Battery Cable Connections w/ New Winch (Question) (1 Viewer)

[FlyingMuleRider]

Hi Folks-

Installing a new Warn 9.5 XP on my 1994 FZJ-80 next week. It is long past time to upgrade my battery cables and connections that would better facilitate my winch connection.

Does anyone have a link or part suggestion for some excellent quality pre-cut battery cable connections for my 1994??

Thanks- Dave

 

[Rivman1243]

Bump

 

[retrofive]

No info on pre-cut. I just grabbed a roll of twine, ran it to the desired lengths, added up the total length and went to napa and bought that much, terminal ends, and one of those hammer swedge tools (think that is the right name). I replaced the battery cables as well as moving the control/solenoid box to the engine compartment.

 

[newtomelx]

@Fourrunner sells some great upgraded cables, look in the Small Business Section on page 2, much beefier than stock.

 

[half k cruiser]

Even cheaper would be to buy the swedge, the cable ends, and the cable itself from Amazon. @retrofive has the right idea using some string to measure your routing. There used to be somebody on here offering custom cables but I cant remember his name. I thought it was runner something or other.

edit : and while I was typing @newtomelx figured it out.

 

[FlyingMuleRider]

Good info- Thanks guys!

 

[Hornd]

Lots of good info:
Different wire types used for battery cables.

You using the Welding Cable (non oil resistant)?

 

[NLXTACY]

I only use Marine grade for my 1/0

 

[retrofive]

Sidenote, I could only get one color of cable local. So to keep things some what labeled I had a bunch of heat shrink to mark the cables (or at least colored bands) I was impatient and did want to wait for shipping from Amazon.

 

[iptman]

Don't go with that hammer/wedge crimper. The hydraulic crimpers are pretty cheap these days and once you get one you'll want to do all your wires yourself.

10 Ton 9 Pcs Hydraulic Cable Terminal Wire Crimping Tool

 

[NLXTACY]

Don't go with that hammer/wedge crimper. The hydraulic crimpers are pretty cheap these days and once you get one you'll want to do all your wires yourself.

10 Ton 9 Pcs Hydraulic Cable Terminal Wire Crimping Tool

Identical to the HF one. I have a hydraulic and ratcheting.

 

[icorradoi]

Sounds like an opportunity for a Wit's End product...

 

[NLXTACY]

Sounds like an opportunity for a Wit's End product...

Funner has it, I'm only doing it because I need to on my products.

 

[DeeRex]

Sidenote, I could only get one color of cable local. So to keep things some what labeled I had a bunch of heat shrink to mark the cables (or at least colored bands) I was impatient and did want to wait for shipping from Amazon.

I started running into a similar issue running cables for my dual battery and fuse box setup. So rather than buying a bunch of different sizes and lengths of red and black, I bought all black, then bough red and black braided sleeve. Allows me to see pos/neg easily and protects against abrasion and [some] heat.

 

[george_tlc]

Yep, buy a hydraulic crimper - ebay is flooded with them. You can find a 10 ton unit with free shipping in the $25 - $30 range.

e.g. YQK-70 Hydraulic Wire Battery Cable 10T Lug Terminal Crimper Crimping Tool 9D SP | eBay and for info on the dies (mm^2 to AWG) ->
http://www.evsource.com/datasheets/tools/YQK-240_Hydraulic_Crimping_Tool.pdf

10 ton unit has smaller dies than say the 16 - 20 ton units, so get one that has dies that work with the cables you plan to use.

10 ton unit with 70mm^2 dies can do 2/0 gauge for example.

I wouldn't fixate on wire colours for the cables, as stated, coloured heatshrink or other exterior 'wraps/markers' can identify the cable ends.

cheers,
george.

 

[iptman]

I started running into a similar issue running cables for my dual battery and fuse box setup. So rather than buying a bunch of different sizes and lengths of red and black, I bought all black, then bough red and black braided sleeve. Allows me to see pos/neg easily and protects against abrasion and [some] heat.

I started with the red/black wire method but then figured out welding wire is WAAAAY more flexy than the standard marine battery cable so I went with the red/black shrink wrap on the ends instead.

 

[Hornd]

What size wire are you running?
I have seen everything from 1/0 to 4 AWG.
One thing I would not do is use THHN Wire from Home Depot intended for Residential.

 

[Hack]

Does anyone have a link or part suggestion for some excellent quality pre-cut battery cable connections for my 1994??

Like the other's have replied, I would make your own. Get the hydraulic crimper, which will do a way better job than the 'hammer' model. It give's you another reason to add a tool to your collection... I'd also suggest using an Anderson connector at the winch:



This will provide an access point for using jumper cables (after you make up a set, since you've got the crimper now...) without having to open the hood and fiddle with attaching the aggravating spring clamps.

I bought a bunch of cable from these guys: TRYSTAR :: Custom Cable & Power Solutions. You can even get the cables custom printed. They did sell on eBay, but I don't see them having any items for sale currently. But, there are a ton of other cable sellers on eBay to choose from.





The connectors in the above pictures (not the Anderson connector on the winch) are all soldered and adhesive shrink tubed. If you want to go that route, you can purchase the terminals and the correct soldering slugs from: Catalog They are less than 40 miles from me, and I've purchased a lot of different items from them. A properly fitted, soldered, and adhesive shrink tubed terminal isn't going to come loose. Terminal Supply can also make up custom cables, etc., to order.

 

[Rigwelder]

You could check your local Welders supply, ultra flex is about $2 a foot for 2AWG and is good for 600v and stays flexible down to about -60. It only comes in orange though. Flexaprene comes in a lot of colors but I haven't seen it available in stores.

 

[mct75]

Things have to have gotten pretty bad for you to be unable to tell positive from negative after everything has been wired. With that said, I don't really care if the wires are color coded or not.