Battery Cables - Making Your Own

[Lighthouse]

Another fantastic photo essay from Maine Sailing:

Making Your Own Battery Cables

[redbopeep]

Originally Posted by Lighthouse

Another fantastic photo essay from Maine Sailing:

Making Your Own Battery Cables

I can't imagine NOT making ones own battery cables. That's pretty much the only way to get the correct length unless you bring out a marine electrical person to do it for you...

Regarding the link--This fellow does put together a lovely "how-to" on things.

We do not own the really nice crimper tool he shows. We used our bench vise to achieve the proper crimp. Other differences:

We both crimp and solder the wire to the lug--this does melt close-by insulation so...

We use lanolin grease to wick up into the wire strands;

Then, we cover the joint with liquid electric tape;

Then cover with heat-shrink wrap.

Some folks don't like to solder the joint. Hubby does a great soldered lug, though. Some folks don't like to use lanolin--but it really helps keep corrosion at bay for years. Some folks prefer the glue-y heat-shrink wrap--but we've heard it can fail and learned from a very experienced marine electrical fellow that the combo of liquid electrical tape and heat-shrink wrap can't be beat.

[delatbabel]

I have taken to using clear heatshrink (double walled with the glue inside) and put a small label inside the heatshrink made with one of those pocket labellers. That way the label can be read through the heatshrink but is also protected, and it's possible to see through the heatshrink whether there's any corrosion, etc, appearing around the cable lugs.

Yes I agree that liquid electrical tape is worth using, as is lanolin under the heatshrink.