I am moving my battery to the trunk. What is the best way to wire the altenator wiring?

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1966 Dart GT
4 spd. OD conversion
8 3/4 - 3.55 SG (Sold)

62 Lancer GT
B Body 8 3/4

Make sure you use large-gauge battery cables; choose between #2 gauge and #1 gauge, but do not use #4 gauge. The alternator wiring needn't change any.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

May I ask why you are moving the battery to the trunk is this a full race car or a Pro Street look car. Or Its my car and i want it back there witch is fine. Thanks Ron Parker










It Aint Over Until I Win

I have used 1 0 (one ot) welding cable with good results. Dan is right, 4 ga. will never cut it. It still takes more to crank the car, which is not likely as bad with a slant as a high comp. V-8. I still had issues with the battery that were only solved with a large battery and running a ground cable to the engine as well. Grounding to the steel body just was not the same. I came off the battery with a short cable to the body, and from there to the engine with the welding cable, from the engine to the body again at the regulator with a 10ga. wire. It was for a street driven road race car, the cable weight adds up. One of the newer small starters might be a good idea with a rear battery, if you really want it. Make damn sure it's bolted down too and that the cable is not where it can get crushed under the car or cut inside the car. 500 to 1000 amps can do plenty of damage.

The racing associations require that a trunk mount battery have a ON/Off switch, located at the rear of the vehicle. This switch, when turned off, must kill the complete electrical system, and prevent the engine from running. The stock alternator wireing will allow the engine to continue to run, even with the swich off. It is necessary to have the alternator "batt" wire, connect to the battery between the battery and the cutoff switch. Also, this switch must "break" the hot side not the ground side, of the battery.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

That's easy enough: Put a round continuous-duty starter solenoid (Ford/pre-'62 Mopar type) in the alternator B+ wire and connect the trigger terminal to the switched side of the main kill switch. Turn off switch...solenoid opens...no power from alternator to ignition...engine dies immediately.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

usually designated with a slash, "1/0", that is "one aught". 2/0 is thicker than 1/0 but with the extra-thick cables it gets tough to find terminals that are small enough to fit on the starter stud securely and without risk of groundout on adjacent metal.
Yep, definitely run the cable inside a loom or conduit secured at intervals to the floor pan, and grommet it through each and every sheetmetal panel through which it must pass. Also be certain to provide ample ventilation and drainage for the battery box.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Bingo just wanted to know why. Plus where grounds the negitive cable to. If to the frame remember that has to be a good connection. IE weather water salt snow . Thanks Ron Parker










It Aint Over Until I Win

I am using #2 cable. Its a summer driver sometimes bracket car. I have looked at many diagrams using relays and shutoff switches. Trying to find out what people are actually using.

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1966 Dart GT
4 spd. OD conversion
8 3/4 - 3.55 SG (Sold)

62 Lancer GT
B Body 8 3/4

I've seen 4awg used on a /6 duster before and the cables would visibly twitch when cranking - and no, it wasn't just from vibration. IIRC they were warm to the touch. That was with the stock starter too. I say minimum of 1/0 or maybe dual 2awg for more flexibility. Run a ground too to the block.

Use www.delcity.net and www.genuinedealz.com for terminals and cables. If you do careful measuring, genuinedealz can build the cables with heatshrink and all for $1 or $2 labor per end.

Yes I drew a complete blank about how 1/0, 2/0 is to be written, thanks Dan. I have tried the 4 gage setup and what I found was if the engine fired right up, fine. If it was shutdown and you tried to start it again it would be a problem. It would only crank over for a very short time even when cold. This puts a real strain on the starter and battery, the voltage at the starter drops and the amps go way up. If you go with the rear battery use heavy cable and try to keep it as short as possible, every little bit makes a difference.

I relocated my battery in my van under the passenger seat mostly due to the original tray under the hood was rotted to oblivion and beyond. It became to be more challenging than I had originally anticipated but its not without its advantages:
1) shorter lead to starter and much shorter ground(tranny bolt above right of starter) while still using 4/0 awg
2) use of side terminal cables of generic size easily replaceable
3) new engine to chassis gound strap at original engine ground bolt
4)protection of battery from extreme elements of cold, heat and moisture

The disadvantages have lately been of some inconvinece:
1) difficult access to remove or boost or hook up timing light etc.
2) must use maintennance free sealed gel type battery
3) rerouting some of the wire harness so that it comes back to the passenger side of vehicle rather than drivers side original battery location

Otherthan that the battery fits well and snug in this location properly strapped onto a bolted down battery tray. If I were to do it again I probably wouldn't bother but it did work in my situation. Remember safety is key in how you go about it and this method admittedly is not without some risk. I really do wish the battery could have stayed where it was
given the amount of time and frustration it took to accomplish this.

I have heard this many times and I understand why it is needed, but can someone point me in the right place to look for an example of proper ventilation?

suppose you had a custom box or some such thing in the trunk, how do you know it is properly vented? do you just put an X diameter hose from the box to the outside of the car?

I use a switch from Big End that has a separate terminal on it for the ignition box. It could also be used for the B+ wire to the alternator to kill it. Switch must be clearly marked for operation too.

ANy trunk mounted battery has to be either in an approved sealed and vented box, or there has to be a bulkhead behind the back seat to be NHRA or IHRA legal.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

I am assuming that an "approved" box is a nationally reconized box with some type of listing or seal, or are you talking about approved by the track tech as "That looks like it'll work"?

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67Cuda,FAST EZEFI,340cu,CR=10.25,RollerCam&Rocker (XR268HR,#20-810-9)(#1622-16)(EddyRPM#60779,#7576), (MSD6AL,#6425) A904, GearVendorsOD, 8 1/4,3.55:1, ClassicAir