Battery Cable terminations?

[hotrod1]

Lots of great ideas. Take a look at this pic - how would you run the cable(s) to the starter from a rear-mounted battery? Kind of close to the headers.

[Hatzman]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

Lots of great ideas. Take a look at this pic - how would you run the cable(s) to the starter from a rear-mounted battery? Kind of close to the headers.

Is that a custom frame? Can you run wires through the frame itself?

One thing I forgot to mention, I grounded every piece of frame piece to the chassis. (Radiator support, cab, engine, and bed.)

[hotrod1]

Yep, I can run wires through the frame but not sure I want to - could weaken things a bit where it pierces. If I wanted to, are there any good grommets to do that?

[MARKDTN]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

Lots of great ideas. Take a look at this pic - how would you run the cable(s) to the starter from a rear-mounted battery? Kind of close to the headers.

If the passengers side mirrors the drivers side where the header is, I would use cushion clamps along the inside of the frame, then cross over with a twisted standoff bracket with clamp from one of the torque converter dust shield bolts, come along the starter solenoid and connect with a 90 degree terminal for the positive. For negative I would do the same but use a double stud for one of the bellhousing bolts and ground there instead of the standoff and forward. All that assumes that the exhaust is routed below them far enough to be OK.

[hotrod1]

Thanks for that option. I had to look up every piece that you suggested. I appreciate it.

[MARKDTN]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

Thanks for that option. I had to look up every piece that you suggested. I appreciate it.

Sorry. Cushion clamps are used in lots of places like big trucks and equipment. Available in various sizes to hold wires and air lines. One of the previous post pics used them on battery cables. A twisted standoff can be a short or long bar twisted 90 degrees. It changes the direction of a hole and moves things away/positions them at the same time. With stiff enough battery cable it might not be required, but if you had a standoff you can make the battery cable stay exactly where you want it to be in the critical area where it passes the header tube. A double stud is basically threaded rod with a nut in the middle. You could just put the negative under a transmission bolt, but to me it looks much nicer to use a double stud.

You could run it inside the frame, but I wouldn't. You cant see it and can't fully protect it if it shorts. You can get all manner of grommets from McMaster-Carr but if I had a custom box frame I wouldn't want to cut big holes in it either.

[hotrod1]

MarkDTN - Thanks for your knowledge.

[Ironangel]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

I have to ask WHY ? What happens when the battery goes dead or the fuse blows ? Do you lay on the ground to hook up jumper cables or call a wrecker
? With all that wire length is there a parasitic drain ?

I'm locating mine between the frame rails boxed in on the crossmember just behind the rear axle. Why? To help with weight transfer to plant the 30 x 14" slicks. It's a racing mod relocating 50+ pounds where it can lower the CG and help plant the rear end at launch. Here's the kit I'm using and pay close attention to the use of a Ford style remote starter solenoid. This keeps the starter wire dead until you energize it at start up. (It's a safety mod!) Use the frame for ground. This mod also allows you to install the required emergency power cut off switch at the rear of the vehicle closer to the battery. Read this...
http://madelectrical.com/catalog/tm-1.shtml

[MARKDTN]

Originally Posted by Ironangel

I'm locating mine between the frame rails boxed in on the crossmember just behind the rear axle. Why? To help with weight transfer to plant the 30 x 14" slicks. It's a racing mod relocating 50+ pounds where it can lower the CG and help plant the rear end at launch. Here's the kit I'm using and pay close attention to the use of a Ford style remote starter solenoid. This keeps the starter wire dead until you energize it at start up. (It's a safety mod!) Use the frame for ground. This mod also allows you to install the required emergency power cut off switch at the rear of the vehicle closer to the battery. Read this...
http://madelectrical.com/catalog/tm-1.shtml

Don't disagree but 2 things:
1-"Ford" solenoid is fine for a starter, but is not continuous rated. The kit doesn't use it that way, but somebody might try to use one to disconnect all power downstream. There are continuous rated solenoids available if somebody wants to do that.
2-I know there are a lot of people with remote batteries that rely on the frame for ground. I come from the heavy truck industry. They (and heavy equipment too) mostly pull a full size ground from battery to starter. Is it necessary? Maybe not, but starting performance is maximized. I would at least run a same size or 1 size smaller dedicated ground from battery to starter or block in addition to a frame ground. Ground wires are some of the most overlooked wires in automotive.

[HO455]

Are you planning on using a mid-plate to mount the engine? That will change your engineering.

How fast are you planning to cover the quarter mile?

I won't deny running a separate ground to the starter has its positive points but, in a race car the weight of the 2nd cable would be the overriding factor in that decision. At least it has been on my cars.

[indymachinist]

Grounding the battery to the frame, then the starter/engine block to the frame is the way to go. Consider how much metal is in your frame. Now consider even a large battery cable running the full distance from front to back. You need to consider voltage drop here. The frame will have less of it than the cable.

Actually making proper grounds is critical here. Clean metal, good quality star washers, and corrosion protection.