Battery cables ????

[buckeyedon]

Probably a dumb question But. When you locate your battery in your trunk what size wires do you guys run for positive and ground. Do you prefer ground to frame and then engine to frame . Or run it all the back to the engine? All suggestions, info, preferances appreciated. Thanks

 

[joehalford01]

one gauge wire, ground to frame, ground engine to frame. you can get a little bit more specific on exactly where you want to attach your cable to the frame as far as distance from motor and the length of the cable but i'm not too sure on whats best.

 

[FlatBroke]

One guage wire is what I've always heard of. The negative cable should be as short as possible.
SOO, I guess that means I'm supporting what Joe said,"Battery (-) to frame and engine (-) to frame as well.

 

[Bonehead]

That is the way I set mine up too.

 

[Gastrick]

Don, This pic is of the bottom of my Anglia. The battery is behind the seat. I welded a threaded lug to the chassis for the negative battery cable attachment and the engine is grounded to the chassis with a ground strap, as is the trans. I've heard experts say that the ground cable should be run to the front of the car with the positive lead and attached to the frame there, but I don't do it that way.

 

[motomech]

A little thing about electricity ... the electrons move ALONG the strands , not IN the strands.
Lots of guys I used to work with were hotrodders ... they kept a watchful eye on the routine safety checks performed on welding equipment. Welding leads were checked regularly for cracks , splits , ANY type of damage. Bad / Old cables were discarded in a dumpster on a regular basis - NO SPLICING ALLOWED in the power industry. They make excellent battery cables , especially for re-located long runs.

so are you saying "the more strands the better" and still use 0 gauge?

 

[4dr orphan]

I get the message that I should use one guage for the ground. Do I then use the same guage from the positive terminal of the battery the 15+ feet to the starter solenoid?

Please advise.........

Ed

 

[maddog]

Go here and put in the numbers, it will tell you how big the wire should be.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/voltagedropcalc.html

Current is carried on the surface of the wire, not in the center, so the more strands you have the more current it can carry. In other words, more surface area of copper.

Fine stranded wire is also more flexible and should allways be used in automotive and marine applications. Things are allways moving and vibrating. Copper work hardens and if it is bent enough times the strans will break, that introduces resistance into the circuit. That makes voltage drop at the appliance (headlight gets 10v instead of 13v) and the current draw goes up (that makes heat) and you burn wires and blow fuses.

You allways measure distance from the source (bat + to the appliance (headlight) and back to the source (bat -)

If a wire is corroded, like on the last inch of you battery cable, the corrosion on the surface (remember current uses the surface of the copper strand) of the strands resists carrying current (resistance) and thats why things get hot, starters dont work, etc etc.

Corrosion can be anywhere, on any wire or connector. Most folks dont understand how important this is. Just ask Don. He works in the marine industry. I can tell you, if a boat has a problem, its in the wireing. Am I right Don?

Electricity is mathmatical. It's a formula between Voltage, Amperage and Resistance. Change any one of these and the others will change to make the math work.

Finally, if you let all the smoke out of an electrical thing of any kind (motor, wire, etc) you have to get another one with more smoke in it.

 

[maddog]

One more thing.
Tinned copper wire doesnt corrode (very well).
It looks silver in color.
Cost more but its way better if you want to do a first class job.
Get it at a marine supply.

 

[buckeyedon]

Thanks for the help guys. Maddog neat site. Don

 

[4dr orphan]

What a way to enter a forum with your first post. This is cause for great discussion. Never heard this before, so you know I'm interested in your point. I hope others chime in. From one "newbie" to another, welcome aboard FTW!

When I have made inquiries (locally) about the wire size, the most common answer I've received is #2 gage wire. Any opinions out there?

 

[maddog]

FTW, Welcome.
You sound like you know what you are talking about. Maybe thats why a DC welder uses fine stranded wire and then a big solid lug. I know the fine strands help flexibility, but I was under the impression that it carried more current.

What about the corrosion on the surface. I had an electrician that worked on boats explain that to me years ago and I excepted it as truth. This was a couple decades ago, before big booming stereros.

Tell me more.

 

[Tripper]

Finally, if you let all the smoke out of an electrical thing of any kind (motor, wire, etc) you have to get another one with more smoke in it.

DANG IT!!! This whole time... I've been usin' smokeless!!! ; - <

Note to self: More smoke!