Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Upgrading your power cables

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Upgrading your power cables

    Recently, I discovered that Dodge Chargers and Chrysler 300's have a rear mounted battery and contain a very long piece of 1 gauge welding cable as a battery + wire. You can pull this out and use it as a single run from the fusebox post to the trunk or chop it up like I did and do a mid-mount battery setup and have enough 1 gauge for all the other stuff too.

    Step one is to yank out all the old wires. I removed ALL of them a year ago so the removal pics are missing. You have three main cables; one for the starter, one for the battery and one to the alternator. The alternator cable is actually two small wires together. It and the starter cable goes through a harness. Just cut it out easy and dont hurt any other wires by ripping and snatching. Do it slowly and carefully.

    The new cable..


    beginning the install by measuring up everything..




    Use corrugated plastic loom the help shield the cable against abrasion. Tape the ends and any loose points.


    running the battery + cable through the firewall..



    running the batt+ cable along the outer firewall..



    running the battery + cable around the driver's side..




    Now that the cable has been measured to proper lengths, you can begin cutting and attaching the copper ring lugs. Try to save the original 1G lug that came with the wire. The copper ones are about 4$ apiece.
    Last edited by MSDKLZE; August 7, 2011, 09:48 PM.
    DRIVE IT LIKE YOU BUILT IT!!
    94 Probe GT..no engine!

    96 Probe GT now with full-forged KLZE ..8psi untuned and buck wildCarDomain page

  • #2
    trim up the insulation and prepare the crimping tool..


    my crimping tool (Harbor Freight 6 ton hydraulic press)..


    smash! 6 tons per square inch..

    I have made a 2 gauge starter cable also using a piece of a Chevy Cobalt batt + cable..

    I had to bend the lug a little and make sure it would fit on top of the battery cable in the fuse box..

    Starter cable installed on top of batt + fusebox terminal..


    and now for the alternator.. I used the extra 1 gauge that was left over from mid-mounting the battery.

    You must use smaller 2 gauge copper lugs inside the fuse box because they are slimmer than 1 gauge lugs. 1G lugs will not bolt down correctly to the fuse studs because they are too wide.
    Here you see it bolted down on the opposite side of the fuse box..

    new alternator cable...






    inside the car, you see the gold-plated + & -batt terminals and the various grounds and +'s that go to the trunk-mounted amplifier and inverter..
    DRIVE IT LIKE YOU BUILT IT!!
    94 Probe GT..no engine!

    96 Probe GT now with full-forged KLZE ..8psi untuned and buck wildCarDomain page

    Comment


    • #3
      This is my current main ground for the battery.. its the passenger seat bolt. I removed my passenger seat long ago, so its handy.


      I may upgrade it further when I get some more 1gauge cable.
      DRIVE IT LIKE YOU BUILT IT!!
      94 Probe GT..no engine!

      96 Probe GT now with full-forged KLZE ..8psi untuned and buck wildCarDomain page

      Comment


      • #4
        Nice write up! I have been wanting to replace the cables on my pgt I just got because the previous owner fubar'd the stockers when he tried to install an amplifier.
        95 PGT in Vibrant White. Mods so far: Homebrew grounding kit, Egay cold air kit, headers. Custom exhaust.
        Planned mods: sts.

        Comment


        • #5
          Always try to use copper lugs for joining the wires and avoid those 'distribution blocks' because they can come loose over time and cause problems.

          I had a distribution block on my 94 PGT and it wiggled around causing my starter to be lazy and after some time, the connections got hot and started to melt.
          DRIVE IT LIKE YOU BUILT IT!!
          94 Probe GT..no engine!

          96 Probe GT now with full-forged KLZE ..8psi untuned and buck wildCarDomain page

          Comment


          • #6
            Good to know. I started on making new cables out of the 4-guage amp cable he left in the car. I am replacing the alternator cable, starter cable and the battery ground to the chassis as well as the ground from the block to the battery. Its been raaining the last few days but I should have some pics tomorrow hopefully.
            95 PGT in Vibrant White. Mods so far: Homebrew grounding kit, Egay cold air kit, headers. Custom exhaust.
            Planned mods: sts.

            Comment


            • #7
              Upgrade the grounds by adding a fat one from the frame to the tranny also. It's good to inspect all those tiny grounds that go to the tranny from the main harness and clean them real good. I found something like four of them down there!
              DRIVE IT LIKE YOU BUILT IT!!
              94 Probe GT..no engine!

              96 Probe GT now with full-forged KLZE ..8psi untuned and buck wildCarDomain page

              Comment


              • #8
                I did do the extra ground and the ones I could see from underneath looked in suprisingly good shape. I still havent taken pics yet. I work midnights and I ended up sleeping the whole damn day away. but I got my new carpet :-) so ill be working on her tomorrow.
                95 PGT in Vibrant White. Mods so far: Homebrew grounding kit, Egay cold air kit, headers. Custom exhaust.
                Planned mods: sts.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Cool. When you finish up your new cables, add a photo of them in this thread. I'd like to compile plenty of different views from other angles and such. My car is far from stock, so some variety would be good.
                  DRIVE IT LIKE YOU BUILT IT!!
                  94 Probe GT..no engine!

                  96 Probe GT now with full-forged KLZE ..8psi untuned and buck wildCarDomain page

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Pics of my custom cables

                    I finally got a chance to snap some pics of my cable job. Let me know what you think.






                    95 PGT in Vibrant White. Mods so far: Homebrew grounding kit, Egay cold air kit, headers. Custom exhaust.
                    Planned mods: sts.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      another car that has great cable to steal if your too cheap to buy new is most newer BMW's. they have a trunk mounted battery also with like 0/1 gauge wiring.
                      PaTricK
                      ~ 92 PGT, 97 KL MTX 626, 05 Mazda6, 13 Mazda CX9, 09 Kia Sportage 4x4 v6 ~

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I just did the big three with 0

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          also the local advance autoparts store here sell 0g battery cable by the foot for only $1.75 a foot. Its good thick stiff suff. I did my mid mount battery move with it and all my grounds and my car actually starts faster then it did before the move lol
                          Check out all four probes!!!www.cardomain.com/id/bonedaddy95gtcheck out my progress
                          95 GT,Gumetal, 96 harness swap w/ kll5 maf swap, UR UDP, MX-3 Fl,Razor hood, ,STS, CM stage 3, Dodge stealth quad lights
                          93 GT Work in Progress.. black 17's, egay coilovers, rear seat delete, 0g batt relocate, headers, bare bones engine bay, no ac, no cruise, manual steering, HID celica headlights, lambo doors, remote start, suicide hood, g35 dual muffler, sensei kitted..

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            if you want cheap cable, find a local welding supply house. they are a great source if you want to go cheap. they have all the terminals you will need also.
                            PaTricK
                            ~ 92 PGT, 97 KL MTX 626, 05 Mazda6, 13 Mazda CX9, 09 Kia Sportage 4x4 v6 ~

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              nice write up, i used 0 gauge for my trunk mount battery and soldered all my connections
                              Need a chip or parts for your 1st gen GT go here----->Fordprobeparts.com

                              Floridafordprobeowners.club

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X