Upgrading battery cables - HELP!

[Sergio]

It has been reported that some 4ga cables fit through the opening.

It looks like it is almost 3/8 in diameter, so if you have a caliper, you can measure the OD of your cable.

You just don't want to force it, and you will need a good quality crimping tool as there is a lot of current going through those cables.


The brass bolt is about 3 1/2" long and you cut the head off.

I got mine from the specialty bolt section at Lowes, but some folks used toilet flange bolts as they are 5/16.

You also need 4 - nuts, 2 - neoprene washers, 2 - large flat washers and 4 - smaller washers.

Wrap lots of electrical tape on about 1 inch on the center of the stud, the only purpose for that is to keep the threads from being abrasive to the Styrofoam type material inside the OBC.

Don't put any thread lock or anything else on the bolt until after you assemble everything.

You can then put some antioxidant over the exposed area.

[mrgolf]

I made my own cables. For the one that goes through the obc I cut my cable to the correct length. I used copper lugs and soldered them on. The first end I soldered on and put my heat shrink on it. Then feed it through the hole in the obc from the controller side, I pulled it all the way to the end was at the hole in the obc. That gave me enough room to hold the cable outside the battery area to the outside of the cart. Put heat shrink on cable , strip the end back. Hold your battery lug in a vice grip and set your propane torch on the floor beside the cart. Hold the lug to the flame and melt solder into the lug. Make sure cable will slide into the lug before you do this. Once you have the lug filled with solder take the cable and stick it in the lug while the solder is still hot liquid. Of course you keep the lug vertical while you are doing this. Hold the cable in the lug until it cools. Slide the heat shrink over the end and connect your cables.

See, clear as mud.

[breese2001]

Stopped by HD this morning to pick up the necessary parts, came home, and we're all set! I ended up splitting the original 4AWG cable that I was routing around the OBC (knew I'd have enough length since I would be taking a shorter path now) and then attaching new ring connectors on each end. I was a little bit worried when I first slid the 5/16" bolt through the OBC that 3.5" was going to be too long. Ended up having plenty of room and, as Sergio suggested, made sure those exposed ends and hardware have some antioxidant on them. The lock washers should hold everything in place pretty well so opted to bypass the lock-tite.

I gotta say, the biggest bummer of the whole thing was having to lift those **** batteries outta there!

Thanks for the help everyone. Now have a nice foundation for some actual performance upgrades now! I think PQ Bandit is first on the list.

[flkeysdude359]

Thought I would post this in response to your note about battery removal...

My neighbor is a heavy equipment mechanic who deals with removing/installing batteries all the time. I just changed the batteries in my CC, my boat and last night had to replace the battery in my car. He let me use his "side battery lifter" and it works like a charm. It's adjustable for various size batteries and not particularly expensive. Doesn't make the batteries any lighter...just a bit easier to handle...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EZ-Red-S520-...334249&vxp=mtr

Hope this helps someone in the future...

[theboss20]

This type of battery lifter has been around for a long time and works well in most cases...I had a bad experience with one that was well used and the rubber that normally contacts the side if the battery was worn out and the battery was out of the truck and about chest height when it slipped...wasn't pretty...for golf cart batteries I prefer the strap with hooks that slip into the bosses built into the top of the golf cart and other big deep cycle batteries for safety and a good center lift with weight balance. I can only say I have lifted my share of batteries in my lifetime...and my back reminds me everyday...lol