Those guys look good. If I ever get around to upgrading cables, and it looks like it might just be negatives if these positives turn out to being 2 AWG, I was looking at these guys:

https://www.batterycablesusa.com/2-g...ry-cable-black

665 strands sounds real good, but not sure how good it is. The strands in my stock cable look pretty thin, so I know there are a lot of them in there. And it looks like a lot more strands than parts store off the shelf cable too.

 

665 strand in a 2-gauge wire is what you'd find in welding cable where you need a lot of flexibility and resistance to fatigue from constant movement. Do you need that much flexibility for underhood battery cables? Probably not, but it does make it much easier to route and tie down. If the price difference isn't much, it's worth it. That looks like it has a nice oil/grease resistant jacket too.

 

Not sure how many feet I need, but at that price 4' is no big deal.

 

That is weird. I'm thinking that somebody replaced the hot lead at some time in the past.

At any rate, you want the big hot lead and the big ground lead to be the same size.


Yep. That high-strand wire is a lot nicer to work.

 

Who would that be? I am the original owner. And the copper cable goes straight into the lead terminals.

 

Oh, you have a 96! The weird year! I'll have to check mine to see what sizes it has.

 

Ordered Friday, 11/15/2019 and they came into town about an hour ago, UPS Ground, 11/17/2019. Guessing delivery is tomorrow.

BTW, De-Ox-Id (vs DeoxIt) does not appear to do anything different than rubbing alcohol. No instructions on the bottle, nor anywhere online. According to my local big electronics place where I bought it, the stuff is supposed to remove oxidization like DeoxIt. Not from what I see. Don't waste your money on this stuff.

 

Just use a brass brush and follow up with dielectric grease.

BTW, here's a list that should give you the lengths you need for the cables. I have no idea if this guy is still in business. A lot of people here were very happy customers, but he's been pretty quiet for a while.

http://www.geocities.ws/jeepi6power/price.html


Cruiser54 has been recommending MeanLemons.

 

Yes, Cruiser54 mentioned them earlier in the thread. Not replacing any cables for now, just a new terminal setup at the battery. Since the cable ends are going into compression nut terminals, dielectric grease is not an option for that. Electric parts cleaner, scotchbrite, and dry off if I can't get bright copper when I pull back the insulation. Adhesive shrink tube over all of it.

 

Are sure you didn't mean conductive grease ? Dielectric is non conductive I.E. and insulator. I know conductives are on the expensive side in the little containers but almost all of them are just this stuff repackaged and mega price hiked. An 8 oz. tube is $15 on Amazon should be enough for ten or twelve lifetimes.

 

A place with a lot more variety, if I decide to go with marine grade cable later, is these guys.
http://www.bestboatwire.com/

They even have adhesive lined green shrink tube for that little wire that goes to the starter. 2 and 4 AWG tinned cable is slightly better price than Battery Cables USA. Even their military style battery terminals are less than everybody else.

Not sure how that all holds up at final checkout. Going to be a while before I change battery cables anyway.

 

Yes, I am QUITE sure I don't mean conductive grease. Independent tests show that there is no such thing, despite what you may have read, or the manufacturer claims. In fact, it has exactly the same resistivity as dielectric grease.

EXACTLY THE SAME.

No-Ox and it's competitors are made for ALUMINUM POWER connections, NOT for automotive use. The zinc content is intended to reduce corrosion in ALUMINUM POWER CONNECTIONS by acting as a sacrificial metal. It's not intended for copper connections.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/die...0/#post3575409

http://www.w8ji.com/dielectric_greas...ive_grease.htm

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/fus...9/#post3492129

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/ele...0/#post3279926




I have used them about half a dozen times, between a few vehicles. I recommend them regularly. The quality is excellent and the prices are good. I like to specify the clear heat shrink so I can keep an eye on the connections. Hidden corrosion is the worst corrosion.

 

There's no zinc,no sacrficials etc. in No- Ox ID A Special. And it is for copper. It's recommended to NOT use it on multi pin connections. Here's some interesting reading from
guys dealing with environments far worse than what I deal with day in day out in the Pacific Northwest

https://www.practical-sailor.com/iss...e_11969-1.html

https://www.practical-sailor.com/iss...ns_5938-1.html

https://www.practical-sailor.com/iss...st_5989-1.html

At the end of the trail some greases are better than others on electrical connections and any grease is better than none at all.

 

Despite the manufacturer's claims, independent tests say it's not conductive. Read the MSDS. It's petrolatum (Vaseline) with some chemicals in it.