High Amp Fuse Holders / Battery Relocation

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I am in the process of making up a parts list for relocating the battery to the trunk. This relocation is NOT intended to meet NHRA requirements - just freeing up space for a battery box mounted I/C reservoir. After reading through all the battery relocation threads, I didn't see many that mentioned installing a high amp fuse in the (+) battery cable at the battery. So after researching several manufacturers I came across these:

http://www.streetwires.com/products/default.aspx?grp=66

Is anyone else using these or something similar? I will need (2) as I am using dedicated positive (+) battery cables - (1) for the alternator and (1) for the Starter/BEC. I'm thinking 150 amp fuse for the alternator cable (I am still using the stock 130 amp alternator - therefore only a 150 amp fuse) and 200 amp fuse for the Starter/BEC cable.


Additional information on my battery relocation. I'm planning on using:

• Odyssey PC1200MJT battery
• Odyssey HDB 1200 battery hold down mounted in the center of the trunk
• Dedicated (+) full length welding cable for the alternator (4 gauge) routed through the interior passenger's compartment
• Dedicated (+) full length welding cable for the starter/BEC (1 gauge) routed through the interior passenger's compartment
• Dedicated (-) full length welding cable for engine/chassis ground (1 gauge) routed through the interior passenger's compartment. Note: the ground cable should only need to be the same size as the (-) battery cable for the starter/BEC cable as the alternator will never be producing current at the same time the vehicle is cranking.
• Battery disconnect switch mounted in the trunk for the (-) battery cable only as a convenient method to disconnect the battery to perform maintenance or repairs to the electrical system.

All battery cable ends will be crimped with a battery cable crimper and finished off with weather proof heat shrink tubing. I know there are different schools of thought when it comes to using battery cable Vs welding cable. I have chosen to use welding cable as it has a higher strand count which has a higher amperage carry capacity and the jacketing is more flexible when running the cable through the interior of the vehicle.

If any of you that have previously relocated your battery to the trunk see a flaw in this logic/plan please feel free to chime in.

Paul(againstallodds1) is using and I will be putting one in shortly, a 200 amp circuit breaker.

Here's the one I have waiting to install.

http://www.woofersetc.com/p-4822-cb-200-titanium-power-200-amp-gold-plated-circuit-breakers.aspx

I'm sure you can get a smaller one for the alternator since other brands offer 150amp ones.

dysan said:

Paul(againstallodds1) is using and I will be putting one in shortly, a 200 amp circuit breaker.

Here's the one I have waiting to install.

http://www.woofersetc.com/p-4822-cb-200-titanium-power-200-amp-gold-plated-circuit-breakers.aspx

I'm sure you can get a smaller one for the alternator since other brands offer 150amp ones.

Click to expand...

Wow that one looks very nice!!

Here's some more on that same website:

http://www.woofersetc.com/c-90-circuit-breakers.aspx

I was estimating the max. power consumption on the starter/BEC system to be 200 amps or less under normal circumstances so that is why I chose a 200 amp fuse.

I used one of these in my circuit. Advantages of using a fuse over a CB is that you can carry a spare fuse. If a CB fails you would have to have a spare CB. Since you are in FL they should be easy to locate:

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10109&subdeptNum=10598&classNum=11287

This stuff is also very corrosion resistant = good flow for the little electrons. I also used Ancor wiring for my alternator wire.

I went with something like this for my power distribution box for all my extra electronics. I carry an extra fuse in case something happens. The one I got is gold plated and has o-rings so it is water resistant.

http://www.buy.com/prod/metra-gfbw5...-line-anl-fuse-holder/q/loc/111/90135436.html

i have one of the "blade fuse" fuse holders that i DID NOT install, it has a 150 amp fuse and i did not install it becuase i figured the fuse would pop first time i tried to crank the car.

i do still want to do the fuse or CB......you guys think 200amp is enough that it wont trip on start up?

i just ordered a 300amp CB for $10 shipped off ebay.

I have 175a fuses on mine and they worked fine . I have one at in the trunk before the batt cable goes through the car and the other up front for the alt connection before it goes into the car .

Update...

As previously stated I will be using 4 gauge welding cable for the dedicated 12V (+) supply to the alternator and 1 gauge welding cable for both the (+) and (-) battery cables that are run from the battery to the engine compartment. Welding cable has arrived. I found it about 20% cheaper to purchase this cable in prepackaged lengths from my local welding supplier than to purchase bulk cable and have it cut to length.

I have also made a decision on power supply protection for both of the (+) battery cables. I found these 150 amp & 200 amp fuses and fuse holders in stock at my local NAPA store. Fuse holder is part# 7821143 - $10.49 ea. 150 amp fuse part# 7821138 - $6.49 ea. 200 amp fuse part# 7821140 - $6.49 ea. Fuse holder is rated up to 250 amps. If I choose to upgrade to a PA Performance 200 amp alternator, all I'll need to do is replace the 150 amp fuse with a 200 amp fuse. Fuse holders will be mounted with heavy duty pop rivets. Here's some pictures of the fuse holder and fuses. These fuse holders will allow the cable to enter the fuse holder from the top, bottom, side or anywhere in between. Copper cable lugs were less than $2 ea.

Will you be using a battery box to mount the battery?

No only the Odyssey HDB 1200 battery hold down. Odyssey battery is also of the dry cell design so it requires no vent

Interesting...Subd!

They sell those Bussman units at Napa? I something with posts like those to tie my wires together in the old battery's location so one of those would work great with just a jumper across it or even a high amp fuse since I'll have the circuit breaker.

yes they sure do.

when I originally called NAPA and asked them if they carried high amp fuses and holders I was told no. However after searching online I found out NAPA did carry these items, not to mention that same NAPA store had them sitting on their shelves and didn't even know it.

Heh....sounds about right with the people they have working at them now.

Thanks for the info! You may have just helped me be able to get my damn car running again this weekend. I really feel for you having yours down for such an extreme length of time since mine has only been down since mid-December and I'm in serious withdrawal!

dysan said:

Heh....sounds about right with the people they have working at them now.

Thanks for the info! You may have just helped me be able to get my damn car running again this weekend. I really feel for you having yours down for such an extreme length of time since mine has only been down since mid-December and I'm in serious withdrawal!

Click to expand...

Vehicle has been on stands for over a year. 2 projects currently in work right now: battery relocation and Canton battery box mounted I/C reservoir (which shipped yesterday by the way). Several more projects on the drawing board.

Really doesn't bother me at all. I prefer to work on the vehicle to driving it. As my custom user title states "It's all about the build"

I like running the breaker. When I park the car I hit the breaker and prevent any battery drain while it's sitting. It also has a Battery Tender. A bit overkill I know.

I can also trip the breaker as a anti theft device if I end up parking somewhere I would rather not.......or if the car will be "out of range".

If it were to fail, which I have not seen being a issue I have the needed wrench in my tool kit that would allow me to bypass it to get the car home.

As I stated in my OP I am going to be using a battery disconnect switch in the (-) battery cable.

Today's progress...

Removed the RF tire/wheel, RH rear inner splash shield, battery & battery tray. The rest of today's progress consisted of routing all cables through the firewall and into the engine compartment. For some reason most other battery relocation threads skip this part of the project. As previously mentioned the (+) & (-) 1 gauge battery cables will run the full length of the vehicle as will the dedicated 4 gauge (+) cable for the alternator. All cables that enter the engine compartment are wrapped in wire loom. All battery cable terminals are crimped using a Tyco crimper and finished off with heavy duty heat shrink tubing. In the following pictures you'll see that no additional holes were cut through the firewall or the sheet metal. Only a single 3/8" hole was drilled for a ground connection point for the 1 gauge (-) battery cable.

First the dedicated 4 gauge alternator (+) battery cable. Notice the OEM boot was reused on the end of the cable which attaches to the alternator (+) terminal:


Next some pictures of routing the battery cables from the engine compartment into the area behind RF splash shield. Ford left a nice opening in the sheet metal that works perfectly for routing those cables which doesn't require any sheet metal to have to be altered:

In the previous picture you'll also notice the OEM (-) battery cable which is grounded to the RH motor mount has had a lug installed. This is where the 3/8" hole I mentioned earlier was drilled, to accommodate securing that ground cable to the chassis. All paint has been removed from the body to assure a good ground connection.

The next couple of pictures show how the battery cables behind the splash shield have been routed. You'll notice the (2) OEM (+) battery cables for the BEC and starter are connected to the single 1 gauge (+) battery cable using the parallel splice method and then covered in heavy duty heat shrink tubing. The 1 gauge (-) battery cable has had a lug attached and is mounted at that same 3/8" hole that was previously drilled for the (-) battery cable that attaches to the RH motor mount.


Finally all 3 of the battery cables were routed into the passenger's compartment by using available space below the vehicles main wiring harness grommet.

All 3 cables are now sitting on the passenger compartment floor board waiting to be run to the rear of the vehicle

As I previously mentioned I am using 1 gauge cable for the (+) & (-) main battery cables and 4 gauge cable for the dedicated (+) power supply to the alternator. This size cable has more than enough amperage carrying capacity even if I choose to upgrade to a 200 amp alternator. Using cables larger than this would have been very difficult to work with because of their larger diameter and reduced flexibility.

Looking Good!

Thanks for documenting this so well.