Battery Cable Lengths

[HingsingM37]

Does anybody know the lengths of the two long battery cables? I need to make up new ones. Thanks.

[MSeriesRebuild]

Does anybody know the lengths of the two long battery cables? I need to make up new ones. Thanks.

It's best to look things over & pin point the exact routing you would like for the cables. Measure up & make the cables accordingly, the best cable to use is 1/0 welding cable with crimped on lugs, much more flexible & easier to work with than battery cable. Heavier insulation that has superb longivity.

[HingsingM37]

Thanks Charles. I remember you telling me about the 1/0 cable. I was trying to get a rough idea to avoid buying too much or too little of the cable.
I will need to take a roadtrip and look at my buddies truck to get a rough idea of the routing. My original cables and harness were basically rotted away or non-existent when I got my rig so I have only a vague idea of the original routing of any of the wires. My spash shields had quarter size holes blasted in them from apparent shorts. What was left of the original harness was basically bare wire.
Luckily I have a nice supply of aviation style rubbber insulated cable clamps and cloth loom so the electrical system should look somewhat professional when done

[MSeriesRebuild]

Thanks Charles. I remember you telling me about the 1/0 cable. I was trying to get a rough idea to avoid buying too much or too little of the cable.
I will need to take a roadtrip and look at my buddies truck to get a rough idea of the routing. My original cables and harness were basically rotted away or non-existent when I got my rig so I have only a vague idea of the original routing of any of the wires. My spash shields had quarter size holes blasted in them from apparent shorts. What was left of the original harness was basically bare wire.
Luckily I have a nice supply of aviation style rubbber insulated cable clamps and cloth loom so the electrical system should look somewhat professional when done

What I was getting at was you are better off to figure your own route as the original route wasn't the best. The positive went down the right inner frame rail a ways, then turned left up over the bell housing & around to the starter. I guess this was fine for everyone except the guy who had to pull the engine at some later time. There is always the issue of engine torqueing which gradually wears on the cable over time if the route is up & over. It would have been much better to have been routed via a frame cross member to the left frame rail, up the rail & over to the starter in my opinion. I'm always looking at the service man's point of view & how things would work better when time for major service comes. The original route for the negative cable is great, it just comes out the bottom of the box & connects to a hole in the right frame rail, out of the way nicely. Anytime wiring or cables are routed across the power plant, it's just more frustration to deal with. Then there is the issue of installing a master disconnect switch at some convenient location, I highly recommend that.

[HingsingM37]

Sounds like a good plan. I will approach it from that angle. Thanks for sharing your ideas as I never considered the original cable routing may not be the most efficient. I bought a nice Cole-Hersey HD cut off switch to install as well.
No work tonight or this weekend on the Dodge as it is Valentines day with the wife, and tommorrow we are taking our Mom's out. I hope to get some quality wrench time in next weekend, I need a fix

[m15256]

For sake of reference there is a spec for the cable lengths in TM 9-2320-212-20P pg #41, of 74" and 84" (two longest cables) #2 AWG. However Charlie is right. Use 1/0 welding cable and choose the route that makes the most sense. I have Cole-Hersey master disconnects on both my trucks. Any older vehicle with possibly frayed or cracked wire insulation should have one. It's really handy the day you have a direct short to ground and wire starts to burn. Try to install one in a location you can conveniently reach sitting in the drivers seat. Good luck. Rick

[Nickathome]

David;

When you say the two longest, you mean the one cable that goes out to the starter, then the short one that goes to the frame? I know the long one on my truck was somewhere around 74". The one to the frame was about 3 feet, but don't quote me on the latter.

BTw - I used 2/0, only because that's what my old cables were, and I didn't know at the time that 1/0 is the actual size. I was lucky in that I could use the old cables as a guide, and I then went to a big (as in tractor trailer) truck parts place and had them cut me the cables and bought the ferrules and bought the tool that attaches them to the cables from Eastwood.

Its seems that there is mention of two long cables? I don't recall two long cables when I did my truck, only one long, one short, then one real short one to bridge between batteries.

[HingsingM37]

Yes I meant the one real long positive one and then the shorter negative to chasis ground. My pole jumper cable was actually salvageable as somebody had put a new one on.

Thanks for all the help gang

[Nickathome]

David;

I replaced my pole jumper cable with 1/0, as 2/0 was too stiff and I wanted a slight bend in it. I just routed my cables back the way they came out. I recall my long cable routed over the bell housing, etc the way Charles mentioned. I just made sure my replacement cable was all tidied up and secure in those bendable wire supports. The old cables were just hanging by their own devices under the frame and I think that contributed to the problems I had. Not to mention the fact that the cables were badly corroded.

The only real issue I noticed with the long cable routing was where it rides close to the rear of the block near the starter switch. I added some shrink tubing to this area to prevent any rub through from vibrations.