My '89 is dead, what's happened?

[nelstomlinson]

Those cables I thought were good weren't so good. I cut into the wire leading from the battery+ to the starter relay, and it was pretty cruddy. This may not have been the problem, but it was fixin' to be a problem.

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So I redid the cable ends, and replaced the piddly wire from battery to starter relay with a little chunk of #2, since that was handy.

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I'll drive this to work this week and see how it's going. If I don't have more troubles I'll assume that wire was the problem.

 

[Jesus Freak]

Those cables I thought were good weren't so good. I cut into the wire leading from the battery+ to the starter relay, and it was pretty cruddy. This may not have been the problem, but it was fixin' to be a problem.

You must be registered for see images attach

So I redid the cable ends, and replaced the piddly wire from battery to starter relay with a little chunk of #2, since that was handy.

You must be registered for see images attach

I'll drive this to work this week and see how it's going. If I don't have more troubles I'll assume that wire was the problem.

Good call....

 

[MtnHaul]

Plus, if your cables aren't allowing full current to flow to the starter it will likely burn out prematurely. It was expensive but I'm glad I made all new cables out of 2/0 and then #2 for a few grounds and charge wire. With new cables, new starter, and new battery the starter turned over so fast it startled people.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I have some wire in stock I'm planning on using to make up new cables for the red truck. If I ever get that finished I'll be able to give the brown truck a rest. Someday.

The cables from engine block to battery- and between battery+ are 2/0, the cable from passenger side battery+ to starter is 4/0. When the starter is drawing current the voltage drop is significant even with those heavy cables, I wouldn't go lighter.

I estimated that the passenger side battery provides ~2/3 of the energy for the starter, because of the 6 feet of 2/0 between the two batteries.

 

[nelstomlinson]

By the way, I got lucky on fleabay a while back and got a decent quality hydraulic crimper set used, with all the dies. I had been using a little hammer crimper that required laying the cable on the floor and pounding away with a hand sledge.

This was the first time I've used the hydraulic one for battery cables, and it's great. I was able to put new ends on the cables without removing them from the truck. I don't think I'd pay the new price for a set, they're spendy, but if you get a chance to get one cheap enough, you want it!

 

[MtnHaul]

I bought an FTZ branded crimper that worked great. Those hammer crimpers are ok in a pinch but not a great crimp.