battery cables to the trunk ?????

I did a search and no matches found. I want to put my battery in the trunk and was told to go to Jegs or Summit for the boxes and kits BUT dagg gum they want 180 bucks for it. I got me a plastic box from NAPA but they said they do not have cable that long to also go to Jegs and Summit. SO what do i do now. Thanks Men

 

Go back to NAPA and buy cable in bulk and either solder or crimp ends on.

 

I used welding leads. It is a fatter cable than typical battery leads and is also a finer wire inside which gives way less resistance when you go that long way from trunk to starter. Just my 2 cents Dave

 

uhm... what would be so bad about running a big thick jumper cable? You only need one side to run to the front, as you can attach a lead to the frame for negative ground at the trunk. Just make sure you route it so it doesn't rub the body or frame and short out.

 

You can get the cable in a roll. Bu they will probably make you pay for the whole roll. Still cheaper then the JEGS though. Specify Red cable, or youll more than likely get black.

 

Welding lead back to front.(costs more but it's worth it on a hot day with a heat soaked motor).
Short gd. batt. to frame.
Short gd. frame to motor.

 

Welding cable is over $2 a ft.

 

I'm with Studhud. Welding cable is the way to go, finer filaments means it'll carry more amperage.
The current actually travels over the surface of the filaments, not through them. So more, finer wires means more surface area.

It's the best cure for that pesky GM hot-start problem too.

 

Yep its about $2 a foot ya need about 12 feet thats a whole $24 ouch that is expensive! Or you can buy a pre made 2 foot long cable from napa that is total crap for about $8. I dont think its that much money. LTR Dave

 

Sorry its not the way to go.. Its not made for the elements. The outer casing will eventually crack. Do what you want to but remember it could always burn up.. Good battery cable is the way to go Taylor makes it and a couple others too.If i remember right the last stuff i got was from speedway.
Dave

 

NAPA sells marine grade cable that is really tough stuff. Also sold by the foot. If your parts guys says he doesnt have it just make him pull out his Belden book.

 

I got my battery cable from a Marine Supply store here at the Shore......waterproof to the max, nice thick fuelproof casing, and you can buy it any length......us at least 2 gauge or thicker.....solder the ends on........no problems here.....it was about $2 per running foot....

CB

 

For best results,run ground to starter at same time ..

 

I am not taking it personaly or even feel the need to defend myself but what your saying makes no sense to me. I used old welding leads that were least 10 years old in my hudson installed at least 7 years ago its had oil on from the motor in spots fluid from hydraulic leaks and its still in great shape. That was after being dragged on construction sites through dirt, over steel, over concrete, in the sun and in the rain and it probably hung off the welders rack on his truck. If the casing wasnt good wouldnt it be dangerous to all the guys stick welding on construction sites all over the world? I'll I did was cut the ends off to clean cable and no problems I'll still use till I find something better. The beauty of of to me is the tuff casing and the fact that finer stranded cable runs more current with less resistance than cable that has larger strands. Sound like the same theory behind high quality stereo cables .The guy asked about a cheaper and still good quality cable and welding lead is a good option. LTR Dave

 

Several posts referencing less resistance when using many small wires vs one big one (stranded vs solid core). This phenomonen does not apply to DC. All DC cares about is the total cross-sectional area of the conductor.
Skin effect is strictly AC and the effect increases with frequency.

The advantage of stranded wire in DC applications is flexibility.

 

Go to a semi repair shop, if they are decent guys they will be able to hook you up. They wire and crimp trucks as needed, so it should not be a problem.

 

I have my battery in the trunk, insulated stud trough the floor, welding lead run through EMT conduit (protects the cable) up close to starter, wrapped lead where it enters and exits the EMT to keep it from chaffing and heat shrunk cover over both ends to keep out the weather.

 

Back when I was 15 and wiring up my 1941 Super Deluxe Coupe with the battery in the trunk, we got our wire from a buddy with the local electric cooperative. It was 1 or 2 gauge copper wire, red, and we wound up with about 20 foot of it basically in exchange for feeding the guys lunch one day. It worked great and was still on the car when we sold it.

Damn I miss that car.

 

The same peice of welding lead has been on my old ford since the 60's. $2 a foot would be a deal at twice the price for that kind of reliability.

 

Save some dough on the ground and just run a ground strap to the frame from the block (you should anyway) and just a 2' ground cable from the battery to the frame. No sense running two full-length cables...


JOE

 

Check out monster cable from the local car stereo shop! High grade and comes in any size you want! plus black or red!

 

I went to Carquest, they sell 2 ga battery cable by the foot, they only had black, but I did not care, I know what the cable is for and what it's doing.
About $2 a foot. Don't use any other stuff thats not meant to withstand the elements.

 

Thanks men, i believe i have al the info needed to make my decision.

 

Tony,
I don't know what you looked at, maybe a better kit tan I ordered...

I ordered my battery re-locate kit from Summit yesterday. Box, strap, wires, mounting bolts, wire connections, $63.00.

 

Just go down to the local stereo shop, they have all the connections!!!

 

A good steero shop should have some heavy guage wire. If you aren't running many accessories you sould be able to get away with 4 guage, but may want to to 2 guage just to be safe. Most electroincs stores, not Radio Shack, but places like Fry's or Circuit City should sell buy the foot. You can save a little by not paying to have "Monster Cable" printed on it, look for Stinger, JSC wire, or Street Wires.

 

Yeah, a LOT of stuff worked back in the day...that don't make it right or smart. Your frame is NOT a very good conductor compared to a good copper wire. Spend the extra few bucks now and run that ground from the battery to the starter. Or not, and wish you did on that hot restart attempt.

 

ive moved the battery to the truck on a few cars.

i used 1/0 welding cable with SOLDERED on lugs. this is not a place you want to use crimp on ends. 2awg is the absolute smallest i would use going all the way back to the trunk.

on one of my rides, the motor turned over faster after changing out the old ~3ft long 4awg for about 12ft of 1/0 welding cable with soldered on ends.

-j

 

I moved my battery to the trunk and here's what I used..

I bought a summit plastic box kit thing.. it sucked.. The hold down for the battery wouldn't even fit in their own box!. It was just a jumble of battery related parts really.. I ended up using the plastic box and lid and some autozone hold down pieces.

For cable.. at least at the NAPA I went to, they just cut me some cable to length. The ends are very easy to put on yourself. I used a propane torch and some solder. Hold the end upside down and melt some solder in there. once it is pretty well heated up just insert the stripped section of cable into the end. I know some cables are crimped.. I couldn't find anything to crimp mine with, but I would bet money that I'll never be able to pull the end off the soldered cable.

Here's a decent chart to tell you what size cable you need.
http://www.e-marine-inc.com/products/alternators/cables.html
I think I used AWG 0

 

Welding cable will eventually crack, this is true. The last street car I had the battery in the trunk used welding cable. I ran it that way as a daily driver for 10 years without a problem. I never has stock battery cables lat that long. That was my experience, your milage may vary.