Yes it's Tuesday! Well, in Australia and New Zealand it is:) So it's time for another dose of Tech Tuesday! Need to make room for engine mods or get better weight distribution ? It's time to move that battery! Before you grab a grinder and start ripping your battery out from its original spot though, there are a few things you need to know. Luckily Tuning Fork is here to tell us how it's done:)

Yes bigger is better when it comes to batteries, I totally agree! It's pretty much the best insurance you can buy against alternator failure. Several months ago I went to Nashville TN to get car parts. As soon as I started driving back home to Memphis TN (about 200 miles), I noticed that my voltage was low and the battery light was on. A quick check confirmed my theory that the alternator completely died. I shut off all accessories and hit the road, feeling pretty confident that I would make it home no problem. Then I hit heavy traffic and got concerned. After sitting through 30+ minutes of traffic, I wasn't feeling quite as confident. But once I got moving I made it home no problem. The only reason I made it back without problems is because I have a big Optima Yellowtop D34 battery in my trunk. If I was using the tiny group 51 battery that these older Honda's come with, it would have died well before I got back home.

I’m about to relocate my old car batteries to the bottom of the ocean, it’s perfectly legal

This Tech Tuesday episode was perfect, Thanks Scotty! These episodes are awesome.

Love scottie, 10/10 Would recommend to a family friend or significant other

Hmm you got me thinking about the voltage drop across the chassis since I am using it as a battery ground, so I did a bit of testing to get some numbers. I ran a a 2 gauge copper battery cable from my battery's negative terminal to one of the strut tower nuts in the trunk and I grounded the engine to the chassis with about five 4 gauge copper cables, making sure to sand all connections down to clean, shiny metal. I get about a 0.14 volt drop from the battery negative terminal to the engine block while cranking the engine with the fuel disabled, nothing to worry about in my opinion. I also tested the voltage drop across the 2 gauge copper cable that goes from the battery's positive terminal to the starter's positive and it loses about 0.36 volts while cranking, which I don't think is bad but I was surprised to see that a thick copper cable loses more voltage across the same distance than the steel that the chassis is made out of. A channel by the name of CE Auto Electric Supply tested chassis ground vs 15 feet of 1/0 copper cable and found that the chassis was actually a measurably better ground than the huge cable. So my suggestion is to use heavy gauge cables (ideally 0 gauge copper or heavier) and if you choose to run a negative cable from the battery negative to the engine, ground the battery to the chassis in the back also since from my testing as well as CE Auto's testing, the chassis drops significantly less voltage than even a 0 gauge copper cable. Just be sure to make proper connections to a clean, thick piece of metal with good nuts and bolts that can be torqued down tight, don't use self tapping screws. Electricity takes the path of least resistance, so you will never make anything worse by adding more paths for the electricity to flow through. Hope this helps!

Thanks Scotty. I'm learning :)

That's man that was great. Would be cool to see a quick tech on wiring a cut off switch and whether u need to put a resistor in the small terminal and why... cheers

Some vid ideas, Injector sizing, whats the difference between spark plugs(colder,iridium etc). Egt’s how many, where to put them, what they do. Wheel offset-how to measure etc. I’m sure I’ll think of more but so far these vids have been helpful and explanative. Keep up the awesome work👍

Awesome Video Guys! I just have a question about the battery kill switch part. In the video he says there are two big terminals and 2 smaller ones. He says the bigger terminals go inline with the battery positive cable, but the illustration shows it on the negative side. Which one is the right answer?

Question: Have you ever seen issue with running the alternator cable past important wires? For example, I have an alternator wire tucked under my intake manifold and it passes near injector wires. Could it cause interference and poor function? What if it goes by coils or spark plug wires? The ECU? Thanks for all you do!

I approve of the information provided in this video.

Spark plugs get their ground connection from the head. Always ground the head.

I’m not sure if it’s because of mcm but I find you so easy to listen too.

Thnks, I learn 2-3 interesting things!.

Again - Perfect explanation man. Shame you werent at AFD NSW last weekend Scotty, it would of been good to have a chat!

Fantastic info thank you so much! Would you kindly comment on my style of starter circuits? My GM buddies hate it lol, but I always use a "Ford style" starter relay so I don't have constant power in the hot & cramped starter area. If the starter also has a relay then I send a trigger wire from the "I" terminal. I use a good quality heavy duty relay, Cole Hersee brand seems pretty good. I am curious your thoughts about this and also about using diodes or resistors to prevent fly back. Perhaps the better relays don't need? Can't find a solid consensus on the web.

Hey Scott, I fully agree not grounding to thin floor pans in the boot but where do you recommend I ground the battery in trunk on a MKIV Supra?

your spectacles glare like anime evil character btw good content

Hey Scott I’m running 2/0 cable to the starter can I run 0 gauge for the ground or am I better off running the same size as the positive, cheers

Cheers mate

Funny this came up as I've just finished relocating the battery to the boot in my xr6t to make room for the cold air intake. 0 gauge cable from starter to battery, earthed in the boot and also earthed the factory cable in the engine bay. Mounted the factory positive cables on an insulated post next to the original battery location and hey presto......mint with much dosages

Do you put the kill switch on the negative or positive at the battery?

👍

I know on battery size he said "bigger is better" but smaller is lighter, so how do we choose the minimum AH battery if trying to go small and light and how do we choose an alternator output ampage?

So i'm relocating my battery to boot in my 31. I'm also running the new Nexus, is it the same config for cable? Pos - from battery to circuit breaker - stop switch - starter/ecu. Neg - from battery to block - strut tower.

I'm really confused now because of the phrasing. Is this the go-to way to branch off only from the starter? So pos battery to starter, starter to alternator, starter to power distribution block? Can someone confirm this? I'm running all new wires and can't find one sure way to wire positive leads. I get the grounds part though.

So we can connect the alternator to the starter or distribution point and not a seperate cable from the alternator to the battery?

Right battery = biggest that fits.....

Great video. Who would you recommend to do such a job properly as I'm not too confident with electrical ?

How many occy straps would i need for it to be considered a safe mounting ?

Am I wrong with thinking the battery isolator switch diagram was wrong, because the negative terminal was used instead of the positive? @haltech

Will a antigravity car battery work? Inside the truck?

If the wire is long do you lose power .. ground or positive

So the earth runs from rear to front? I went to a wrecking yard and got the Batt loom out of a 90s BMW .. when u say bigger is better do u mean more CCA then what usually have ??

Hi Scott and Haltech crew, nice job with these videos! Can you check that main switch connection drawing that is shown at 5min time stamp at this video. I think that is not correct...

Can I ask why you use isolator on ground cable instead of power cable?

Can i use a 600amperage wire?

With everything else equal, does a bigger battery have a longer lifetime?

Does the kill switch go in line with the positive or negative??

woah

Radiator relocation next

Great job 🙌 Scotty much love from Detroit LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE. HIT THE BELL WATCH THE AD'S

Could we see this actually being done to a car. While the diagrams are helpful it still seems daunting.

You don't want chaffing in ya trunks.

I use a wireless battery.

At least you say Battery unlike some people in Australia. I hear people saying bat ree or bat tree.