GROUND/STARTER CABLES...

[wirewrkr]

[/quote]That seems very expensive to me.[/quote]
Well, you best not buy one then. That's the good thing about choice.
You could always get one from BMW for $26.00.
Or a pair from that "other" guy for $50.00
I asked him some innocent BMW application questions and he is NOT a BMW guy. He just copies cables.
ALL I do pertains to BMW only. for now.

[dwire]

That seems very expensive to me.

Well, you best not buy one then. That's the good thing about choice.
You could always get one from BMW for $26.00.
Or a pair from that "other" guy for $50.00
I asked him some innocent BMW application questions and he is NOT a BMW guy. He just copies cables.
ALL I do pertains to BMW only. for now.

touche'

I'll make my own for next to nothing. I would have to research way back in my records to see what the wire and ends cost in those days (it was free to me at that time...) and have no idea what the equipment "cost" is now once one posses it and it's paid for itself. Surely under $10 for both cables made out of the same welder type wire (don't recall how many 0's the size is now, sorry it was given to me years back...) If I can make 4X cost, well that is excellent - your TV would cost upwards of 10K at Wal-Mart like that...

Seriously, I'm not going into the battery cable business, for anyone ready to inquire!

[Duane Ausherman]

Copper is a comodity and they are nearly all UP. To buy the parts new and do the labor is quite a bit. I think that the $50 price is OK. He is not getting rich from that.

I too have the parts for free, so I make my own.

[Duane Ausherman]

With soldering there is no reason for cleaning the terminal. With a crimp, it is important, as the surface can oxidize. The inspection hole is for the inspector (me) to make sure that the copper is thrust all the way to the bottom.

The requirement for the motorcycle is so much less than the cell sites I inspect that it is unfair of me to compare. I was just wondering how you did it.

A single crimp is ok because you are soldering it. Otherwise we never accept a short terminal that only has room for a single crimp. If it is just crimped, then it is to be crimped first at the end of the terminal next to the wire. If it is crimped at the other end, it tends to force the wire out of the hole. The first crimp holds it and the second (or third or forth) really sets it well.

We also require the crimp made with dies with the # on them. That way I can tell if the correct dies were used. Sometimes a contractor will not have the correct brand lugs and use the other brand of crimp tool. Each terminal company has a slightly different size and therefore a special die.

We require (finally) that the shrink tubing covering the connection be clear plastic. We need to see that there is no copper showing at the insertion.

I was once very suspicious of the crimp and it was covered with black shrink. I removed it to find that the lug hole was way too small for the 2 aught welding cable. The tech had just cut off about 1/3 of the strands so that it would fit. I found it and turned it in. The result was a million dollar lawsuit that took a couple of years to resolve.

Crooks will try to cover up the evidence. I am sure that some gets by me, but not much. The crooked contractors know me and hate me. They often use my name and reputation to threaten contractors for compliance. Nobody wants to see me inspecting their jobs. Actually, the few honest ones have no issue with me. I admire work done as per the contract and industry standards.

Did I mention that I love catching crooks?

[dougie]

Motobins battery positive cable - 10GBP, $15.91Cdn, $15.60US.
Motobins battery ground cable - 5.75GBP, $9.15Cdn, $8.97US.
Roughly $25 for both if you are OK with the quality.
Only worth it when part of an order due to shipping charges, but I do a parts order before every winter.

Found locally -
http://www.princessauto.com/workshop/ga ... ding-cable
I believe that is $1.59Cdn/foot.
Terminals? $2 each? Make them? Use the old ones?
Lots of possibilities.

[dwire]

Motobins battery positive cable - 10GBP, $15.91Cdn, $15.60US.
Motobins battery ground cable - 5.75GBP, $9.15Cdn, $8.97US.

Hey Doug, I remember when our money actually went somewhere is Canada! For your sake, I hope it is only our money that is worthless, but sadly assume that is not all that has declined.

[dougie]

Hey Doug, I remember when our money actually went somewhere is Canada! For your sake, I hope it is only our money that is worthless, but sadly assume that is not all that has declined.

Yeah- we are currently in the $0.98 - $1.00 range.
Tough on our exporters, but good for me buying parts online.

[Duane Ausherman]

Dougie, you originally asked such a simple innocent question. "Mine are 27 years old, do they deteriorate much, and would new oem cables make a difference?"

I bet you never thought that you would end up with such detail of mostly useless information. I really hope that you aren't discouraged and will ask questions again. Maybe when you recover from this one.

[dougie]

Dougie, you originally asked such a simple innocent question. "Mine are 27 years old, do they deteriorate much, and would new oem cables make a difference?"

I bet you never thought that you would end up with such detail of mostly useless information. I really hope that you aren't discouraged and will ask questions again. Maybe when you recover from this one.

I have been around here long enough to know Duane. It always gets a bit nuts.
Look what happened to my "Tool junkie" thread!

[Sibbo]

I solder my welding cables , a fairly quick and simple operation .I seems the easiest and most foolproof method as far as i can see and would also be so with battery cables .Am I wrong ?