Hitchcocks Forum

Hi folks - quick query for the auto-electricians. I'm wiring two 6v sealed batteries in series, to be housed in a rubber battery box. Can anyone recommend the gauge of wire I should use to link the two batteries together to avoid it turning into a filament? Many thanks

PS this is for a 94 kickstart 500.

Some domestic 1.5mm cable will be fine, 2.5mm even better!
REgards, Mark

As a sweeping statement: Use the same cable to connect the batteries together, that's used to connect the batteries to the rest of the bike. If you wanted to get technical (and have a calculator), this method can be used; Add up the headlamp main beam wattage to the brake lamp wattage (as it would be the maximum drain on the batteries with the engine switched off). Take this figure and then divide by the voltage of the batteries. The resultant figure will be the amperage of the wire you'd need to connect the batteries together. So 60 Watts divided by 12 Volts will give you 5 Amp wire. I use 13amp mains wire as it's plentiful and cheap.

Mark, I always thought that you should use multi-strand wire on vehicles. Domestic cable is likely to be single core. A domestic flexible cable would be better.

if the batteries are "taped" together to form one , then solid cable is good , just like buzbars on old batteries

As long as the fuse is the weakest link and cannot be bypassed by some form of electrical short all will be well. Mind you, it is almost Bonfire Night, so be sure to video the resultant aftermath if it goes wrong!

PeteF, I reckon Mark & Barry are thinking of 13amp flex like you get on an extension lead rather than the stiff single core stuff used to wire the house! The last time I wanted wire I bought a 30 metre extension real that was on offer for £10, and it was 16 amp, lasted for years before I used it all..

every so often I buy a few mtrs of 7 core trailer wire and strip the outer sheath off £1 a mtre trade , £5 will give you 7 wires different colours x 5m long , try to locate the obsolete non thinwall type ,