Custom Battery Cables.

[poorboyjohn]

hey, i just got some MIL-SPEC BATTERY TERMINALS from kilby today and i am going to get some custom cables for them. I was wondering, what gauge cables should i use and is there anything i should do or look for before i start this process? i know there has been many people out there who didnt want to spend 90 dollars for jeepers creepers heavy duty cables or just wanted to make them themselves, so help me out.

[MogifiedXJ]

Just go to your local welding supplt shop and buy welding cables...

[Clean Racing]

The jeepercreepers are 2ga welding cable... That should be good, and 4 ga for the alternator...

[BrettM]

PM 5-90, or I think there's a link in his sig...

[poorboyjohn]

Sounds good. Does anybody else have any suggestions before I get them on Saturday?

[XJCreeper]

X2, Get some #2 welding cable from welding supply store. Strip enough off for it to fit into a lug. Next take a #2 lug and clamp it in a vise. Heat it up with a torch and melt some solder until its about 3/4ths full. Next push the cable into the lug and let it cool.

Leather gloves come in handy for this job!:flame: To make it extra nice get some big shrink tube and shrink it on when the wire and the lug meet. Overlap it on the lug and use it as an insulator over the exposed part of the lug. Have fun making them and spend the extra $$$ on some good beer!:eeks1:

[5-90]

PM 5-90, or I think there's a link in his sig...

Yep - and here I are, just to provide the link...

5-90

[Dr. Dyno]

I recently upgraded my power cables and did a write-up:

http://www.angelfire.com/my/fan/Power_Cables.html

[Dirk Pitt]

Yep - and here I are, just to provide the link...

5-90

I run 5-90 cables...

I doubt you can make them on your own, with as high a quality, for less than what it will cost to just buy from him.

Don't waste your time, just PM the guy. Highest quality, great price, fast service.

HTH

[5-90]

I run 5-90 cables...

I doubt you can make them on your own, with as high a quality, for less than what it will cost to just buy from him.

Don't waste your time, just PM the guy. Highest quality, great price, fast service.

HTH

Thank you! I try not to toot my own horn here... Perhaps I should put a testimonials page up, once I get the Tech Section sorta done (read: compleat to information on hand...)

5-90

[MogifiedXJ]

I doubt you can make them on your own, with as high a quality, for less than what it will cost to just buy from him.



You've got to be kidding. Go buy welding cable and four copper ends you solder on. Then buy some shrink wrap and put over the ends. I moved my battery to the back and did mine this way in about ten minutes. I used 3/0 that was given to me by the local welding supply, four ends from napa ($5.50), some cheap shrink wrap, and solder I had laying around. The total was under $10. How much cheaper and higher quality can you get??? I'm not trying to put down 5-90 or anything...I just don't agree with your post.

[5-90]

You've got to be kidding. Go buy welding cable and four copper ends you solder on. Then buy some shrink wrap and put over the ends. I moved my battery to the back and did mine this way in about ten minutes. I used 3/0 that was given to me by the local welding supply, four ends from napa ($5.50), some cheap shrink wrap, and solder I had laying around. The total was under $10. How much cheaper and higher quality can you get??? I'm not trying to put down 5-90 or anything...I just don't agree with your post.

There's the key - you got the cable for free. I've had a hard time keeping up with the price of copper lately - damn inflation in petrochemistry is hitting everything...

Also, 3/0 is massive overkill for our applications - not that there's anything wrong with that (you got it for free, didn't you?) but I selected I AWG simply because it was an excellent compromise between current-carrying capacity and shipping weight (I'm not overly concerned with weight as installed, but I'd like to make sure I can get it there reasonably...)

It took some SERIOUS digging to find a supplier that would be able to keep me in stock consistently, for a low enough price (I pay three times as much for cable locally...) to pass along to everyone else.

And, nothing against Jeepers & Creepers (since I see them mentioned here fairly often as well...) but I've done something that it seems most others have not - devised a "kit solution" that allows for alternator upgrades while maintaining fuse protection like that offered in the OEM circuit. And, I'll do custom cabling (just tell me how long, what colour, 1AWG or 4AWG, and what rings you need on the ends...) which is something else I don't see very often. AND, my kits will offer to replace ALL the mains - including the ground strap from the firewall to the engine block (since I just hate that damn thing...) with good cable.

If you want to do it on your own, go ahead - I won't try to stop you. However, I've been playing with this stuff for a while even before I decided to start selling it (due to prompting here, actually,) and I like to think you can't find a better cable anywhere. It's not the materials I use, it's the attention to detail and desire for longevity that drive me. I'm honestly hoping that cables you get from me will last longer than the rig you're putting them into...

5-90

[ponyracer1]

You've got to be kidding. Go buy welding cable and four copper ends you solder on. Then buy some shrink wrap and put over the ends. I moved my battery to the back and did mine this way in about ten minutes. I used 3/0 that was given to me by the local welding supply, four ends from napa ($5.50), some cheap shrink wrap, and solder I had laying around. The total was under $10. How much cheaper and higher quality can you get??? I'm not trying to put down 5-90 or anything...I just don't agree with your post.

X2 I'm into mine for about $4 bucks. Not to put down anyones work, 5-90 builds some nice sh%t. I didn't bother with the solder, just cut them to length and swedged them on in my vice. Finished them off with a little tape and she's good.

[XJCreeper]

You've got to be kidding. Go buy welding cable and four copper ends you solder on. Then buy some shrink wrap and put over the ends. I moved my battery to the back and did mine this way in about ten minutes. I used 3/0 that was given to me by the local welding supply, four ends from napa ($5.50), some cheap shrink wrap, and solder I had laying around. The total was under $10. How much cheaper and higher quality can you get??? I'm not trying to put down 5-90 or anything...I just don't agree with your post.

X2, If you are confident you can do this, save some $$$ and get the experience and have some fun. Nothing like getting the experience of learning how to do things yourself. If you are in the Castro Valley area sometime and got the materails get some beer and stop by. I'll help you get it done if you need a little help.

[MogifiedXJ]

There's the key - you got the cable for free. I've had a hard time keeping up with the price of copper lately - damn inflation in petrochemistry is hitting everything...

Also, 3/0 is massive overkill for our applications - not that there's anything wrong with that (you got it for free, didn't you?) but I selected I AWG simply because it was an excellent compromise between current-carrying capacity and shipping weight (I'm not overly concerned with weight as installed, but I'd like to make sure I can get it there reasonably...)

It took some SERIOUS digging to find a supplier that would be able to keep me in stock consistently, for a low enough price (I pay three times as much for cable locally...) to pass along to everyone else.

And, nothing against Jeepers & Creepers (since I see them mentioned here fairly often as well...) but I've done something that it seems most others have not - devised a "kit solution" that allows for alternator upgrades while maintaining fuse protection like that offered in the OEM circuit. And, I'll do custom cabling (just tell me how long, what colour, 1AWG or 4AWG, and what rings you need on the ends...) which is something else I don't see very often. AND, my kits will offer to replace ALL the mains - including the ground strap from the firewall to the engine block (since I just hate that damn thing...) with good cable.

If you want to do it on your own, go ahead - I won't try to stop you. However, I've been playing with this stuff for a while even before I decided to start selling it (due to prompting here, actually,) and I like to think you can't find a better cable anywhere. It's not the materials I use, it's the attention to detail and desire for longevity that drive me. I'm honestly hoping that cables you get from me will last longer than the rig you're putting them into...

5-90

I checked out your cables and I do like them...you do some nice work. Yes, 3/0 is major overkill for most people, but I run a Delphi 2150cca battery system out of a semi (friend works for mack so I scored it free too) and since it was free I wanted to be on the safe side anyway. The other reason I went with a larger cable, since I was spanning a long distance, I didn't want any voltage drop to occur over the length of the cables...not that that much would occur anyway.

[TekkaMaki]

I love my 5-90 cables...better and cheaper than I would have done them myself. :sunshine:

http://tekkamaki.homestead.com/files/Batt0101.jpg

[XJCreeper]

Looks nice and that's cool. Mine are just as nice! 5-90 makes a good set and I'm not knocking them at all. Personally I'd just make them myself and got the feeling from the original post that poorboyjohn wanted to do the same. If I needed them and couldn't make them myself I'd buy them from 5-90. How much is the 5-90 setup?

[5-90]

Do you want to know more? Click me! (http://www.geocities.com/JeepI6Power/price.html)

5-90

[XJCreeper]

Your got good price and a priced much better than the Jeepers and Creepers battery cables. For the guy who wants to make his own I've found for myself I can make them cheaper and enjoyed doing it. But for those who don't you're offering up a great deal. The set of Mil-spec battery clamps that the Jeepers and Creepers guys offer look cool. But $16.99 is steep for a set of 4 clamps. Do you offer them as well and what do you think of them. Overkill?

[5-90]

Your got good price and a priced much better than the Jeepers and Creepers battery cables. For the guy who wants to make his own I've found for myself I can make them cheaper and enjoyed doing it. But for those who don't you're offering up a great deal. The set of Mil-spec battery clamps that the Jeepers and Creepers guys offer look cool. But $16.99 is steep for a set of 4 clamps. Do you offer them as well and what do you think of them. Overkill?

I could, but I haven't found a set in anything other than lead. Probably end up casting them mysefl, I should have enough scrap brass lying about...

I offer the brass battery clamps for a simple reason - brass is a better conductor than lead. I probably check mine about once a quarter (since I'm usually doing an inspection anyhow,) and they rarely need cleaning - at least, on top of my Optimas. If something can be made better, I usually end up figuring out how...

Lead is used in battery clamps for a couple of simple reasons -
1) It's cheap. Probably costs a quarter as much as copper and alloys...
2) It's "inert." Meaning, it won't corrode (much.) For people who aren't into maintenance, it's just ducky. For people like us, who are usually working on our rigs, brass is better (and I've noted less corrosion with the brass clamps I've got than I have with the lead clamps I melted down!)

I'm not sure why they're offering them in sets of four, since a battery (usually!) only has two terminals (sometimes three - I've seen "race" batteries with a 16VDC section for starting, and a 12VDC core for running,) and offering an extra pair makes me wonder about the utlity of the things...

The battery clamps I offer (in TekkaMaki's pic) are solid brass "marine" style clamps with a 5/16" binding post - which not only takes 5/16"-18 nuts (in case you need to replace them,) but can also be unscrewed from the backside and replaced if you need something longer - and I've actually managed to reverse the post (it's really just a bolt...) and screw it into the clamp to get home until I could get another nut, after losing one in the field. Damn thing probably fell INTO a frame rail...

I'd offer "MIL-Spec" clamps, if I could find a set I liked. However, I do have a set of "marine" style clamps available that I like, and that helps to fill the gap.

5-90

[crazy-apes]

hey, i just got some MIL-SPEC BATTERY TERMINALS from kilby today and i am going to get some custom cables for them. I was wondering, what gauge cables should i use and is there anything i should do or look for before i start this process? i know there has been many people out there who didnt want to spend 90 dollars for jeepers creepers heavy duty cables or just wanted to make them themselves, so help me out.

If you decide to go Jeepersandcreepers here is a pic of mine. I love them. I added some flex loom to make it look factory installed. You will love the mill spec terminals you got too. I ordered the quick release terminals.

http://www.trailwerksonline.com/images/jeepersbattcables.jpg

[XJCreeper]

I got the gold battery clamps at kragen auto for about $7.00. If I could get a mil-spec type quick disconnect for the right price I'd go for it. The flex tube is a nice addition to protect the cable. I did the same with mine too and taped it up with fiction tape.
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/davidjudkins/XJ/Cable.JPG

[boomhauer]

I did mine myself before i knew of 5-90 making them. Had i known i would have bought his, not because my soldering is sh!tty, which it is, but just for the simple fact the guy cares. Customer service and quality prods are few and far between.