Battery Cable Repair/Replace

Well, it looks like the bad economy has prompted me to attempt yet another repair that I normally would not have tackled (sorry Woody for not bringing the boat in) without the expert advise from CCFAN member’s on this site.

Only one summer of use and I managed to get the positive battery terminal thoroughly corroded.



Lesson learned…listen to Pete’s advice and inspect these connections periodically and make sure you have these connections coated with dielectric grease.   

Besides the battery, it looks like the previous owners(s) did not pay particular attention to the gauge of wire they selected, let alone did not use tinned copper wires and used poorly crimped connectors (see photo below).



With the help from reading one of Chris’s previous posts, I too found the site that will custom make battery cables to your unique specifications.   



The battery cables I removed were #2 gauge, in my opinion good only to approximately 6 feet.   Perhaps the negative cable length was within this 6 foot length specification. Using the PCM manual as a reference guide I have listed the battery cable size specifications.

Cable Length           Cable Size Required
Upto 3ft. 6in.        #4 Gauge
3ft. 6in. to 6ft.      #2 Gauge
6ft. to 7ft. 6in.      #1 Gauge
7ft. 6in. to 9ft. 6in #0 Gauge
9ft. 6in to 12 ft.     #00 Gauge
12ft. to 15 ft.      1 #000 Gauge
15 ft. to 19 ft.     2 #0000 Gauge

I have included the suppliers I used in this the repair process to perhaps help the next CCFAN member that may be experiencing the same or similar problem. Yes, perhaps there even less expensive components that you can use with different suppliers. These are provided as reference only who I selected for the battery upgrade/repair.

•     1 – Optima Batteries 8002-002 34 RedTop Starting Battery
o      Optima D34 RedTop Starting Battery
o     12-Volt, 800 Cold Cranking Amps, Size: 10" x 6 7/8" x 7 13/16" tall, Weight: 37.9 pounds, SAE Post
o     Unlike the Optima 34/78 The D34 only includes the SAE top post connections.
o     No Sales tax and Free Shipping
o     Some may consider Optima batteries too pricy. Yes there are less expensive batteries at Autozone and other locations that will do the job. I like the Optima batteries they sealed and work well in the marine environment.
•     1- Positive 8’ length Battery Cable ,
o     Marine Battery Cable – Pos
o     #0 AWG Tinned Marine Battery Cable .
o     #0 AWG Tinned Heavy Duty Wall Cu Lug 3/8”
o     #0 AWG Tinned Terminal Elbow – Positive - Left
o     Heat Shrink Red both Ends
o     Note: There are 2 labor charges at $1.00 each for the connector assembly
•     1- Negative 6’ length Battery Cable ,
o     Marine Battery Cable – Neg
o     #0 AWG Tinned Marine Battery Cable BLK .
o     #0 AWG Tinned Heavy Duty Wall Cu Lug 3/8”
o     #0 AWG Tinned Terminal Elbow – Negative - Left
o     Heat Shrink BLK both Ends
o     Note: There are 2 labor charges at $1.00 each for the connector assembly

Because the wires were not tinned, it appears the old battery cables were starting to corrode from the inside.



These are comparison photos between the old battery and the new battery cables.




Starter Relay connection.


Battery Ground connection.


Final assembly and checkout.



Another leasson learned chances are there is previous post from Pete which will help guide you through the repair process. Thanks again Pete, I gained much information from your previous posts. Now back reading about wet sanding and buffing gelcoat…unless of course I could convince one or more CCFAN members to spending a fun filled weekend in FL wet sanding and buffing.

Thanks,
Randy

Chris,

Thanks for the tip on the ground connection improvement.

As a follow-on related repair I replaced the battery cover/toolbox tie down. I thought I would pass on this update. I was unable to throughly tighten the cover tie down due to the poor mount/rusted screws. It appears the screws were not stainless steel or perhaps lower quality stainless as provided by CC or Attwood.    

Using vicegrips I was able to carefully extract the rusted screws.


All of them were rusted like this one.


Following Pete's posted advise, cleaned the holes and applied CPES to the holes, allow time to cure properly.


Final assembly.

Although not original, This West Marine Battery tie down was a direct replacement for the Atwood tie down consequently I could reuse the exact same holes. Yes, I think the Attwood Tie down strap is still available. Be sure to throw away the screws that come with this tie down kit and obtain good quality stainless steel #8 3/4" length screws.


I tighten the screws about 75%-80% allowing time for the 4200 sealant cure and not get forced out completely.




Final assembly tighten screws and cinch the tie down strap.

Foot_Fungus wrote: For you NWZ hullers. You will need 10ft Postive and 8'1" negative of actual cable length PLUS the ends. And yes the 1" will make a difference.

You should mention which year boat you did this for. The 1990-1991 boats will not be the same as the 92+ ones. The later boats got coolers that sit just aft of the batt box so the cables enter from the side. Early boats had no coolers and the cables entered from the rear. That will impact cable length.

TRBenj,

Do you know what length cables I need for my 88sn2001?

Sorry for reviving an ancient post, but the lengths that John (foot fungus) posted above, was that for a 94 Sport or Ski? I'm ordering new cables for my 96 Sport and am tried to roughly measure tonight. I rounded up where I couldn't get a tape in, and got about 15' for the positive. I'm wondering if I rounded up too much....

Jonny Quest wrote: I went with 0/1 and they fit fine.  Give yourself enough length for nice radius bends.   JQ

Just tie a rope to the end so as you pull it the rope follows, then use the rope for pulling the new cable.

KENO wrote: Jonny Quest wrote: I went with 0/1 and they fit fine.  Give yourself enough length for nice radius bends.   JQ What is this 0/1 size that doesn't seem to show up on any battery cable size charts?