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    Results 1 to 14 of 14
    1. #1
      Join Date
      Mar 2005
      Location
      Wisconsin
      Posts
      213
      Country Flag: United States

      Remote starter solenoid vs in-line Mega Fuse

      I'm sure this has been debated before..... I've relocated my battery to my trunk and have a #1 cable running to a bulkhead at the firewall. Thinking I want to put some degree of protection on this large cable in the event of a short/overload. I've seen the Ford style solenoid in the truck, but wondered if an in-line Mega fuse (300 AMP) or circuit breaker would be sufficient. I see that DSE used the Mega fuse on one of their builds........ any input would be appreciated.
      Used to be known as classiccamaro

    2. #2
      Join Date
      Sep 2010
      Location
      Beach Park IL
      Posts
      2,838
      Country Flag: United States
      Has anyone seen the fuse on the battery cable on new cars with trunk mounted batteries? Asking seriously.

      You can use the remote solenoid but now you need a 6 or 4 gauge wire for charge back and have to fuse that anyways and IF your battery cable shorts, you still have no protection on that cable when you hit the key. And then there is the starter run on issues that you have with LS starters as well.
      Donny

      Support your local hot rod shop!

    3. #3
      Join Date
      May 2014
      Location
      Stanislaus County Ca.
      Posts
      176
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by dontlifttoshift View Post
      Has anyone seen the fuse on the battery cable on new cars with trunk mounted batteries? Asking seriously.

      You can use the remote solenoid but now you need a 6 or 4 gauge wire for charge back and have to fuse that anyways and IF your battery cable shorts, you still have no protection on that cable when you hit the key. And then there is the starter run on issues that you have with LS starters as well.

      The only thing I can add is the new cars chase for the cable is designed to protect it.

      As for the battery charge cable, the battery only really needs a trickle charge once the alternator is spinning. 4 or even 6 is overkill for that unless you have other power eaters running off that cable. Everything should be running off the alternator and it's distribution point once the engine fires up,no power flowing out of the battery at that point,just enough inflow to charge the battery.

      But, bigger is always better I guess.

      Edit: I guess most people are hooking ECU and all kinds of other stuff to the battery nowadays though, but are new cars hooking all that stuff to their trunk mounted batteries

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Sep 2010
      Location
      Beach Park IL
      Posts
      2,838
      Country Flag: United States
      Yeah, I try to keep stuff off the battery but ECUs and various controllers like to see battery connection. It acts as a buffer between voltage spikes out of the alternator and as an accumulator during high load situations.

      There is no reason, with some planning, that a large battery cable can not be routed safely through the passenger compartment.
      Donny

      Support your local hot rod shop!

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Jan 2018
      Location
      Saint Louis, Missouri
      Posts
      87
      Quote Originally Posted by dontlifttoshift View Post
      Has anyone seen the fuse on the battery cable on new cars with trunk mounted batteries? Asking seriously.

      You can use the remote solenoid but now you need a 6 or 4 gauge wire for charge back and have to fuse that anyways and IF your battery cable shorts, you still have no protection on that cable when you hit the key. And then there is the starter run on issues that you have with LS starters as well.
      I have seen pictures and factory drawings but I don't get to look at many Jag's where I work.







      And a disconnect that blows apart if the vehicles air bags are tripped:





      Personally I would rather see a properly sized fuse or circuit breaker on any wire off of a source of power and not have just a master on/off switch. Fuses and circuit breakers will open when a fault is detected but a master on/off switch that requires someone to turn it off or on to me is not really safety device. It will stop the flow of power past it if turned off BUT one has to turn the thing off.

      Jim

    6. #6
      Join Date
      May 2014
      Location
      Stanislaus County Ca.
      Posts
      176
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by Jim Streib View Post
      I have seen pictures and factory drawings but I don't get to look at many Jag's where I work.







      And a disconnect that blows apart if the vehicles air bags are tripped:





      Personally I would rather see a properly sized fuse or circuit breaker on any wire off of a source of power and not have just a master on/off switch. Fuses and circuit breakers will open when a fault is detected but a master on/off switch that requires someone to turn it off or on to me is not really safety device. It will stop the flow of power past it if turned off BUT one has to turn the thing off.

      Jim
      I never really thought about running a couple of fuses in parallel to double the capacity.

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Jan 2018
      Location
      Saint Louis, Missouri
      Posts
      87
      They do it all the time with some car audio amplifiers when the fuses are mounted on an end. There might be 3-30A fuses or more which if there were 3-30A, then the total fusing would be 90A if they were all in parallel.

      One thing to watch is fuse holders also have ratings, Even though an ANL style fuse holder could hold 2-500A stacked fuses on top of each other, I really doubt the holder would have a 1000A rating.

      Jim

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Dec 2018
      Posts
      25
      I've seen quite a few alternator setups with 2 parallel 80 a fuses in a fuse box vs running a single 175 a mega fuse (like lots of Fords). Chrysler did it for years, as far back as mid 90s Grand Cherokees.
      Quote Originally Posted by Jim Streib View Post
      They do it all the time with some car audio amplifiers when the fuses are mounted on an end. There might be 3-30A fuses or more which if there were 3-30A, then the total fusing would be 90A if they were all in parallel.

      One thing to watch is fuse holders also have ratings, Even though an ANL style fuse holder could hold 2-500A stacked fuses on top of each other, I really doubt the holder would have a 1000A rating.

      Jim

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Sep 2010
      Location
      Beach Park IL
      Posts
      2,838
      Country Flag: United States
      I'm not sure Jaguar is the gold standard for electrical reliability. Insert your favorite Lucas joke here:_____________
      Donny

      Support your local hot rod shop!

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Apr 2006
      Location
      Atlanta, GA
      Posts
      128
      The fuse's job is to BLOW before the wire melts-that's it's only job. So pick the fuse for the SIZE of the wire-

      Name:  fusewire size.jpg
Views: 628
Size:  15.7 KB

      Here's a great example of how to wire a battery in the trunk- as done by BMW.

      Notice the separate fuse panels- a great idea- same concept as sub panels at your home/shop/pool.



      Name:  E53 X5 Positive Battery Cable Connections Diagram.jpg
Views: 697
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      Notice the high current - starter-alternator run on their own leg back to the battery. Remember - if the alternator shorts out- it just quits working- the battery is a different story-

      See how long you can hold a screwdriver across a battery terminal- then try it on your alternator (NO-don't!!!)

      The screwdriver in the battery- it'll probably melt- the alternator- will send out a puff of smoke and quit working.


      I like these- marine quality stuff - made by Blue Sea- and not expensive

      Name:  124282535_vpazt13f_41730e076ecf8ad99f68b0047cf97a0c0c93db73.jpg
Views: 631
Size:  64.1 KB

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      Attachment 178568

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Mar 2005
      Location
      Wisconsin
      Posts
      213
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by Richard454 View Post
      The fuse's job is to BLOW before the wire melts-that's it's only job. So pick the fuse for the SIZE of the wire-

      Name:  fusewire size.jpg
Views: 628
Size:  15.7 KB

      Here's a great example of how to wire a battery in the trunk- as done by BMW.

      Notice the separate fuse panels- a great idea- same concept as sub panels at your home/shop/pool.



      Name:  E53 X5 Positive Battery Cable Connections Diagram.jpg
Views: 697
Size:  36.5 KB


      Notice the high current - starter-alternator run on their own leg back to the battery. Remember - if the alternator shorts out- it just quits working- the battery is a different story-

      See how long you can hold a screwdriver across a battery terminal- then try it on your alternator (NO-don't!!!)

      The screwdriver in the battery- it'll probably melt- the alternator- will send out a puff of smoke and quit working.


      I like these- marine quality stuff - made by Blue Sea- and not expensive

      Name:  124282535_vpazt13f_41730e076ecf8ad99f68b0047cf97a0c0c93db73.jpg
Views: 631
Size:  64.1 KB

      Name:  59097_14c5242993f7d2089f9558151fae69408a055d0c.jpg
Views: 631
Size:  42.1 KB

      Attachment 178568
      These Marine fuses look nice and compact..... I wonder what amperage they can handle... would they stand up to the Amperage of an optima battery starting an LT Engine?? I'm leaning towards an in-line mega fuse of some kind, but wonder if it "blow" when starting the car??
      Used to be known as classiccamaro

    12. #12
      Join Date
      Jan 2018
      Location
      Saint Louis, Missouri
      Posts
      87
      From what I have seen, the cube fuses range from 30A up to 300A.

      Below is also a product sheet and shows the characteristics of the fuse like how it will pass a percentage of it's rating for so long before it opens. For an example, and the chart is kinda small but it looks like if you have a 300A fuse, it will pass 200% of it's rating for 10 seconds before it blows. This would have it passing 600A for 10 seconds which should be MORE than enough amperage and time to crank over some LS motor PROVIDING one does not skimp on the power wire and ground wire between the starter and the battery. If you look further at the chart it looks like the percentage never goes below maybe 120% at 1000 seconds so this would allow the 300A fuse to pass 360A for over 15 minutes. Hopefully my math is right)



      I just bought one of the cube fuses and holder and it was right around $26.00 to my door.

      Jim

    13. #13
      Join Date
      Apr 2006
      Location
      Atlanta, GA
      Posts
      128
      I know several that are running these-

      My buddy's running a 200A fuse- after installing a new distributor with timing too advanced- the fuse did blow.

      Backed off the timing- put a 200A back in and hasn't had an issue since.

      It is good to know in a real world situation that the fuse did keep his starter/cable from damage.

      Running 1/0 gauge- I'd start out with a 200A.

      Richard

    14. #14
      Join Date
      Sep 2016
      Location
      Bakersfield, CA
      Posts
      603
      Country Flag: United States
      I run a 250AMP Bussman fuse.

      http://www.TheFOAT.com/92GTA
      1969 Pontiac Firebird
      w/535ci IAII aluminum block, Dailey dry sump, Holley EFI (full road race build). Primer black w/black interior.
      1992 Pontiac Trans Am GTA w/SLP Performance Package. Dark Jade Grey Metallic, grey leather, T-Tops.






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