[firefish]

I am about to move my battery to the trunk. I'm trying to figure out the best route for the new cable. Starting point is at the current battery location. There are a number of hoses and wires moving down from the battery and into the right side front wheel well, covered by a piece of plastic and I guess this is the best route to start with. But after that? You who have done this, how did you route it?

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

i have

first, make sure you use 0 guage high strand number (like 4200) cable - do NOT use standard 2 gauge battery cable - there will be too much loss over the run

then, make sure all of your connectors are better than lead - gold is good - again, lead has too much loss

then, as to routing, i ran it down along side the brake lines, then down and along the outer edge of the car, back up and over the differential, and then into the hole in the bottom of the wheel well, making sure i had grommets and rubber isolators anywhere it could get near sheet metal - i also installed protective cable wrap anywhere it made a turn or got near going around a corner

make sure the battery is mounted firmly in the wheel well - do not merely wedge it in there - i ended up making a saddle out of aluminum, and suspended it from the mounting points of the weight that comes in a cab

i drew up a kit for this for both cabs and hardtops, and have just been waiting for either higher connections or rs barn to determine they had a market for it before i made them up

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[firefish]

I have the Odyssey ER30 and I'm gonna get the Odyssey hold down for it - should install nicely.

As for cable I bought a 35 mm2 cable which is in between ga2 and ga0 and I hope it is enough. Copper is heavy and the next step over here is 50 mm2 which is BIG.

I was thinking about routing it the way you described but I am a little concerned about what would happen in a side impact - I wouldn't wanna get a short and the fire.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

i have no idea how you are going to use the odyssey hold down in the wheel well - the plate upon which the battery sits must be securely attached to the car - it cannot just rest in there- work out some way to attach whatever you are going to use securely to the car - the battery cannot be allowed to jump up and down, and cannot be held in by gravity alone

as for the cable, make sure it is high strand count - the more the better - remember that voltage travels on the outside of the strand - welding cable for example will not work well over long runs in automotive use - you will get voltage loss - measure a known voltage source across the length you intend to use, using the connectors you intend to use - it should be less than 1/4 volt drop over the run, and must be less than 1/2 volt drop

as for the side impact issue, that is a risk i chose to take

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[DaveN]

Correct me if I'm wrong (and Flash will [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] but after 35 years of electronics I question the voltage travelling on the outside of the conductor in a DC world and therefore your strand count theory. This is an AC phenomenon and of high importance at high frequencies such as microwaves - the reason waveguide are hollow is becuase nothing travels down the centre of them - all skin effect. I have refreshed my tired brain from the wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect and conclude DC is passive in this respect. Yes?

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

that's what i thought too, but i'm not the electrical guy and i'm going on info from all the stereo gurus i've talked to on this one - being the skeptic, i did test regular battery cable against high strand count, and got less loss with the high strand count, so i thought maybe they knew what they were talking about - additionally the high strand count cable is a lot easier to route, as it is much more flexible - that one was enough for me to use it, no matter how much it cost

here is a pretty good tech sheet on cable though:

http://www.stormcable.com/uploads/Wire_conductors.pdf

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[DaveN]

Yea, the high strand count if much better for flexibility. At our office we use a lot of electricity, both DC and Microwave. Our DC conductors are generally solid copper bars with 1000A travelling through them; ya don't test those with your tongue!

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[firefish]

The neatest way would be to use a solid aluminum conductor like in the Volvo 240 Gp A (and others too I'd guess). I don't know how good it is but I have felt it in my hand and it is LIGHT.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[DaveN]

You have to much more Al though as it has poorer conductivity that Cu so size may get to be an issue. Besides, they stopped using in housing constuction becuase under load it can get hot (again due to it's poor conductivity) if not terminated properly hence your house burns down [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif[/img]

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[firefish]

Maybe not so suitable for a daily driver then...

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.