sup guys

relocating my battery. bought my taylor aluminum battery box just a couple things that im wondering. What do i do with the old wires (+ and - ones that went to the battery terminals)? Where do i run the new one too? the starter? any help on this would be great... or just tell me wat u did with urs...

by the way 1990 rx7 tII

 

I ran the positive cable which was 0/0 gauge all the way from postive of battery to where the old terminal was in the engine bay. Then just grounded the negative right next to the battery on the frame.

 

anyone do anything else? just trying to see wat everyone did then ill decide.... thanks


matt

 

I did the same. Ran pos line from battery through passenger compartment and firewall to the cable it was connected to originally. Grounded the negative cable to the body next to the battery.

 

same here but it is much safer to run the new positive cable outside the cab. i ran mine along/in the frame on the car up behind the heat shield intot he engine bay.

 

You guys that installed the neg on the frame next to the new batt location beefed up the engine-to-firewall ground, right? If not, that tiny black tranny ground is providing all the current for your starters...

 

well i really dont want to connect my new wire to the old one... do i have any alternatives if so can u explain it?

 

do you plan on racing at mission? if so you need to do alot more extra stuff.

 

so you can ground the current ground in the engine bay... and the ground the battery in its new location... and thats good enough?

 

yeah, i thought there was more too it.

what would i do with my MSD6a grounds on the terminals? i guess i'm gonna have to lengthen them?

 

yes im planning on taking it to mission raceway. I already know wat to do with the negative wires guys... im talking about the positive wires... i want to get rid of the old ones and only use the new ones. I dont want to put the old and new wires together thats just a cheap and easy fix. I want to do it properly im just wondering where i need to run the positive wire to? the starter? or are there other places it goes?

 

Make sure to put a curcuit breaker at each end of the cable. I wouldnt run it outside either, with the breakers is plenty safe to run it inside under the carpet. There was a thread on this where RETed had a diagram and everything and said where to get the breakers at. They are 200amp the ones I got.

 

You don't need to spend $$$ on 200A circuit breakers. 75-100A breakers work fine, because those ratings are based on time as well. A CB can take it's rated current indefinitely without tripping, and twice it's rated current for ~10 seconds before tripping.Your starter motor should only need to be energised for 2-3 seconds at a time, so there's no need for a CB to be sized to match it's running current.

 

I ran new 2awg wires from the batt to the starter, andone from the batt to the fuse block where the original one goes(on the other side of the fuse from the alt.)

 

Run the cable from the battery to the starter and terminate it there. Then run a new cable from the starter to the terminal block. Remove old wiring.

Dan

 

Don't forget about the charging cable going to the alt...
I should have said this before to avoid confusion, but if you're leaving the "old" ground in the car, with the left strut tower grounding clip left intact, and the original starter area connection left alone, you shouldn't have to worry about beefing up the tranny-firewall ground...

 

then the work, wiring, and stuff you need is much more... you need a battery kill switch on the back of the car that will kill both the battery and alt. which requires running both the alt and battery wire from front to back. keep in mind anywhere you park someone can walk up and kill the battery now (and alram)... some hide it under the rear plate. then remove the plate at the track. it'll have to be spaced out somehow to clear the swtich.

unless you have a real reason for moving it. like need room for IC piping. then don't.

 

do i still need the kill switch if i got a gell cell battery. Its an optima red top...

 

yes

and you need a sealed and outsided vented box.

 

too bad they're the same price... maybe you should search and find that threat cuz Ted says in there they are the same price and even has a link to the site.

 

plus when your trying to unflood a motor 2-3 seconds is not enough. So you'll enjoy your breaker going off.

 

I can buy a 100A breaker for considerably less than the price Ted quoted for a 200A one.
The starter motor has a 1.2kW 12V motor, so it draws ~100A. If you'd read my post properly you'd know that 100A circuit breaker will not trip if 100A is flowing through it.

You should also never crank your starter for more than 5 seconds at a time or you'll risk overheating and damaging it. It should be left to cool for 30 seconds before trying again.

 

hahaha funny you say that. at work (im a mechanic) we crank those things forever... try telling my boss that BS about overheating starters and he will laugh at you. never have we overheated any starters.

 

I'm real glad you guys don't work on my car...

Starter motors are not designed for continuous running, and have no means to dissipate heat. The longer you crank them, the hotter they get, until something melts. This is common knowledge, and any competent mechanic will know this.

 

Just a quick question about the starter thing. When doing a compression test, for example, and you are cranking the engine with the fuel injection fuse so it wont turn over, how long are you supposed to crank it then? I've heard anywhere from 3-5 seconds, but since you are doing it multiple times in a short period is this going to kill the starter? Also, I know that one method when the engine is flooded, you pull the same fuse and crank the engine a few times. So doing these things can essentially melt something right? Since you're doing it over and over? Just curious so I don't cause any problems. What do you suggest for that?