Battery Relocation on my Hatch 3g

[JFern]

I just finished doing a battery relocation on my 86 LXi and thought it would be a good idea to post to show what the process was. I put in a battery box on the driver side in the far corner of the hatch to offset weight, and there is a vent there that i used to vent the box (it is also out of the way since i carry my music stuff in this car) i used an optima red top and some 4 gage wire i bought from napa (it's not the cheap stuff, $2.50 a foot with a discount) here is the location http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n55/woff27/Batterybox.jpg
I tied the wire into my starting circuit under the hood and ran it through the firewall by removing a plug behind the intake manifold next to where the throttle cable comes out (its the bright red cable in this picture that starts on the left) http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n55/woff27/Finishedunderhood.jpg
Here is where it comes out under the dash (right above the gas pedal) http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n55/woff27/Firewallwire.jpg
I ran the wire under the carpet by removing the sill plate shown here and setting the wire with all the lines already there http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n55/woff27/Floorboard.jpg
Then the wire comes out just before the rear seat and follows the panel to behind the seat http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n55/woff27/Rearseatwire.jpg
Here you can see where the wire comes out behind the seat, and follows the panel to the back corner where it hooks to the battery, notice that i grounded the battery to the strut mount, (REMEMBER NOT TO REMOVE THE STOCK GROUND FROM THE TRANSMISSION TO THE FRAME, THIS IS WHERE THE STOCK NEGATIVE CABLE TIES INTO, YOUR CAR WILL NOT START WITHOUT THIS GROUND) http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n55/woff27/Ground.jpg
I bolted the battery box to the floor so that it won't move at all and used a gel cell battery so there was less danger of vibration hurting the battery or exploding or anything, This puts more weight in the back and gives a slightly better steering response and feel

[Joay]

Brace for retarded question:

I did this to my Prelude years ago using (what looks like) the same box and I never got it to stay put. I bought a kit from Summit (http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SUM-G1200A&N=700+400304+307185+115&autoview=sku) with two long-ass J-bolts, but even they would rotate and slip around and crap. The battery fell out once and got acid all over my wheel well. Can you take some pictures of how yours is anchored in?

[Pico]

what gauge cabel are you running?
In the pictures it looks like a very small gauge wire

[JFern]

Brace for retarded question:

I did this to my Prelude years ago using (what looks like) the same box and I never got it to stay put. I bought a kit from Summit (http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SUM-G1200A&N=700+400304+307185+115&autoview=sku) with two long-ass J-bolts, but even they would rotate and slip around and crap. The battery fell out once and got acid all over my wheel well. Can you take some pictures of how yours is anchored in?
well i actually had the same problem in my 72 dart so i have done a little bit of overkill on this one, ill put up pictures when i get a chance but essentially how it works is before putting the box in i installed what are essentially belt loops to hold the belt to the floor (the belt is only to hold the lid on) as for the box itself i have four Metal screws ~1/4' thick drilled through the box and into the trunk floor (one at each corner of the box) so this thing isn't going anywhere

[JFern]

what gauge cabel are you running?
In the pictures it looks like a very small gauge wire
It's 4 Gage which is sufficient for what i am doing (i don't have a powerful stereo or anything) an all the bigger gages are more expensive

[Civic Accord Honda]

Sweet! i still need to do this to my sivik

[lostforawhile]

those plastic boxes are improper to put in a car without a trunk. in a wreck those j bolts are not going to hold the battery, and that battery is going to come straight through your back seat,and probably going to kill someone. there's a reason they are illegal in all racing classes in non trunk cars, the back seats are not designed to keep object from flying past them. ever look at what holds them in place? there is nothing to lock the seats in the center, so any objects will simply bend them. the belts hold the rear passengers in place,not the seats. the only way to put a rear battery in these cars is a sealed box with a proper bolt down,the bolts have to go through the steel and you have to use doubler plates underneath . most people have no idea how much force the average car battery can create in a collision. they did this on fifth gear once, the battery snapped the j bolts,went right through the seat back,and decapitated the crash test dummy. something to think about. also where is your breaker? you can get a 150 amp bussman breaker at autozone,or advance,any of those places,about 30 bucks. needs to be as close to the battery as possible. one short and your car is toast in no time.

[Pico]

It's 4 Gage which is sufficient for what i am doing (i don't have a powerful stereo or anything) an all the bigger gages are more expensive

ok thats cool, it just looked like a real small gauge in the pic.

[JFern]

those plastic boxes are improper to put in a car without a trunk. in a wreck those j bolts are not going to hold the battery, and that battery is going to come straight through your back seat,and probably going to kill someone. there's a reason they are illegal in all racing classes in non trunk cars, the back seats are not designed to keep object from flying past them. ever look at what holds them in place? there is nothing to lock the seats in the center, so any objects will simply bend them. the belts hold the rear passengers in place,not the seats. the only way to put a rear battery in these cars is a sealed box with a proper bolt down,the bolts have to go through the steel and you have to use doubler plates underneath . most people have no idea how much force the average car battery can create in a collision. they did this on fifth gear once, the battery snapped the j bolts,went right through the seat back,and decapitated the crash test dummy. something to think about. also where is your breaker? you can get a 150 amp bussman breaker at autozone,or advance,any of those places,about 30 bucks. needs to be as close to the battery as possible. one short and your car is toast in no time.
ya i know they aren't legal in racing sanctions, and those j-bolts are crap and are essentially just to hold the lid down. But its held down good enough since i have four bolts going through the floor of the box, anyways it was just for right now until i can afford a metal box (they aren't cheap) and even though there is a battery fuse i put in a breaker anyways, the breaker is in the box next to the battery less than 10 bucks at kragen ^_^

[84Accord]

what gauge cabel are you running?
In the pictures it looks like a very small gauge wire

i was thinking that too. id use the size he is running as his ground wire as the positive wire too.

[Rendon LX-i]

Brace for retarded question:

I did this to my Prelude years ago using (what looks like) the same box and I never got it to stay put. I bought a kit from Summit (http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SUM-G1200A&N=700+400304+307185+115&autoview=sku) with two long-ass J-bolts, but even they would rotate and slip around and crap. The battery fell out once and got acid all over my wheel well. Can you take some pictures of how yours is anchored in?

I just used some self tappers with some washers in the bottom and used the strap of course and so far so good....almost the way he did it


what gauge cabel are you running?
In the pictures it looks like a very small gauge wire


I just used my amp wire it was pretty big 4 gauge or bigger....idk its good wire i works great. well looking at the pics mines ALOT BIGGER Then his so idk what size is mine lol

[lostforawhile]

ya i know they aren't legal in racing sanctions, and those j-bolts are crap and are essentially just to hold the lid down. But its held down good enough since i have four bolts going through the floor of the box, anyways it was just for right now until i can afford a metal box (they aren't cheap) and even though there is a battery fuse i put in a breaker anyways, the breaker is in the box next to the battery less than 10 bucks at kragen ^_^

good deal just don't want anything to happen to anyone on here from something like an improper installation.

[Civic Accord Honda]

im going to get one of the odyssey batterys and the mounting bracket from p.wordjdm
http://passwordjdm.com/PasswordJDM-Battery-Relocator-EF-88-91-CivicCRX-P1902C457.aspx



and i might use the bracket and mount it in the spare tire well .

[lostforawhile]

im going to get one of the odyssey batterys and the mounting bracket from p.wordjdm
http://passwordjdm.com/PasswordJDM-Battery-Relocator-EF-88-91-CivicCRX-P1902C457.aspx



and i might use the bracket and mount it in the spare tire well .don't buy an expensive bracket give me the battery model you get and it's location and i'll make you one. did you get your soldering irons and solder?

[JFern]

good deal just don't want anything to happen to anyone on here from something like an improper installation.
ya i might be poor but safety is a big concern to me especially after some of the things that happened to my old drag cars, good lookin' out

[86lx-i]

i've been meaning to do this for so long. when i do i'm going to put my fusebox were the battery was. try to clean up my engine bay. its a crazy messy wirefest

[gtmst3]

i just started this project and was wondering what size fuse or beaker to use

[ArokASE88LXi]

i just started this project and was wondering what size fuse or beaker to use

Well the stock cable is only about 8 ga but going that longer distance you should definetely step it up to 4 guage especially if you intend to run any aftermarket audio devices off of it.

As for the breaker I believe the main fuse in the fuse block for our cars is 70 AMP (Correct me if i'm wrong guys) and personally i don't think you'd need anything bigger that a 100 amp fuse inline.