Elrod's 5.0 Revival

[ttocs]

if it didn't hit it now it would when it was on the ground and the strut was compresses. Glad I could help as that would be a mess. Depending on how low your car is going to be you might want to try and get all the wires tied up above that lip just under the fender line. When the wheels compressed I have seen others actually drag that harness and cause problems.

 

[ElrodKTPQ_89]

The harness was already tied up there the first time around and I didn’t have any problems out of it so I hope it stays that way this time as well. The rest of the main harness is running on the bottom of the core support underneath the radiator. Other than extending a couple of wires I still need a new starter cable and to make a new harness for the alternator.

 

[BMAC96GT]

The harness was already tied up there the first time around and I didn’t have any problems out of it so I hope it stays that way this time as well. The rest of the main harness is running on the bottom of the core support underneath the radiator. Other than extending a couple of wires I still need a new starter cable and to make a new harness for the alternator.

Dang it. Im gonna have to check mine for this now

 

[ttocs]

Dang it. Im gonna have to check mine for this now

I think its only a problem on cars that are just slammed to the point of nearly being undrivable. I have part of mine tied under it and even with it aired out it still clears it and I would never drive it all the way down anyway. I am not sure if it was a case where some zip ties failed and it fell down, I just remember the pic of a wire harness that had been rubbed away by the tire and it was not pretty. For a OCD wire person like me you can't get images like that out of your head...

 

[ElrodKTPQ_89]

My car was pretty damn low but still perfectly drivable even on our shitty roads around here. I rubbed a small hole in the splash shield but that was the only point of contact and nothing was in harm’s way there. This time around I’m probably gonna have the front raised up just a little more than before just to get some extra clearance for my long tubes.

 

[ElrodKTPQ_89]

Can someone give me some insight into the best way to do my battery relocation? I don’t plan on running a killswitch, maybe down the road but if so I’ll get to that when the time comes. For now I simply want to put the battery in the trunk and make everything work the same way it did before. Take into consideration the wire tuck I’m working on and I’m gonna have to make a new wire to the alternator and the starter as well as the positive cable from the battery itself.

I know in the stock configuration, power came from the + side of the battery with one cable going directly to the starter and another smaller wire splitting off at the positive terminal and going to the fuse box, with the alternator wire also coming off the fuse box.

So with the battery in the trunk, would it work if I were to run a (1/0) cable from the battery in the trunk, to a distribution block mounted somewhere on the driver inner fender, and then from the distribution block make a new cable that goes to the fuse box, alternator, and starter? Here’s the distribution block I have, it has (1) 1/0 feed on one side and (4) spaces on the output side for sizes 4-8AWG.

I’ve read dozens of different threads with dozens of different approaches to what is the best way to configure a battery relocation setup. I just want simple and to retain functionality of everything as it was before. Would there be any need to add fuses anywhere on the output side of the dist. block such as on the wire feeding the alternator? And what about a manual reset circuit breaker mounted on the battery box for the positive cable? Is it a must-have and if so what amp rating would be ideal? A thread I found on here suggested a 200 amp breaker to be used as close to the battery as possible.

Thanks for any help in advance. This is one of the big items that I wanna get crossed off soon and it’s been puzzling me for a long time now.

 

[ttocs]

Mine is all weird because of the dual battery system and all the dumb extra crap I added, I don't see any reason you can't just run the 1/0 from the fuse box to the battery in the back, and then run the starter wire with a ring terminal from the fuse box as well. As for fusing/breakers the first rule is 12" from the battery. After that if you did run it like I said you would want to put a fuse or fusable link in the starter wire. Because of the current draw the stock cable I though had a fusable link on it somewhere but when I reran mine I think I started with a 100A fuse which it popped pretty quick and I was not surprised. I bumped it up to a 125 and that lasted for a good while till one day it popped. I think I have a 150 amp in it now.

 

[lwarrior1016]

Easy way, battery in the trunk, + and - from battery up to starter (+) and engine block (-). Run fuse box to starter and alternator to starter. Run a ground from block to chassis, then reground all the grounds you had before (core support grounds).

 

[lwarrior1016]

The main problem I see with the starter coming from that distribution block is that the battery is all the way in the back and you’re going to get some current drop, then you’re running 4ga from the block to the starter, which would be ok if the battery was close. I would suggest the 1/0 going from the battery straight to the starter. I ran my power and ground from the battery with 4/0 cables.

 

[evilcw311]

Yeah got to battery first then distribute from there. Starts can pull 250amps of current which needs a big power wire at that distance. The distribution block is more trouble than its worth.


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[ttocs]

The main problem I see with the starter coming from that distribution block is that the battery is all the way in the back and you’re going to get some current drop, then you’re running 4ga from the block to the starter, which would be ok if the battery was close. I would suggest the 1/0 going from the battery straight to the starter. I ran my power and ground from the battery with 4/0 cables.

I have my system wired up the way he is talking about basically with a fused dist block in the fender that splits it off to 4 awg and to the starter. There is a voltage drop but its never been enough to keep the starter from turning fast enough. My only concern with going to the starter and then splitting it off is the location of the headers so close. If he was doing shorty's it could work but if he is running long tubes I would not recommend running the 0 awg in and 4 out just for the space concerns. If you do go this way be sure to put a fuse on the 4 awg as close as possible to the split. If the 4 awg shorts out and there is not a separate fuse it going to make a lot of sparks and smoke.

 

[ElrodKTPQ_89]

Scott you’re right about one of the cables having a fusible link, but it’s on the alternator not the starter. And we’re also on the same page about not wanting a mass of cables all landing at the starter and splitting off from there especially with the headers. I’m trying to not only keep it as neat as possible but prevent anything from getting damaged as well. Also not wanting to have to land a bunch of cables on the fuse box. From the factory there were only two, power from the battery, and power to the alternator...with the starter wire also coming from the battery. In my head the way I described it first made the most sense to me because it was almost a replication of the factory wiring.

With the fuse box moved forward, the wire I have now (4awg) is not quite long enough to reach, that’s why I was thinking of using the distribution block mounted back closer to the fire wall to give me the extra length I needed. Ideally I want to route the starter and alternator wire from the driver side fender, that would keep it neat and up above the headers and I could use the bracket on the top of the bellhousing to secure the wiring harness to.

I could also do it this way I suppose: 1/0 feeding straight to the fuse box, another short 1/0 from the fuse box to the block, then 4awg from the block to the alternator and starter. That would minimize the cables in the engine bay as well as keeping it restricted to only two terminations at the fuse box.

@lwarrior1016 I also agree with you that does sound like the simplest solution. But isn’t the rule with grounds to keep them as short as possible as well? My plan for the ground was to come off the (-) side of the battery thru the trunk floor to a spot on the chassis...whether it be something like the quad shock mount or I could weld a stud to the chassis strictly for the ground. And of course still make a good ground from the block to the chassis as well.

 

[ElrodKTPQ_89]

Crude diagrams of what has been discussed so far.

Stock:

(Sorry for any confusion if it looks like the starter cable breaks at the alternator, it doesn’t)

My routing idea:

(Haha, it says ‘aternator’)

LWarrior’s idea (correct me if I understood you wrong):

 

[ttocs]

looking at my manual I am surprised to agree that there is not a fusable link on the starter wire. Also agree that grounds just need to be kept as short as possible. I welded a stud to some scrap metal I had laying around and then welded that to the trunk floor for mine.

 

[ElrodKTPQ_89]

looking at my manual I am surprised to agree that there is not a fusable link on the starter wire. Also agree that grounds just need to be kept as short as possible. I welded a stud to some scrap metal I had laying around and then welded that to the trunk floor for mine.

So as long as I add a fuse or fusible link to my alternator wire, would my routing idea still work for me?

 

[ttocs]

I don't see a problem with any of the diagrams above really its just about where/how you want to run the wires.

 

[ElrodKTPQ_89]

Holy shit I haven’t updated this in over a year. Swear I didn’t think it had been this long. I may come back and fill in some pictures later on but for now here’s a quick recap of the past year. (These will probably get out of order at some point here).

Got tired of fighting with my old exhaust and bought an X pipe for longtubes. Installed it.

Bought an Innovate LC-2 wideband kit.

Picked up a dash out of a 98 car from a junkyard, cleaned and painted it black.

Acquired a bunch of free battery cable (3/0 & 4AWG) from a friend which came out to be just enough to complete my battery relocation.

All (as in alllllllll) wiring is complete.

All of the interior is back together.

One muffler is on, the other is waiting to be reinstalled.

Radiator and hoses are in, and radiator has been filled.

Tossed the old abs unit in the dumpster and bought a delete block instead.

Ran what few vacuum lines I had left including one for the new MAP sensor for the MicroSquirt.

Bought a used 94-95 Cobra cluster which was close in mileage to my stock cluster. Also let my OCD take over and bought new AutoMeter Phantom water temp and oil pressure gauges so they would match the new cluster.

Today I finally finished my battery box install and put all of my trunk panels and liner back in. I need to get some better pictures of things tomorrow but it came out really clean in my opinion. (Except for everything being absolutely covered in dust.)

Still need to bleed the brakes.

Also bought a new power steering pump, haven’t filled it yet.

Found the right length belt after a few trips back and forth to town.

At this point currently, I’m so close to being able to start the car yet so far away at the same time. I went and got a laptop a couple weeks ago. Downloaded TunerStudio. Hooked everything up per the instructions I was given but my laptop is unable to detect the MicroSquirt computer which is keeping me from moving forward. The USB to Serial cable adapter is my issue, and I don’t know enough about computers anymore to figure out how to fix it so I’m dead in the water until I can get this crap all sorted out. Hopefully though once that’s all fixed, I’ll be able to set up a project on TunerStudio and start tuning and try to finally fire it up.

 

[ttocs]

usb to serial? I thought they were more recent then that....

 

[ElrodKTPQ_89]

usb to serial? I thought they were more recent then that....

Apparently not. I’ve been talking to Keith Varin about everything and he says that the cable I have has issues with Windows 10. Well it’s looking like the new cable I just got in the mail today is having the same problems.

This is what I get.

You’re supposed to connect everything, open up TunerStudios and click ‘Create new project,’ enter a project name then click to detect and the laptop will sync to the MicroSquirt ecu. This is as far as I’ve made it.

 

[evilcw311]

It’s possibly a port issue. Each of your USB’s have a specific port number and when using a usb to serial most softwares need to know which port it is.

Anything after that I’m of no help. I hate windows 10 and refuse to use it. [emoji38]


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