I finally got around to this chore I have procrastinated on. I made new battery cables for the TJ today. All new ground and positive cables and military terminals.
The originals worked without issue, but they were old and beat on. I used all new 99.9% oxygen free pure copper cables. Did a nice clean job crimping the ends and using proper shrink tubing. I didn't bother with any glam shots of the job.
I only have one cable to left to replace. The feed from the battery to the amps in the passenger compartment is poor quality wire. Heavy duty enough gauge, but appears to be copper clad aluminum or some other trash that isn't worth ball sweat. Those corrode and get powdery and eventually stop conducting. It also may be a source of engine noise.
I cleaned up the amp connection best I could for the short term. I just ordered new cable, three way splitter for feeds to the three amps and some appropriate fuses suitable for the task. That means another 3 week wait before I can rip into the stereo wiring.
I could have bought some nice cables made to order, but what is the fun in that? Not a cheap task to do it right, but money in the Jeep is better than money in the bank.
Ready made custom cables would be certainly less expensive if you were paying shop labor to make and install cables. For those who don't like to crimp, perhaps this supplier is as good as they look. I have not used this supplier for cables, but I like their website. Maybe others have used them and can provide feedback.
https://www.custombatterycables.com/jeep-wrangler/
The originals worked without issue, but they were old and beat on. I used all new 99.9% oxygen free pure copper cables. Did a nice clean job crimping the ends and using proper shrink tubing. I didn't bother with any glam shots of the job.
I only have one cable to left to replace. The feed from the battery to the amps in the passenger compartment is poor quality wire. Heavy duty enough gauge, but appears to be copper clad aluminum or some other trash that isn't worth ball sweat. Those corrode and get powdery and eventually stop conducting. It also may be a source of engine noise.
I cleaned up the amp connection best I could for the short term. I just ordered new cable, three way splitter for feeds to the three amps and some appropriate fuses suitable for the task. That means another 3 week wait before I can rip into the stereo wiring.
I could have bought some nice cables made to order, but what is the fun in that? Not a cheap task to do it right, but money in the Jeep is better than money in the bank.
Ready made custom cables would be certainly less expensive if you were paying shop labor to make and install cables. For those who don't like to crimp, perhaps this supplier is as good as they look. I have not used this supplier for cables, but I like their website. Maybe others have used them and can provide feedback.
https://www.custombatterycables.com/jeep-wrangler/
However, military “style” terminals are very nice.
