DIY- Upgrade and extend stock battery wires

[Phi]

Difficulty Level: 2/10
Time: 3hrs
Cost:$40 minimum for basic wires and terminals
Tools: Basic tools - ratchet, wrenches, wire cutter, pliers
Supplies: 1 pos and 1 neg battery terminal, 10ft of wire, 4 wire terminals, heat shrink wrap

Pictures: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4286604527

Instructions:

Remove battery
01. remove battery from car
02. remove battery tray

Negative wires
03. remove ground wire from chassis
04. remove ground wire from engine
05. cut wire to length, attach ring terminals, crimp and shrink wrap
06. secure new wires to chassis mounting point
07. repeat step 5 and secure to engine mounting point
07. trim plastic off wire and attach to new terminals

Positive wires
08. unsnap and remove fuse box cover
09. pry main fuse box located in the engine bay with a screwdriver
10. open cover at bottom of fuse box to gain access to main fuse
11. cut new wire to length, attach ring terminals
12. run new wire up from bottom of fuse box and secure to main fuse link
13. close and put back fuse box
14. remove positive connection from starter. The nut is hidden behind and underneath the starter. Sorry no pics.
15. cut wire to length, attach ring terminals, crimp and shrink wrap
16. secure to starter
17. trim plastic off wire and attach to new terminals

Reconnect
18. double check to make sure all connections were done properly
19. reconnect terminals back onto battery
20. turn on car

I elected to use 1 gauge wire for negative and 4 gauge for positive and extra bling terminals. Make sure your terminals accept 1 guage before you start - most only go as large as 4 gauge. As for the amount of wire, you'll need about 2.5feet for each connection (2x2.5 for neg and 2x2.5 for pos)

I had some difficulty trying to remove the nut from the starter because of it's location. It kept slipping because I couldn't get the wrench to seat properly to get a grip. I tried using a universal joint to get at it but had no luck. At the end, I was successful by using the handle of the ratchet to simply hold the wrench in place by pressing it up against it so that the wrench wouldn't slip off. Feel free to ask any questions you have.

The lights no longer dim when the bass hits and the car seems to idle much better.

Thanks to Luc for guiding mw along the way. Big up to skperformance for hooking me up with a Yellow Top. Redrum deserves props for lending me some tools I didn't have. Thanks guys!

[2wickedtoyz]

in total for everything was 40 ?

[Phi]

I wish! My negative terminal alone was $40

The $40 I stated above is assuming you use 4 gauge wires instead of 1 gauge and your terminals aren't as flashy.

[eddiem67]

Excellent turtorial, did you run new wire to your alt (crucial), what about engine to chassis? Thanks for the tips, mine is totally rigged right now.

[Phi]

I never considered re-wiring the alt. I talked to a few guys and they said it'd be a bitch to do. I'll look into that further. As for upgrading the other grounds, I haven't gotten around to doing that yet. I plan to though. Thanks for the tips.

btw- I noticed you only post in the audio section and judging by your sig, you're a serious audiophile. What else can you share about yourself? what car do you drive? Maybe you could formally introduce yourself in the me/mines/mods section

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Phi
Maybe you could formally introduce yourself in the me/mines/mods section

Hey I never introduced myself and I'm a pretty high count poster in this forum :P


Very nice post Phi. I will likely do something similar when I finish doing my system and get my Optima Yellow Top. Just not sure when that's going to happen.

[Phi]

Originally posted by Stealth
Hey I never introduced myself and I'm a pretty high count poster in this forum :P

tru, but you've got a signature and cardomain site

I'm surprised you don't have a yellow top yet, Stealth.

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Phi
tru, but you've got a signature and cardomain site

I'm surprised you don't have a yellow top yet, Stealth.

My system isn't actually high wattage yet. Right now, a 4 ch amp running a pair of components and 1 (count one) midbass driver (the other one blew ). Gonna be doing a lot of sound quality stuff this time, which is why I'm taking my time. Also, I'm really poor right now. In fact, my bank balance is -$6. I'm just waiting for my paycheck. First thing I have to do is replace my Infinity Perfects since I put em up on ebay. Then after that, I have to replace my midbass drivers and dynamat (peel and seal ;-)) my doors. Then I need to save up some cash and get myself a mono amp and a pair of 12s, build a box, buy a boatload of new wiring, more dynamat for trunk, and then once that's all said and done I'll probably get the yellow top.

[VooDoo]

hey! interesting topic!

here's what i did to my car when it still had its stock engine...
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/458428/4

[eddiem67]

Been doing systems for about 20 years, so I guess you can say I like car audio. Here's a link to my sounddomain web page, I really dont much about anything else, like modifications and such, so I stick to what I know, home and car audio.

http://www.sounddomain.com/memberpage/565649

[Silver Streak]

Cool DIY! Added to the ultimate sticky.

[Luc]

Great job Phi!!! I wish I had better documentation when I installed mine, but after 4 hours of cursing by myself, I had to get away from it for a bit.

[Phi]

Update: As Luc warned in earlier posts, the Optima wasn't high enuff to secure using the stock batt strap. I finally got Optima/Interstate to send my a tray free of charge (retails: $12). It can be used as both a cover and tray.

When I called Optima, they told me they had discontinued the tray. I emailed them aswell and was successfull with this method.

[PtBaller]

How much were the battery terminals and where'd you buy them from?

[Phi]

I had them ordered by a local audio shop. I'm not gonna say how much I paid, but be prepared to pay around $100 for them.