Enter your username:
Do you want to login or register?
  • Forgot your password?

    Login / Register



    Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 1 2
    Results 21 to 24 of 24
    1. #21
      Join Date
      Nov 2011
      Location
      Wylie, Texas
      Posts
      279
      Country Flag: United States
      Other electrical components like the cooling fans actually don't matter much when it comes to sizing the starter wire size. The current from these components are just a fraction of what the starter is going to use during cranking plus it's the alternator that will be providing the majority if not all the current for these devices.

      I thought you guys might like this. I plotted a graph of my engine starting. Just for fun I connected my meter directly to the battery posts and across the negative battery cable which is only about 12 inches long. This way I can monitor the battery voltage and the battery current simultaneously. I'm using the negative battery cable as a resistor shunt much like the car's amp meter does.

      I have a trunk mounted battery using 1/0 gauge wire and my engine is a LSA which has 9.1 compression ratio and the starter is a Summit branded LS starter. As you can see in the graph my battery voltage (blue line) dropped to around 10.7V during cranking. You can also see how the alternator starts producing power as the battery voltage rises to around 14V and the current (red line) to the battery reverses (starts at 0V then up to 0.13V then back down to -0.005V to charge the battery).

      To answer the original question, my opinion is that 1 gauge wire will also work fine.

    2. #22
      Join Date
      Nov 2006
      Location
      Mountain Springs, Texas
      Posts
      4,488
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by blitzer454 View Post
      Other electrical components like the cooling fans actually don't matter much when it comes to sizing the starter wire size. The current from these components are just a fraction of what the starter is going to use during cranking plus it's the alternator that will be providing the majority if not all the current for these devices.

      I thought you guys might like this. I plotted a graph of my engine starting. Just for fun I connected my meter directly to the battery posts and across the negative battery cable which is only about 12 inches long. This way I can monitor the battery voltage and the battery current simultaneously. I'm using the negative battery cable as a resistor shunt much like the car's amp meter does.



      I have a trunk mounted battery using 1/0 gauge wire and my engine is a LSA which has 9.1 compression ratio and the starter is a Summit branded LS starter. As you can see in the graph my battery voltage (blue line) dropped to around 10.7V during cranking. You can also see how the alternator starts producing power as the battery voltage rises to around 14V and the current (red line) to the battery reverses (starts at 0V then up to 0.13V then back down to -0.005V to charge the battery).

      To answer the original question, my opinion is that 1 gauge wire will also work fine.
      Awesome. Way to bring it....

      Don
      1969 Camaro - LSA 6L90E AME sub/IRS
      1957 Buick Estate Wagon
      1959 El Camino - Ironworks frame
      1956 Cameo - full C5 suspension/drivetrain
      1959 Apache Fleetside


    3. #23
      Join Date
      May 2019
      Location
      Pensacola,Fl.
      Posts
      27
      Size for size, marine cable won't handle more amperage than it's non marine counterpart or so much so that it's really measurable. The value in marine is that there won't be corrosion issues.
      Not exactly.....Marine cable is AWG....If your comparing the same gauge & AWG cable then I agree.....But....If you compare it to the same gauge and SAE cable then No. The SAE cable is stiffer.....Why is it stiffer? Because it has larger wires in its make up. Now Current travels on the outside of each wire....Smaller wires but more of them will handle a larger amount of current at the same gauge. So AWG is more flexible and it will handle more current than SAE. Marine cable is not only tinned...But it has a Much better insulation on it.....I buy a LOT of it in rewiring boats.

    4. #24
      Join Date
      Nov 2006
      Location
      Mountain Springs, Texas
      Posts
      4,488
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by Warthog5 View Post
      Now Current travels on the outside of each wire...
      I am guessing the “skin effect” is negligible for battery cables. Pretty sure it doesn’t occur with DC...

      Skin effect here:

      https://circuitglobe.com/skin-effect.html

      Don
      1969 Camaro - LSA 6L90E AME sub/IRS
      1957 Buick Estate Wagon
      1959 El Camino - Ironworks frame
      1956 Cameo - full C5 suspension/drivetrain
      1959 Apache Fleetside

    Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 1 2




    Advertise on Pro-Touring.com