Battery Relocation Thread

I thought i'd make a small write up of how I relocated my battery to free up some engine bay space. Some of the AWD guys might want to do so themselves for better weight distribution.

First off, i bought the summit racing kit from www.summitracing.com.
This kit is offered in a black box and red colored box and it $42. It comes with just about everything you need to mount it, but there are a couple of extra things i had to go buy at home depot. First i bought two elbow brackets and an electrical connector made for bigger gauged wires.

I first decided where i wanted to mount the box. It fit perfectly, and tightely right in the center behind the backseats. I tried to put it off to one side but the backseats would not close all the way back unless the box was in the center. Now after placing the box, the seat keeps it in place in the front and the trunk keeps it in place in the back, so now all i have to worry about is side to side. This is where the 90 degree brackets i bought come in handy. I drilled the holes for them after measuring their exact location, and put screws in to hold them in place.

Now that the box is in, i next put in the positive wire, since the negative can just be grounded in the trunk. I ran the wire from the engine bay, and for people who like me who can't run that big ass wire through the firewall, the next best thing is through the side of the hood and into the passenger side door, through the dash, and down into the carpet. I then ran it under the door sills, inside the rear panel where your back speaker is, under the backseats, and finally to the battery box.

Now the toughest parts are done. I took the electrical connector i bought from home depot (which uses two allen head bolts to hold them the wires in place) and ran the wire going to the trunk through one end. Now, the two wires originally connected to the battery terminal, i removed a little bit of insulation from the ends of both of them, and then placed a zip tie at the end of the insulation to keep them together. Next i put a small amount of solder on them to help keep them together. I then took both of the wires attatched together and placed them into the other end of the connector, and tightened down the allen head bolt. It looks like this (and forgive me for the messy engine bay as i'm redoing a bunch of wires to make it look neater:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/711000-711999/711144_27_full.jpg

Afterwards, it was time to put the battery in the box. I then took 4 of my wires i originally had from BigTyla's grounding wires, and found 2 bolts and 2 screws nearby to ground them. Then, all i had to do then was attatch the positive cable, put the top on the box and strap it down, and the battery is relocated. Here are some pictures of the final result (I haven't put everything back in my trunk yet):



http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/711000-711999/711144_24_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/711000-711999/711144_25_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/711000-711999/711144_26_full.jpg

I like the way it looks and i'm sure i will enjoy the extra room in the engine bay.

just got through putting the trunk back together, and this is what it finally looks like

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/711000-711999/711144_28_full.jpg

now i'm ready to put a single 12 inch sub + amp back there now which makes wiring a piece of cake. Also, if your like me and have hotwired your fuel pump, or plan to hotwire your fuel pump, this makes easy access to the battery to do so.

There is still a little room inside that box left after i blocked off the battery with the plastic block off included in the summit kit. I guess i could store a few tools in there . . . well . . you know the reasons why :shakehead

Nice write up...I'm going to link it in the FAQ.

Hot Shot, where would you look first? my 91 gt only has 3 rd and reverse its an automatic. It worked ok when i bought it , it needed a water pump. I put a water pump and a timing belt on it and when i started it i found out i had a tooth off on one of the cams, i fixed it and when i drove it i found out i had a problem with the tranny. Ever hear of anyhing like that? Your help will make me a very happy guy..Thank you..Mike

Holy crap Hotshot that looks awesome:sunglasse

whiteypa, if you have a specific question for Hotshot, then Private Message him.

If you have a problem and need help, start a new thread. But please don't hijack a completely unrelated thread.

whiteypa, if you have a specific question for Hotshot, then Private Message him.

If you have a problem and need help, start a new thread. But please don't hijack a completely unrelated thread.

lol, well since he already asked, i might as well respond

your transmission has gone into failsafe mode, in which you only have 3rd gear working. This is to let you know that there is something wrong with your transmission. I've had this happen to me once before, and it was because i had misinstalled my shift kit, and when i found the problem, it fixed it. But in your case, your transmission is throwing a code, so you need some way of picking up the code number from your diagnostic port. I believe stealth316.com shows you how to do that with a voltmeter if you dont have a datalogger. I have a service manual with all the codes in it, so if you can at least get the code number, i can look it up. If not, you can always take it to the dealership, and they can pull the code for you, but they like to charge you money for doing that if you dont have them repair it for you.

I dont know if you considered this but if you run your car at the track you now need a cut off switch for the battery. Its IHRA and NHRA rules. A friend of mine with a VR4 did his battery relocation and I do beleive he got his from Summitt as well. He also got his cut off switch from Summitt and located it in the area right above the liscense plate and it is barely noticable.

I dont know if you considered this but if you run your car at the track you now need a cut off switch for the battery. Its IHRA and NHRA rules. A friend of mine with a VR4 did his battery relocation and I do beleive he got his from Summitt as well. He also got his cut off switch from Summitt and located it in the area right above the liscense plate and it is barely noticable.

interesting, i did not know that.

I dont know if you considered this but if you run your car at the track you now need a cut off switch for the battery. Its IHRA and NHRA rules.

Why do you need a cut off switch if you run at the track?