




Oh ok.. says I with a twinkle in me eye...


This is my attempt at building a decent battery cable. Be forwarned, the routing of my cable is not exactly correct. For the correct method of routing the battery cable please refer to Big Dogs rather good Cub Battery Cables How To article in the CBoK. I am electrically/electronically challenged, but I can plumb which means I can sweat a good joint which is similar to soldering electrical components pretty much methinks. Couple thing to remember about electrical work with solder and flux. Ensure that you do not use acid core solder or acid core flux when working on electrical cables. Acid core may corrode connections and this is the last thing we want or need. Use silver solder as that is the better product to use on electrical wiring.
Method:
First I cut and trimmed the 2/0 cable end, dunked it in flux and soldered it to the copper starter terminal.
I then slid on about 3" of 3:1 shrink tube for 2/0 cable which is about 3/4" OD and 5/8" ID.
Apply heat carefully over the length and circumference of the shrink tube in numerous passes with the propane torch. Used the propane torch as I do not own a heat gun. (gonna be a future purchase though

Next step is to start feeding the cable where it needs to go. After making sure that the cable will clear the starter lever, I gave myself a bit of slack cause one never knows what will come later, and ran the new cable along the best route I have with my setup.
I utilized the Oil Pressure Gauge line as the spine and routed to the dash corner and then down under the clutch pedal stop. The rear light cable joins the harness at this point and will follow the battery cable to it's obvious conclusion.
Since I no longer have cable clips under the deck, I purchases some Grote 80-7008 1/2" Cable Clips. Should have actually gotten the 3/4".


Once the cable has been routed under the deck and back up through the gap between the axle housing/operator deck and the Battery Box, I measured what I needed to get to the negative terminal on the Group 1 Battery and added about 3 more inches to be safe.
Ithen slid on the next 3" piece of 3:1 shrink tube. The next step is to trim, dunk in flux, insert the 2/0 into the heavy duty battery cable terminal end.
Apply some heat from the propane torch and solder the connection together. Let it cool for about 5 minutes.
Slide the 3:1 shrink tube over the terminal butt (be careful, it will still be hot. Use pliers etc., to hold the end if need be).
Apply heat carefully over the length and circumference of the shrink tube in numerous passes with the propane torch.
A nice moisture proof connection now that will not corrode at the joint. Still have to clean the ends occassionaly.
Connect the cable end to the Battery and you are pretty well done aside from putting on the front and the top.
I have added a ring terminal to the end of the small red cable that connects my amber flashing light. Fits nicely onto the bolt and provides a good solid connection. Only thing Ihave left to do is to put some di-electric grease on the terminals to prevent corrosion.
While I was at this project, Granny needed a little TLC in the Battery Cable department too. So I utilized the leftover 2/0 cable I bought, along with the other package of 3:1 shrink tube and a cable splicer. I cleaned and trimmed all the ends of the existing cable, soldered on a copper starter terminal end and then made the joint between the two pieces. Done the same way - both ends trimmed, 3 pieces of shrink tube slid on the appropriate pieces, dunked the ends in flux, inserted both ends into the junction and then soldered the joint. I then repeated the same process for the other heavy duty battery terminal end. Once cooled a bit, I then repeated the previous steps for the shrink tube process. Now Granny also has a Battery Cable that will route correctly from starter to battery. A rather enjoyable little project.

Materials List:
2 each : Grote 82-9436 2/O Copper Tube Lugs 1/2"
2 each : Straight Barrel Clamp
3 each: Flexible Dual Wall, 3:1 - Adhesive Lined, Black, Heat Shrink Tubing
3 each: 84-7009 3/4" Black 1/2" Vinyl Insulated Steel Clamps
Additonal Material For Granny's Spliced Cable:
1 each : 82-9556 2/O Tin Plated Butt/Splice Connectors