boot mounted battery

ekdave1962 · Post by **ekdave1962** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:45 pm

hi guys just planning for a re wire of my girl and was going to toss battery in boot ..

now where do u guys run the active cable ... along the inner sill to starter ?

was also planning to replace fuse box with some thing a little more modern under bonnet to give fuse protection to all curcuits anyone recommend a fuse box .. eg vb com .. ?

Thanks D

rosco · Post by **rosco** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:02 am

Hi Dave,
can't help with rear mounted battery - but will think on it if you want........

I can offer one suggestion which may save you some grief if you change the current fuse box with a modern system ...............

Keep you headlights protected by a separate relay and fused system - your current system has a thermo switch - if you get a short in the system, it will "rattle" affording you limited illumination to bring the vehicle to a stand.
Very often we see people ditching the old system and just putting in one relay fed by one fuse - if anything shorts, you lose the lot - immediately........

My suggestion is to fit a dual relay with a fuse for each beam - to be safer - put in two - at least you'll have one beam which will show up the road - a bit frightening at the open road limit on a dark wet night.....

frats,
Rosco

FB MAD · Post by **FB MAD** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:13 am

I've never whacked a battery in the boot in any of my cars however after speaking to those who have,make sure you use heavy duty cable ( not normal size cable ) to help minimise power drop and make sure it is ( preferably ) running in a conduit and held in place so it doesn't rub anywhere against metal.

I know I'm probably explaining the obvious but,

Friction + Metal= Bare Wire.

Bare Wire + Battery Power = FIRE!!

Terry.

Sammy · Post by **Sammy** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:21 pm

yeah i totally agree on the heavy gauge wire, its a must.

i've usually just run a beafy earth strap from the engine to somewhere on the inner guard, the bonnet spring forward most bolt has been a popular choice.

then similar in the boot just run the earth strap to a well cleaned spot, then the active terminal i have run both along the edge of the kick panels under the carpet and also along the passenger side of the trans tunnel then back up into the hole in the firewall which is right near the starter motor (not sure if that was an after market hole though

)

i have also run the battery to the boot of my FB Ute, it goes out a hole in the floor and runs up along the chassis rail and then up into the starter motor.

just make sure you put good gromets in any holes through panels etc as mentioned above.

also i reckon you can't go wrong with new terminals at all ends.

i've used the crimp on type lugs with great success by hammering them into a crimped state with the use of vice and a chisel, then once thats done i melt copious amounts of solder down into the end to ensure theres never going to be a loose or dodgy joint! but you need a good soldering iron for this task!

if you look at the below pic (which is old and crap quality) you can see the blue wire running from the engine to the bonnet hinge mount

captainbill · Post by **captainbill** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:15 pm

Well dave its pritty much been all said.I ran a heavy cable along the inner rail clamped with insulated clamps.In the places where there was potential for rubbing i covered the cable with some half inch fuel line to help protect it.I've seen what happens when it rubs though to metal on my mates c10.Gotta have good earths front and back.You can buy them ready made.Run relays for sure with your bigger items.

basic.green · Post by **basic.green** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:54 pm

Hi dave. just did my car the other day. the earth wire can run from the engine mount bolt on engine to engine mount bolt that the engine mounts to car. ( i will put a pic up tomorrow) so you can not see it. the power wire i ran from starter straight across to y frame then to sill and ran it along the sill to back ( used rubber insulated clamps )more pics. then in to boot with grommet. the wire from alternator to battery has to be heavy duty 100 amp was what i used. hope this helps a bit.

Sammy · Post by **Sammy** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:55 pm

easy way to run the alternator wire is just down to the starter motor rather than running it the whole way to the battery.

Mephious · Post by **Mephious** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:43 pm

Dave, as the guys have stated above with the battery -

- Strap your alternator to the starter and run a single back to your battery. Strap your earth from the chassis to your block ( i prefer the bell-housing , its hidden better )
- Run the cable in any fashion to the rear as long as its not going to foul on anything (exhaust, handbrake cable etc dont cross fuel lines, the obvious stuff), just make it look neat ( my panelvan used the inner sill.
- As for protection ... theres a few methods, if you seriously dont want the cable damaged run it under your carpet near the tailshaft hump hahaha , or theres 16mm 20mm black ducting ( have some here ill take shots, its corrugated flex conduit ) which ISNT split down the side.
- You will need to purchase thick gauge multi-stranded ( the more thinner strands the better ) cable. You will also need lugs and a large crimper ( can take a photo of one of these ). The large crimpers are pricey so just hit your auto elec up once you have your cables cut to length. Lugs can be purchased from JR Turks and cable from Jaycar if these exist in Vic.

Your fuse box ...... if your serious about changing it dont F$%^ about with second hand crap, just buy something like this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/E8-8-Cir ... dZViewItem

Its simple, has 8 ccts as opposed to the FB/EK 3 cct .... mount it under the dash not in your engine bay ... behind the glove box if your pressed for room. If you want to get fancy you can mount it in the boot but the cable gauge would need to be upped to cover the longer length and your harness would best run via the tailshaft hump (protected of course).

If you need further information just say mate, or if anything dont make sense. Electrican/electronics/telecommunications is my crust.

P.S get a battery cut off switch well worth it . http://www.rallylights.com/hella/switches_kill.asp

Edit - Pic Added

basic.green · Post by **basic.green** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:22 pm

Hi Mephious. so i can run the alternator wire straight to starter motor and it will still charge the battery the same?

Mephious · Post by **Mephious** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:27 pm

Yes mate, bridge the alternator to the starter motor input lead.

The starter motor will fire up off the one lead and crank the motor, then its job is done. The cable will then act as the return for the current being charged from the alternator back to the battery. Just be sure to use a thick gauge multistrand cable.

i.e same thickness for the link to the battery as the link from the starter to the alternator , use proper lugs and ensure a tight good surface connection at the starter motor terminal where both leads join.

basic.green · Post by **basic.green** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:54 pm