Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

*I've used the services of local welding supply shops. They will have the
proper flexible cable in various sizes and the equipment to swage suitable
ends which have the capacity to handle the huge amp loads of welding
equipment. For special applications, try an electrical supply shop for a
larger selection of terminals. Soldering the terminals is good but the
copper conducts the heat so well it's tough to keep the insulation on the
cable. Welding people trust properly swaged ends for more amps that we ever
need on cars.*
*Tony *

Bob,
No matter which method you use to make your cables, may I suggest you fit one from a starter motor
bolt back to the battery earth. (No engine to chassis earth is fitted).
I have this fitted, along with a Brise starter, plus I have run a 2.5mm cable linking all the chassis earth points
(starting at the engine inlet side earth point) back to the battery earth in an attempt to eliminate earth problems.
So far so good.
Doug.

Hello Bob,

Where are you located?
Aside from welding shops (which is an excellent suggestion) try
marine suppliers.
They will have some cables that will also offer some corrosion
protection, plus the
lugs to fit them.

2/0 is quite large, but it wouldn't hurt



regards


carl



On Sep 2, 18 Heisei, at 5:45 PM, ***@***.***e:

Doug,
Don't know which model you have, but my 68 S4 is fitted with an
engine to chassis earthing strap at the left hand engine mount. Is
also mentioned in the repair manual as well.
Colin.

--- In ***@***.***, ***@***.***e:

Colin,
Not that I want to mislead anybody, but I chose not to fit one as it is not needed.
The reason being that in theory I am not using the chassis as an earth.
My electrician friend who told me what I should do, said that I did not need it.
The 4 earth points on the car for attaching all the other various earth leads are all linked together
by the 2.5mm wire I have fitted from the furthest from the battery to the next and so on until you get to the battery.
Sorry if I seem as if I am trying to teach you to suck eggs by the above, but it is the best I can explain it.
Believe me it does work fine. Just been to Le Mans Classic and back 1400 miles, no trouble.
Oh! my Elan is 1970 S4.

On Sun, 3 Sep 2006 18:45:00 +0200 (CEST),
***@***.***e:


Linking the wiring loom/chassis earth points together with a dedicated
cable is a good idea as far as lights and accessories are concerned
but if you have no engine to chassis strap then your starter motor
earth path is being achieved by extraneous earths attached to the
engine/gearbox. The prime contenders being the speedo cable and the
throttle cable.

As the engine to chassis strap earth strap also completes the
connection for the output from the dynamo/alternator back to the
battery then it only a matter of time before your throttle sticks
open, the speedo cable melts or the 0.5mm^2 and 0.75mm^2 earths in
the loom release all the excess smoke trapped within their insulation.
This is normally a bad thing

--
Martin
72/45



--

I thought 2/0 would be safe as the long run from the solenoid to the rear
mounted battery.

What was the gauge of the original battery cable?

Bob
1969 Elan +2

Guys,

I knew I would put the cat among the pigeons by replying to this thread, but I will try and explain myself a bit more.
Martin suggests that my engine earth path is virtually none existant. Well imagine my earth strap instead of engine to chassis is engine (starter motor bolt) to battery.
The wire back to the battery is the same size as the power supply you all have to the starter motor.
I do not have a solenoid due to the self contained Brise starter motor, the wiring to the solenoid has been extended down to the starter.
Even if I did have a solenoid the engine to battery wire would still work. All I am saying is that I am not using the chassis as you all do for a conventional earth path.
Bob I do not have the size of wire to hand, but I will try and find out.

Doug.

Hello Bob,

Im using a 1 gauge cable for the solenoid to the battery. I couldn't
fit anything else into the grommet through the firewall. I used a
marine spec wire, that had an inner sleeve in it to make it more
flexible.

The car came with a 4 gauge battery cable, but who knows if it came
from the factory in this way.

I have a hex battery crimper. I asked your location as I live in Los
Angeles.

Here is a good link on soldering battery terminals;

<<http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/big_term.pdf>>

Here is a link for car stereo ref. but the info on length vs. gauge
is good;

<<http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/learningcenter/car/
cable_gauge_chart.html>>


Regards


Carl











On Sep 3, 18 Heisei, at 11:52 AM, ***@***.***e:

On Sun, 3 Sep 2006 22:24:25 +0200 (CEST), ***@***.***
wrote:


Ahh *that* arrangement is alright. It does add weight though.

--
Martin
72/45


--

Bob,
I put one in my 69 S4 about 8 months ago.
It's small, light and cranks like nothing else - even after sitting for
2 weeks at a time. took me half a Saturday morning to drop in and fab up
some mounting hardware.
I bought it from The Battery Barn in Virginia - easy transaction,
knowledgeable people, shipped when they said it would... (i have no
connection to them except as a stisfied customer, etc.)

http://www.thebatterybarn.com/odyssey/

-David




***@***.***e:

Pegasus will cut and fit terminals on cables for you. You just have to give them the measurements you need. They can fit rubber covers on the ends also and use red cables (if you wish) for the positive leads.

I have gone on a strict diet to compensate.
Doug.

I used a 4 gauge (5.2mm/135Amp) wire from the star ground in the bottom of
the boot to the engine block, as well as the hot wire to the starter
solenoid.

The 10 gauge (2.5mm/15-55amp) daisy chain ground to all the chassis is fine,
but it would be better to run one 10 gauge wire for each of the chassis
ground points. Since then a surge on one system will not effect another
system and your headlights won't dim as mush when the wipers or windows go.

The 00 gauge (9.25mm) wire proposed for the block to battery ground is much
more then adequate, since in this application it would be rated at 283 Amp
which is much more than the starter will draw.

I ran the main power feed through the original path down the left side of
the car and the engine block to battery ground wire down the right side of
the car and bolted it to the block. The 10 Gauge ground wires I ran with the
original harness path. I had to replace all of the ground wires in the
bottom of the boot since they were rather oxidized and there was no way the
would provide a good ground. I then coated the boot star ground with
dielectric grease to prevent water intrusion and new corrosion.

6 years later I have not had any ground related problems and the only power
related problems I have had were a pulled out bullet connector due to poor
harness routing on my part and carbon buildup on the regulator contacts. The
new engine has an alternator so the regulator issue should be gone.


Rob LaMoreaux
Ann Arbor, MI USA
(734)-971-5583
Cell (734)-604-9280
Email: ***@***.***
Too many Hobbies.... Too Little Time
1969 Lotus Elan....It's not a restoration, it's a never-ending adventure.

My wife's Alfa Romeo Berlina came with an Odyssey Battery. It works great,
and when I replace the Elan's battery I probably will go with an Odyssey for
that. Of course the Berlina is a former competition car with a twinspark
engine out of a 1989 Alfa (same combustion chamber as a Lotus Twincam, not
the normal Alfa hemi head) and very little interior or accessories. I
suspect it has a power issue since the voltmeter on the dash drops too much
with the lights and wipers on, but the battery does not seem to mind.

Rob LaMoreaux
Ann Arbor, MI USA
(734)-971-5583
Cell (734)-604-9280
Email: ***@***.***
Too many Hobbies.... Too Little Time
1969 Lotus Elan....It's not a restoration, it's a never-ending adventure.