Trunk mounted battery
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 136
Likes: 1
From: Nebraska
Ok so I got the optima red top all mounted in the trunk. I have it grounded to the body of the car. I went to phoenix welding supply and got 13 ft of 1 aught welding cable and now I'm not sure what it is supposed to connect to after the positive on the battery. I'm not good with reading wiring diagrams so I'm wondering for those that mounted the battery in the trunk, how did you wire it up? And did you run the cable inside or outside the car? And pics of the set up would be great
- Battery to body (You got that)
- Body to frame
- Body to engine
- Frame to engine
An additional negative cable direct from battery to engine isn't a bad idea either. The more connections the power has to flow through, the more resistance and greater chance of disconnect. Remember the drivetrain, body, frame all have rubber mounts between them. What I suggest may be overkill, but it will keep you from having weird electrical problems.
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 136
Likes: 1
From: Nebraska
Myself for sure and I'm pretty sure the OP are not building track race cars that need to adhere to NHRA rules. Many people move their batteries to the rear without a sealed box or external kill switch. The current Camaro has a lead-acid battery in the rear without a sealed box which is certainly not sealed from the passenger compartment.
actually you're not only moving 40 lbs to the trunk but also adding heavy weight 1 or 2 guage wire. i also have a dd that i take to the stip maybe once every 2 months. lightweight 9 lb battery off ebay for $37 & works perfect starts my car up as if it were a 35 lb 700cca battery, yet i REMOVED about 22 lbs & added no heavy wiring, & when i do go to the track i'm perfectly legal. you guys on the other hand, unless your battery is in a sealed box & has the proper cutoff switch, will not get to run your car if you decide to go to the strip. just my 2 cents
I would also suggest using a 4 post cutoff switch with a feed running to the alternator. The diagram posted earlier with a 2 post switch would leave the 4 GA wire running to the alternator hot, which would not be a good thing if you ruptured a fuel line and that wire found a way to spark against the chassis. You could also use a bulkhead to isolate the trunk instead of a sealed/vented box. NHRA rules don't specify the difference between sealed and non-sealed batteries anymore, they're all treated the same.
I'd rather just run a lightweight up front personally. No additional wiring, no holes drilled, no box, no cut off switch, no vent, etc. If you're truly concerned with DDing a small battery, swap in your regular size for everyday use and swap in the smaller one when hitting the track.
Also you don't have to worry about some jackass yanking on your kill switch when the car is left parked.
Also you don't have to worry about some jackass yanking on your kill switch when the car is left parked.
actually you're not only moving 40 lbs to the trunk but also adding heavy weight 1 or 2 guage wire. i also have a dd that i take to the stip maybe once every 2 months. lightweight 9 lb battery off ebay for $37 & works perfect starts my car up as if it were a 35 lb 700cca battery, yet i REMOVED about 22 lbs & added no heavy wiring, & when i do go to the track i'm perfectly legal. you guys on the other hand, unless your battery is in a sealed box & has the proper cutoff switch, will not get to run your car if you decide to go to the strip. just my 2 cents
I mounted my cutoff on the rear facia?(the pice above the bumper cover that says Camaro. I ran my ground to the trear upper seatbelt lug. hasa noce spot to attach. I ran my hot under the hood on to p of the frame rail using a heavy isolated lug. From there I can run to the other hot lug and the starter. il run a heavy ground from engine to frame when I get the engine in. Ran wire from the alt to the live side of the cutoff switch in the rear
