36v EZ-GO TXT Battery Cable Length

[v UNO v]

I have 20 ft of 2 guage welding cable and i was going to make new battery cables. It seems to me, the current lenght of my cable is in unnecessary and I could save about 1-2 feet of cable if I take the current "S" shape they have out of them and did shorter straighter cables.


My questions are;

• Does it matter what length the cables are?
  
• Is there a minimum or standard lenght for these cables?
  
• Should i match the current length of all my cable or can i shorten them down some?

All I know not to block the battery covers but that is about it.

Thank you in advance to everyone because any information would be helpful.

[scottyb]

You can make your runs shorter. Technically the longer a run of wire is the greater the loss of amperage through resistance. So a 4ft run is better than a 5ft one for a given task. Will you see a difference in the way the cart performs? no.

[Sir Nuke]

and on top of what scotty mentioned.....there is a good reason to have a little extra (the S curve)....lets say you make up your new cables to be straight, measured from your current battery pack. Then down the road a little ways its time for a new pack.....and for whatever reason, I buy a different brand of battery, and you find that the exact dimension from post to post is different, even a slight amount, and now your custom STRAIGHT cables won't fit, as they are too short.

Something to consider.

[v UNO v]

So if there will be no change in performence from the length of the cable there is no benifit in making them any shorter?

The only thing i would need to look for now is to not run out of cable.


Will there be a noticeable difference in preforemance from running the 2 guage cable?

[JohnnieB]

The "S" is important, especially with heavier gauge (IE: Less flexible) cables.

The batteries move around a bit because the frame flexes and they weigh upwards of 70 lbs apiece, so the hold downs hold them down fairly well, but don't completely keep them from moving side to side. If the interconnecting cable don't have a little slack in them, they pull and push sideways on the battery post studs and the studs are just hex head bolts with the head embedded in the soft lead of the battery posts, so they cannot withstand much lateral force.

Also, the rear axle/differential/motor assembly rotates backwards and forwards during acceleration and deceleration, so some slack is need for the cables connected to the motor. (My motor moves backwards about 6" during hard acceleration.)

The resistance of 2Ga welding cable is 0.0001563 Ohms per foot, so the performance gain from shortening the cables from the stock lengths is essentially nil and the potential for physically damaging the battery posts and/or motor terminals is great.

Food for thought: If the bean counters at EZGO could have gotten away with shorter cables, they would have done so.

[Sir Nuke]

v UNO v, one more thing to consider.....I believe your cart is 36v....do you have any designs on upgrading to 48v in the future?? if so, many, most, or even all 8v batteries are laid out a little different, such that their post are on the same side of the battery. So if you went from 6v to 8v batteries, the cables would need to be longer for the battery pack. as you see in the picture below, I got a set from Scotty for 8v batteries, but I have 6v right now, but intend to upgrade in the future, thus you can see that my cables are a bit longer that required, right now. but now, I am already set for my cables and would have to change anything. just something to consider.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by v UNO v

1. So if there will be no change in performence from the length of the cable there is no benifit in making them any shorter?

2. The only thing i would need to look for now is to not run out of cable.


3. Will there be a noticeable difference in preforemance from running the 2 guage cable?

1. None that you will feel while driving the cart. In fact, I doubt that the test equipment typically used by technically inclined cart enthusiasts would show the difference in performance a foot or two more or less cable would cause.

2.

3. Yes. How much depends on how bad the old cables were.
It will be most noticeable while accelerating from a stand still. That is the only time the controller is maxed out and it is only maxed out for the first 20' or so.

It won't slow quite as much on hills, but the top speed probably won't change much, if at all.

All cables have resistance, so all cables have a power loss (Amps passing through resistance produce heat, which is power that cannot be converted to motion by the motor) and a 2Ga cable has 255% less power loss than a 6Ga cable and 161% less power loss than a 4Ga cable.

[Thatsme?]

By JohnnieB
All cables have resistance, so all cables have a power loss (Amps passing through resistance produce heat, which is power that cannot be converted to motion by the motor) and a 2Ga cable has 255% less power loss than a 6Ga cable and 161% less power loss than a 4Ga cable.
JohnnieB would you expand on this to theoretical amp difference?

I haven't done my cables yet. I doubt 20ft is enough for all the cables. 13 I think but I don't remember if he had a series cart.

[v UNO v]

Thank you everyone for you help.

Originally Posted by Sir Nuke

do you have any designs on upgrading to 48v in the future??

Yes, long term i do plan on makeing my cart 48 volts. Thank you for the info on the batteries i did not know that the 8v batteries were set up different. I will be sure to put extra slack in the lines then i originally intended.

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

The "S" is important, especially with heavier gauge (IE: Less flexible) cables.

.....some slack is need for the cables connected to the motor.....

I didnt plan on making them straight lines but i thought the amount of cable use in my cart was a bit on the over done side. I will have to get a picture tonight for you to see as to what i mean.

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Food for thought: If the bean counters at EZGO could have gotten away with shorter cables, they would have done so.

That is a good point. Thank you for all of your help with this, you are ALOT more knowledgeable then i could ever be so i really do appreciate the time you took to write all of the numbers out so i knew exactly what i need to do.

Originally Posted by Thatsme?

I doubt 20ft is enough for all the cables. 13 I think but I don't remember if he had a series cart.

I do have a series motor and there is 13 different cables. I have seen where some people have said you need about 20 ft to make new cables.....Is 20 ft not enough cable?

If i run out of cable could i get the missing about of cable from my local NAPA or does it have to be the same brand of cable?

[Sir Nuke]

Originally Posted by v UNO v

Thank you everyone for you help.

If i run out of cable could i get the missing about of cable from my local NAPA or does it have to be the same brand of cable?

for all intensive purposes, as long as the strand count of the cable is the same, you will be good.