| MayanArch |
Posted
Sunday, Jun 17th 4:08pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1273
Florida, USA
Baur E21 2.7 1982, Baur E30 318i 1985, 323i 1978 |
Why go with a kit? Why not just buy the standard components at an autoparts store?
How much wire do you need? what type?
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| Madhatter |
Posted
Sunday, Jun 17th 5:50pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 224
Australia - QLD
E21, E24, E30 |
posted a thread on bf previously, i didnt get up pics of the connector, but it doesnt matter anyway, the rest is there.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=586880
Of course you can, here is what i use.
List of parts if anybody is interested.
| Quote: |
Parts
Minimum 5 metres of 2 gauge cable
Length of heatshrink (think the stuff i used was 20mm in diameter)
Solder
Tin battery lug/connector
Pass through connector
10mm (or larger) ring style crimp connector
Positive battery terminal
Negative battery cable
Self tapping metal screws
Battery box
Zip/Cable ties
Silicone
Tools used
Soldering Iron
Blow torch (gas burner can be substitued, say from cook top or bbq)
Long/Needle nosed pliers
Stanley (utility) knife
Side cutters
10mm spanner/socket
Flat blade and Phillips head screw drivers
17mm ring spanner/socket
Drill and drill bits
Bench Vice
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| MayanArch |
Posted
Sunday, Jun 17th 7:08pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1274
Florida, USA
Baur E21 2.7 1982, Baur E30 318i 1985, 323i 1978 |
Great post. I would love to see a pic of how you bring this down and connect it to the starter.
What about jumper connectors under the hood/bonnet? How would you do those?
I realize some are simple no-brainers.....but I am always freaked about electrical connections. |
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| nsbone |
Posted
Monday, Jun 18th 5:58am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 456
KL, Malaysia
e21 323/6 316, e34 520i, e32 730i |
I heard you can use wire that is used for Arc Welder.. something like very high Amp ratings.. |
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| Madhatter |
Posted
Monday, Jun 18th 1:02pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 225
Australia - QLD
E21, E24, E30 |
| MayanArch wrote: | Great post. I would love to see a pic of how you bring this down and connect it to the starter.
What about jumper connectors under the hood/bonnet? How would you do those?
I realize some are simple no-brainers.....but I am always freaked about electrical connections. |
You can simply take the wire, put a tin connector on the end, solder and crimp it on, then run it down to the back of the starter and bolt it on the back just like it was the original wire running to the positive battery terminal.
The fuse block is just so the owner could mount other things to it because the starter post wasnt big enough to fit all his connections.
You can buy post terminals too if you want to put a battery post somewhere in the engine bay.
If you want to jump start it, you simply connect to the battery in the boot. The other connections for the loom remain on the starter as per normal.
Basically, all you do is remove the positive battery cable and replace it with your connection from the battery, earth the negative side out on to the body somewhere in the engine bay, then earth the negative terminal to the strut tower in the boot. Just sand the area to remove a little paint to give a good contact, then dab a little grease over the terminal when tightened to stop it rusting/corroding. |
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| pjs323i |
Posted
Tuesday, Jun 19th 3:13am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 51
Canberra, Australia
'81 323i |
| Madhatter wrote: | | MayanArch wrote: | Great post. I would love to see a pic of how you bring this down and connect it to the starter.
What about jumper connectors under the hood/bonnet? How would you do those?
I realize some are simple no-brainers.....but I am always freaked about electrical connections. |
You can simply take the wire, put a tin connector on the end, solder and crimp it on, then run it down to the back of the starter and bolt it on the back just like it was the original wire running to the positive battery terminal.
The fuse block is just so the owner could mount other things to it because the starter post wasnt big enough to fit all his connections.
You can buy post terminals too if you want to put a battery post somewhere in the engine bay.
If you want to jump start it, you simply connect to the battery in the boot. The other connections for the loom remain on the starter as per normal.
Basically, all you do is remove the positive battery cable and replace it with your connection from the battery, earth the negative side out on to the body somewhere in the engine bay, then earth the negative terminal to the strut tower in the boot. Just sand the area to remove a little paint to give a good contact, then dab a little grease over the terminal when tightened to stop it rusting/corroding. |
Your right man, if you can install a stereo you can do a battery relocation. Infact, its easier as far as the electrical side of things are concerned. I'd be more worried about the brace in the back holding the battery properly. Do you think i could use the batery brace in the front and bolt/weld it in the boot??? and perhaps add some seatbelt straps for extra strenght??
and if you want to jump start a car like a man you:
1) turn the ignition on
2) put the clutch in and put it in first OR reverse
3) still holding the clutch take the hadbrake off
4) get some sort of forward/backwards momentum going, depending on the gear you are in (dont take your foot off the clutch yet).
5) as the car starts to get momentum dropp the clutch and hear her purr...
just dont do it too often  |
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| ece323i |
Posted
Tuesday, Jun 19th 6:26pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Junior Member
Post nr. 4
Houston
'81 323i '86 325e |
Here is a link to E21parts.net that outlines the installation of a rear battery mount. It has pictures of the necessary items and the routing. The routing he chose is just 1 option but the page is thorough in its explanation
http://e21parts.net/amproducts/batterycable.htm |
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| BarryA |
Posted
Tuesday, Jun 19th 9:59pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 195
Sacramento CA
81 320 |
If you have access to a Pick & Pull type self-service wrecking yard, you can get pretty much everything you need as far as cables, etc, to relocate the battery by pulling all the cabling out of a E30 325 sedan.
When I did the relocation in my US spec 320, I put the battery in the right rear corner of the trunk and ran the "+" cable up over the right rear wheel arch, along the diagonal brace inside the right rear quarter, along the right side rocker, up the right side kick panel and through the firewall next to the ECU cable.
With the battery all the way at the rear of the trunk, the original one-piece E30 cable wasn't quite long enough, so I got two cables and spliced them together behind the right rear trim panel. I remember correctly, the cost for one complete cable assembly (including all the hardware, junction blocks, etc ) plus a second main cable & a factory ground cable was about $30 - cheap. |
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| JJG323 |
Posted
Wednesday, Jun 20th 5:47am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1327
Reading MA USA
1979 BMW 323i |
I can offer a whole e30 battery relocation kit.
It not long enough so I used a JEGS universal relocation kit.
let me know..its in my garage doing nada.... |
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| Madhatter |
Posted
Wednesday, Jun 20th 11:39am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 226
Australia - QLD
E21, E24, E30 |
yeah, you can use the brace when you cut it out of the engine bay. Screw through the brace and the boot and weld it if you are that paranoid. |
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| andypaulleach |
Posted
Tuesday, Jul 3rd 10:53pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 10
Wales
E21 Baur 323i |
| nsbone wrote: | | I heard you can use wire that is used for Arc Welder.. something like very high Amp ratings.. |
You may be right I use an arc welding lead cut in 2 for jump leads and they work fine |
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| DHoang |
Posted
Sunday, Jul 15th 12:07am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 341
Texas USA
323i, e39 528i, Maserati Spider, Tundra LTD V8 p/up |
THat's what I used too, welding wire. I bought it at Home Depot, in the welding dept, next to the tools. Then, I bought 8-ga multi stranded copper wire (aka "monster cable" for juicing amps) and ran it all the way to the fusebox. My objective was to ensure as little voltage drop as possible going to the starter.
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| aussie323i |
Posted
Sunday, Jul 15th 3:26pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 580
australia
1979 323i |
nice writeup on bimmerforums there hatter... it's almost exactly how I did my relocation- right down to the exact same battery box strapped to the same spot in the boot!
After 3 years of no problems, I did have an earthing issue this week... for some reason, the earth strap no longer likes being earthed on the rear strut- I simply earthed it on another bolt in the boot at this stage- I haven't had a chance to check out what has happened to the strut- whether it's corroded or something?? I shall investigate! |
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| Madhatter |
Posted
Sunday, Jul 15th 5:06pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 233
Australia - QLD
E21, E24, E30 |
given the age of our cars and the likelyhood at the boot area being damp, corrosion is probably the culprit. Sanding the area to clean it away, then bolting it back up and applying some grease should prevent scale from building up again. |
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