splicing battery cable

[tashasdaddy]

i need to replace part of my battery cable that was exposed, and is not bare, the part inside the harness is great. any one ever used a Split bolt connect to splice battery cable, then wrap in tape?

 

[triumphrick]

Re: splicing battery cable

TD, in the DC world it is all about amperage. The diameter of a cable, the number of wires in that cable and the overall integrity of that cable is very important. If you do it, use some noalox or other anti oxidant compound and check it at least once a year, if not sooner. Good luck !

 

[JB]

Re: splicing battery cable

I think about 10% of spliced battery cables last a year. The other 90% cause trouble.

Replace the cable, TD.

 

[jevery]

Re: splicing battery cable

Would something like this work?
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...&rid=&parentType=&indexId=cat21380&hasJS=true

 

[hankll]

Re: splicing battery cable

Ideally a splice does need to be clamped with a cable splice. And as was mentioned an anti oxidant and then instead of black electricians tape, use a black roll of dry stretch tape that sticks to itself when stretched. The name of the stuff escaped me feeble brain. I got mine at Home Depot near the water heater area. Its waterproof and when stretched and wrapped on itself sticks only to itself. I think it was in the plumbing area because supposedly you can stop a water leak on a pipe. Not sure I would use for that but it does make a great splice covering. I did the clamp and the wrap tape on my battery cables over a year ago, and its still holding with no problems on starting or charging the battery.

 

[drewpster]

Re: splicing battery cable

TD A reliable battery cable splice works the same as a reliable 12 gauge splice. Heavy duty butt connector, heavy crimp, solder then cover with quality heat shrink tube with the glue inside it. I have been doing them that way for years. As long as quality components are used and you know how to solder ok, it will hold up fine.
If you are planning to bolt two cable eyes together and tape them up I would advise against it. I have done that also and it got loose and caused problems.
If you are set on splicing two cables using cable eyes use one of these instead of a plain bolt.
http://www.iboats.com/Powerpost_High_Amperage_Cable_Connector/dm/*******.019638425--category_id.374311--**********.954220618--view_id.38107

It still is not as good as a soldered splice in my view but at least you can secure the connection against vibration. Vibration and movement is what causes a bolt to come loose.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: splicing battery cable

I wouldn't do it but this is what you need:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-0-...62QQcategoryZ50437QQihZ025QQitemZ380046741528

You need to find someone who has the tool to crimp it.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: splicing battery cable

i would normally totally replace the cable, but it's a stupid mercury harness, the big plug on the side of the motor.

 

[triumphrick]

Re: splicing battery cable

I would use an inline butt connector using the noalox liberally on the ends of the wires. Before crimping, slip a piece of shrink sleeve that fits tightly over the splice. Heat with a heat gun or a 1200 w hair dryer to shrink down tight to the insulation, ensuring a tight fit. Better to be an inline connector than an overlap splice.

 

[Phantom_II]

Re: splicing battery cable

Find the heat shrink that has a meltable inner liner. It does a good job of waterproofing the connection.
iBoats carries it in sizes up to 1/2" ( http://www.iboats.com/3_TO_1_Heat_S...17606328--**********.769749036--view_id.21975 )but it's available elsewhere in larger sizes if you look around.

There is also a meltable tape wrap available that goes over the splice before you apply the heat shrink.

I could fix you up with some nifty sealed splices, but I only have them in sizes up to 10AWG

 

[DRIFTER_016]

Re: splicing battery cable

In the car audio world I would use a high quality uninsulated butt connector with heat shrink with the hot melt glue lining. In 20 years never had a failure using this technique. I would crimp the connector, follow with solder and then the heat shrink.

 

[drewpster]

Re: splicing battery cable

Here's the stuff TD,

Good heat shrink with glue liner
http://www.delcity.net/delcity/servlet/catalog?parentid=327&page=1

Good butt connectors, you can get lower quantities listed if you don?t want a whole pack. You can also find these locally. Solder can be fed through the hole in the middle. If your cable is larger than 2 ga. they have them up to 000 size I think.
http://www.delcity.net/delcity/servlet/catalog?parentid=792236&page=1

Make sure you use ROSIN core solder NOT acid core. You will notice that all the stuff I picked for you is rated at 105 C or better. 105c is considered at marine rated level for heat resistance. (per ABYC)

You can make a crimp tool like the one below from a cheap pair of bolt cutters from Harbor Freight like mine or you can simply use a round nose 5/16 or 3/8 punch and a hammer to crimp the terminals. pic below of fancy dancy crimpers ($8.00 if memory serves)

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: splicing battery cable

i used the split bolt, the water proof everything.

 

[BMOLCHANY]

Re: splicing battery cable

Let me know how that turns out. I was on a boat fire the other day that was caused by a bad splice that grounded. Just curious how it holds up. The boat owner the other day just used a crimp fitting and elec tape.

 

[consie67]

Re: splicing battery cable

I just spliced on an extra 10' of #4 cable to the factory engine ends. Crimped butt splice and ends w/ hot glue sleve & tape. At first the solenoid just clicked but then in about a minute or less, the power kicked in, trim & starter. Is it normal for the resistance to take a few seconds to catch up with the length?
thanks CC

 

[wire2]

Re: splicing battery cable

I just spliced on an extra 10' of #4 cable to the factory engine ends. Crimped butt splice and ends w/ hot glue sleve & tape. At first the solenoid just clicked but then in about a minute or less, the power kicked in, trim & starter. Is it normal for the resistance to take a few seconds to catch up with the length?
thanks CC

No, there's no discernable delay due to length of a conductor. When a voltage is applied at one end, conductance occurs at the speed of light in a vacuum.

An electron being pushed by the battery into a wire, will push on the next one, and so on. Much like a tube filled with a single row of ball bearings with no space in between.

 

[RRitt]

Re: splicing battery cable

I splice wires all the time and never have a lick of trouble.
I go to the hardware store and buy a 6"-12" stick of brass tube. I cut off an appropriate length, ream, and debur. I shove one wire into one side and the other wire into the other side. Then I use an appropriately sized crimp tool. Then I use my propane or map torch to completely encase the wires and tube with a resin core solder. If there is any stubburn solder drips i just file or dremel them off. Then i wrap with self-fusing silicone tape. Then I put a heat shrink over the whole thing. If the original problem was abrasion then i encase the reapired area with a length of poly weave or split loom.

No biggie. never had a failure yet.

 

[RRitt]

Re: splicing battery cable

I just spliced on an extra 10' of #4 cable to the factory engine ends. Crimped butt splice and ends w/ hot glue sleve & tape. At first the solenoid just clicked but then in about a minute or less, the power kicked in, trim & starter. Is it normal for the resistance to take a few seconds to catch up with the length?
thanks CC

if the total cable length gets to be too long then you start to lose voltage in the wire. The math of it is V=IR.
Voltage equals current times resistance. If you are drawing 20amps then you need really small resistance. If your cable get too long then it starts to have resistance and takes way voltage from motor. At some point starters and trim motors act like you have a weak battery even though the battery checks out perfect. If you want make make sure then use a meter to measure resistance. I think at about 0.05 ohm a typical V8 starter loses about half of its power in the wiring.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: splicing battery cable

if the total cable length gets to be too long then you start to lose voltage in the wire. The math of it is V=IR.
Voltage equals current times resistance. If you are drawing 20amps then you need really small resistance. If your cable get too long then it starts to have resistance and takes way voltage from motor. At some point starters and trim motors act like you have a weak battery even though the battery checks out perfect. If you want make make sure then use a meter to measure resistance. I think at about 0.05 ohm a typical V8 starter loses about half of its power in the wiring.

Instead of measuring resistance, measure voltage drop while your are using, or try to use that connection. It is very difficult for the average person (or evan a good engineer with specialized equipment) to measure 0.05 ohms. Just make sure the volatge drop is less than about 1 (or at most 2) volts across that connection.

TerryMSU