I'm BACK! After over a month of not having internet, thanks to the lovely people at Comcast and Charter, I am back with a new and tested product.
First, a disclaimer... I have these already made, and ready to box and ship. I will not accept payment unless I have these available and ready to go.
I have 4 gauge battery cable relocation kits available for sale. I currently have 2 ready to go, and supplies for 5 more will be in tomorrow, when I can finish assembly.
I currently have three sets of these installed in fellow forum members' cars. Carbon, mngreengt and myself are all running these cables. All connectors are solid copper, plated with tin, and crimped to the battery cable. Heat shrink is used on all joints to ensure a weather tight seal. I have been running these in my car since January with road salt and all other sorts of goodies out there.. I have had no issues.
Carbon has had his installed for a couple of months, and MnGreen installed his recently. MnGreen has been having a heat soak issue with his starter.. These will not fix heat soak. That is a starter issue, and needs to be resolved regardless of which cables you use. These will ensure that you get plenty of clean power to the starter to get the car going.
The cables are designed to run underneath the vehicle, on either side of the fuel tank. No, there will not be an abrasion or short hazard routing the cable this way, unless you decide to go off-roading in the Rockies with your Fiero.
Photos of the install in Carbon's car can be seen below..
I am asking $120 per set, shipped to the Continental US. Canadian orders, add 10. Items included in the kit: 1 4g Positive battery cable from front tray (in spare tire well) to starter lug 1 8g Positive cable from starter lug to power block near C500 (85 and later Fieros only) 1 4g Ground cable from front tray to grounding lug on transmission (or starter bolt, personal preference) 1 4g Ground cable from factory ground mount on head, to chassis (lower decklid hinge bolt on firewall mount)
These cables are precut to fit with precision, yet provide some extra play room for flex.
I will have several sets of these at the Wisconsin Dells with me, where you can see them in my car, and see the quality of the work.
[This message has been edited by Synthesis (edited 05-19-2010).]
These have worked great on my car! I have had no issues with hot starts or charging, if anything, my electrical performance has improved due to removing old stock cracked and weathered/corroded battery cables. The connectors are extremely tight and weather proof. I have also added more zip ties keeps things where they belong since the pictures above were taken... it was getting late and I wanted to get home.
I can't help but believe that half of the problems people have with front mount battery cables is improper crimping and water penetration/corrosion. The ring connectors at the engine side are proper battery terminals and not open to the elements on the ring side. The connectors are sealed with weather proof heatshrink where they mate with the cables. The cable that I recieved with my front mount battery box kit was only covered with electrical tape and the end of the cable stuck out and was exposed to the elements. I had always been told that significantly heavier gauge cables would be needed for a front mount battery... consider that the long battery cables in a Buick Riviera, which has the battery and all fuses located under the rear seat, has battery cables of similar gauge as these.
The two fuse holders in the pictures above are the power supply for the dual Hella 90mm headlight harness, which is also a very nicely made product.
How long would you say this takes for the average person to install/setup themselves and difficulty?
Installation with the car in the air the same way as shown in the photos with the proper tools.. About 60-90 minutes with normal hand tools.
Tools needed: Normal hand tools. 3/4" drill bit for the battery box.
On 84-87 Fieros, the cables run out the sides of the battery box just above the swaybar, and down over the top of the front cross member on either side of the spare tire well. Then, under the vehicle, tied to the AC lines, and over the center vehicle brace that bolts under the fuel tank. When you reach the back of the car, they tuck up between the firewall and the heat shield. The positive cable attaches to the starter lug, and you provide just enough slack to give it a nice relaxed arch from behind the heat shield to the starter lug.
The ground does the same thing, only to the bolt on the bell housing, or in MN Green's car, to the starter to block bolt where the starter mounts.
The positive 8g cable from the starter to the power block by the C500 on 85-88 Fieros follows the stock battery cable routing around the AC compressor, and up to be tied alongside the Engine to C500 harness.
88 Fieros show the cable routing, as above. The only difference in routing is where it goes over/under the front cross member.
This can be done with normal hand tools, and again, with those tools and enough room to crawl under the car, 60-90 minutes on average.
Note: I also include 2 new battery terminal bolts, OEM style.
[This message has been edited by Synthesis (edited 05-25-2010).]
Looks like it is time to add more funds to my PayPal account. Do you accept Paypal and what is the addy?
Count me in for a set.
I do accept paypal. I am actually going to ask you to hold on on the payment for right now. I have two kits completed, but the box with the battery bolts did not come in yet.
I am making a phone call today to figure out where the heck it is.
As a suggestion to anyone who buys this kit, or otherwise relocates their battery to the front, I ran some PVC pipe along side of the fuel tank for my wires. I know the zip ties are there keeping the wires up and Im sure they have plenty of protection from the elements, but it actually makes removing my tank easier as the PVC is only held up by the middle tank brace and the wires themselves. I have the wires coming up from behind the big heat shield on the firewall in the engine compartment, so when I remove that it allows a lot of slack in the wires, then removing the middle brace will allow the PVC and wires to swing completely out of the way. I believe it also adds a degree of extra protection to the wires themselves. Here are some pics for reference.
Supplies will be in tomorrow to finish the remainder of the sets, then I will accept payments once I have the rest made.
Top left, short black cable is block/head to Chassis ground. Top right is positive cable (note red insulation and heat shrink). Protective wire loom along entire length of cable. Bottom right is ground cable from battery to block. Protective wire loom along the final 24-36 inches of cable on engine side. Left side. Starter lug to power block next to C500 connector on 85-88 Fieros. I need an 84 Fiero to size up this wire.
Positive Cable
Close up showing the battery and starter lug ends. The heat shrink I use is Polyolefin triple wall, with an adhesive inside. It is weather tight.
A "sample" starter to power block wire I built to show you the construction. This wire is 8ga, the ring terminals are crimped and soldered, and then heat shrinked with Polyolefin with adhesive.
This set is ready to ship. rjblaze, if you want, this one is yours. My paypal is the same as my "email" address on the forum here.
[This message has been edited by Synthesis (edited 05-26-2010).]
Why are you running a negative earth cable under the earth itself? The frame is the earth. All you need is a positive and battery isolator switch.
Why do you need a battery isolator? You have moved your battery to the front. The chassis is a ground, correct. But grounding directly to the engine provides the cleanest path for power flow. Adding a few feet of cable ensures that there won't be any ground issues between the engine and battery caused by poor frame mounting, or even by improper mounting surface preparation (paint removal, etc).
The factory ground cable goes from the battery to the top of the head. Then to the chassis from other points on the engine. I simply decided this was the best method.
90% of starting issues after relocating a battery are caused by poor cables/ends/grounds. The kit I put together was well thought out before I did the assembly and testing. I bought two rolls of cable to experiment with, and then once I was happy with the set in my car, I made a kit and installed a few locally.
Yes it will fit under the spare. The battery relocation tray was designed to fit the battery under the spare. As a side benefit, the weight transfer from the back to the front improves handling by helping to balance the front-to-back weight difference.
