1/0 Wire too large? (Overkill)

[MuckSavage]

A friend gave me a length of 1/0 welding cable. I considered making myself new cables from the batteries to the controller, then from the controller to the motor. Given the fact that my cart's stock, would 1/0 cables be overkill? The wire seems huge. Would it "fit" in & out of the openings on the stock controller. Any other problems I might encounter?
Or, should I look to trade the cable for something of a more suitable size?
Thanks in advance!
-Muck

[kab69440]

Overkill? Definitely. But if you can, why not? The biggest issue I see is that you will have to make your own lugs. I had to enlarge the hole on the bottom of my controller cover to fit 2ga cables through it.

[branson]

No harm in having a bigger wire as long as it will physically fit

[Vinny73]

Its always better to have bigger wire for less current that smaller wire for bigger current. There are no power flow issues with larger wire.

[JohnnieB]

The thicker cable is stiffer, so be generous with the lengths of the cables connecting the batteries together.
The battery frame flexes a bit and the battery hold down brackets don't hold the batteries perfectly still, so the is some relative movement between batteries when traveling on rough terrain and having interconnecting cables too short puts mechanical stress on the battery posts.

Like others mentioned, you'll have to enlarge the opening at the bottom of the controller cover.

Also, the ring terminals for the heavier gauge cables will be thicker than what is on the thinner gauge cables and if the controller side large terminal on your cart has two high current cables on it, you might not be able to stack two of the thicker cables back on it. All you have to do is run the short cable to the B+ terminal on the controller and connect the long cable that was previously on the solenoid to the B+ terminal. (They are electrically the same point, you are only moving the two cable connection to a different location physically.)

[scottyb]

It's sort a too big given the stock control and environmental cover issue. Try to trade it for some 4 or 2g

[radioman]

Bigger cables may cause stock hardware to fail quicker under stressful operating conditions because of the increased current available. Save the cable until you find another use for it or as scottyb suggests trade it in for a smaller cable. Otherwise I suggest you leave well enough alone if your cart is operating like it was designed. Working on a working cart can cause problems.

[ronncat]

I've used 1/0 welding cable on my two builds. First one was over 10 years ago with zero problems. You can source the lugs for a few dollars apiece. You will also need a crimper to put them together... mine wasn't cheap, but it sure is handy when you need it.

[ronncat]

Originally Posted by ronncat

I've used 1/0 welding cable on my two builds. First one was over 10 years ago with zero problems. You can source the lugs for a few dollars apiece. You will also need a crimper to put them together... mine wasn't cheap, but it sure is handy when you need it.

oh... on a club car, I had to reduce the diameter of the cable where it fit through the charging computer thingy. that effectively put a bottle neck in the whole system. I eventually just eliminated the computer and went to a charger that was a little smarter than the stock one.