I just got some military style battery clamps because one of my clamps finally split in half. I want to crimp or solder new lugs onto the stock battery cables, but I can't figure out what size lugs to order.

Could someone who has replaced the battery clamps and reused the stock battery cable please tell me what size the stock battery cable is so I can order the right lugs.

I found some older threads on this, but some say the cables are 1/0 and others 2/0.

Thanks,

 

Sorry can't help with size but don't solder them.
Under heavy load the cables will heat up and melt the solder.

 

My '01 FSM shows that the Ground cables and the Batt to Batt (+) cable is 0. The cable from the Batt to the starter motor is shown as 00.

 

PM 98whitelightnin he has military style terminals and should be able to help you out. make sure to post the answers though.

 

That is correct. The only big cable is from the driver side battery to the starter.

I replaced the power feed to the PDC with a complete new cable. The old one was too short to CRIMP a new lug.

Use a high quality lug and CRIMP it in place, I used a Greenlee Gator. Get some high grade shrink sleeve and seal the insulation to the lug. If you get a lug that opens on the terminal side use liquid tape to seal it up. You have to keep air out of the crimp or it will corode.

I could not believe the difference in battery corrosion after changing to the military clamps. The OEM junk wasn't holding it tight and is a big cause of the corrosion.

 

Thanks for the responses.

It seems that AWG wire increases in size from #1 to 1/0, and then 2/0. I don't see any lugs for size 0 or 0/0. I think 0 is the same as 1/0? but what is size 00?

Maybe I'll just replace all the battery cable--that's what I wanted to do initially, but money is tight right now. I just replaced the batteries a couple months ago and there's already corrosion, plus the old clamps don't fit right.

I can get 25' of 2/0 welding cable for about $60. Does anyone know if 25' would be enough to replace all the cable? And should I use 2/0, or would 1/0 be strong enough (it's about $15 cheaper for a 25' piece).

I didn't realize that the cables would get hot enough to melt solder. Thanks for that tip, I'll get them crimped. My brother is an auto mechanic for a steel company, and they should have a good crimper out there for making welding cable.

I'm really surprised that there's not more posts or even a good writeup with pictures on doing this repair.

 

You count the zeros, 2/0 is really 00, 3/0 is 000, etc.

 

Ok, thanks very much. I thought that 0 was the same as 1/0, but didn't extend that to 00 being the same as 2/0...hadn't had enough coffee yet.

I might ride out to Tractor Supply today to try and get what I need.

 

0 is the same as 1/0
00 is the same as 2/0
It is just the way some people refer to 1 ought & 2 ought wire.

Similar to #2 or 2 AWG

I used 2/0 for eveerything on the cables I made for people. You need 7 of the 3/8 lugs and one 1/2" for the starter

 

Local TSC didnt have squat for electrical. However, local Case-IH-NH dealer stocks all the parts to make cables. A Carquest store also makes cables, but they don't go past 1/0

 

As well, the crimped connection has suprisingly lower resistance and is more vibration resistant.

The lengths are all here:

http://custombatterycables.com/appli.../dodge_ram.htm

These guys also sell everything that you will need (for very reasonable prices).


I replaced all of mine with 2/0 welding cable and military clamps - the 2/0 for the grounds is overkill though. Probably only need to do your +'s. I would use the extra heavy wall heat shrink (the kind with adhesive on the inside). This will give you an idea of what it looks like:

 

Perfect. Thank you. That's great that they have the drawings and everything on there. Price for their pre-made cables is really not bad, but I'm going to try and do it myself cheaper.

What did you use to crimp the lugs? I was looking at an inexpensive hammer crimper. Did you use something like that, or did you find a professional one that uses different size dies?

 

At the time, I was working in a power plant so I had access to a Thomas & Betts crimper.

The hammer crimpers arent supposed to do a very good job. I would suggest renting a proper crimper from a tool rental place or even cut your cables and go to a electrical contractor that does industrial electrical construction/maintenance - the might even let you borrow theirs.

 

Consider the fact that you have two batteries in parallel. This gives you twice the ampacity. The two biggest users of current are the starter and the heater grids. Both tied to the engine block. Current has to flow back to the battery so the plus and minus are equally important. Generally you have large amounts of current flowing for short durations, so the insulation can handle this. Also larger cables have less resistance than smaller cables. This means less voltage drop and less heat generated in the cable when current is flowing. Think of battery jumper cables, the ones with smaller wire get hot quickly if they are used for a long period of time. Where the larger diameter cables will not heat up as quickly.
I've made quite a few battery cables using welding cable and not had any problems. The key is good crimps. Also some heat shrink tubing is a plus. I would go with the 2/0 cable. Some may think its an overkill, but you know it will holdup.
For crimping, try a local electrical supplier. Some of them can crimp them for you or tell you where you could get it done.

 

and good connections which is the reason most need new cables.
On the 1/0 versus 2/0 I look at it this way. OEM wiring always seems at least 1 size smaller than I use for my projects.