Just a quick and possibly silly question but what gauges come closest to 1/4" and 3/8"? All the charts online use the decimal system. I dont own a micrometer so i used an adjustable wrench and a ruler. This is what confuses me...1/4" is .250 and 3/8" is .375, neither of which come close to what the charts show for 6 or 8 gauge (.1620 and .1285, respectively). Following said charts mine are closer to 2 gauge (.2576) and 2/0 gauge (.3648), which led me to belive mine may have been replaced at some point as the clamps are those temporary pieces. The plastic block is still intact at the starter, so the cables should still be the factory 6 and 8. All i know is that my cables measure 1/4" and 3/8". What gauge are they?



Thanks.

 

Are you measuring the insulation too?

 

You want 4g cable.

 

Good point. Never gave it a second thought as the charts were not clear on what youre supposed to measure. Many just said 'thickness' so i guess i took that too literal and measured all of it. I googled how to measure battery cable, wording it differently each time, but all it gave me was how to determine amperages and how thick to go etc. They gave measurements, but not what is actually being measured. With a bit more searching i found a couple more charts that actually said 'conductor diameter', and another that came right out and said "the diameter of the cable does not include the outer insulation, just the conducting wire on the inside". This makes sense and found it most helpful. My mind doesnt work as well as it used to.

 

yup 4gauge if u don't plan on upgrading the alternator past 150 amps.

If u are ready to upgrade the cables, contact me.

 

Decisions. Tearing the harness apart to replace/upgrade doesnt look like fun, and since i dont plan on upgrading it past factory as its just a daily driver, the 6 and 8 gauges are good enough for me. But, there is a small bit of corrosion at the alternator so the cables will need some love eventually. What style crimpers would you recommend? Hammer and punch or hand operated hydraulic? How good are the cheap ones? The cheaper ones apparently use metric dies, and you may need mix and match dies to get a good crimp. I can live with that.

As for the battery clamps, what gauge will accept both the 6 and 8 gauge cable ends, as in crimping both in there together? I could crimp one seperate using its own lug and be done with it, but was hoping to heatshrink both leads together for a cleaner factory style appearance. And has anyone ever used butt connectors? Some say not to use them on battery cable, but i would think that if done properly, with heartshrink, they shouldnt be an issue. So many decisions.

 

Here's some pics of my battery ground cable crimping. I stayed with the factory AWG 6 cable.


Click the pics to make them larger.


https://www.cherokeeforum.com/g/album/5144236

 

Both my fender ground and PDC cable are 8 gauge but the FSM says the fender ground is 8 while the PDC is 6. The PDC cable looks factory so i assume its a misprint? I have access to 6 gauge welding cable, but will have to shop around for 8. As for the crimper, ill just stick a punch into the drill press lol.

 

What brand and size heatshrink do you use? I found a listing on ebay that says 8 gauge uses 3/8" tubing and 6 uses 1/2" tubing. Yet another listing has them reversed.

 

I use 1/2" tubing for 4 gauge and its snug. It might be loose on 6 awg. I don't recall the brand. I bought it a while ago (100 feet)

 

The battery to fender is AWG 8, the rest, (+) and (-), are AWG 6.


The cable from the alternator to the bus bar on the end of the PDC is a 10 gauge. fusible link.


The best cables are fine wire, i.e., multiple wire cables. I don't think 'welding' cables are.


I use 3/8" tubing.

 

The cable i have access to is 266 strand. Good enough, or should i use something thinner? I prefer the crimp method rather than solder.

 

That is better than traditional automotive cable.


Solder is superior.......just is.

 

Drill a 1/8 hole in the face of the lug, fill with solder, permanent and NO means of corrosion, lug becomes one with the cable.

 

Ah, that would be why crimped connections are required in mil-spec, NASA, and civilian spacecraft and aircraft applications, and soldering is prohibited. That's because, you know, reliability really isn't a concern in those areas.