Battery cable splicing.

Asked by dumbshit Apr 05, 2013 at 05:22 PM about the 1990 Ford Escort 4 Dr LX Wagon

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I wanted to shorted my positive battery cable to reduce resistance so my car would start faster.  I cut a
section of out the middle of the cable, and imagined i would just twist-splice the ends together and use
electrical tape to seal it.   How bad of an idea is this?  Will it get me to the auto parts store to buy a new
cable?  Can you usually buy a short cable with the connections already on, to avoid having to buy a heat
shrink tubing gun, etc... otherwise I'd just use electrical tape again when putting the connection on.  
Thanks.

5 Answers

176,085

X2 - bad idea on the splice. You would need special tools to crimp an effective splice in a cable that large. Resistance is low on a cable that size and the power flows for a couple of seconds so you're not gaining anything. How much did you remove? You need some slack to allow for engine movement.

2 people found this helpful.
5,920

They sell them with the ends in any length you may need. Repost the problem you were originally trying to fix with specifics and we'll help you with that before you do exploratory again.

1 people found this helpful.

Those are all better answers than mine, I took it down. What I said was uncalled for and unnecessary. OK, you asked a question because you wanted to learn. No fault in that. But you did pick the username, but I apologize for what I previously had posted. I didn't need to be nasty. We welcome your questions, uh, d~s..come back anytime

2 people found this helpful.

You have taught me a lot. Least I can do is acknowledge it

1 people found this helpful.

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