Extending 1/0 Gauge

[fishpro 10+ year member]

I have a wire run in my truck that fits just far enough to reach the back.. I need to extend the wire but I pretty sure you cant just wire an extra one onto it because its so thick.. is there something I can buy like an empty fuse holder kind of thing so I can add more wire to it?

I ran into the same situation in my truck with 1/0. I went to Home Depot and bought an aluminum coupler. Works fine and as far as signal loss I doubt there is much. Gold plated would be better, but at the time aluminum was all I had:

 

[brynm 10+ year member]

I ran into the same situation in my truck with 1/0. I went to Home Depot and bought an aluminum coupler. Works fine and as far as signal loss I doubt there is much. Gold plated would be better, but at the time aluminum was all I had:

A copper to aluminum connection can give you corrosion problems. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[HypnoticCure 10+ year member]

I'm with the two ring terminals and a bolt people. I did it on a ice cream truck i re wired for power supplies and it worked great, The owner has ran it for a couple years without a single issue and They are running two large inverters off of it.

 

[fishpro 10+ year member]

A copper to aluminum connection can give you corrosion problems. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

HMMM... good point! I should have thought of that:crazy: I have had it that way for 2 years now and no problems. I am getting new comps for Christmas and will check on the connection. Thanks for the input

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

false info.the best way not to loose any power would twist the 2 ends together and use a copper wire nut. but that is not very attractive.

a little quote from the website

read this to get updated on your info

http://www.audioque.com/aq/leadwire.htm

 

use a coupler and shrink tubing and call it a day.

-=jason=-

I'm actually positive that soldering is better than a coupler.

HMMM... good point! I should have thought of that:crazy: I have had it that way for 2 years now and no problems. I am getting new comps for Christmas and will check on the connection. Thanks for the input

Word, yo. It probably shouldn't be too bad. To be safe, I'd change it, and find out what material the wire is made out of, and get that material in a tubing just large enough to fit over the sleeve... get a hammer and a flats head and just go at it. Then wrap it in electrical tape.

 

[fishpro 10+ year member]

I'm actually positive that soldering is better than a coupler.



Word, yo. It probably shouldn't be too bad. To be safe, I'd change it, and find out what material the wire is made out of, and get that material in a tubing just large enough to fit over the sleeve... get a hammer and a flats head and just go at it. Then wrap it in electrical tape.

Its Stinger 1/0 gage and it is not straight copper. The copper wires have a coating of something on them. Not sure what it is.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

Its Stinger 1/0 gage and it is not straight copper. The copper wires have a coating of something on them. Not sure what it is.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

Probably tinned.

 

[fishpro 10+ year member]

Probably tinned.

Right thats what I was thinking. That may help with corrosion....but I will know for sure in a couple of weeks, when I take it apart.

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

Solder does add resistance, not matter how you cut it. Whether or not it is enough resistance to matter, that is the question. IMHO you could not measure the difference in impedance if you did solder that connection or not. As far as which type of device you use to join the two wires, that again is personal preference, but the simple coupler is by far the easiest and cheapest way to go.

 

[Bender. 10+ year member]

i used the same two lengths of wire...use a wire nut the first time then soldered them together then allowed them to set for 10 minutes to return to room temp

wire nut- 0.4 ohms

solder----0.2 ohms

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

i used the same two lengths of wire...use a wire nut the first time then soldered them together then allowed them to set for 10 minutes to return to room temp
wire nut- 0.4 ohms

solder----0.2 ohms

Hmmm... interesting. You have me thinking on that one. I know for sure that lead has a higher resistance than copper. That is not up to debate. I am going to have to test that out myself as well and see if I can figure out why that is.

 

[Bender. 10+ year member]

Hmmm... interesting. You have me thinking on that one. I know for sure that lead has a higher resistance than copper. That is not up to debate. I am going to have to test that out myself as well and see if I can figure out why that is.

lead? solder?

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

lead? solder?

Yes lead solder.

This stuff....

 

[Bender. 10+ year member]

o lead...metal rofl i thought you meant lead like a dmm's leads...lol i know what solder is

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

o lead...metal rofl i thought you meant lead like a dmm's leads

Gotcha... my bad. I am not saying you are wrong here, just that it did not make sense to me.