Anyone know the positive battery cable wire gauge?

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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 01:41 PM
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Anyone know the positive battery cable wire gauge?

The corrosion from the battery posts has seemingly "infected" the positive battery cable itself. I have a universal clamp on there now that is holding fine, but there is still corrosion coming from the copper part of the cable.

Instead of spending $100 on a whole replacement cable, I was thinking of something like this:
Deka Post Terminal Battery Cable Splice 08864 Top Dual - Amazon.com Deka Post Terminal Battery Cable Splice 08864 Top Dual - Amazon.com

Whats the gauge of the wires coming into the stock postive post clamp? I *think* they will fit, but was wondering if anyone knew the actual size (the part Im looking at is good for as large as 4 ga)

Thanks in advance.

-Chris
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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 02:17 PM
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Do ya have enough slack in the cable to be able to cut off the "infected" end to replace the battery terminal's post clamp with a new one ?
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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by 3.2TLc
Do ya have enough slack in the cable to be able to cut off the "infected" end to replace the battery terminal's post clamp with a new one ?
Probably, but after seeing the 2 large cables come into one right at the clamp, I was worried any regular universal clamp wont hold them reliably. The only reason its working well now is because I just cut the ring portion off the old clamp, leaving the brass part where the factory clamps the 2 power leads together. Then I clamped that portion into the universal.

Plus since the cables seem to have corrosion in them, I figured Im better off cutting them back a few inches and inserting into that splice setup (which has about 6" of cable dangling from the clamp, to make up for whatever I cut back)
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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 02:39 PM
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I recently ran into the same issue....except it was the negative ground wire from the battery. Check some auto parts stores or battery wholesalers for replacement battery cables and clamps. I made my own and used an "oversized" Fleet Terminal type for the post clamp. It'll allow the ends of two wires to be installed into it.
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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 02:54 PM
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Originally Posted by 3.2TLc
I recently ran into the same issue....except it was the negative ground wire from the battery. Check some auto parts stores or battery wholesalers for replacement battery cables and clamps. I made my own and used an "oversized" Fleet Terminal type for the post clamp. It'll allow the ends of two wires to be installed into it.
Havent found anything locally that I would trust to hold 2 large cables. What did you use?

If I knew the wire gauge of the positive cables, I might be able to get a car audio type clamp that has 2 outputs. But most Ive found are for a max of 4ga wire, which is fine if thats what the stock wires are.
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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 04:12 PM
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To answer the OP the OEM cable wire is 6 AWG..
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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 04:46 PM
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The "oversized" Fleet Terminal was an Autocraft brand which was purchased from Advance Auto.
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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 05:20 PM
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Get a thick stranded wire cable from a car audio shop cut to your length. I installed 0-gauge for all the negative and positive cables. Soldered larger terminals on them with a blow torch and plumbing solder. Got 30ft of 0-gauge Chinese copper stranded cable for $40 online.
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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 05:35 PM
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Originally Posted by victus1
Get a thick stranded wire cable from a car audio shop cut to your length. I installed 0-gauge for all the negative and positive cables. Soldered larger terminals on them with a blow torch and plumbing solder. Got 30ft of 0-gauge Chinese copper stranded cable for $40 online.
I thought about this. The problem still remains: I would need a way to connect both positives to the battery. What did you use? Because thats all I really need to keep the existing cables, just the connector to reliably get 2 of them onto the single battery post.
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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 05:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Skirmich
To answer the OP the OEM cable wire is 6 AWG..
Thanks!

Originally Posted by 3.2TLc
The "oversized" Fleet Terminal was an Autocraft brand which was purchased from Advance Auto.
Thanks!
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Old Jan 8, 2014 | 08:26 PM
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There are lots of different styles of battery post connectors that will accept multiple terminals. If you want, drop into a car audio store and they will give you one that solves your particular issue.

But here's what I used:
http://images.gasgoo.com/MiMgIzQ0MTk...nal-a104-2.jpg

I removed the wing nut and got a regular hex nut from Home Depot along with a washer so I can tighten the multiple terminals on there for good contact. This setup is much cheaper than fancy car audio terminals and allows me to connect multiple runs of power cables for my audio system....among other things.

Last edited by victus1; Jan 8, 2014 at 08:28 PM.
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