Power wire routing gurus come inside!

One of the previous owners did the battery relocation on this car and ran the positive wire straight to the starter, is that acceptable? It hasn't given me any issues for the past 8 years but I've only put about 1k miles on it.

Reason I ask is because I just dropped the IRS and thought I'd clean it up since all of the wiring is easily accessible. Is there a more preferred way to route it? Thanks guys.

I have seen it run through the interior under the carpet in most trunk mounted situations, that is the way I intend to run mine when I get to that point. Just make sure you use grommets when going through the firewall and the cable is well secured so it doesn't rub through.

I just did this update to mine. Went from the battery to the starter, the starter to the alternator. My cutoff switch goes to the fuse distribution block. Also added a ground from the battery to the engine block. Ran all 0 GA wires.

you also should install a 200 amp fuse or circuit breaker as close to the battery as possible. Fuses are preferred because circuit breakers can and have welded themselves closed. A kill switch on the ground side is not a bad Idea either.

Bullitt1448 said:

you also should install a 200 amp fuse or circuit breaker as close to the battery as possible. Fuses are preferred because circuit breakers can and have welded themselves closed. A kill switch on the ground side is not a bad Idea either.

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Without knowing how many amps the starter is drawing, you cannot size a fuse on that line. I thought this too until I was asking the Electrical Engineers at work.

NHRA rules do not allow the cutoff switch to be hooked into the ground. Must be on the positive line. So depending on if you ever want to run at the track it needs to be hooked up to the power line.

03' White Snake said:

Without knowing how many amps the starter is drawing, you cannot size a fuse on that line. I thought this too until I was asking the Electrical Engineers at work.

NHRA rules do not allow the cutoff switch to be hooked into the ground. Must be on the positive line. So depending on if you ever want to run at the track it needs to be hooked up to the power line.

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Both are true statements if running NHRA events. The kill switch needs to be on the power side and accessible from the out side of the car marked with on and off positions.

The 200 Amp fuse and/or circuit breaker does not generally trip during normal operation. A stater can draw up to 800 amps for a very short time during initial cranking but I have yet to see anyone running more than a 250 anp breaker and having any issues, most are in the 200 amp range

As stated the battery feed cable should be properly routed so as to not chafe to ground or interfere with any components. With that said, the best and safest way is to install a starter solenoid in the trunk attached to the battery on one side and to the starter up front. That way the cable is only hot when the circuit is activated by the ignition switch. Also run a small gauge wire from the starter solenoid ignition feed to the solenoid in the rear or trunk to activate the system when the key is turned to start.

I did this setup on my 68 Chevy II and it never failed to work. You can use a ford solenoid that's been around forever, just get a current model which has a diode in it.

Mine was done by a previous owner. It's routed down from the trunk, through the passenger compartment along the pinch weld area, then out under the fender near the harness, and over to the starter.

When it's hot it seems a bit slow to start though. Not sure if that's related or not. And that's through a few different batteries and alternators.

SecondhandSnake said:

Mine was done by a previous owner. It's routed down from the trunk, through the passenger compartment along the pinch weld area, then out under the fender near the harness, and over to the starter.

When it's hot it seems a bit slow to start though. Not sure if that's related or not. And that's through a few different batteries and alternators.

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What size wire is it? Had the same issue with mine. I up sized the wire gauge to 0/1 and it nearly fixed my hot start issues. It is slightly slower cranking while hot but will always start now. Before with 2GA I would have to let the car cool before it would start up again. I have a 10.3 CR motor, so that could also contribute to harder starts too.

Thanks for the comments fellas, looks like routing to the starter is fairly normal.

03' White Snake said:

What size wire is it? Had the same issue with mine. I up sized the wire gauge to 0/1 and it nearly fixed my hot start issues. It is slightly slower cranking while hot but will always start now. Before with 2GA I would have to let the car cool before it would start up again. I have a 10.3 CR motor, so that could also contribute to harder starts too.

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Mine is 00 all the way to the starter. It even did that when I bought it with the stock 2V. It will start, just cranks real slow at first and then picks up steam.