# Parts to relocate battery



## OmarMiPi (Nov 13, 2002)

Hi there,

I don't really want to spend the money to buy a relocation kit. I wanted to know what comes with the kit. I saw some parts at wal-mart that I think will do the job.


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

You need a battery box that seals with the lid on and has a hose to vent to the outside of the car (you can just pass this hose through the vent located under your jack instead of drilling a hole through the trunk) You'll need about 15'to 20' of 2 gauge wire to run from the positive battery wire back to the trunk. The way I'd run the wire is to fish it through the hole in the body to the right of your battery, where that little fuse box is, fish through there through the large rubber bung in the firewall, way up in the corner where most of your wiring come through, carefully cut a slit in that bung to fish the cable through. Fish it down behind the carpet along the side. Take your back seat out (easy to do, takes like 10 minutes tops) and fish back to the trunk. You'll also need a shorter piece of 2 gauge for your ground. I'd solder a brass lug to the wire and fine a bolt close by that you can use to hold it in. Scrape any paint off where the lug will make contact with the the body so you get a good ground. Then either paint the lug or coat it with dielectic grease or for a more premanent protection, 100% silicone sealant. Use a multimeter to check and make sure there isn't any resistance to continuity between the engine block and the negative battery terminal in the back where your battery has been relocated to. You'll need a couple of battery termianls to connect to your 2 gauge wires, you should be able to find a couple of these at a parts store or a car stereo place. When I replaced the terminals in my XE I got gold ones cheap at a stereo place cheap, like $10-$15 dollars for the set. Don't use the cheap type where you clamp the wires in, those almost always corrode later on. Here's a pick of the cheap ones so you know what I'm talking about:










Here's the kind I used in my XE, I soldered one of those cooper lugs to my cable and the bolt on the battery terminal is where the lug was attached. It worked very well, and never corroded in the year I had it in. I wasn't doing a battery relocation I was replacing my stock terminal because it was corroded and I wanted to add a cable to power my amplifier in my trunk.










So, you need about 20' total of 2 gauge wire (try to get some with a high strand count, it's more flexible and easier to run), battery terminals, sealed battery box with a venting tube, a couple brass lugs and some means for holding the box down in the trunk. I don't like to drill holes if I don't have to, so I would consider using silicone or PL200 construction adhesive to glue the bottom of the batttery box to the bottom of the trunk, then cut the carpet to go around that. You could try PL400, which is a stronger contsruction adhesive, however it melts fiberglass and it could do the same to a plastic batery box, so if you want to use it, try it on a sacrificial piece of similar plastic first. Silicone should work just fine and won't attack the plastic, but depending how oily the plastic is will determine how well it'll stay glued down with any type of adhesive, most won't adhere to oily plastic. Yeah a lot of info on glue, but it'd be a mess to screw up and learn the hard way. Anyway, I'd also buy a couple of those $1 foam battery mats to put in the bottom of the battery box, it keeps the battery from loosing heat to the chassis, extends battery life in the winter. The wire is going to be your most expensive component, so be prepared to drop upwards of $40 for it, but shop around for it. www.partsexpress.com has decent prices on the wire, they'll also likely have the lugs and the terminals as well. A place to get the wire cheap also is www.sherco-auto.com I bought several rolls of strand wire cheap from this guy. You can get your wire for under $10 from there and it's battery wire, but again, find out what strand count it is and make sure it's copper not aluminum. It's likely a lower strand count and you won't want to fight with trying to run it back to your trunk, despite how cheap it is. 

Here's an example of the lugs if you're not sure what I'm talking about:










You'll want to solder these on though, just hold the terminal cup side up with a pair of vise grips or pliers and wipe the inside with flux, and heat the cup up with a torch, then just shove some solder in when it's hot and fill it about 1/2 way full, then quickly stick the wire in while the solder is still melted and wait for it to cool and solidify. Slide a piece of shrink tube over the joint and heat it with a lighter and you're done. The lug will also make it easy to fish the wire, as you can hook a fish tape or straightened hanger up to it easily. So the relocation kit might be cheaper but you'll have to decide that for yourself. Good luck with it and if you want any help give me a holler, I'd be more than happy to help over the phone or e-mail/PM.


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## nastynissan (Jan 26, 2003)

Nice post man!!!! Very good INFO!!!


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

Thanks, but I'm really just a useless "post whore".  I would have been much more helpful had I simply said:


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## blairellis (Jul 6, 2002)

heres pics of my relocation
http://www.printroom.com/ViewAlbum.asp?userid=blairellis&album_id=37614


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## sno (Oct 4, 2002)

blairellis said:


> *heres pics of my relocation
> http://www.printroom.com/ViewAlbum.asp?userid=blairellis&album_id=37614 *


No Album id: 37614!


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2003)

i think you should use thicker than 4 gauge, stock uses 2 gauge. also if you plan on racing at your track, NHRA rules mandate a disconnect switch if the battery is relocated to the trunk.


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## johnand (Apr 30, 2002)

I agree w/ using bigger than 4 gauge. I like overkill and used 1 gauge welding cable for my relocation. Welding cable is high strand cable that is very cheap in price compared to high dollar battery or "amp" cable. It just doesn't have the pretty jacket that the other cable has. I got my 1 gauge welding cable for $.85/ft at the local welding supply store.

Most important thing to do though, is to use a FUSE or circuit breaker on the positive cable within 18" of the battery. With 20 ft of battery cable you have a much higher chance of a short and w/o a fuse you will end up w/ a crispy ride. I used a 200 AMP circuit breaker by Phoenix Gold.

Might as well get a lighter dry cell battery as well, so no need to vent. I recommend the Wesco Miata battery.


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

Those circuit breakers are nice, know of anywhere that sells them fairly cheap? I used to have a Yoni Distributors catalog but they only sell to businesses now.  They sold them for like $10-$20.


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## johnand (Apr 30, 2002)

toolapcfan said:


> *Those circuit breakers are nice, know of anywhere that sells them fairly cheap? I used to have a Yoni Distributors catalog but they only sell to businesses now.  They sold them for like $10-$20. *


PartsExpress.com sells them for ~$30. Most car audio shops want $50+. I like the fact that I can kill power with a flip of the switch at anytime, which is nice for working on the car.


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## bahearn (Jul 15, 2002)

Tool, you're finally learnin'.

I would think #4 wire to be a bit small. I always see reference to #2 or #1 wire for that long run from the front to the back of the car.


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## PhattyB13 (Apr 30, 2002)

I am in teh processing of finishing up my relocation... i chose to do it because I just finished up my 2.0 engine swap..

anyways I got an optima red top for 70 bucks, battery box from walmart for $6.88, 18 feet of 2 gauge welders cable, and a 140 amp circuit breaker..
the only question I have is do you think the 140 will be ok?
and another good reason for going with welders cable is the fact that is is much more flexible than battery cable... 

soon I will post pics of my relocation and my engine swap...


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## johnand (Apr 30, 2002)

Phatty, I have a feeling you will pop that breaker when you start your engine, especially on cold mornings, but you won't know for sure until you fire it up. You MAY be alright, since it doesn't get ungodly cold in Eugene. The good thing about the breaker, is it can be reset, unlike a fuse. I chose 200AMP based on the research of numerous posts on the various Nissan Forums. The concensous on SR20DE Forum was 200AMP. That was based on someone that tried lower rated fuses and blew them.

But, if it does work for you please let me know, as that is valuable info. Basically you want the lowest rating you can get w/o blowing or tripping while starting.

How'd the swap workout? I am gathering all the pieces to do mine this summer. Since you are so close, I may have to pic your brain when I do mine.


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

140 amp should be alright. You should determine your load first, then wire size, then breaker/fuse size. Better to undersize a fuse than to oversize it. Most fuses/breakers are underrated as well, they should be capable of 125% of their rating. As long as the wire size is adequate for the load you'll be fine. And you're only supposed to load up to 80% of the breaker/fuses capacity. So with a safety margin of 45% you should never trip a breaker or burn through a wire. I changed my post to show 2 gauge, I don't know why I put 4 gauge, that's clearly too small for the load size and distance of wire being run. I must have been thinking about the wire size I used for my amp which only draws 20 amps, in which 4 gauge was easily enough. If you don't want to spring for a circuit breaker you can use an ANL fuse holder which uses an ANL wafer fuse and maybe save a few bucks, but I like the circuit breaker, I think everyone should install one.


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## johnand (Apr 30, 2002)

Toolapcfan,

Do you know what the starter draw is?


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

I'm not sure I'll have to check sometime. It's going to vary with temperature but any idea is better than none. I have a clamp meter that measures DC current so I'll check it out.


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## nastynissan (Jan 26, 2003)

I agree with everything said here but just for reference.... My 92 Sentra Ga16de I ran 4 gauge throughout(yes I wanted 2 but had plenty of 4 laying around) Used gold plated connectors and fuseblocks. Use 2 1000CCA yellow Wal-Mart batts ($55 apiece with 3 year free replacement) Im pulling approx 1500 watts with the stereo, plus fog lights, and a few other extras. And even after hours of cruising with everything CRANKED... stereo, heat, etc...and Ive NEVER had lights dim or any starting problems. Like I said just for reference. 2 gauge is what Id use if doing someone elses or when I do mine again...I LIKE OVERKILL!!!


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