Battery cables for relocation. And Other Questions???

[Bosko5.0]

I am planning on relocating my battery and have a couple questions???

1)> Would a #6 welding cable work for pos./neg. cables I can get the stuff for about 1.17 per ft.

2)> Aprox how many ft should I need for Pos. and the neg. cables?

3)> What kind of connectors should I get?

4)> What connector would I need to hook up to the starter?

5)> The posotive runs from the battery to the fuse box and starter, from fuse box runs to alternator. correct me if wrong?

6)> Where are all the ground wires located?

7)> I will be running the cables through the car , so should I run 2 pos. cables one on each side(one to the fuse box and alternator and then the other to the starter)? Or could I also run the one for the starter to both starter and alternator(for a cleaner look)?

sorry but with the search function i couldn't find these answered.

 

[urban96]

i would go with atleast 4gauge... check ebay for some wire

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

1. Go at least 2 gauge. 0/0 would probably be best, but I don't think you need to go that heavy a gauge.

2. Positive, you'll want around 12-15 feet. Negative around 4 or 5 feet.

3. Use ring connectors:

4. Same as above

5. You are correct about the battery cable. Mine is the same way, or you can run from the starter to the battery, but I preferred my cable to stay inside the car.

6. Ground cable runs from the battery to the quad shock mount. Take the existing underhood ground and find somewhere under the hood to attach it, making sure to keep the EEC ground in the same place.

7. Just use the one positive. Any more than that is overkill, IMO, since one cable will be more than enough to carry the current. I would upgrade the wire from the fuse box to the starter to the same size you choose to run from the battery though.

 

[HISSIN50]

Matt, I think he was talking about using two cables in parallel because he knows the #6 is insufficient.

I have read of guys using a nice set of jumper cables as the 'resource' for their new cables. Never tried it though.

I would add a ground cable from the rear-battery-ground mount (quad shock or whatever) to the engine. Then be sure to have an extra motor to chassis ground up front. This facilitates a nice ground loop since your battery is now so isolated.

 

[Bosko5.0]

I think they may have miss labeled the cable It was thicker than my stock cables.

Jt I was thinking more of moving the cable from under the engine. ( a cleaner look as it were )

I want to make it so that my engine bay is alot cleaner

I was also thinking of running a battery cutoff which somewhere in the engine bay so incase I needed to cut the power quickly I could what Do you think about this???

Also incase my battery died could I use the fuse box pos. cable and hook to the engine to jump my car? Would it hurt any thing?

 

[HISSIN50]

The cutoff switch should work well.

You can use the PDC stud and the engine metal for jumpers. This is done on OEM rear-battery cars or cars where the battery is mounted inside the wheel well. They use a remote distribution stud for jumping and voltage testing.

If you relocate the underhood fusebox into the fenderwell, you could run a remote stud (like a distribution center for power cables) somewhere discrete but accessible.

 

[Bosko5.0]

I was thinking of relocating it into the fender but wouldn't know where to put it?

 

[HISSIN50]

I was thinking of relocating it into the fender but wouldn't know where to put it?

Inside the fender.




I'm not sure myself - all the carshow guys would know. Shane (Loudtoy958) used to have pics of his (I thought) on his site. Maybe PM him (he's super knowledgable and more than willing to help out if he has time).
Here's all I could find on his site

 

[cbarr300]

I used 2/0

worked well for me :]

I'd have to agree with what hissin has said...you can never go wrong with too much ground

 

[madams74]

Having to much ground wire can actually be a bad thing. Just try to keep your frame connections to a minimum. You can create a large area for noise to be collected. Hince the WHINE you may hear in your speakers. Research ground noise on the net and you will see the effects on electronics, particularly in car stereos. As far as the rear shock mount shock mount goes for attaching a ground, be sure you do not use the top stud nut on the shock. This is rubber isolated from the frame on the top and bottom, and as far as the lowest part of the shock goes underneath, it also has a rubber bushing insert. You should keep the ground as short as possible. The best ground is to find an area of the metal interior frame that already has a hole in it (unless you want to drill your own). Sand the paint off down to the bare metal, and use a bolt, washer, and nut to attach your lug to the frame. The front ground cable from the engine block corner to the frame can be kept, as was mentioned before, the EEC grounds also. Just wanted to make sure anyone reading this did not use that rear shock top nut for a ground.

 

[cbarr300]

nice info. ya learn something new everyday

 

[go-stang5.0]

I have a kill switch under my rear bumper...but I also run my + cable under the car.
Also, I ran the wire from my battery to my starter, then put the original wire that went from the battery to the starter (under the hood) on the power distribution box. That way you can get away with a shorter + cable. And you have less wire running all around the car.

 

[Bosko5.0]

Well it turns out that it is a #2 cable not a #6(was right next to it though).

Do you think that will be enough??

 

[madams74]

You must have at least a #2 AWG for your Mustang. No questions asked. All the NEC charts and online calculators will show you that even a #2 is pushing it. But with a 5% tolerance, you are OK with a #2.

 

[HISSIN50]

I agree with Madams74 and would not use #2 for a rear-mount battery. At all. A good deal is nice but it sucks if you have to redo your work when the cables degrade a little.

 

[95Vert]

...

 

[cbarr300]

2/0 is the way to go man

do it once and do it right

 

[Bosko5.0]

I want the cable to be flexible enough. Also Does anybody have a chart that has the the distance vs. size of wire thats needed.

 

[Bosko5.0]

Well since no one responded to my PM'S

I decided to go with 1/0 cable I got 15ft pos. and 5ft of neg. and another #4 of neg to run from the battery ground(chassis) to the front either block or stock battery grund. And I also and using the connectors that were reccomended by matt.

 

[gcomfx.com]

Having to much ground wire can actually be a bad thing. Just try to keep your frame connections to a minimum. You can create a large area for noise to be collected. Hince the WHINE you may hear in your speakers. Research ground noise on the net and you will see the effects on electronics, particularly in car stereos. As far as the rear shock mount shock mount goes for attaching a ground, be sure you do not use the top stud nut on the shock. This is rubber isolated from the frame on the top and bottom, and as far as the lowest part of the shock goes underneath, it also has a rubber bushing insert. You should keep the ground as short as possible. The best ground is to find an area of the metal interior frame that already has a hole in it (unless you want to drill your own). Sand the paint off down to the bare metal, and use a bolt, washer, and nut to attach your lug to the frame. The front ground cable from the engine block corner to the frame can be kept, as was mentioned before, the EEC grounds also. Just wanted to make sure anyone reading this did not use that rear shock top nut for a ground.

When people mention the rear shock, they are usually talking about the rear quad shock bolt on the MOUNT for the shock. Not the shock itself. This is where I put mine, and it works great.