Making your own Battery Cables, Crimp? Solder? Both?

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I searched and surprisingly did not find any info on this

I am installing a second battery soon. For now I am looking at using 2/0 cable for both the second battery and to replace the stock cables. Built for a 200A continuous draw, This truck will be off road witch puts a lot of humidity under the hood I need a reliable cable in the woods. I plan to add a winch later on as funds allow

I have crimped my battery cables in the past and they worked just fine, but I am also considering soldering these,

I did some goggling on the subject and there is no consensus, lots of pro’s and con’s for both,

Pro’s
Crimp
Direct copper to copper contact
Hi strength will not pull or vibrate out

Solder
Large conductive contact area (100 %)
Air and water are sealed out

Con’s
Crimp
Not sealed from oxygen and water. Will eventually corrode
Lower contact area

Solder
Solder is not as good a conductor as copper
Lower strength, can rattle out over time
Possible insulation damage from the heat
Hard not to get a cold joint with such large pieces to heat

I can crimp and then solder Or I can crimp and do my best with heat shrink and dielectric grease to seal it up, both negate some of the cons but not all


What makes the most reliable/conductive cable? I think either way I am going to crimp, the question is do I solder after? Is there a tool I can rent to evenly compress (swage ) terminals on to a cable as opposed to the press/hammer a dent in the middle crimpier?
 
Solder may not conduct as well as fresh copper, but fresh copper corrodes quickly. If you can afford the price of admission, silver solder is an excellent conductor. Keep in mind the real limiting factor in automotive electrical power circuits are the lead battery terminals.
 
Do both if you can.

You'll need a lot of heat as the cable will quickly conduct it away... A hot solder would sure beat a cold one.
 
Either way will work, when you're done coat it in "liquid electrical tape". No water will ever get to it.
 
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And besides,
They even have Oil Additives too.
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www.bull-frog.com
Whaddaya guys think?

quote:

Originally posted by Ray H:
Solder may not conduct as well as fresh copper, but fresh copper corrodes quickly-*-*

 
I agree with the crimp, solder, & liquid tape... When you say "built for 200a continuous draw" do you mean the cables will handle that load, or you will be placing a 200 amp continuous load on your batteries?
Back in my boating days I rigged two 120ah batteries with a quick disconnect parallel connection... made it easy to slam a 40 amp charger on them without risking the batteries or an explosion!
 
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I made booster cables for the Grandkids with welding cable as the wire. I think it was 2/0 but in any event it was about as thick as my little finger and constructed with finely stranded wire. The clamps were rated at 400 amp and were crimped and soldered in place.

Each set was 30 feet long so that a car could be jumped without the cars facing each other.

A friend was trying to jump a car in -14 degrees with "regular" cables, he could barely turn the engine over. We switched to my monster set and the engine turned over like it was the summertine.

We have started Farm Tractors in very cold weather, no problem.

The cables are heavy and hard to handle, though they stay pretty flexible in the cold.

I guess you need the wire surface, good clamps, and solid conections to get excellent results.
 
I bought a set for my 9C1. Fantastic cables and the change in the electrical system's performance (without yet installing the beefy ground, either) was also very noticable. I wonder if he could make me a set for my Camaro...
 
Well the way I see the heat problem is by having you answer the question of what type insulation is on it??

Well is it neoprene? Vinyl? etc, that has to be a factor to cableselection, as you want 200 amps.
 
Thanks for the replies,


quote:

Originally posted by RJCorazza:
When you say "built for 200a continuous draw" do you mean the cables will handle that load, or you will be placing a 200 amp continuous load on your batteries?

That is more of a build to spec, actual loads for now will just be normal starting. but they may be called to carry that continuous load at some point this vehicle has a history of hung starters that lead to fire,

According to the NCF manual the starter is 2KW, I don’t know what voltage that is specified at but at nominal 12V that comes out to 166A, if it is rated at cranking voltage 10V? That comes out to 200A witch handily is also a common rating for many battery sized components (200A continuous but much higher loads can be carries for short periods), The stock cables are a small and they work fine for turning the starter over for as long as half a minute or so but if asked to carry current for extended periods there could be trouble, a 55AH battery can deliver 200A for 16 minutes, if I was driving I could get the battery disconnected in time but prefer to build the cables to handle it, even though the cables will handle it the starter will likely turn into a molten mass long before 16 minutes but the cables are a part I can fix

A winch can draw 450A for short period

According to the “AC 43.13” 200A can be carried by 1 gauge wire for 20’. See figures 11-2 & 11-3 on pages 30 & 31, but this is at 20c/68f

When you add in the under hood temps a 1 gauge cable can only carry 166A (see table 11-9 on page 23) to carry 200A you need 00 witch can carry 222A with a 70c/(150f) ambient in a bundle with other conductors as long as the cable is rated for at least 150c/300F

A smaller gauge would likely cause no troubles but I would like to be able to trust it in adverse situations


quote:

Originally posted by Hajoca:
Well the way I see the heat problem is by having you answer the question of what type insulation is on it??

Well is it neoprene? Vinyl? etc, that has to be a factor to cableselection, as you want 200 amps.


I have not bought any parts yet, still planning this system out, going to try to get cable rated for 300F but if I find a deal on decent quality 2/0 I’ll likely grab it as I am on a budget and need roughly 30’ of it, adds up quick,

I would really like some mil-spec high temp fine strand nickel plated high purity copper wire with PTFE (Teflon) insulation but it is way out of my price range.

Also may just come down to what is available in my area,
 
1 guage works fine for 99% of all automotive applications that are not commercial. IF you are going to run a mutli battery setup a good isolator or a manual circuit breaker/switch is a good idea.

I prefere soldier and shrink tubeing.

Do not neglect your grounds!! They are more important then the positive side of things!

Recheck your starter draw! Few starter draw more then 90 amps and this is for intermitent usage not continious.
 
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