What gauge is battery cable?
03-12-2006, 02:09 PM
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What gauge is battery cable?
I plan to relocat my battery to my trunk and I dont know what gauge wire I should buy to do this.
And if I went to a lowers and got some single wire (Only 1 wire type in it, not like house wire with hot/cold/ground in it) multi strand (twisted) 2/0 wire would this work the same as a smaller strand wire or the same or worse?
And if I went to a lowers and got some single wire (Only 1 wire type in it, not like house wire with hot/cold/ground in it) multi strand (twisted) 2/0 wire would this work the same as a smaller strand wire or the same or worse?
03-12-2006, 03:33 PM
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Re: What gauge is battery cable?
bigger is better, it can withstand the higher current flow needed for your starting system. if you can find some really big power cable for like an amp or something that will work as well.
03-12-2006, 05:59 PM
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Re: What gauge is battery cable?
If it's a 4 cyl, you don't need anything bigger than 4 gauge, but 2 would be preferred. That is plenty overkill for a trunk mount battery. There is no "withstanding the higher current flow", you need large wire so the resistance will be low over the distance that you'll be running the wire. Resistance versus current equals voltage drop, which is the enemy. And don't go for the "bigger is better" mentality, you're just wasting money if you use wire that's larger than you need. Put a fuse or breaker at the battery end of the cable for safety, if you get in a wreck or the cable gets cut, etc., the fuse will keep your car from burning to the ground. Car audio cable works fine but the insulation is usually junk, battery cable or welding cable is usually cheaper and has higher quality (higher temp, better abrasion and solvent resistance) insulation. It may not be as pretty, but who cares.
Do not use solid conductor house wire, it will fatigue.
Do not use solid conductor house wire, it will fatigue.
Last edited by Fabrik8; 03-12-2006 at 06:02 PM.
03-12-2006, 06:29 PM
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Re: What gauge is battery cable?
Originally Posted by Fabrik8
If it's a 4 cyl, you don't need anything bigger than 4 gauge, but 2 would be preferred. That is plenty overkill for a trunk mount battery. There is no "withstanding the higher current flow", you need large wire so the resistance will be low over the distance that you'll be running the wire. Resistance versus current equals voltage drop, which is the enemy. And don't go for the "bigger is better" mentality, you're just wasting money if you use wire that's larger than you need. Put a fuse or breaker at the battery end of the cable for safety, if you get in a wreck or the cable gets cut, etc., the fuse will keep your car from burning to the ground. Car audio cable works fine but the insulation is usually junk, battery cable or welding cable is usually cheaper and has higher quality (higher temp, better abrasion and solvent resistance) insulation. It may not be as pretty, but who cares.
Do not use solid conductor house wire, it will fatigue.
Do not use solid conductor house wire, it will fatigue.
i stand corrected, i was typing without thinking at the time. the thicker gauge wire means less resistance, hes right.....again
03-13-2006, 03:19 PM
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Re: What gauge is battery cable?
Aight, imma go out and buy some 2 AWG boat / battery cable for $1.07$ a foot instead of going to get some 2 gauge amp wire at a local car audio place for 6$ a foot.
Thx ppl
Thx ppl
