Remote jumper cable posts - good or bad?

[Cantedvalve 128]

Relocating the battery to the trunk.  Trying to decide in parts.  I understand putting the solenoid as close to the battery as possible for safety concerns, however what do I do if I have to give someone a jump (because you know i would never need one)?  I saw some remote terminals that would mount wherever - inner apron where battery was is my preference - but wouldn’t that defeat the point of mounting the solenoid in the trunk?  It would result in a hot wire from the battery all the way up front where the solenoid would be anyway.  So that leads to the title question ... are these thing good or bad? If I use them on the inner fender, might I just as well leave the solenoid up front?

[barnett468 418]

45 minutes ago, Cantedvalve said:

Relocating the battery to the trunk. ... however what do I do if I have to give someone a jump...

open your trunk.

[Cantedvalve 128]

Touché.  So I assume you are a "no" on the remote posts.

[barnett468 418]

3 hours ago, Cantedvalve said:

Touché.  So I assume you are a "no" on the remote posts.

well if your only concern is being able to jump another car, i for one see absolutely no reason to go thru the trouble of removing the battery and solenoid from the engine compartment to make it look less busy and then install two big jumper posts on the firewall. it seems to defeat part of the purpose of removing the other stuff. plus, it is no harder to back up to a car to jump it then it is to turn around to jump it, plus if you need to jump one on a fairly busy road, it is a lot more dangerous to turn around to get the cars nose to nose then it is just to pull in front of it then back up a few feet. plus, you could just buy a jumper box. harbor freight has them for around $60.00 and they work just fine.

 

 

[Cantedvalve 128]

It isnt all aesthetics.  My radiator happens to be JUST wide enough to fit between the frame rails.  That  poses a problem for the battery (because I didnt bother measuring with the battery IN the car.  So performance and aesthetics aside, I need to move it because I screwed up. :P

But you sold me.  I am not going to do the remote posts.

[1969_Mach1 333]

Maybe I'm missing something, but, I don't see any need to also relocate the starter solenoid in the trunk.

[Cantedvalve 128]

The idea is that you don't have a hot wire traversing the length of the car.  Instead it is only hot when the starter is active.  Then again, you have the charging wire traversing the length of the car, so I dunno.

[1969_Mach1 333]

I didn't think of that.  For me, I'd be more afraid of a fire with the battery and the starter solenoid in the trunk.  The trunk seems to be more sealed up to fresh air ventilation than the engine compartment.  Clearly there will be sparks occurring inside the solenoid.  If there happens to be off gassing from the battery there could be potential for fire.  Maybe I'm completely wrong, just my thought.  

[Cantedvalve 128]

The original cables I have are 4 AWG.  Granted they are only a couple feet long max.  EVERYTHING I have read says that, if you are going to put a battery in the trunk, you need 0 AWG.  That seems really excessive.  So here is my cable list thus far:

• Short (12-18 inch) red 0 AWG from battery to solenoid
• Long (15 foot) red 0 AWG from solenoid to starter
• Long (15 foot+) black 0 AWG for battery to chassis to block
• Long (15 foot+) red ??? AWG for the alternator charging wire

I am leaving out the auxiliary fuse box junk as that is beyond the scope of this post.  So there I have around 50 foot of cable, most of it 0 AWG.  That seems like a lot of weight.

1. Is 0 AWG necessary?  I am just spinning a stock starter on a stock short block with 9:1 compression.  I have no plans for upgrades to the engine.
2. What gauge for the alternator back to the battery?  I am guessing it doesn't need to be as substantial as the starter wire - I am hoping 4 AWG.

Get those answered and I can start spending money.

[unilec 57]

What you have to bare in minds is that its a 12volt system and because of that you need to take into account the volt drop so over the distance you mentioned, yes you need to use 0 AWG gauge wire. CCA of a starter motor can exceed 400 amps on start up.

[Cantedvalve 128]

Yeah, I figured.  That's how I ordered it.

[Cantedvalve 128]

I want to get back to working on my car, but a) its hot outside, and b) waiting on parts.  So I've been neglecting my work today and instead dreaming about how I am going to do this battery move.  The attached is what I came up with.  This is somewhat simplified - no grounds, left out relays for fan and ignition, etc. - but you get the idea.  I am trying to avoid stringing wires all throughout the car, so I have two fuses that also work as attachment points for accessories that need full time power (not just key on).  All accessories are fused, and the main link between the alternator and the battery is also fused at both ends.  The fan actually has a breaker that I will be using.  Odd thing with that fan... amp draw is 18, but the fuse rating is 40.  I am guessing it has something to do with when it first starts up.

I will run the ground under the car instead of through it.  Too much wiring going through the rocker panel channel already.

[Cantedvalve 128]

[Cantedvalve 128]

I love the smell of welding cable in the morning!

[barnett468 418]

omg...that looks like it is 3/4". that's definitely bigger diameter than you need, plus you do not need to run the ground cable from the battery to engine. but you need a good size ground from the engine to the chassis.

[Cantedvalve 128]

Looks are deceiving. It’s only 1/2 inch with the insulation.

[barnett468 418]

1 hour ago, Cantedvalve said:

Looks are deceiving. It’s only 1/2 inch with the insulation.

that's still overkill but i didn't see your question about cable size until today. the boss 429's had the battery in the trunk and used much smaller cable and they started just fine, but going larger certainly won't hurt anything other than your wallet, plus it can be a bit difficult to work with and bend around things etc.

concourse boss 429 cables. they are just slightly larger than the standard cables ford used.

 

[Cantedvalve 128]

No matter, I have what I have and I am happy with it.  I did get the circuit breaker for my fan today.  Smaller than I thought.  Do I need it?  Probably not, but it was super cheap on Amazon, and I wanted to check them out.  I am thinking maybe to use these in place of the big fuses on the alternator wire.  Some day.

 

 

[barnett468 418]

nope, you don't need that either.

[Cantedvalve 128]

 Need?  No... want?  Yes.  I could do a fuse, but I was curious how a breaker would work.   The recommended fuse rating for the fan is 40A, so I got a 40A breaker.

[Rsanter 152]

The remote jumper terminals are really meant for race cars so they don’t have to open the battery box or don’t have to try to get in a confined space to attach the clamps.

also if you have a street rod and you have hidden the battery under the floor, under the bed, under a seat...etc. they allow you to jump your car without taking things apart

[barnett468 418]

On 9/7/2018 at 5:59 PM, Cantedvalve said:

 I could do a fuse, but I was curious how a breaker would work.  

The recommended fuse rating for the fan is 40A, so I got a 40A breaker.

a breaker would work just like they do in your house.

then this would go between the power source and the fan, not the battery and starter etc.

i typically use fan controller with aftermarket electric fans and it comes with a "soft" start system.

 

[Cantedvalve 128]

Yeah. I may end up there. Not right now though