Guys with battery relocations.. any advice?

[Quicktime_GT]

I have a moroso intercooler reservoir that goes where the factory battery location is. The plan is to put the battery in the trunk by a simple, not necessarily NHRA legal battery relocation.

I had in mind to use a 2 gauge hot wire from the battery to the front of the car, (probably running it under the car or down the side under the carpet) and basically connecting the existing hot wire to the new wire going to the back.

I'd ground the factory ground wire somewhere up front, then ground the battery in the back somewhere in the back. I figured i'd throw in a couple of extra ground straps here in there from the engine and see what happens..

I'll be using an optima red top.

Any advice? Comments? Am I going to run into starting problems? Electrical problems?

THanks!

 

[TwinTurbo4vGT]

stay away from optima batteries, they are nightmares. Braille batteries are the way to go :beer:

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

My only regret is not mounting the box sideways. I didn't want to block the spare, but now I'm limited somewhat on battery size. I wanted to run a BXT 65-650 Motorcraft but was told it wouldn't fit.(I was in the hospital at the time).

So I'm using a BXT-59 Motorcraft and of course it works fine(it's OE) and has an AWESOME warranty.

I did the FPDM wire upgrade at the same time and a boost a pump.

 

[Digital]

I did pretty much exactly what you want to do.
Ran a hot wire in 0 gauge to the front.
Unbolted the battery tray and bolted to the trunk, battery fits secure.
Very easy, Very cheap.

 

[Quicktime_GT]

digital...

Do you experience any charging issues? Starting issues?

I can't remember the equation from school we used to figure voltage drop, and can't find a decent calculator, but surely it shouldn't be much?

How many feet should I buy? I found 2 gauge at Advance Auto on a roll for like 1.98 a foot.


As far as the optima battery, this one came with the car, though I've bought one new for another car in the past. I will admit that it did go dead in the car if I didn't drive it for a while. One thing about them though is they seem to always come back from dead zero haha.

 

[Digital]

digital...

Do you experience any charging issues? Starting issues?

I can't remember the equation from school we used to figure voltage drop, and can't find a decent calculator, but surely it shouldn't be much?

How many feet should I buy? I found 2 gauge at Advance Auto on a roll for like 1.98 a foot.


As far as the optima battery, this one came with the car, though I've bought one new for another car in the past. I will admit that it did go dead in the car if I didn't drive it for a while. One thing about them though is they seem to always come back from dead zero haha.

No starting issues, no charging issues. It may be 2gauge wire not 0. It was one of the few mods I didnt do myself to the car.
The wire is about the size of a penny. Not sure how many feet but most kits come with 20 feet from what I've seen.
The dumbass who installed mine put it on the left side and I don't feel like spending money on more wire to put it on the right side.
I'd just grab a tape, measure the car, then the trunk and that should give you plenty of length if you're putting it on the passenger side. (bumper to bumper, fender to fender.)

Mine is ran on the inside of the car under the carpet btw.

(not the kit that was used but an example)
http://www.lethalperformance.com/03...roso-nhra-legal-battery-box-cable-kit-p-10388

 

[TwinTurbo4vGT]

digital...

Do you experience any charging issues? Starting issues?

I can't remember the equation from school we used to figure voltage drop, and can't find a decent calculator, but surely it shouldn't be much?

How many feet should I buy? I found 2 gauge at Advance Auto on a roll for like 1.98 a foot.


As far as the optima battery, this one came with the car, though I've bought one new for another car in the past. I will admit that it did go dead in the car if I didn't drive it for a while. One thing about them though is they seem to always come back from dead zero haha.

if the car sits then optima batteries are a VERY bad choice. Optima batteries are charged memory batteries, everytime you charge them they only go back to 80% of that charge.

 

[Digital]

I use a duramax gold from autozone. It might be a dick move but they have a 3 year warranty, 100% free replacement, I've replaced it twice do to me doing mods and cold cranking the piss out of it.
If I ever get close to 3 years I'll kill it and tell em I want a new 1.

 

[SlowSVT]

To do this right is somewhat complicated but this should give you some idea’s.

Run the red positive 2 ga wire directly to the starter. No need to run it up to the front of the car where it has to double back again. Run the positive lead inside the car and drill a hole near the passengers feet would be on the firewall which puts it right next to the starter and away from hot exhaust (use heat wrap tape as needed). Plus it keeps the battery lead protected inside the car way from the fuel lines. Run the 2 ga black ground wire to the block and ground it there. Take a 8 ga wire from that ground point on the block and daisy chain it to the negative lead on the original battery ground wire. You need to fuse the wire to the starter inline with a starter relay to prevent a fire running such a long fat wire exposed to the potential of 700 amps. 300-400 amp marine fuse should do the job. Run a separate 10 ga wire with a fuse from the battery to the positive wire on the original positive battery lead.

The wire should stay cool or may get slightly warm when under maximum load. If it gets hot you need to go a wire size or two higher. 2 ga to the starter should be OK.

If you want top quality wire get it here: UNSHIELDED WIRE<br>MIL-W-22759/16 from Aircraft Spruce

You can only get this in white but the jacket is very tough, resistant to abrasion and heat. Way more then commercial PVC insulated wire.

Newark Electronic the the best supplier of industrial grade electrical components including mil-spec stuff. US - Electronic Components Distributor | Newark.com

Adhesive lined shrink tubing, corrugated wire cover, fiberglass tape and good crimping tools are your friends

Hope this helps.

 

[oldmodman]

I use a duramax gold from autozone. It might be a dick move but they have a 3 year warranty, 100% free replacement, I've replaced it twice do to me doing mods and cold cranking the piss out of it.
If I ever get close to 3 years I'll kill it and tell em I want a new 1.

I am using the same battery. Isn't it amazing that they always seem to fail at 30 months?

I had one in my Explorer and forgot to "have a failure" so I just ran it until it died. It lasted nine years.

 

[Quicktime_GT]

Alright I'm almost done!!

I've ran 2 gauge wire from the starter, through a hole already in the floorboard in a grommet. I then ran it along the side of the carpet, up under the rear seat, over the lip through a rubber hose, and through the side panel in the back to the right rear. I have a battery tray mounted for now, and have grounded a 2 gauge wire to a bolt in the rear, and then used a 6ish gauge wire to run from that bolt to another bolt ( hopefully helping "disperse" the ground) .

I plan on putting a terminal on the end of the factory ground wire, and bolt it to the radiator support where 2 other ground wires go.

As far as the factory hot wire/ battery terminal... what to do with it?/

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

Alright I'm almost done!!


I plan on putting a terminal on the end of the factory ground wire, and bolt it to the radiator support where 2 other ground wires go.

As far as the factory hot wire/ battery terminal... what to do with it?/

I am wishing I left mine unwrapped and firmly mounted somewhere convenient, where it couldn't move and short out on any thing, but was readily available for jumping or charging.

 

[Quicktime_GT]

It starts!!

I am seeing 12.8 volts at battery in trunk (car off)
12.4- 12.6 volts at fuse box ( car off)
11.7 volts at fuse box ( car off, HID lights on, key on)
14.4 - 14.6 volts at battery ( car idling )

It seems to start as quickly as ever, and no smoke or fire yet lol . I unhooked the battery for tonight anyway though. I'd hate for my junk to burn down the garage and two challengers :??:

I'd like to turn the original terminal into a "hot post" like on some GM cars where the battery is mounted out of reach. That would make for better jump starting if needed.. any ideas?

 

[Digital]

It starts!!

I am seeing 12.8 volts at battery in trunk (car off)
12.4- 12.6 volts at fuse box ( car off)
11.7 volts at fuse box ( car off, HID lights on, key on)
14.4 - 14.6 volts at battery ( car idling )

It seems to start as quickly as ever, and no smoke or fire yet lol . I unhooked the battery for tonight anyway though. I'd hate for my junk to burn down the garage and two challengers :??:

I'd like to turn the original terminal into a "hot post" like on some GM cars where the battery is mounted out of reach. That would make for better jump starting if needed.. any ideas?

Good job.

 

[20-COBRA-03]

yea good job as long as you don't have voltage issues up top like i had... only when you put a true load on the car under WOT will you see if your set or not... I was seeing perfect voltage at idle and cruising partial throttle etc... then i took it to get tuned and up top at WOT my voltage was dropping dangerously low causing my pumps to pulsate... it was real f'ed up, so i ended up putting the batt back up front...

 

[Kirko]

Make sure it is bolted down! It will dent the side on a good turn. Don't doubt me either!

 

[Quicktime_GT]

yea good job as long as you don't have voltage issues up top like i had... only when you put a true load on the car under WOT will you see if your set or not... I was seeing perfect voltage at idle and cruising partial throttle etc... then i took it to get tuned and up top at WOT my voltage was dropping dangerously low causing my pumps to pulsate... it was real f'ed up, so i ended up putting the batt back up front...

Damn, that just gave me something new to worry about. I plan on having it tuned this Wednesday so we'll see I guess.. what kind of setup did you have on yours?

 

[OptimaJim]

Quicktime GT, the voltage at the battery when idling and the 12.8 volts when the car is off are crude indicators that the wire gauge is ok for your relocation.

Optima batteries do not hold a memory of previous charging levels and unless there has been sulfation of the battery plates, they should fully-recharge. However, their low internal resistance will allow them to be discharged more deeply than traditional flooded batteries. Many standard battery chargers will not recharge any battery discharged below 10.5 volts and most flooded batteries discharged below 10.5 volts are unrecoverable. The upside for owners of AGM-style batteries, like Optimas, is that they can recover from being deeply-discharged below 10.5 volts with a standard charger through parallel charging.

To charge a deeply-discharged Optima with a regular charger, you can wire a second fully-charged automotive battery (12V+) to the discharged Optima in parallel (+ to + and – to –). Then hook up the charger to either battery, setting the charger at 10 amps for 2 hours and monitoring it frequently. When the discharged Optima reaches 10.5 volts or more, remove the second battery and continue charging the Optima until fully charged.

Typically we recommend charging at a relatively low current, such as 2 amps, but when a battery has been deeply discharged, some sulfation of the battery plates may have occurred. However, if you charge at 10 amps, the higher current will help to break up sulfation that may have occurred.

If you have an automatic charger, let it run until the charger indicates charging is complete. If you have a manual charger, estimate charging time by multiplying the capacity (amp hours or Ah) of the battery by 1.2 for a rough estimate of charging time in hours.

In most cases, these steps will recover an Optima battery. It’s ok for the Optima battery to get slightly warm during the charging process, but hot to the touch or hissing from the battery indicates a short and the process should be discontinued. If the battery reaches a full state of charge, but does not maintain voltage at or near its fully-charged state (disconnected from a vehicle) for 12-24 hours afterwards, the battery is probably not recoverable.

If you’d rather not deal with that, you can always take your battery to a professional battery specialist, like Interstate, who knows AGM technology. Most of them are willing to provide “charge and check” procedures for a small fee and many will provide the service for free. If you have any other questions about charging and proper battery maintenance, you can check out this link- Optima Battery Charging - AGM Battery Charging or just ask.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.

 

[SlowSVT]

It starts!!

I am seeing 12.8 volts at battery in trunk (car off)
12.4- 12.6 volts at fuse box ( car off)
11.7 volts at fuse box ( car off, HID lights on, key on)
14.4 - 14.6 volts at battery ( car idling )

It seems to start as quickly as ever, and no smoke or fire yet lol . I unhooked the battery for tonight anyway though. I'd hate for my junk to burn down the garage and two challengers :??:

I'd like to turn the original terminal into a "hot post" like on some GM cars where the battery is mounted out of reach. That would make for better jump starting if needed.. any ideas?

Best to check voltages with all the accessories turned-on drawing maximum currant from the system. There will be little voltage drop in the wires when they are not under a load. If the gauge is not adequate to carry the currant the wire will heat up increasing it's resistance and you will see a voltage drop.

Did you put a starter relay and a fuse at the battery box to protect the wire from burning your car to the ground should it short out?

Sounds like it worked out good for you.