold or hot, and still in the car with the present 12:1 427- big cables make a lot of difference. I have gotten lucky at the swaps with folks selling boxfulls of new heavy truck n tractor cables in perfect condition and different lengths, and they are very well made and have great insulation and ends, usually can find something that fits. The same cables are not that expensive at a parts store that caters to truck n tractor stuff as opposed to hot rod or race stuff
The battery is in the trunk of my FE 64 Fairlane, it'll start when cold however when hot it'll turn over but won't start so I'm grading to heavier cables. Also ensure that you have a GOOD engine to frame strap as well as a comparable battery ground.
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