Help with Wiring/Battery Relocation

[gpchris]

Hey I just relocated my battery and instead of having one pos wire going to the fuse panel and one going to the starter I have the only wire from the bat going to the fuse box and one from the fuse box to the starter. It seems ok but at the same time it feels wrong.. Help?

[white4d96]

What gauge wire did you use?

 

I would think it would be fine so long as you aren't overloading the wire you used when you crank the car.

[RobertISaar]

i would have run a monster directly to the alt and starter, with the fuse/relay centers being secondary.

[gpchris]

Im using a pretty big wire. Is larger than the factory one that goes down to the starter. Heres a picture, keep in mind this is before i cleaned it all up. The wire coming from the battery is on top.

 

 

 

 

So far no problems. I just thought it might affect charging because the alternator wire doesnt go directly to the battery but honestly i dont think its suppose to. Priority is running the car so the battery doesnt have to. Voltage is roughly the same as before so im not going to worry about it.

[gpchris]

DELETE PLEASE DOUBLE POST

[white4d96]

I don't think it will.

If you are worried though you could always do an extra run off the alt. I did a run of 4 gauge off the alt and redid all my grounds and picked up 1.2V at idle.

[gpchris]

Thats a good idea. The factory alt wire is pretty small considering the electronics that these cars run. I should probably upgrade it because im running a smaller battery so i need to make sure it stays charged up. And at the very least the upgrade would reduce dimming.

[RobertISaar]

factory wires were 8 guage IIRC...

 

and even the factory wires didn't go directly to alt from battery(went to the starter terminal and connected to another 8 guage wire), but IMO, it's a good rule to follow.

[Schurkey]

You can guess and hope all day long and twice on weekends...

 

...or you can grab a voltmeter and a length of primary wire, and TEST FOR VOLTAGE DROP. Testing is the ONLY way to know for sure.

 

Testing the starter circuits (+ and -; both are important): You'll need a length of primary wire to extend the voltmeter lead to reach back to the battery--other than that, this diagram tells you how:

 

Testing the charging circuits (+ and -; both are important):

[Garrett Powered]

install a 1 farad cap with digital voltmeter where the stock battery was and you will be better able to gauge performance day to day.

 

also more power and a triangulated ground signal where you need it so you can start your car better and run all your accessories.

 

you still have to have a pretty solid system though for it to work, thats why I like it though. you get a digital voltmeter to view at any time. just pop the hood.