Home Made Battery Cables

[Machspeed]

I was inspecting my battery cables yesterday and noted that they have some significant wear. The terminal on the positive cable is cracked and the negative OEM cable is worn. I'm thinking it's time for replacement and upgrade. Spent some time on the web and Amazon looking around last night but would like some suggestions on replacing them. I plan to buy the components, cut and swedge the connectors. Thanks!

[Gary Lewis]

John - I have the 16 Ton terminal crimper shown below.  That one is currently unavailable, but this one is now available.

You are welcome to borrow this one, but it isn't worth it to ship as the round-trip cost would be an appreciable portion of the $60 of getting a new one.  And, mine is leaking hydraulic fluid and needs to either have an o-ring replaced or the whole unit replaced.

HOWEVER, before you venture down this path, a word of warning: the die are metric and will not properly crimp normal AWG terminals.  I've found that Magnelugs are sufficiently larger that they will work fairly well in those die, although they leave a piece of "flashing" sticking out that you'll then need to either trim or crimp back lightly.

Magnelugs aren't cheap, although Amazon is 5x the price of where I get them.  And you can't just run down to the local hardware store and buy them.  But they are good, and I've not had any problems with them whatsoever.

So, if I were doing this again I'd look for a crimper with AWG die.  I don't know that they exist in the price range I'm willing to pay.  But I'd still be looking for them.

[Machspeed]

Thanks Gary. Couple things I need to decide, one being what gauge cable to run. According to the charts I've reviewed, 4AWG should be fine for the Amps and length of cable I will need to run. I know you guys are bigger is better though....lol! Thoughts?

Also, I'm reading that all copper is not equal???

The other thing is the connectors and terminals, etc.....i.e military vs. marine style. Recommendations?

Last night I looked as swedging the connectors and the multiple tools for doing it. I think I may go this route:   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E1UUVT0/?coliid=I3GFR3ZMKNJ0OB&colid=1RQN2U4NUJ1K&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I've been looking at this site for information and products: https://www.batterycablesusa.com/

Input and thoughts please!

[ArdWrknTrk]

Is there a reason you don't want an off the shelf pair of cables?

What do you intend for battery terminals?
Or are you going with military terminals and having everything bolt on with lugs?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Doh!
I guess I was distracted while you submitted your last post.

Personally, I would go with standard posts rather than marine style stud and wingnuts.
If you do drop a plate in the middle of nowhere you probably don't want to be stuck with buying a deep cycle until you get back to 'civilazation'.

I have 2/0 ground and charge cables, but I used a Motorcraft #2 cable the last time I rearranged my passenger inner fender for the mini PDC.

[Machspeed]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Is there a reason you don't want an off the shelf pair of cables?

What do you intend for battery terminals?
Or are you going with military terminals and having everything bolt on with lugs?

All good questions, Jim! My positive battery cable is done and I went on Rock Auto to see what a replacement cable would cost but couldn't find one. This is a simple cable, maybe 6" in length total. Unless I overlooked and misread it, they had all kinds of crazy lengths for my vehicle. A 52" positive battery cable for my truck....what? A black positive battery cable???

Regardless, I desire to upgrade and want a better cable with lugs for possible adaptability.

[Gary Lewis]

There's a lot of truth in what Jim is saying about marine terminals vs battery posts.  Plus, there have been suggestions that the marine terminals may not be capable of supplying as much current as the posts, but that may be an old wife's tale.

I'm using marine terminals as the battery that was originally in Big Blue when I got him had them.  But if I was doing it over again I'd think about using the posts.  And I can make a case for either way.

On the crimping tool, I don't like the idea of just driving a stake into the terminal.  It doesn't seem very well controlled, nor does it give the neatly crimped terminals the hydraulic crimpers give.  For the price difference I'd still go hydraulic.  I've used mine many, many times and love the results.  I get cables the length I want them.

As for copper, I buy mine from Great Lakes Skipper.  They have marine cable that is tinned the whole way, which makes it more corrosion-proof, and has small strands so it is more flexible.  But their prices are better than some others.  Scott/kramttocs has a different supplier, but I've not compared prices.

And I went with 2/0 for two reasons.  First, I had some left over from the battery work on the boat.  But secondly, because Sea Ray used 2/0 on the cables on the boat and I assumed they knew what they were doing.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Any '90's truck with a PMGR starter needs a pretty long positive cable.
Usually these are a 'y' from the fender solenoid.

I guess I should say my ~1' long Motorcraft cable is only from the Megafuse to the battery.
My starter cable is from the fuse as well.

But I soldered the lugs on (just like the RJM kit) so IDK about needing a hydraulic press for 2/0 cable.

[Machspeed]

Thanks for the input fellas! I like to know the "why's" to people's decision making. Here's another option and one I am entertaining from the site I listed above. Their product seems to be very high quality:

https://www.batterycablesusa.com/4-gauge-awg-extreme-battery-cable-with-ends

I'll check out the website you mentioned, Gary.

[Gary Lewis]

John - Their pricing isn't bad.  I just spec'd out the #2 cable that I have from the aux power relay to the inverter, which is right at 10'.  Their price with terminals is $33.02 using marine grade cable.  I may have had that much in mine as 10' of #2 was $25 from GLS.  Then there were the Magnalugs at $2.50/ea and heat shrink.

[Machspeed]

Gary Lewis wrote

On the crimping tool, I don't like the idea of just driving a stake into the terminal.  It doesn't seem very well controlled, nor does it give the neatly crimped terminals the hydraulic crimpers give.  For the price difference I'd still go hydraulic.  I've used mine many, many times and love the results.  I get cables the length I want them.

I get what you're saying Gary and I thought the same until I watched the video I posted below. And, that tool has awesome reviews. Check out the video all the way to the end, as it shows what the cut open cable looks like using several tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqOa2d8v8Tw

[Gary Lewis]

I'll check it out after church, John.  Off to Bible class now.  Later, gator....

[grumpin]

I made cables for my 88 7.3. I soldered them with a butane torch and used heat shrink.

[85lebaront2]

I had to build a negative cable for my 86 Chrysler convertible. Chrysler used a "soft" alternator mount so the alternator case has to be grounded, the engine is grounded at the head and there is a body ground also. To compound matters, the ground cable is integrated into the engine harness, which means the ecm sensors and the gauge sensors run through the cableway. Here is a picture of the original and the one I made.

[Gary Lewis]

John - I'm watching the video and taking notes:

Marine Terminals: He has an excellent point that they are good if you are going to add accessories.  I have a winch as well as the aux power cable on the aux battery.

Terminals: He said terminals can be expensive and may go to $5/ea.  He's buying the wrong ones from the wrong place.  I got 5 Magnalug #2 & 1 GA for $11.66, making them $2.33/ea.  And I don't think you can come close to the Magnalug quality with the cheap copper terminals he's using.  Magnalugs are ~twice as thick and are already tinned.

Dow Corning Compound: I add Dow's electrical compound/grease into the terminal before inserting the wire.  Yes, it is an insulating grease, but it gets squeezed out in the crimp.  However, I wonder if a connection were cut apart like he did what it would look like with the grease?

Crimper vs Staker: He had a good point that it would be hard to hit the staker up under a truck. I do my best to make my connections on the bench, but the ones I recently did through the cab corners were done on the truck.  But, as I think about it, had I put the grommet on the wire before installing the terminal I could have made it on the bench.  Still, there will be a time.

Tinned wire: He was using raw copper wire.  I really prefer the tinned "marine cable" as I know the solder is going to prevent corrosion far better than copper.

All in all, it was an informative video.  His findings of the strands having been mashed into a solid matches what I've seen before.  But his problem with die sizing also matches what I've seen and experienced.  So the striking tool does have some advantages as it is one-size-fits-all.  But my 16-ton crimper sure does a nice job as well.

Guess you can't go wrong.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

Remember that all the splices in these harnesses are 'mechanically welded'....

That's right, just a incredibly heavy crimp with the right sized die.

[Gary Lewis]

Yep, and I've tried to pull them apart.  They seem to be truly fused.  And the insulation goes right up to the spot where they are fused, so there wasn't much heat.

I've been thinking about my 16-ton crimper, and I don't want people to think it is the best thing since sliced bread.  It has worked for me, but I have always had the problem of it not crimping correctly, which I attributed to the die being sized for metric wire.  To compensate I've been using the much thicker Magnalugs, but even then the die leave "wings" sticking out to the side.

Given that and the fact that my crimper is now failing I've been keeping my eyes open for a possible replacement.  And I may have found one.  It is called TEMCo Industrial Hydraulic Cable Lug Crimper TH0005 V2.0, and while it is $140 it has AWG die instead of metric ones.  In fact, it has 32 die sets from 10 gauge to 600 MCM, including half-steps between sizes so you fine tune your crimps.

And, on the TEMco site they say "Leading competitors flattened hex profile attempts to compensate for poor die to terminal fit. This under crimps and often leaves sharp “wings.”  That seems to perfectly describe my die.

I'm not ready to buy, but I am saying that the run-of-the-mill Chinese crimpers don't have the right die.  So if any of you know of other crimpers that appear to have the right die, meaning ones that are in AWG sizes, please let me know.

[Machspeed]

Thanks for the responses gentlemen! Pulled my ground cable today and it is worse than I had thought. The insulation is brittle and whole chunks were falling off of it as I was stretching it out to measure. It's the OEM unit. The positive cable had been replaced in the past but the terminal is cracked. Interestingly, the cable running to the starter motor appears fine. Think I'll leave it for now.

Couple of questions, first being what is the gauge of these OEM cable. I'm thinking it's 4AWG, can I get a confirmation? I think I measured ~.350" with my verniers around the insulation.  

Also, note the picture below. In the approximate middle of the cable, the insulation was removed and a metal band is wrapped around it which has a bolt that screws into the frame. Is this another way to ensure ground? Should I replicated it in a new cable or merely secure it in the location it was in?    

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

The 'flag' is indeed to create a ground path from frame to battery.
Or maybe I should say to tie block, frame and negative terminal all together.

When I redid my block ground I just used a short cable from the bolt on the corner of the block back to the bolt in the frame.
You can still get the OEM Motorcraft cables, but boy are they $$$ at retail!

[Gary Lewis]

Yep, I'd go like Jim suggested with two separate cables.

As far as size, this table says that is probably a #2 cable.  Stranded wire is very difficult to measure and determine the size of because the # of strands makes a big difference.  In fact, a #2 can go from .306" to .373" in diameter depending on the strands, and that is just from that chart.  I'd be willing to bet the #2 I have been using has more than 36 strands, which would make it even larger in diameter.  But it would still have the same current rating.