hi
i'm going to change my battery cables
i have a 4 gauge for the positive side
I hope it helps with the slow starting.
and a 2/0 gauge for the negative side i heard heavier the ground the better but not really sure on that
plus i would like to add more grounds other than just the one
anybody have any ideas as to where to locate new grounds
i thought about going form the battery top the strut tower with a heavy 2/0 cable and then another one to the alternator bracket. is this a good idea?
Most of all i want it to look good i dont just want wires running all over the place. looking like hell you know what i 'm sayin
any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Don

 

The heavier guage the wire you use, the larger load it can carry. Thats why people suggest to use grounds larger then supply.

As far as grounding goes, I don't know about with the FB (haven't worked too much electrical with mine) all you should have to do is look over your electrical system and figure out some ways to add more grounds. Remember, all it takes for a ground is to be attached to bare metal.

 

thanks supper

 

are you making your own cables? If so, can you put the list of parts up here you used and prices? I'm wanting to redo mine as well, the one for my alt. looks like crap and is in need of a new cable. I know you just can't buy a normal set of wire for ours.....Thanks in advance....

 

for basic grounds, you need 2.

a 2/0 gauge from the - terminal on the body DIRECTLY to the engine block
and a 4 gauge from the - terminal directly to the body.

anything else can now be grounded to either the engine/trans or the body without worrying about anything.

 

Terrh
where would you attach the cable on the block?
plus i guess i'm a little confused how to run 2 ground wires directly from the one negative battery terminal? especially a 2/0 and a 4 gauge...would the post clamps be able to handle that size of wires. or am i missing something
i'm running a 4 gauge form the battery positve side to the starter
let me know
Don

 

grounds are usually the weakest electrical point on most cars

 

run those wires in some pretty wire loom, then you can zip tie them or something similar to fenders and firewall to keep em out of the way

you can really get fancy with the wire loom, all sorts of colors, and tees to make it look professional, really simple stuff and the engine bay will look real nice

 

hi
i plan on getting some of those cable and wire covers to dress it up.
i'm just trying to decide sure how many grounds i should run for sure?

 

Original battery cables were aluminum which is NG because of corrosion. Replace with multi-stranded copper, NOT solid copper because of the skin effect (current tends to run at the skin, not the core: stranded has much more skin to offer). The best is welding cable, and it has the bonus of being VERY flexible. Get battery terminal connectors at a boat shop, like West Marine: you can even get solid copper for about $10 each.

Relatively small welding cable works better than thick solid copper.

B

 

Here you go! Eveything you need!
http://www.jimrothe.com/mazda/battery_cables.html

 

thanks
this is some great advise
Don

 

thanks for the link...The question I asked earlier was regarding the battery cables(parts list) not the ground cables.

 

Experienced mechanics attach the positive cable first and then attach the final ground AWAY FROM THE BATTERY! The reason is to avoid drawing a spark in the vicinity of the battery where there is some amount of hydrogen gas from the electrolyte which could explode. This actually happened to a friend of mine and blew him about 20 feet back. Luckily he survived. And he is a pretty good mechanic, too: maybe he's just worked on too many cars and got careless.

When you're loosening the battery terminals it's pretty easy to accidentally touch the body with the nether end of your wrench and draw a dandy spark! Therefore, start by loosening the negative side (where you won't draw a spark) and securing it away from the battery, then loosen the positive.

Same kind of logic applies to hooking booster cables: figure it out.

We used to learn this stuff 50 years ago when it was common for teenage guys to work at the local Phillips 66 station (2 pumps) , and we did everything from polishing windshields to overhauling engines. The boss always had a wreck parked in the back he was trying to fix in hopes of selling it for a few bucks extra. Had an office about 5x5 feet, filled with batteries on trickle chargers, tanks of kerosene, oxy-acetylene torch in the back, and a 20,000 gallon tank of gas underneath. We washed the driveway down with gasoline. And we all chain-smoked cigarettes, too! Tho not while we washed the driveway. It's a miracle we made it.

B

 

Good advise........ thanks
although i just want to had more grounds wires to the car. instead of having just one. the way i understand it and what i have read it seems like the more grounds the better .
i was going to buy a grounding system form apex but decided after talking to another member about this he suggested to just add more grounds and use a heavier ground wire like a 2/0 gauge coming off the battery and then smaller ground cables about 3 more.
i just need some ideas on where to mount these additional cables

Chunky monkey
this is what i bought
i bought a premade 4 gauge positve wire 54 inches long it already had the wire for the fusible link on it.
the 2/0 gauge i'm buying form Farm and fleet its like farm supply and super hardware store.
it will be premade also but its really heavy gauge its made for tractors. they have a huge supply in different lengths.
they also sell just plain cables in diffrent lengths that are 4 gauge and 2 gauge but they dont have the post end on them. so i'm going to use them for the addioinal grounds
hope this helps
Don

 

thanks, that was exactly what I was looking for

 

soder all connections. dont try to use a sodering gun. the wire will suck the heat out of the gun so fast it wont melt the soder at all.

i used a small little butane torch.

i put the terminal in the vise grips, but the vise grips in an old can so it can stand up. put some sticks of soder in the terminal, then i melted the soder and heated the cable up at the same time. then just stuck the cable into the terminal full of molten soder, works like a champ. i used the soder with the flux in the middle.

carl.

 

thanks Carl
thats why i could never get a could connection using my soldergun
i thought the gun was just bad and not getting hot enough.
i'm going to buy one of them pencil butane torches then.
Don

 

These tips might help

- Use the same size for positive and negative connections.
- Use the shortest lenth of wire possible.
- Terminate all conections with soldered copper lugs.

Add these connections (4AWG stereo cable, or 2AWG auto supply, minimum)

- From alternator output to battery positive
- From battery negative to bare metal chassis (such as middle of drivers side strut tower)
- From the previous chassis connection to engine block, close to the starter (one of the 2 starter bolts works well, or the other bellhousing bolts)
- Battery positive to fuseable links (because this connection is so short, you can use 8AWG)

I recently added these connections on my new car and it decreased the voltage drop caused by accessory use.

 

./

 

The ground i would run would be 1 from battery right to frame, then from frame to starter....
Engine block, probably off the rear housing to the frame...
Then battery to alternator (Probably just to the bracket)

any other points of emphasis?

 

Thank you
This is what i was really looking for
different grounding points.
Don