Safety question--Should I use insulation on charging cable through rocker panel?

I am using a chunk of 4 gauge battery cable running over shock tower through rocker panel, rear quarter, and to battery box in trunk. Is the insulation thick enough and tough enough to handle this, or should I apply further insulation, like plastic split tubing or maybe heater hose?

Not sure if this is overkill or not...

 

If you can afford it Id say the more insulation the better, anything you put over the cable will undoubtedly extend the life of it, and possibly the life of all your electrical stuff if it ever deteriorates and end up trying to charge the body of the car.

 

I ran my Sprint cables through the rocker panel with no additional insulation, except where it came through a bulkhead.

 

i would put a decent amount of insulation around that. my personal reasons would be to prevent damage to the cable more than to prevent any sort of crossover charging.

 

Secure your cable the best you can. Movement will wear on anything. Insulation gonna be your choice! Make sure no sharp edges anywhere.

 

I wouldnt worry as much about protecting it as i would about useing such small wire.

 

4 gauge is too small? Only going like 7 feet or something. And it should never draw the entire 130 Amps.This is battery cable that I bought from the hardware store several years ago, and used to have it under the car when I first put the battery in the trunk.

 

4 awg wire is not large enough to supply 12 volts over a seven foot distance without a voltage drop. That voltage drop indicates too much resistance to the voltage and causes heat. How much power do you think your starter pulls? It is real close to the 130 amps when cold. I used 00 AWG on my trunk mounted battery and yes, anytime you go through a metal bulkhead you should provide insulation against wear - like a grommet.

 

I have 2ga from the starter sol. to the battery in the trunk its like 15 feet,and she has no problem start'n or stayn charged.

 

Anyone used 4 gauge? This is some THICK stuff, I have a hard time believing that it is too small.

If I have to, can I use 2 strands of 4? I have enough to do that.

 

I've used 60sq mm cable which is between 0 and 00 gauge for my blown 250ci V8 in my current project, didnt want any voltage drop and I'd much rather have too big a cable than too small, no risk of it getting hot then if cranking for a long time and should spin over quicker too. Only downsides are that it's heavier and more expensive.

Just put rubber grommits in any holes it passes through and extra insulation over any bits where it rubs over edges etc and it will be fine.

 

Are you sure it's 4GA? Let's see a pic with some kind of reference object next to the cable. You're talking like it's very large, and everyone else says it is very small.


Trying really hard not to make a joke right now..

 

The lower the voltage the more amps it takes. That is why the high tension lines are running such high voltages. I use #2 clear sheath monster style cables on the 460 in my F100 and even then if I flood it they will get too hot to hold when cranking. These cables are at least the size of your little finger without the sheath.
A cable under high current will sure move around so I also suggest tying it down real good and putting grommet of some kind through any bulkheads.
I remember a video at the power company about a line truck working on live wire stuff. The ground man did not un-roll the truck ground. The guy in the bucket messed up and got on a live wire and it showed that ground wire unwind like a 1000lb snake on drugs. It was pure shocking what the amps made that ground cable do.
clint

 

if you using 4ga and its huge then 2ga will look giant lol,does it say 4ga on it?
The only reason i used 2ga is alot of the racers i know run it since its only $1.88 a foot at advanced auto.

 

It would take 3 strands of 4 AWG to equal 1 strand of 2 AWG.