I've got a pile of 1/0 cable laying around, as well as the terminals and heat shrink.

So, I guess I'd be an idiot if I went ahead and used some of it in my engine compartment.

Free upgrades are stupid right?

 

If I had a pile of that lying around, I would use it also. If people want to buy from 5-90, that is their choice. I hopefully read forums like these to get ideas not insults. I guess the idea here is that you can buy them from wherever or whomever or make your own( whatever size you want).

 

You'd be stupid not to use it, just like you'd be stupid to pay money to get 1/0.


And you'd be stupid to not know the difference.

 

I said use 1/0 welding cable because you can get it for less than $2 a foot online. And I said welding cable because it's cheaper than GXL (or equivalent), but yet carries incredibly high current. That's dirt cheap, and oversizing the hell out of your wiring when it's inexpensive to do so is more than worth it in my mind. Especially with such high current carrying wires and considering the fact that many of us have/plan to have winches, lights, sound, etc.

SO let me get this straight. For once, someone suggests a solution that is cheap, overkill, and gives headroom for future equipment, but you guys wanna make fun of it? I don't understand people.

 

Can someone explain the difference between welding cable and say marine battery cable? I've decided to make my own using 4awg marine cable, Ox Gard, adhesive lined heat shrink, and heavy duty lugs. I'll use a T&B WT-115 to crimp the lugs. I don't plan for an alternator upgrade, winch or other heavy draw items.

 

It probably depends on where you bought the cable from, but marine cable is generally very similar to GXL-type automotive cable. Basically they're all resistant to grease, and high temps, but marine insulation is designed to extinguish fire when it melts. So if the insulation got too hot and melted, anything flammable touching the newly exposed copper wouldn't catch fire (to an extent). Welding cable and GXL don't have the marine insulation, and welding cable generally is a little oversized with larger strands and can carry much higher current than GXL/marine cable. The main complaint people have about welding cable is that it's a little stiffer because of the larger strands. This is the only reason that audio people use audio specific power cable over the much cheaper welding cable. GXL/marine is right in between the two for flexibility and price.

 

Battery cable mods. Who knew it was so opinionated? I always just replaced with whatever is close to OEM and forgot about it. Wow. Such passion over this subject!

 

They're all wrong except me.


Read my signature.


LOL

 

Guilty as charged, lol! For years while in the construction trade I often worked along side SMAG (Systems Maintainance Assembly Group) techs who wired control and edit rooms for radio and tv (ABC). I always marveled at how perfect their wiring was, truly a work of art. Since then I've always tried to copy their art. I'm **** about it but it does pay dividends when one has to troubleshoot an electrical issue. I'm certainly not an expert on the subject but will go to great lengths to do the best job I can......

 

That's exactly right. I used to install cellphones and business radios, and I worked on all kinds of vehicles, including very expensive yachts, ordinary cars, luxury cars, beater cars, big rigs (White Freightliners still had positive grounds in those days), and even earth moving equipment (lots of vibration!).

There was one ambulance builder that did stellar work. Every wire was a straight run, nicely bundled, clearly marked. It was a pleasure to work on. There was another that was.... not. Open an access hatch and a rat's next of loose wires would pop out. It was a nightmare.

 

As a side bar...


Looking through the wiring diagrams I see that going back to the 1990 XJ, the main ground cable to the engine was 4 AWG.


I don't have 1996 wiring diagrams, but as of 1997, the 4.0 used 6 AWG and the 2.5 used 4 AWG.


It would appear as though 4 AWG was suitable for use coming out of the factory back then.

 

At the end of the day I suppose it all comes down to personal preference. From the factory, factors like cost containment, the choice of cables and size becomes a compromise. One can't argue that for the most part, their choice was adequate and has served us for almost 2 decades. However, upgrading to a better quality cable and possibly a larger size can't hurt one bit. We do this with other types of accessories on a daily basis, why not battery cables?

 

I found this product with a quick Google search, if you're into upgrades.....

 

If my memory serves me correctly, PVC sucks up grease like no other and has a pretty low melting point compared to other insulators. Not the best choice for automotive applications, but works great for household 120V wiring.

 

Agreed!

There are upgrades that make sense, and there are "upgrades" that make no sense.

Going up one size on battery cables makes sense. Upgrading the (usually lousy) factory connectors makes sense. Using 1/0 if it's free for you maybe makes sense (hard enough to work with that I'd rather pay for something smaller, but that's personal preference), but shelling out big bucks for welding cable because you think you have to have it or that it will do something great for you.... does not make sense.


And a big honking cable for a firewall ground does NOT make sense!