battery relocation: wiring

[adey]

I've recently been considering relocating my battery to the trunk, mainly for weight and space reasons. I realize there are a bunch of kits out there, but plan on doing this myself (i.e. not buying a kit) until I start competing in track events (at which time I'd have to get one of those air tight boxes , or vent it)..

so, the question is
a) what would I need other than two fat wires, and something to keep the battery in place, and
b) Where do you guys run the wires? Under the car, through the cabin, or what?

TIA!

[AceInHole]

i'd run the wire through the firewall/ cabin.  if it's below the car you run the risk of debris hitting the wire and possibly splitting it and causing a short, or worst case scenario, a fire.

You'll need one long wire to run to the positive end, and one short wire for the ground, and terminal connections.

Other than that, you'll need a way to bolt the battery down and a spot in the trunk to relocate the battery to.

[drift freaq]

I saw a hot setup in a SR20det powered S14 two weeks ago . the guy had put in a 600 cranking amp motorcycle battery it was like less then a a quarter the size of the stock battery allowing him room for his intercooler piping and taking off the weight of the stock battery . It looked pretty cool, and you did not have to go through the whole routine of routing cabling back to the trunk. Its what I am going to do in my car. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'>

[roast]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (drift freaq @ April 17 2002,1:15)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I saw a hot setup in a SR20det powered S14 two weeks ago . the guy had put in a 600 cranking amp motorcycle battery it was like less then a a quarter the size of the stock battery allowing him room for his intercooler piping and taking off the weight of the stock battery . It looked pretty cool, and you did not have to go through the whole routine of routing cabling back to the trunk. Its what I am going to do in my car. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
If you did that, i would suggest getting a capaciter if you have an amp/sub etc...

Also, check the Cold Cranking Amps, thats what you should measure a battery by...

[junia]

I would run my line under the car and bring it back up through the hole in the trunk or make another hole for the cable. &nbsp;Just make sure you find a way to protect the wire thats under the car because you don't want it damaged

[AceInHole]

i would think running the wire under the car and leaving it exposed to the elements is a bad idea... especially when you can just run it through the cabin and under the carpet/ trim.

[DSC]

I think as long as you put the wire in plastic sheilding (the kind with the slit...just slide the wire in) it would be fine under the car. But I'd still feel better running through the cabin. Only problem with that is drilling your firewall because chances are, there won't be a whole already there big enough for the wire to run...but really drilling the firewall isn't that big of a deal. I give my vote for "in cabin" <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/thumbs-up.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':thumbsup:'>
What gauge wire are you buying? When you do this please post with how you did it, what materials you bought/where/price, and pics. I'm looking to do this as well and am not about to buy a premade kit at $100 for just a wire and box.

Edit: BTW, that box mentioned above is either sealed or vented to the outside to keep fumes from the battery from entering the cabin.

[AceInHole]

i'm pretty sure my friend got his kit from Summit Racing for $50

[DSC]

Battery relocation kit (http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=%2Fproduct%2Easp%3Fd%3D11%26s%3 D14%26p%3D2090%26searchtype%3Decat)

Cool, thanks for the info Ace!

[AceInHole]

that kit even has the box to cover the battery and make it nice and legal for all you HB'ers

[drift freaq]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">roast speaks...Also, check the Cold Cranking Amps, thats what you should measure a battery by...
</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

duh no, I posted it had 600 cranking amps. That means cold cranking !! I think if I posted the info I would know about that. I am not one to post things I do not know about.

[roast]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (drift freaq @ April 17 2002,10:06)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">roast speaks...Also, check the Cold Cranking Amps, thats what you should measure a battery by...
</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

duh no, I posted it had 600 cranking amps. That means cold cranking !! I think if I posted the info I would know about that. I am not one to post things I do not know about.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
bah we all have bad days, so shoot me! =(

didn't mean to offend you... sorry

[MK]

There is probably a number of holes in the firewall already there that arent being used and you can run the cable back through.
Importantly though, get a rubber grommet to put in there as well so that the insulation dosnt get rubbed off from bare metal- if that happens you will get a short and a fire that refuses to go out until the battery completely slags down.
With the battery in the boot (trunk, whatever) I'd recommend you get a marine battery box, you can get them from powerboat stores and the like and it already has everything set up inside to secure the battery. Bolt it down! Otherwise it will wander around and wreck stuff.

As an additional benifit to moving the battery back to free up room for IC plumbing the battery will last longer, lead-acid batterys dont like heat and vibration... so where do manufacturers stick them, heh, guess it keeps sales up.

[davies2k]

As a word of caution, I would use a sealed box and most importantly a &nbsp;Dry type battery. &nbsp;Using a conventional lead battery is very dangerous since fume under high charge loads (high RPM)will build inside the car and become very toxic. &nbsp;Second, in the event of an accident the last thing you want to worry about is burning battery acids splashing all over inside the car. &nbsp;Most local auto parts stores have dry cell batteries for around $100. &nbsp;My .o2

drift on,
dn

[240meowth]

well, i've ran the wire inside the car and than under the car, i think under the car is much easier. &nbsp;you just need plenty of zip ties to tie it to the wires that are on the bottom of the car.

when i ran inside the car, i drilled a whole through the firewall, and ran it along the pasanger side door sill, but it was exposed when it needed to get into the trunk (i didn't know i can run it along the side where the fuel door/trunk release cable was. &nbsp;so i decided to run it under the car

it works fine. &nbsp;i'll let you guys know when my car imploads when the wire dies...

[adey]

Woah I didn't notice this post explode (well, not really) like this. Thanks for all the good info, it will be put to good use soon (i.e. when I buy a/my new battery).

I think I've decided to go with an in-cabin wiring "design" due mostly to your suggestions of not opening up the wires to the weather.

If I don't take out my spare, I guess one of the corners of our trunk(s) is a good place to bolt down the battery...? Is there any reason why we shouldn't? (prone to damage in case of a fender bender?) Thanks!