[Shotimes] battery in trunk

[Leigh Smith]

VO;
I know you will think this through. This is a serious modification of the
electrical system of your car. I've seen hundreds of street cars that have
done this, (drag racers and autocrossers) and many of them have charging
and/or starting issues. This is not a fix it once and forget about it type
of modification. If you are willing to check and / or clean connections
regularly, etc. then maybe you can live with it.  Many times the always hot
wire & connections make it difficult to keep the battery charged. The
battery vent causes increased corrosion at all the connection points. Only
older corvettes that I have seen have batteries that are vented to the
outside of the car.  I have seen the damage that the acid fumes can do
inside the trunk. The only sure fire way to wire it would be to run 2 big
wires, both pos & neg, and a rear mouted solenoid, with a couple more
smaller wires. Not many people do this. So see sentence #3 above. I wouldn't
go thru all that trouble for a race car, but for a low maintenace street car
I might.
Yeah, I know it is a "cool" mod, but be prepared for any issues that may
come up. Personally I would definately do it for a track car, but not a
street car. My 11 year old daily driver SHO street car has enough issues on
its own already. It doesn't need me adding to them.
Good luck;
Leigh
94 MTX with a new heart transplant and ready for another 200k miles or so!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "van Oss" <vanOss@centurytel.net>
To: <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 4:30 PM
Subject: [Shotimes] battery in trunk


> Thanks to encouragement from Robert Bruce, I plan to take the plunge and
> move the battery to the trunk in my 92 MTX.  I am using a Summit Racing
kit
> bought at the Maryland convention.  A few questions, please forgive me if
> they've come up before.
>
> 1. This kit has a short ground wire; it definitely depends on grounding
> through the body.  It's been said the PCM can get flaky unless it's
grounded
> directly to the battery.  Shall I run a separate PCM ground wire back to
the
> battery?  If so, what gauge?  How (which pin) would it connect to the PCM?
>
> 2. I wonder about the 2-gauge red positive wire being charged at all
times.
> What happens in a crash?  If I move the starter relay to the trunk, how
does
> the car get power for accessories when that relay's off?
>
> 3. I have a headlamp-relay harness in this car.  Can I keep it?
Currently,
> that harness connects directly to the battery.  Shall I reroute the red
> wires to the point where the big red cable attaches to the starter motor?
>
> VO
> _______________________________________________
> Shotimes mailing list
> Shotimes@autox.team.net
> http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shotimes