side terminals of battery

[jeepmanxj94]

just recently I picked up a yellow optima battery and was wondering if there was a way i could mount all my assecories such as off road lights and starting cables to the vehicle to the side terminals and then leave the top terminals to the winch i plan to have set up soon. i've searched this topic on here and other boards and didnt have much success. figured someone here would have an idea. when i bought it, it came with the plastic red and black screws that cover the side terminals. is there a part number from optima that i can get to tie in all the wires. any help would be helpful. sorry if it seems like a lame post.

 

[old_man]

The side terminals are definately not made for high amps, so the winch should go on the top terminals. You can get by with the rest of your connections on the side terminals. Just make sure they are clean and tight. Check out www.parts.express.com for nice side connectors. Almost any decent parts store will have the connectors, but not necessarily ones with nice multiple contact points.

 

[theslacker]

3/8ths coarse threaded bolt and a nut for it. Put 3/8ths lugs on all your cables then screw in the bolt to the batt with the nut already screwed on. Then tighten the bolt and tighten the nut to the post. This way you can add as much as you want to the terminal easily.(Make sense?) Just remember, the side terminals can be used for the starter but you don't want to use them for any sustained high amp draws or they will melt. Good call on the winch lines to the top posts.

 

[markaboo929]

stay away from side terminal use......why u ask just ask any gm tech.CORROSION has been that way for years and STILL is.

 

[theslacker]

Not with Optima batteries. Love the AGM technology.

 

[markaboo929]

ive herd that before and will not EVER use side terminals..even gm is slowly converting to top post.only on 05 vette and colorado

 

[5-90]

Do what I did - add a distribution post. You can get them all over, and all you have to do is bolt them down somewhere convenient.

Try Gall's, Waytek, or Del City for supplies. Expect to spend $5 or so.

Don't expect to pull more than 100A or so on them for any length of time - they're not designed for that. Use them for lights and electronics, and use a "marine" battery clamp to hook up your winch and starter motor leads.

5-90

 

[markaboo929]

that is what i use .the marine batt clamps with the stud on it and have a seperate lead for vehicle power and then branch off of the stud for lights,winch,etc..been that way for 3 years now and no corrosion.plus i live in south fla lots of salty air here.still no coro

 

[5-90]

Oh - I divorced the distrubution post.

Given a choice, I want a minimum of wires going into the battery - makes it easier to service or change the thing, or disconnect it for electrical work.

The distribution post I use is mounted on a little plate I made, right over the relay rack and about a foot away from the battery. Only four leads to the battery proper - power to distribution, power to start motor, ground to engine, ground to chassis. Everything else is out of the way.

5-90

 

[bajacalal]

just recently I picked up a yellow optima battery and was wondering if there was a way i could mount all my assecories such as off road lights and starting cables to the vehicle to the side terminals and then leave the top terminals to the winch i plan to have set up soon. i've searched this topic on here and other boards and didnt have much success. figured someone here would have an idea. when i bought it, it came with the plastic red and black screws that cover the side terminals. is there a part number from optima that i can get to tie in all the wires. any help would be helpful. sorry if it seems like a lame post.

Are you talking about "universal" batteries that include GM style and normal terminals. You could use those but they do have reliability issues and it doesn't, to me, seem to be as tight of a connection as top terminals. Used to have S10 and diddn't like that setup.

If youre just running something relatively low amp, like a pair of lights, I just used the power distribution box. Behind the battery on most later xj there is that fues box. On its side, closest to the battery there is a covered post and nut that connect a big POS cable from the battery to the fuse panel itself and also a fusible link (colored wire) is there. Just add another connection to this post, one of those metal ring things will do just fine.

If you want a pic of my light setup I can do that. Make sure to add a fuse to the light circuit. I wouln't be adverse though to using just the side terminals for the winch, I like to keep things simple and seperated too, but the side terminals are known as less reliable. They should handle the amps fine, if its a universal type battery designed to run chevy motors and their starters.

 

[RichP]

If you want to save yourself some wiring use the Hella relays with the bayonet fuse built into the side of the relay. No pigtails hanging around this way like with those seperate inline fuses and with the relay close to the battery/PDC area less chance of melting wires [you always want whatever accessory fuse as close to the power source as possible].
The Optima batteries web site tells you NOT to use high amperage draws on the side terminals, the starter will work OK on them but thats about it, NO winch on the side terminals, it will void the warranty and all they have to do is check the leads inside the case for the fried one.

 

[steveareno]

Can you wire your winch to the top screw studs on an Optima Blue marine battery?

 

[kevin s]

...also pick up a can of spray stuff made to protect electrical connections. I use it on my battery cables and never have a problem with corrosion. It sprays out a thin red coating. Hit it a few times.

 

[bajacalal]

If you want to save yourself some wiring use the Hella relays with the bayonet fuse built into the side of the relay. No pigtails hanging around this way like with those seperate inline fuses and with the relay close to the battery/PDC area less chance of melting wires [you always want whatever accessory fuse as close to the power source as possible].
The Optima batteries web site tells you NOT to use high amperage draws on the side terminals, the starter will work OK on them but thats about it, NO winch on the side terminals, it will void the warranty and all they have to do is check the leads inside the case for the fried one.

Yeah, Rich, I know they come with that but my hella relay bit the dust and shorted out, melting its own ground wire insulation in the process before the fuse blew. It wasn't really sealed and it got moisture & trail dust in there. This was a couple months after installing the kit and it blew on me when I was driving in Mexico on a road thats notorious for loose livestock. So I was pissed but still liked the lights themselves. I wasn't willing to get another Hella relay and have the same problem so I rewired the whole thing with a new relay (NAPA) it appears sturdier. This is what I recommend to others as well. The fuse goes right after the power distribution box its a spade type in a sealed housing. My 3 position lighted switch goes where my cigarette lighter was. Its yet another electrical item in my XJ that burned up one night(filling the cabin with smoke) without any fuse blowing.