I see a lot of battery/starter problems and was wondering if anyone has tried to make their own battery cables? I bought the connectors for both batteries at Napa for $7 and $14 each, welding wire cables from a welding supply shop @ $3.30 per foot, propane torch and sodder. The total came to just under $70. That beats the heck out of $180+ for a new cable.

 

I make them all the time. I like to use welding cable also. I just did a burn job not long ago. Had to rewire a piece of equipment from the ground up. It took several feet of wire. At the price of wire now it gets expensive.

A few years ago I should mortgaged my place and bought every bit of wire I could find. I could retire now if I did.

 

i put a new one on from ford a year ago it was signifigantly cheaper than that..125 or something like that. anyway. i looked into making my own (i am an electrican after all) but i would NOT use solder on connectors personally. The problem with solder is with the high Cranking amp you can heat it and gradually cause the connection to fail over time going right back to the same problem. Crimped on (compression) fittings are a far better route for longevity. Either way make sure you use GOOD quality heat shrink tubing around the joints. Good luck
1991 F250 4x4 7.3 ATS turbo

 

I've made (literally) a TON of battery cables. Northern7.3 is right, crimp them and use GOOD shrink tube. I always color code the cables with the shrink tube (pos. & neg.). You HAVE TO get the "hammer on" type crimping tool and assemble the cable off of the truck on a bench or something solid. There is nothing under your hood you want to beat on as hard as you need to to correctly crimp the cable ends/connectors.
BUT be careful not to hammer too hard or you can split the connectors.
Also don't forget to put the shrink tube on the cable BEFORE the cable connector or you'll get really mad at yourself. Not gonna' tell you how I know that.
Lastly make sure you strip the insulation the correct amount and push the cable all the way into the connector and keep it there while you crimp it.
End of "Battery Cables 101"

 

i make my own and i solder and crimp.

 

Which do you do first?

 

don't k now if this falls in the category of solder, but the last set of cables i made up i melted some wheel weights and poured into the wire/connector. never had any problems with melting. a little more trouble than acid core solder, but effective

speedrdr

 

I might try that, I can't think of why it wouldn't work. If you stripped the cable, filled the connector part way (in a vice, on end) with the molten lead, then stuck the cable in and let it cool, Seems like it would be a good conductor and pretty fool proof. I would still use good shrink-tube though. Might have found another use for my bullet-casting equipment.

 

i think i would still crimp it though

 

i solder first then crimp the end before i heat shrink the tubing. thats the way i was taught in school (i went for both automotive and diesel). the only thing we didnt crimp were the actual battery terminals that slide over the post as they would split.

 

I have made up many of my own battery cables. Being an electrical contractor i have a set of heavy duty crimpers. I dip the stripped end of the wire into noalox (it is made by Ideal and you can get it at home depot) this will stop all corrosion. Crimp it and then heat shrink. The Noalox is electrically conductive so no problem there. it is an oxide inhibiting compound so there is no chance of oxidizing on the connector. You should also put this on the battery terminals before and after you connect the cable.

 

is that like the grease on electrical conections?

 

Yes. It does look like a grease. You see it used alot on aluminum electrical connections. The stuff works great. I had to replace the cables on my cabover. i did it 3 years ago. the battery tops have been exposed to the weather due to no cover. There is not a smidgen of corrosion or oxidization.

 

can you get the same stuff at lowes?there is'nt a home depot close to me.

 

You should be able to. They do carry the Ideal product line. If they don't have it for some reason do you have any electrical supply houses in your area? They would carry it. If you can't find it shoot me a pm and I'll send some to you.