[Rittmeister]

Alright!

Is there any reason not to run two cables from the trunk, one positive one negative, all the way to the engine compartment, and splice into the existing battery cables there? It seems like this would be the easiest wat to do this, providing that I made the splices well, insulated, and attached them to something in the engine bay so they didn't move around.

I know all about house wiring but after reading all the posts here about battery relo I am scared to death and admit that I really don't understand all that's being said.

Thanks muchly, guys...

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1994 SE-R Super Black
HS CAI, STB, NX console, 15" rolling stock, more to come...

 

[grailer]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Stine asked:
Is there any reason not to run two cables from the trunk, one positive one negative, all the way to the engine compartment, and splice into the existing battery cables there?</font>

None at all, provided you use sufficient gauge cable for the span. This is exactly what I did in fact, so I could ground to the stock grounding location. I figured by doing so, I'd be eliminating variables that would be difficult to track down later.

As a final test, I check the output voltage on the battery in the trunk with the car running vs. voltage under the hood where the battery would've been (at my cross-connects). It was perfect - no loss at all to the trunk down to 100ths of a volt. So, no charging issues with the relo'ed battery, which can be a real pain.


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'91 Classic w/the usual stuff

"It is better to go into a corner slow and come out fast than to go
into a corner fast and come out dead" - Stirling Moss

 

[Rittmeister]

Grailer -

What guage cable did you use, and what type of splices did you use?

Thanks a lot. Really appreciate the input!

 

[Rittmeister]

bump

 

[Rocketman]

if you are going to use just two cable i think you would need to use at least four gauge and maybe larger. Another suggestion is if you do run a power and a ground all the way to the front i would recommed running the power up on side and ground somewhere else to minimize the chance uf a short in an accident.

Just some thoughts.
Rick


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92 SE-R w/ CAI by hotshot, Battery relocate by Me, Tunes by Sony and JL, And communications by Icom

 

[Rittmeister]

How about grounding it in the trunk and just running the positive to the engine bay?

 

[grailer]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Stine asked:
What guage cable did you use, and what type of splices did you use?</font>

First, I ran cables using the route suggested in SCC's article. Second,
I fab'ed a mount for the battery in the trunk over the muffler using aluminum
right-angle brackets, two U-bolts, and a nylon strap. Since I use a Westco
gel-cell, I don't need a battery box.

For splices, I used two of Summit's battery bulkhead connectors (p/n SUM-G1431)
and fabricated my own plate out of stainless steel, drilled holes for the
connectors, painted the plate white to match the car, and mounted the plate
where the old battery tray was.

I had two 14' 2-gauge cables (one red and one black (duh)) cut at the local
battery place, terminated on one end with top-mount battery terminals for the
battery. The other ends I left unterm'ed.

After I had the plate fab'ed for the bulkhead connectors and the cables ran, I
drove the car to the battery shop. I then disconnected & removed the old
battery, removed the tray, installed the plate with bulkhead connectors
installed, then turned it over to them. They cut the ends off the stock cables
and re-terminated them with the appropriate gauge ring terminals. They also
terminated the cables I ran with ring terminals. I then bolted everything up to
the bulkhead connectors, with trunk cables coming into the bottom of the
connectors and engine bay connectors coming into the top, and fired her up.

Worked like a charm. We then tested voltages to make sure all was well and it
passed with flying colours. I've been running like this since early spring with
no issues.

Good luck!


------------------
'91 Classic w/the usual stuff

"It is better to go into a corner slow and come out fast than to go
into a corner fast and come out dead" - Stirling Moss

 

[grailer]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Stine posed:
How about grounding it in the trunk and just running the positive to the engine bay?</font>

Sure, you can do that - many have - but as I said, I elected not to. The voltages and currents our cars run are so slight, that I elected to ground to the stock location to prevent problems. A good ground is critically important (e.g., MAF) and I felt the resistance imparted by the car's chassis to a trunk-ground to be inviting trouble.


------------------
'91 Classic w/the usual stuff

"It is better to go into a corner slow and come out fast than to go
into a corner fast and come out dead" - Stirling Moss