Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs)
Index:
Do you crimp or solder the ends?
How soon can you ship my cables?
How will you ship my cables?
What's the difference between positive
and negative cables?
Can you make me a cable for my <insert
your car here>?
What do you recommend for 6 volt systems?
I have a Jeep with a 2 hole connector.
Can you make me a cable with one of those?
My negative cable has a terminal in
the middle that grounds to the body, can you make that?
I want to relocate my battery to the trunk.
Do you sell a trunk mount kit?
I ordered the wrong size. Can I
exchange it?
Do your cables come with a guarantee?
Do you take credit cards?
My company needs battery cables. Will you
offer me an OEM discount?
I'm building a solar power system for my
cabin. Do I get a discount also?
How come you have so many typos in your web
site?
Where's that picture taken that's on your
"error
404"
page?
Do you crimp the ends or soldering them and why?
Ends are crimped only.
Cables are crimped using a 12 ton hydraulic crimper. It
squeezes the cable so tightly that there are no air gaps or
spaces (I've seen the pictures of cross sections). Soldering
is tough on the insulation and the solder wicks up the wire
destroying the flexibility. The manufacturer of the ends
recommends crimping.
Soldering also
requires flux, hazardous lead solder and solvents (for cleaning
the flux). The extra cleaning step adds cost.
Besides the ends are crimped so tightly that there is no room
for the solder.
So, soldering
presents a lot of problems for little or no reward. As a small
business, I don't want to deal with chemicals and all the problems
they cause.
I'd contend
that the crimped connections are so tight that they have lower
resistance than soldered terminals... what's the resistance
of solder versus the resistance of copper wire?
How soon can you
ship my cables?
At this time,
this is a part time business for us. (I'm a full time
Quality and Reliability Engineer for a major semiconductor manufacturer).
My family, friends and I build the cables after our day jobs
and on the weekend. We try to always ship cables in a
timely manner but sometimes we get behind. We try to build
on the weekend and ship on Monday morning. Sometimes we
get a little behind and it take a couple weeks.
How will you ship my cables?
I usually ship
using USPS priority mail flat rate box. If it a large
or especially heavy I might use UPS.
What's the difference between positive
and negative cables?
Besides the
color, the difference is the size of the battery post.
Positive posts are slightly bigger (larger diameter) than the
negative posts. That's why those cheap "universal" battery
terminals never fit quite right. They're too small for
the positive post and too big for the negative.
I have a 50's Ford
truck with a flathead V8 and a 6 volt electrical system. What
do you recommend for cables?
First, let me
congratulate you on your good taste in vehicles.
6V systems take twice as much current
to do the same work as 12V systems. So the wires should
be sized to handle that increased current. I'd use 2/0.
You can't go wrong with that and it does cost much more than
1/0. I would not go any smaller than 1/0.
Can you make me a cable for my <insert
your car here>?
If you tell
me how long it needs to be, then I'd be happy to make you one.
However, at this time I don't have any way to look up how long
of a cable a specific application uses. Unfortunate
but true. If you know where I can look this info up, or
have a book which shows it, please let me know.
I have a Jeep Wrangler with a goofy
2 hole connector on the lead that goes to the junction box.
Can you make me a cable with one of those?
I'm working
on finding some of those 2 hole connectors. I know that
someone makes them I just haven't found who. Most guys
cut the end off the factory cable and use it as a jumper between
to 2 holes.
My negative cable has a terminal
in the middle that grounds to the body, can you make that?
I have some "double barrel" lugs
that work as those middle-of-the-cable chassis ground terminals.
They only come in limited sizes. Alternatively, you could
get a ground cable with an extra wire that goes to the chassis
ground. In other words, if the middle-of-the-cable chassis
ground is 15 inches down the cable, get a ground cable with
a 15 inch aux lead that goes to the chassis ground.
I want to relocate my battery to the trunk.
Do you sell a trunk mount kit?
Yes. Buy the battery-to-starter
and the battery-to-chassis cables and I'll throw in a free chassis
to engine block cable. Mention the "trunk mount
deal" when you order the cables.
I ordered the wrong size. Can
I exchange it?
Sure.
I'll exchange it for a cable that will work for you. But
since all cables are custom made, there will be a 40% "gotta
let this cable sit on the shelf and hope someone else wants
it" fee plus postage.
Do your cables come with a guarantee?
If one of my
cables doesn't meet your expectations, I'll replace it for free
(excluding shipping) for 1 year from the purchase date.
If I made a cable too short or with the wrong ends or wrong
gauge, etc, I will replace it promptly, at no charge, including
shipping. However, If you asked for the wrong length and
I gave you exactly what you asked for, then see my exchange
policy above. Liability is limited ONLY to the cable.
Misuse or improper installation is beyond my control and I can
not be held responsible.
Do you accept credit cards?
I use to take
credit card but I found that the fees were too high. After
all fees, Chase was charging me over 10% on credit card purchases.
I work for a company which builds construction equipment
and I need a mess of battery cables. Will you offer me
an OEM volume discount?
I'd be honored
to be the OEM battery cable supplier to your company.
email me your requirements and I'll send you a bid.
(Minimum quantities apply.)
How come you have
so many typos in your web site?
Because I work
on it when I can't sleep and it was probably the wee hours of
the morning when I typed it... or sometimes I work
on it in the chemo room at Desert Oncology while I'm mildly
high on chemo.
Where's that picture of that
Cadillac
taken that's on your "error 404" page?
That's not a
real picture. It's a picture of Paul's car (which taken
on a camping trip at "Round Rocks" near Florence, Arizona) pasted
onto a picture of the surface of Mars.
Did
you get your question answered? If not
email me.
