is this kit a thick enough grade wire for a daily driven car, so radio and lights and such. Or is it a race car only application?



Brand: Moroso
Product Line: Moroso Battery Cable Kits
Battery Cables Included: Positive and negative
Cable Gauge: 2-gauge
Assembled: No
Cable Jacket Material: PVC
Cable Jacket Finish: Blue
Positive Cable Length (in): 96 in.
Negative Cable Length (in): 240 in.
Battery Cable End Style 1: Top post
Battery Cable End Style 2: Eyelet
Adapters Included: No
Hardware Included: Yes
Auxiliary Lead: Yes
Quantity: Sold as a kit.
Notes: Includes 20 ft. with 4 terminals, 8 ft. with top-post terminals and 6 in. 12 gauge leads with butt connectors, rubber lined clamps amd shrink sleeving.

Battery Cables, PVC, Blue, 2-Gauge, 8 ft. Long, Clamps, Grommets, Shrink Sleeving, Kit

 

I would say that 2 gauge should be enough to handle the amps for a DD.

 

That positive cable is a little short, it would only span half of the length of the car. Assuming you want it in the back hatch area or spare tire compartment I'd say you want more wire.

 

good call on that one, actually to tell you the truth its already in the car, the battery temporarily was moved back into the front to just help track down some other electrical issues, just to eliminate it as a possibility but it wasnt the cause

had a couple people tell me its not thick enough wire tho, and that looked like the same kit to me, guess i didnt pay attention to the length.

 

It depends on how much current your starter requires. Not all engines and starters have the same power requirements. Personally I would opt for something heavier. I have melted similar cables with a large battery, a stock HD starter, and a great deal of cranking. In that case there would have been more than a thousand amps turning the battery cables in to a toaster oven.

Welding cable is reasonably cheap, readily available, and higher quality. It wouldn't be hard to get a heavier and higher quality cable. I would recommend something like 1/0 or 2/0. The extra size isn't really required for any normal sound system or lights or anything of that nature.

In fact I have seen a few systems that used an 8 or 6 gauge cable with a fuse (100A or whatever makes sense and matches the cable used) to run the electronics, lights, and so forth. This cable feeds everything except the starter itself. The starter is powered through a heavy cable such as the recommended 1/0. This wasn't an always hot cable though. This cable runs through a starter solenoid which is activated by the trigger wire from the ignition switch. The original starter solenoid can be wired so that as soon as power is applied the solenoid is engaged.

This wiring scheme prevents fires by keeping the always-hot cable fused and the unfused heavy starting cable from being hot any time the engine is not starting. This makes it a good idea and it is streetable when the always-hot cable and fuse are sized such that it can safely carry the alternator at maximum output.

This may not be the "out of the box" solution you were looking for but it is a proven system that you can piece together with parts that can be easily purchased.

 

well seeing as i already have it installed, you think its okay as long as i put a fuse in and if i start blowing fuese ill know i need something better

 

Nah, because you need to be able to draw a great deal of current for starting. No fuse is going to be able to handle the starter and offer reasonable protection for shorts.

What would be the hold-up for doing something like this? Is it the work of routing the cable under the car, the expense, or the complexity? You can use your existing cables in the suggested scheme, it just might melt or cause your starter to drag because of the voltage drop if you are pulling a ton of current during starting. At least then if things go wrong you will have more protection. If you have trouble with the cable melting or the starter dragging you can replace the existing cable with something heavier.

Out of curiousity, what starter do you use and what engine are you trying to start?

 

its a mild 355, 300 hp
i actually just ended up getting a new starter, just some aftermarket high performance starter.

reason for not replacing it is this kit was pretty expensive and id like to use it.

re running it is a pain but no big deal, i actually ran the wire right through the ground effects, so id just have to pull that down and re do the ring clamp things.

can starter drag damage the starter in any way? those lil buggers are expensive

 

The starter might be able to draw a great deal of current but the engine doesn't sound like something that should be exceptionally hard to start.

A dragging starter can overheat the windings and causing the insulation to fail. I doubt you will have any major issues with that happening. The biggest thing would be to make sure you don't just crank and crank on the engine. If you are in doubt, find a spot of the cable you can easily get to and feel how hot it has gotten from the cranking.

It would still be better to add the solenoid and a separate charge/accessory wire, but I think you can live with what you have now. The good part is that you can add these items to what you have already purchased.

I just looked up that Moroso wiring kit. It sells for $100 US, so I can't blame you for wanting to make the most of what you purchased.

 

thats a good point to keep in mind not to just crank on it for electrical reasons, hand thought of that but definitly a good idea.

As far as the part i have quoted could you just elaborate a little bit so i have a better idea.

the remote solenoid part i understand but what does a charge/accessory wire between the two do.

You just mean having a wire that connects the two with a fuse built in there?

 

What I mean by that is your current cable runs from the battery to the starter while you run the previously mentioned second cable to your electrical system and alternator. This wire will run hot all the time while the original cable running to the starter is ran through the solenoid (placed by the battery). That second cable needs to be sized to handle your alternator without any problems, but it is still small enough and the current demands predictable enough to fuse the line for safety. The battery effectively filters the alternator output so to keep a hum out of your radio system it needs to be sized to comfortably handle the alternator.