how do i put my battery in the boot?

[fatgtr]

hey there,
i am going to relocate my battery in the boot. jst a few questions
1) is it as simple as extending the leads under the car to the battery in the boot?
2) is it easy to do
3) what do i need in order to do it?

any help much appreciated

[Distrb]

hey there,
i am going to relocate my battery in the boot. jst a few questions
1) is it as simple as extending the leads under the car to the battery in the boot?
2) is it easy to do
3) what do i need in order to do it?

any help much appreciated

1) not quite, if you run the cable outside of the car, there are certain requirements that have to be met. so most people usually run it inside the car, under the carpet or in the cable tray.

2) yes.

3) a few things

- Time
- Power cable
- Earth Cable
- Battery Box
- New battery Terminals
- Circuit Breaker of some description
- Nuts, Bolts and Plates to secure your battery box to the floor (looks at got20v?)
- Connector Block/Crimp....

A point or two to note...

- If you're planning on using an acid battery, you supposedly need (legally) to have it venting to the atmosphere. I know heaps of people that havent, but have been told by a few people in the know that its a requirement. Quick fix? Buy a sealed battery

- If you run cables outside of the car in the undertray, i believe it has to be sheilded somehow, and also tied to a firm source every so far (i think about 2 - 3 inches) via cable ties or whatever.

anything else you wanna know, turn up to a meet and have a look at mine

hope that helps...

[fatgtr]

yeah i get confused with how to connect the cables to the terminals in the front. coz im gana need long wires to run thru the car.
can u just extend the terminals by attaching a longer cable?

[evil_si]

ok u buy cable from an electrical wholesler like welding earth lead or something usually around 50 or 75 m (can remember the unit of measure)
buy your terminals from there as well, for the battery and to join the cable


u only have to run the positive. as u can earth the battery earth in the boot and the other end just in the engine bay earth is a common return.

as for joining the cable buy special inline joiners and get an auto sparky to crimp them then just melt some heat shrink to protect it

get a boat battery box from a marine shop, it comes complete with straps etc to secure the battery.

u can run the cable under the car as far as im aware it only has to be secure not shielded u can cable tie it to the brake lines etc

as for sealed battery it is the best way, most people get away with not having them but they are safer and saves making up vents etc as u definately have to have a normal acid battery vented, there are cases of sound systems amps etc sparking and igniting the fumes from a charging battery.

[fatgtr]

ok let me know if this sounds right.

1. i connect the negative lead in the front to the frame.
2. i run a positive cabe from the existing posive lead to the positive terminal on the battery in the boot.
3. connect the negative terminal of the battery in the boot to the frame of the boot

whats with all this circut breaks and stuff

[evil_si]

yep thats right
make a good earth sand away the paint were u put the negative,

circuit breaks ( fuses ) are un necessary but are added protection if u want

[fatgtr]

i just dont see why you cant extend the current leads thru the car and to the battery. y cant u?

[evil_si]

u can but its a waste of time,

[fatgtr]

ys that it would be much easier. just if i did do that (i probably will) do i need an earth or will the negative d?
thanx for helping me

[evil_si]

ok earth is the same as negative. in automotive electrical terms negative is called earth.
it is a common return ie all earths go to the chassis. to the batteries earth point on the chassis.

it is earthed as close to the battery as possible so u have good continuity if u have bad continuity u will have electrical problems. it saves purchasing twice the amount of cable and terminals required.

ok u have to make the positive lead big, cant just use any old wire,
if u dont it will draw to much current, over heat, u will run the possibilty of burning electrical components out, like the starter motor.

[Loudtoy]

circuit breaks ( fuses ) are un necessary but are added protection if u want

Imagine this for a scenario - your cruising down the road when all of a sudden some dude slams into the side/back/front of your car not quite cutting but taking a gouge out of your + cable thats run from the back to the front! The cable then connects with the body of your car which is earthed causing large amounts of current to run through the cable turning it into a great big element between the +ve terminal of the battery and the point to which it is making contact! If your battery is any good it will start a fire and if it's not so good it will just melt most of your wiring in te entire car, proably fry a few things in your puter etc etc!
Second scenario you put a breaker or fuse in line close as you can to the battery same thing happens breaker trips or fuse blows , no fire no other problmes apart from the damage caused by the crash and the insurance company doesn't deny your clain cos of dodgy wiring!

So i'd recomend definately putting a breaker or fuse in line (fuse is heaps cheaper) and definately bolting the box down securely
(Also looks at got20v)

[Si]

the insurance company doesn't deny your clain cos of dodgy wiring!

Need a fuse to please the insurance company, but not the WOF people,
nice work

[Loudtoy]

the insurance company doesn't deny your clain cos of dodgy wiring!

Need a fuse to please the insurance company, but not the WOF people,
nice work

Yeah the wof people don't mind but if your car gets all burnt up and stuff cos of your dodgey wiring they won't pay out on that only the crash stuff like panel damage etc! They will investigate it when you say oh for some reason my puter and wiring and stuff is all shafted then see the cause and think hmm where's the fuse for it all! check how close the main distribution and relay block is to the battery on a standard car and you'l find it's pretty close

[fatgtr]

yeah where do i put the fuse then. and how does it work to just break the circut on the positive cable and solder it on in between the 2?

[Lloyd]

You put it on the positive cable as close to the battery as possible. Then if the positive wire somehow touches the body of the car the fuse will blow, or if a curcuit breaker then it will trip. GOnna have to be a big fuse/breaker though. I've got a 140A one here which worked fine when mine was in the boot. Needs to be big to allow enough current to flow for the starter motor which is usually ~100A

[fatgtr]

so i cut the positive cable and atatch solder the wires onto the fuse? and where will i get a 140A fuse? repco?

[Lloyd]

Not sure where you would find a fuse that size. If you cant find on on here then one of the guys on forums.nzicemag.co.nz might be able to help. Either that or find a circuit breaker which you should be able to get from a car audio store

[fatgtr]

yeah i can probably get one thru my electronics teacher at skool at trade price.
all i want to know is where do i put the fuse/ circut breaker in?

[Lloyd]

You put it on the positive cable as close to the battery as possible.

If you want to really do it properly then you should have one at each end of the wire. One up where the battery used to be, or even closer to the alternator as well as the one by the battery

[fatgtr]

is it ok if i just have one near the battery? also how do i atach it for instance do i solder it on in between the positve cable somewhere how?