I was under the hood doing the usual pre-trip (~1,000 mi round trip into deepest darkest Pike County, Ark.) preventive maintenance and inspection and noticed that my battery positive cable is looking corroded going down into the insulation from at the terminal. This is the stock cable from when the ol' Cherokee was new (built in 1996) and I want to replace the cable soon. What is the original cable's gauge?

I would like to replace it with something 1 or 2 gauges heavier but after seeing it in its present state, I really don't want to disturb it to check further. I'm gonna have to do the trip with the existing cable. It should make there and back just fine but I need to get this cable done soon.

BTW, I also checked/cleaned all grounds in sight under the hood and also the posts/terminals on the battery, so confidence is good for the trip.

Thanks.

 

5-90 has a website (can't remember it) where he sells heavier gauge kits proper length, and for a great price in my opinion. Fixing to buy me a set soon. Makes for a great (and often necessary) upgrade for a higher output alternator.

 

OEM is 6AWG, I offer 4AWG and 1AWG (both are larger - as the "number" goes down, the wire gets bigger. A difference of six means a conductor is twice the diameter, so a 6AWG is twice as thick as a 12AWG.)

Link to site is in my sig - if you have any questions, feel free to hit me backchannel!

(I find 6AWG a bit paltry, but that's what happens when you let accountants make engineering decisions...)