I've been putting off battery cables since I got my truck. The main battery feed wire got the insulation chewed off in one spot from rats or something and they ate three or four of the wires on the inside. I would like to make the cables myself because they are so expensive to buy and it would be good to learn anyway. You can buy hydraulic crimpers on Amazon all day for 30-40 bucks. I also saw a bulk roll of red and black 2/0 cable (10 ft of each) for 60 some odd dollars. My question is, what size battery cable should be used on these trucks? Could you use one size for everything? I'm not doing this immediately because I'm in the middle of figuring out a four-wheel drive swap at the moment but, it's on the long list of stuff I'd like to do. Figured I might as well get this form rolling along and be ready for what's ahead. I don't know anything about battery cable sizes. Not much anyway. I believe these trucks use 2/0 cables for most of its main battery connections. I've got plenty of heat shrink, and I'm sure I can pull the old cables off and make identical lengths and/or longer where convenient. I think I can handle myself on actually making the cables, I just don't know what size cables.

 

Minimum 35mm2 cable size,perhaps even 50mm2.
I don't know how those turns in US measures.

I have crimped cables with biggest Knipex pliers.
One could also crimp using vice grips.

 

All main cables (power and grounds) will be 2/0. Now having said that, there are two additional grounds on the passenger side of the truck that are smaller than 2/0. One that leads from the front of the engine and runs to the passenger side frame rail and the other that leads from the passenger side ground terminal on the battery and runs to the inner fender on the passenger side. These I think are somewhere between 6-8ga. The wire that runs from the starter to the starter solenoid on the fender will be 10ga. Don’t confuse this 10ga wire with the main starter wire. There are two power wires coming off the starter. The bigger (2/0) goes to the battery while the smaller (10ga) goes to the solenoid.


A cool trick I like doing with the 2/0 cable and 10ga wire coming off the starter is to run them both through about a 4ft piece of rubber hose (3/4” ID). That way from the starter all the way up to the battery they are heavily protected. Lots of things to rub on when passing between the oil pan, crossmember(s) and frame.

 

In addition to the size/gauge of the wire, do not neglect to consider the coating heat rating, strand count and flexibility/conductivity properties of the main cables. Also consider the lugs and their material makeup, they should be plated copper and of the appropriate size based on wire gauge and connection point.

Measure 5 times and cut once. Three times for the route and length of the cable and twice for the cable itself before cutting it.

Plan for an additional ground from the alternator to the driver side ground terminal. If you ever plan to upgrade your alternator to a higher amperage output, now would be the time to fuse the B+ post and install a secondary main positive cable from that fuse block to the passenger side battery positive terminal.

You see, the best part about going custom cables is you can build exactly what you want, but the possibilities can be overwhelming at times. Proper planning and future proofing is a key component to being successful.

There are many write-up and many more images of how FTE'rs accomplished some of these tasks for you to dissect and learn from. Use this resource so you can be successful the first time around. The link below is how I accomplished bolstering the main cables which is loosely based on the method Y2KW57 took.

Link: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...light=Positive

Start making a list of what you will need in the way if cabling, lugs, loom, hose, ties, terminals, etc. Take your time and be methodical about it.

Have fun with it, this will be a big project that will liven up the starting, charging and electrical output systems of the truck.

 

I am redoing the ends of my battery cables and purchased a big ol' crimper from the jungle thats arriving today. If you would like to borrow it, I have no problems sending it out to you once I am done.

 

SOUS wrote:

"now would be the time to fuse the B+ post and install a secondary main positive cable from that fuse block to the passenger side battery positive terminal."

Sous, I ran a positive cable from my new alternator ( purchased from quick start, alternatorparts.com )
I installed extra black ground cable to drivers battery ground post, and then installed a red positive over near the starter solenoid, but I never hooked it up, because a mechanic told me it could start a fire. What is the B post you speak of?
Where and what size fuse type would I install?
and lastly, is there a best spot to attach the secondary positive cable to?

Thank you very much!!

P.S. I copied the quote and then wrote my response before I saw the link Sous posted, but I still wouldn't mind having my questions answered here.

 

Generous and kind offer that should be recognized.

@marksman76 , I have some follow on questions to your questions if you have a moment to share with us.

• Where did the "red positive" cable start at that is now sitting over by the starter solenoid, but not hooked up?
• Your mechanic is partially right, a poorly installed or terminated positive cable could in fact start a fire. But, if it is properly ran, terminated and fused, the possibility of starting a fire are next to zero. This is how OEM does it on every make and model of vehicle produced.

The B+ post is the positive post/terminal/connection on the back of the alternator that supplies charging voltage to the batteries, which power all of your 12v systems and accessories. You can see the B+ post in the image below from my install. It will look different than yours because I have modified it with an protective post extension and a 2 way fuse block.



As for fuse type and size, you have to remember that the fuse is there to protect the wire from burning up due to a short or an amperage draw that exceeds its rating. Please see the link below for the parts (including fuses and a block) that I selected based on my research of FTE'rs that traveled this journey before me like Y2KW57 and many others.

Link: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post17789538

The best location to attach the secondary positive cable that is now run to the passenger side battery is on the passenger side battery positive post. Keep in mind that good terminals/clamps should be utilized as an electrical circuit is only as good as its weakest link. With that said and in mind, it is a good idea to match the gauge of the positive wire going to the gauge of the driver side battery. You want to match the wire to the largest diameter that is required though, not the smallest. So, you don't want to select the same gauge wire for the passenger side battery that is already there for the driver side battery. The distance to each of the batteries if very different based on your path of travel for the wires. You will see my selected path of travel and gauge choices in the link.

Since installing the bolstered wire, fuses, alternator, batteries, etc... The system has been flawless and I have complete confidence in it.

Again, if I have failed to answer your questions or address your concerns, I would be happy to take a second swing at them if need be.

 

I sure would appreciate it. I will try to put everything into plans. There's so much going on at the moment it's hard to find time to do one thing or the other. It's kind of all cluttered. This weekend I'm going to be tearing apart my 4x4 diff and messing with the bearings and other stuff of the sort. Changing bushings and whatnot I will definitely let you know when I get around the battery cables. Thank you very much!

 

Very nice write-up with a lot of good information. Thank you sir! I will work on getting a bunch of cable together along with crimps and whatnot when I get caught up with all my other projects. On a side note, how many cranking amps do the batteries you guys use have? I replaced both batteries last year with 750 CCA batteries from O'Reilly's and I paid $160 a piece for them. I will also do as you recommend and put a 3/4 inch hose over the cables that run down towards the starter.

 

I'm glad you said something about the heat rating because I didn't even think about it. I will definitely be taking my time, I've got far too many other projects going on at the moment. The battery cables are starting to seem like a bigger job than my 4x4 swap

I will do a ton of research between now and then.

 

Right there with you, brother. Clay's box of goodies arrives Tuesday. NAPA came today, so did Diesel Power. Bitterroot will start my injectors on Monday so they will be rolling out as well. The jungle box of battery cable goodies arrives Friday, and I intend to get that in sometime this weekend. I will PM you when I am done for an address.

 

Well, to get involved in the battery cable madness...Just a word of caution, do not eliminate your factory alternator charge wire!
Now that being said, it can be eliminated, but not just by running a new charge cable to the battery(s). That wire feeds your glow plug and AIH relays. So if you redo the supply wiring for your glow plugs, you can then eliminate that cable from the alternator. I also want to do some battery cable/terminal work on my pickup. The factory battery terminals are quite sad!

 

In response to SOUS, and others

I purchased a new red Napa battery cable, and attached it to the hot terminal on the back of my new 140 amp alternator purchased from - quick start High Output Alternators alternatorparts.com

I had to modify the post insulation to make it fit along with the original one going to Driver's side battery. I then ran it along windshield border of firewall.
Since I did not have fuses, isolators etc., I wrapped it in paper towel and tape. A few days later a mechanic warned me of the impending doom scenario, so I have left it hanging for a year.
I purchased a new black Napa battery cable, and attached it from the additional grounding bolt on the back of the alternator to the negative post terminal on the Driver's side battery.

However, I do not like how high it sits under the hood, as I attached it to original terminal..

So again, Today I have l looked at the above link, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...energized.html

and will proceed accordingly.

As always, a big thank you to all those that contribute to this site!

 

To many projects going on, the $300 price was a no brainer for me. You can always use a hammer and a chisel or a punch to crimp your connections.

 

Hey Sous , I'm thinking of running my battery cables a lot like yours from the thread you posted a link to. Although I don't have a high output alternator I would still like to run about the same setup for "when" I switch to a high output alternator in the future. My questions are, you ran smaller wires for your grounds than you did for your power wires correct? Does it matter? Having a smaller ground wire would bother me. They have to be the same size or I would go crazy every time I looked at it. I Saw you used 2 gauge wire from eBay for your positive cables. Could I use the same wire but black for the negative / ground cables? Also do you have a roundabout length of positive and negative wire you bought? I guess I could go outside and run a string all over the place the lengths I need it and buy an extra couple feet just in case. I'm also thinking of getting the military style battery clamps that were posted in that forum. Although I can see now that the cover that came with them would not be big enough when you ran 3 to 4 wires into it. I guess I could always trim a new hole for the wire.

Last question, I know you went to the local wire shop to have your ends crimped on but, what material do you prefer your crimped ends to be made out of? Copper? To me it seems like the copper color would look weird. Maybe I'm a little too picky.