Battery Cable Source?

[Ryan (Strange246)]

Anyone have a good source for say 2ga battery cable? Mounting the battery in the trunk and Summit,Jegs etc want like $70+ for the cable kits...Seems steep for cable and some terminals...

Ryan

[65bcuda]

Arc welder lead ?     

[satellite65]

$70.00 might not be such a bad deal considering how the price of copper has gone thru the roof lately. Check local electrical supply houses, they might have something but i doubt it will be very flexible. Welding cable's also a good idea - I didn't think of that. Thanks.

[68 HEMI GTS]

if you plan on putting your battery in the right rear and running a cut off plan on buying more cable, the kits come with barley enough to mount a battery on the left side of the car. i ordered a whole taylor relocation kit then had to buy the 20ft cable for an extra $96 dollars to put the battery on the passenger side and run the cut off. just something to think about before you buy.

[Ryan (Strange246)]

if you plan on putting your battery in the right rear and running a cut off plan on buying more cable, the kits come with barley enough to mount a battery on the left side of the car. i ordered a whole taylor relocation kit then had to buy the 20ft cable for an extra $96 dollars to put the battery on the passenger side and run the cut off. just something to think about before you buy.

Thanks didnt realize that!

Ryan

[NYrr496]

Welding cable is nice because it's a lot of fine strands, so it carries a lot of load with little resistance and it's very flexible.

[PureGTS]

  Another point, if I may; there is nothing that says you HAVE to turn off the positive lead to/from the battery. You can switch on/off the ground from the battery too, it will do the same job. (as long as there is no alternator involved, but the switched positive will have the same trouble too.) I use the negative lead as the switched lead on my car. Simply because the ground lead doesn't need to be as large as the positive, since it isn't going nearly as far, and it can be had locally in pre-made short sections with an eye at each end ready to go.

[cu440da]

Welding cable is nice because it's a lot of fine strands, so it carries a lot of load with little resistance and it's very flexible.

  Welding supply shop is where I've always got my cable.

[Ryan (Strange246)]

Thanks guys, I'll check the welding supply first, good idea about using the switch on the neg cable!

Ryan

[79ramcharger]

I just got done running 1/0 cable from the front of my truck to the rear so I can run the winch on my car trailer. I found http://www.delcity.net was the cheapest even with shipping. They don't have a kit so you have to put your own kit together using the parts. I liked the pre tinned battery lugs.

Steve

[oldkimmer]

..............If u want to run at the track NHRA requires that your switch b in the pos cable...............kim.............

[Ciscodog]

You may want to re-think using 2-guage.  You'd be better off using the 1/0 like was mentioned above.  Those long cables play havoc with your charging system, so have that squared away too.  Most important - have a good ground system or you'll be charging the battery alot!

[jamesdart]

i bought one of those kits when i did my dart. never again. it came up short to run it the way i wanted. on my essex i had to run a new battery cable, i used 2/0 welding lead from work. that should do it. thats all ill use from now on.

[wedgie]

I went to the local Oreilly auto parts and found that their heavy duty #2 copper jumper cables were surprisingly 1/2 the cost of their bulk #2 cable. I just used the red 1/2 of the jumpers and put my own ends on (crimped as well as soldered). I actually have enough left to do another car. Point well taken about 1/0 cable though. if you have a lot of electrical load, bigger is better. I have a starter and ignition only. Make sure that you have your disconnect on the positive cable, not the negative in order to be within the rules.

[PureGTS]

I'll have to check the rules, but since 1993 the car has been wired for a negative cut out and I've never had a tech turn me away for it, much less mention it. It always works in the testing too. I know they look at the systems because they have mentioned, more than a few times, about folks wiring the switch wrong so when it is thrown it actually shorts out the pos to the neg. Is this a recent change that they have been negligent in finding??
  Wait a second... Straight from the NHRA FAQ section:

 I have a street car that I occasionally run at the strip. I've relocated the battery to the rear. What else do I need?
Any car with a relocated battery must be equipped with a master electrical cutoff, capable of stopping all electrical functions including ignition (must shut the engine off, as well as fuel pumps, etc.). The switch must be located on the rear of the vehicle, with the "off" position clearly marked. If the switch is of a "push / pull" type, then "push" must be the motion that shuts off the switch, and plastic or "keyed" typed switches are prohibited. Also, the battery must be completely sealed from the driver and/or driver compartment. This means a metal bulkhead must separate the trunk from the driver compartment, or the battery must be located in a sealed, metal box constructed of minimum .024 inch steel or .032 inch aluminum, or in an NHRA accepted plastic box. In cars with a conventional trunk, metal can simply be installed behind the rear seat and under the package tray to effectively seal the battery off from the driver. In a hatchback type vehicle the battery box is usually the easiest solution, since the alternative is to fabricate a bulkhead which seals to the hatch when closed. At present, Moroso is the only company which offers an NHRA accepted plastic battery box, part number 74050.

But I drive on the street. I don't want a big cut off switch hanging on the back.
This solution takes a little work, but it solves the problem. Install the master cutoff inside the vehicle, positioned "sideways" so that the toggle moves forward and back. Drill a hole in the toggle handle, and attach a steel rod that will run out the back of the car, through a hole drilled completely through one tail light assembly. Have a spare tail light assembly on hand, so when you come home from the drags, you remove the rod and put the cherry tail light back in for street cruising. Next time you plan on going to the drag strip, swap lights and reinstall the rod. Since the drilled light is for the strip only, you can also have it marked "PUSH OFF" in big letters so the Tech Inspectors will think you're cool.

Maybe I'm blind but I don't see anything about battery POS only cut out. It just says it HAS to work on "...all elcetrical functions including...." and be labeled as how it is to work.

[cu440da]

You need to get a look at the actual rule book. It 's been a while since I've read my outdated rulebook but I recall the pos thing, too. There is alot of paraphrasing and summarizing in the FAQ you posted. Basically it was just condensed for easier reading. If I can find my book I'll double check.

[cu440da]

My 94 rulebook (I told you it was outdated!) states the cutoff must be installed in the positive side of the electrical system.

[Ryan (Strange246)]

Just got back from the local welding supply, $53 for 25ft of 1/0 cable...That'll work!

Ryan

[B-onefan]

Check out Tractor Supply if one is around. Open 7 days a week.

[Ryan (Strange246)]

Check out Tractor Supply if one is around. Open 7 days a week.

Tried that too, $125 for 25 feet...

Ryan

[PureGTS]

  One would think that if they were so specific in the book, their FAQ's would reflect it too. You know, if NASCAR was this loose with the rules, certian folks would take advantage of it. I also wonder why no one has said anything to me in the umpteen times through tech.    It just seems odd...

[Small Block]

Airgas is the welding supply in our area but i got mine at a farm supply store for a very good price. I bought the big stuff and got 50' as i'm doing more than i car.

[Chuxter]

On eBay, check out the seller 'coppercableman'. You get your choice of sizes and colors.
They even custom stamp the cable. I got 50' a couple years ago. Great stuff, very flexible.