Check some of your local truck electric shops, cables like these are commonplace on class-8 trucks, or you can use lugs and military terminals.

Systems using 6-volt batteries are always big cables because of the high currents involved.

 

Right now I just finished cleaning and redoing the clamp type universal cable ends for the second time. I'm compiling a wish list of tools needed to do this one thing. I have lots of tools and I love tools. Being able to do something myself is worth the cost of tools even though I may only use a certain tool once I usually still save in terms of time and money. I'd much rather buy the cable and the ends and the tools and do the job the way I want it done than to buy finished cables that "almost fit". I'm sure you feel the same way. When I die my wife will have a huge yard sale and make a lot of money just selling my tools. That makes me happy.

 

I hear you.

I want to beat my Fathers record, after everything was all said and done ( we took what we wanted ), we covered 4-1/2 acres of rows of tools and guy "stuff"............. Everything from Dynamite hole bores to WW2 B17 radios.

I have a little ways to go, I only have a 2400 SF Morton building, a 1008 SF Garage, a Barn and a Grainery stuffed full so far.......

 

Man! I wanna go to your house!

 

Believe it or not, it becomes a curse. I KNOW I have one of those around here somewhere.........

The sad thing is, by the time I am ready to get rid of it, people won't be needing it nearly as much.

I have probably 20-25 sets of Muncie 4 speed gearsets, both M20 and 21 gathered up over the years, no they make quality repros, kind of takes the importance of having spare stuff away.

 

Well, I took the truck out for a trip to get groceries. It was dark so the headlights had to be on. The voltmeter kept going from a low of 14.5 volts to at times up to 18.5 volts. The voltage was so high the sterio kept shutting off which I assume is a safety circuit of some sort in it because it would come back on when the voltage went down.

I changed the VR Sunday thinking it was defective but I seem to have the same problem. I think I'll try a heavy duty ground from the alternator to the VR ground on the firewall. AFAIK the only other ground is the short piece of 12 gauge from the battery minus to the radiator support.

Stay tuned.

Edwin

 

I went to home depot and I got 2 feet of #4 copper and some lugs. I removed the #12 wire from the battery minus to the radiator support and I installed about 1 foot of #4 from the battery minus to the Fender bolt on top of the radiator support. I cleaned the paint off so the metal was nice and bright.

I started the truck and it made no difference in the charging voltage. It still varies all over the place from 14.5 to almost 20 volts!

I measured the voltage going into the VR on the firewall and the case of the VR and it was the same. I measured the voltage drop between the battery minus and the case of the VR and it's a whopping .07 volts. that's 7/100 volts!

Does anyone what's going on in these POS voltage regulators? IS it not grounding in the case of the VR or is it grounding in the alternator?

My alternator is grounded to the engine block with it's factory ground wire. The engine block is connected to battery minus with a 4/0 cable as big as my thumb!

Edwin

 

Copper anti-seize. It's conductive and keeps the corrosion out.