[stealthx32]

2 gauge battery wire is 1 foot short. What do I do?

(a) crimp some 2 gauge to some 2 gauge with a cylinder of some sort.
(b) crimp ring terminals on both sides, and bolt 'em together.
(c) get a distro block and use it as a coupler.
(d) use a fuse holder as a coupler. <= probably won't work because my starter pulls what, 600 amps when cranking? Although I've read some battery relocation kits that have a 60 amp fuse... :crazy: Fuse is probably good so my car doesn't burn down in flames. Then again, there are kits without fuses...
(e) solder that baby to death.
(f) don't be cheap and buy new wire.

This is actually for a battery relocation, but I figure you guys play around with thick wires more than the normal human being does.

TIA.

 

[JokerPassat]

I would prefer to buy new wire but if you don't want to do that then at least solder them. You should have that battery independently fused anyways and if you don't then put in a fuse block!

 

[O22Ripper]

Buy new wire Jimmy, lazy fooo! Haha....

-Branden

 

[quality_sound]

Do you already have a fuse at the battery? If not this will be a perfect place for one. If the wire is for the stereo and not the starter then it doesn't matter what the current draw of the starter is since it's a different circuit.


Paul :thumbup:

 

[1.8Tabamoura]

Buy a new wire.... :thumbup:

 

[rollininstyle2004]

(f)

 

[stealthx32]

This was for relocating my battery to my trunk. Better weight distribution, man!

Plus, its easier for me to wire up a ton of amplifiers if I wanted to.

Anyways, what I did was I just took 2 gauge and bolted it to the wall of my trunk (because it wouldn't reach), and I took two 4 gauge wires and bolted that to the battery. :weirdo: On the positive side, I used heat shrink tubing to hopefully isolate my ghetto connection so I don't start any fires.

Now that the battery will be about a foot from the amp, I could probably use 8 gauge wire, huh... The amp is a wimpy 440 watts (2x120 watts bridged to the front, 1x200 for my IDQ10). But with my thin backseats, it might be enough bass for me. We'll see.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm too cheap @ $3 a foot to buy another 13 feet. h:

 

[Fred 01 Hybrid]

Not that I recommend it but........ you can go to home depot.... go to the electrical department... you can get a double female compresions but terminal used for heavy duty commercial wiring for about $4.00... then use 3m super 33 electrical tape and wrap the piss out of it then take a 4 inch piece of 1.75 thermflex insulated heat shrink and cover over that.... everything is available at home depot.... this is a safe way to do it as long as you protect the termination but I would still buy new wire... 8)

 

[centrifugalpower]

A good wire to use for battery relocation is 0 gauge stranded welding wire. I have done many race car battery relocations using this wire. It has a good
protective covering and carries current very well. It can be bought by the foot at welding supply stores, and it costs less than buying kits. The welding supply stores usually carry all the connections and heat shrink you may need.

 

[Jdubu81]

hey jimmy.. go get another foot or two fo wire.. and fun a fuse... you should have one no farther then 2 feet away from the battery anyways.. so it'll work out...

 

[Paradigm]

A good wire to use for battery relocation is 0 gauge stranded welding wire. I have done many race car battery relocations using this wire. It has a good
protective covering and carries current very well. It can be bought by the foot at welding supply stores, and it costs less than buying kits. The welding supply stores usually carry all the connections and heat shrink you may need.

I couldn't agree more. I work in construction, and I see 1/0 welding wire get cut all the time so I always take it home with me. When someone wants to wire up an amp I give it to them, 1/0 is more than enough for just about anything.
And my favorite part about the 1/0 welding cable is that the insulation is thin so it's about the diameter of 4AWG car audio wire. But even tho the insulation is thin, it's still VERY strong and flexible.

 

[Postman]

And my favorite part about the 1/0 welding cable is that the insulation is thin so it's about the diameter of 4AWG car audio wire

I would be a little worried abou that insulation with a wire that can carry that much current. Lots of metal in cars to short on.

 

[Paradigm]

I would be a little worried abou that insulation with a wire that can carry that much current. Lots of metal in cars to short on.

Like I said, it's stronger than the thick insulation that normal heavy gauge car audio power wire uses.

Welding cables are made to be dragged all over, thru sharp metal, ran over by incredibly heavy machinary, etc. It'll stand up quite well.

 

[gte718p]

Welding cable is the way to go. Its designed for hi amp situations. You can buy black 1000 400V welding wire for 1.50 a foot, and red for 4.00 a foot at Grainger or McMaster. Don't try to solder large wires. Unless you know what your doing you are going to get a cold joint. Its fine for low power applications, but with high current its a dangerous failure point.

 

[mghunt]

Stop at a welding place and buy new wire. They sell "down" to 4 gauge.
-Mark

 

[phantom GLI]

Stealth you do know that you will have to buy al larger battery to keep up the amperage through the line for the power accessories right?


Every OEM application I have seen with the battery in the trunk and the car loaded with power accessories has had a BIG fricking battery so don't forget about that aspect of the relocation since you with have to set aside a spot for your new BIG fricking battery.

Don't get me wrong the stock battery will work ....... for a few weeks remeber you are not building a race car so the battery has to have a higher amperage capacity.

 

[quality_sound]

Stealth you do know that you will have to buy al larger battery to keep up the amperage through the line for the power accessories right?

Are you on crack? Until the cable gets hundreds of feet long it won't have enough resistance to justify a larger battery. The stock battery will be fine.

Every OEM application I have seen with the battery in the trunk and the car loaded with power accessories has had a BIG fricking battery so don't forget about that aspect of the relocation since you with have to set aside a spot for your new BIG fricking battery.

Have you seen the size of the OEM battery? It's bigger (in size and CCA) than the Optima Yellow Top I replaced it with.

Don't get me wrong the stock battery will work ....... for a few weeks remeber you are not building a race car so the battery has to have a higher amperage capacity.

Where did you come up with this stuff?



Paul :thumbup:

 

[phantom GLI]

Well Quality I don't smoke crack. ( And I don't know where you get yours)

I will admit I don't have the whole voltage and amps thing down yet, but I know this one thing If I am going to make a modification to my car I consult with people that are knowlegeable about the subject matter. And I always try to make sure that what ever I am doing is an improvement to the vehicle I alway document what I have done, so that when it time to sell the new owner can consult my records so they know what is going on.

It is very obvious that you know your $h!t but all of us out there don't have time to hang out in stereo stores and read all the magazines a play with new electronic gizmos.

I figured that since so many OEM applications use a very large battery that it would help if you did the same

I am assuming the reason they did this is so that with a full electrical load there would be a surplus. Such as all the defrosters on, all the lights on, the radios on, seat heaters you get the idea.

Here is just a few cars that use very large batteries that are mounted in the trunk

Porsche 928 from mid seventies to mid eighties
Jaguar XJS mid seventies to early nighties
E30 (3series) Bmw 1984 to 1991
W202 (C class) mercedes benz 1995 to 2000
BMw 850i (actually has two batteries)

 

[quality_sound]

I am assuming the reason they did this is so that with a full electrical load there would be a surplus. Such as all the defrosters on, all the lights on, the radios on, seat heaters you get the idea.

When the car is running, the battery is nothing but a load like a defroster or light bulb. The alternator is what actually provides the power for everything in the car. The battery only provides start up current, smooths voltage spikes and provides reserve power in the very unlikely circumstance that you're drawing more power than the alternator can provide, and if you're doing that no battery will keep you running for long.


Paul :thumbup:

 

[buildingctsamg]

return the wire saying it was defective.....then buy the right size wire