6 is factory for the starter cables. That's adequate. 4 gauge is a nice upgrade. Anything bigger is just a waste of copper. It's pointless.


Ralph, I believe you are correct on the size of connector for the military terminals. 3/8" That's a nice setup.


I went with custom made cables from BestBoatWire.com. Very clean. I order them with the clear heat shrink on the ends, so I can see what's going on under there. I've done two Cherokees and some wiring for another vehicle with their stuff, and the service and quality has been top notch, and the prices are great.


The thing most people overlook is the ground connection to the inner fender. It's crap. I drilled out the hole to 3/8", and cleaned the paint around it down to bare metal for about a 3/8" radius. Then I fished a 1.5" x 5/16" bolt through from the backside, with a gnarly star washer on it. On the front side went a flat washer (making nice contact with all that bare metal), then star washer, then a nut torqued down hard. That leaves a very nice 5/16" stud sticking out, and your ground cable attaches to the stud. Then a nylock nut over that. All the hardware is stainless, and covered in dielectric grease. You won't have to worry about that ground again for the life of the vehicle.

 

Yes, mine had that as well.



I've seen you mention that in the past and intend to do the same thing. Looks like you have to pull the fender liner out of the way?

 

No, did it all from the inside. Battery removed to make room to work, but I didn't mess with the fender liner. That's why I didn't peel the paint back on that side. No access for a wire wheel.

There's a cutout near that point that will allow you to finagle the bolt with the star washer on it in from the "back" side. That's the side between the inner and outer fender.

I need to post some photos of this some day.

 

Sounds like I did the same thing as BlueRidgeMark.
IIRC I drilled a hole underneath the square hole left buy the stud that busted out for the original grounding point.
5/16". Washer and lock nut behind the inner fender.
With the square hole there you can get behind it with an ignition wrench.
Sanded the paint a little and think I sandwiched the lug between two of those star washers.
Since I decided that when I disconnect my battery I am going to take the lugs off the military terminals
instead of removing the terminals themselves from the battery would never have to touch that bolt for the ground.

 

** wonders if there’s an advantage to using a mega fuse vs the stock fusable link...
specifically if the link heats up and drops voltage at higher current levels
Nermind. Ill just go turn everything on and measure the drop across the link and see

 

I hate fusible links. Any chance I get, I replace them with fuses. BUT, you do have to know what you are doing.