How-to: Battery relocation

[twokexlv6coupe]

what you'll need:
-a set of open-ended wrenches and ratchets
-drill and bits
-cables. either 2 or 4 gauge speaker wire, or some battery cables from walmart
-two battery terminals (walmart)


this is the before picture:
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111016.jpg


steps:
-disconnect positive and negative battery terminals.
-take off battery tie-down
-take battery out
-take black plastic battery box out
-unbolt battery tray, and take out
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111017.jpg

-unbolt battery support, and take out
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111018.jpg


now if you already have a system that has a 2 or 4 gauge power wire, you can use this wire as your positive cable - just leave it connected to the positive terminal.
if not, just get some battery cable or some thick speaker cable, run it through the rubber grommet under the fusebox, and it'll pop out on the right side of the passenger foot well
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111014.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111015.jpg


-connect the cable to the positive terminal
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111019.jpg
wrap the entire terminal and anything metal attached to the terminal in tape, so if it touches anything, it wont short out/spark.

run the cable under the passenger door sill, under the back seats, and into the trunk.

-take out the cardboard floor in the trunk where you want to mount it (most people mount it on the passenger side to counteract the weight of the driver)
-figure out where/how you wanna mount the box (i chose to mount mine length-wise, cuz i kept screwing up drilling the holes to mount it the other way :o )
-go under the car, and unbolt the muffler shield with the 3 12(?)mm nuts.
-figure out where you will hafta drill the two holes using the battery tie-down as a template
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111010.jpg

-drill them bitches :D
-use the battery tie down to figure out where you'll need to drill the holes in the battery box also
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111008.jpg
-thread one of the non-locking nuts onto each of the metal studs, and insert them into the holes ;)
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111012.jpg

-go under teh car, and thread one of the locking nuts onto the other side of the stud, making sure you use the washer
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111013.jpg
i forgot the washers in this pic, but you shouldn't :D

-drill two holes into the side of the battery box for the positive and negative cables.
-mount battery box thru the 2 studs
-put battery in box
-insert cables into battery box, and attach the terminals to the cables.
-for the negative cable, again i used some 2 gauge speaker wire that i had laying around. or you could go to walmart and buy some.
-find a place to ground this (i used a pre-existing hole on the underside of the rear deck, and just screwed it in there)
-using the battery tie-down and the 2 last locking nuts, secure the battery down
-put lid on :D


stand back and look how beautiful it is.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111024.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/esedulerp5tenin/P8111020.jpg



there might be some **** that i'm missing, but i'm sick and its almost midnight.

[bard329]

very nice write up...

i should start doing these things but i'm too lazy

[hotrod]

lol... i like that first pic. :D good job! now if only i'll get off my lazy ass and do that.

[twokexlv6coupe]

you mean you like all the coolant that has spilled over my entire engine?? cuz i do :banana:


but i guess i should post up WHY you would wanna do this:
1: better weight distribution. 4th gens have a 58 front/42 rear weight distribution, while 5th gens have 63 front/37 rear, and this will imrpove that ratio somewhat, giving the car a more neutral/oversteer feel. i took her auto-x'ing the day after i did this, and i noticed quite a difference in the way it handles. the rear wants to come out alot more now, giving the car an even better feel :tup:

2: make room in that engine bay for TEEEWWWWWBOOOOOOO :D
i've seen quite a few kits where the intake for the turbo goes right where the battery is, and if you didn't do the relocation, its gonna be quite cramped in there.

[94 LUDE]

Great Tutorial man **** I may just do this when I boost my lude!! Looks great!!

[Si Speed]

Very nice. We needed this one. :)

[Chief_Rocka]

great write up and explaination man...love the first pic too :banana: lol

[Qnz92Lude]

damn looks nice i should really do that. so imma be coming through to ur crib wit like 7 ludes :-) Have fun.

[Prelude92]

what if i were to use a 0 gauge wire? I'm assuming that there would be less resistance if I opted to use the 0 Ga.

[sfields]

yes, there would be less resistance, well also depends on the material the wire is made of. But the larger the wire generally the less resistance, its like taking a pipe and pushing water through it, a 1/2 pipe is not going to move water at the same rate a larger pipe could, and depending on your electrical draw, you might need a larger gauge wire.

When I did this in my mercury cougar I used a 0 gauge wire because when I tried using the 4ga my system was using, when I started the car the radio turned off, and it had problems trying to run anything with it... like my radar detector.. and the stereo kept turning off..

[Prelude92]

ahh ok.. i have a sound system so i would like to assume that the draw would not be small. Now grounding, a friend told me that since the ground is ran tho the tranny, i could stick it somewhere on the chasis nearby. in the trunk where my battery will be, i can just ground it there too??

BTW, where would i get some 0 Gauge wire from @ a decent price>?

[sfields]

you could just ground it there, make sure theres no paint on the spot youre grounding... I couldnt answer the second part for ya.. I think I spent like 40 bucks on 20 feet of it at home depot... id look online

Finding a hookup large enough for a zero gauge also a PITA! I think I used a metal clamp I found at home depot, had a screw on each side, flattened it down some with a hammer, got it clamped in nice, and wrapped the whole clamp in electrical tape

[Prelude92]

I ran my positive terminal to the trunk. I just realized that i need battery terminals for the ends in my trunk :o
im also looking for a spot to place my coolant resevoir.

[sfields]

could leave the battery tray in the front.... or cut it down to just the two front bolts so it can hold your coolant

[wasabiman]

looks great, but I already have trouble fitting stuff in my trunk to begin with..

[98_lude]

Great Tutorial but where did u connect the negative battery cable

[sfields]

you can ground it to the chassis, just make sure there is no paint on the grounding spot.

[DJ Prelude]

thx for this one man i did it and it looks ****in pro in the trunk. maybe i'll send you some pics. i did it right as i was getting my amps/sub installed so it made it a helluva lot easier. thanks again :biggrin:

[DJ Prelude]

you ever figure out where you want to put your coolant overflow? i have mine duck taped to my bumper -_-

[twokexlv6coupe]

nah, it just dangles in the engine bay :tongue:

[DJ Prelude]

lol k thats some ghetto **** for sure. i dunno whats worse lettin it dangle or taping it lol

[thomas97]

finally! i know where the hole is in the firewall,
dont knwo if itll help at all but BIG rep for ya nick,!!!

[Si Speed]

I told ya there was a hole there Timmah, I just forgot where it was, lol.

[Prelude92]

... cut it down to just the two front bolts so it can hold your coolant

this is what i did. =)

[twokexlv6coupe]

hmm, if i can remember what i did with the batt tray, i might do that next week. it is really ghetto just havin my overflow tank just hang there

[bboi_xtc]

hmm, if i can remember what i did with the batt tray, i might do that next week. it is really ghetto just havin my overflow tank just hang there

Just use what held your turbo together.


ZIPTIES! =]

[sleekcesar]

were did u get the battery tray from?

[twokexlv6coupe]

battery tray or battery BOX?

[sleekcesar]

BOX, my bad were do u get it at?

[twokexlv6coupe]

anywhere. just search for a moroso battery box on google. they're all over the place, just find the cheapest one.



but if it doesn't hafta pass tech inspection to go dragging/autocrossing, you can get one at walmart for a fraction the price of the moroso.

[twign209]

sweeet thanks man

[98BB6SH]

great write up. good pics and great breakdown step by step. i'll be doing this real soon.