Confused with Battery Relocation - Please help

[ForcedTorque]

I bought my shell with an already relocated battery. It is grounded to the body at the center of the spare tire well. The positive runs to the front of the car, where it goes into a junction box. There, it has a post for that wire coming from the battery, a wire going out to the starter, and the wire from the fuse box, that gets power to the cabin. This is how I assumed it should be.

My problem is, when I connect the battery, my fuel pump, and my AFC-NEO both get powered immediately. The car does fine if I jump right in, and crank it after slap the negative cable on. All I can think that could be causing it, is that wire from the fuse box. That wire bolts to the positive terminal in stock form, so I don't understand why it would be a problem.

I am using an 89 harness that I had help converting it to work in the 92. I suspect that it could be also be a cause. I made no changes to the NEO wiring at all. It has a plug in the middle, and half goes with the engine haness, while the unit keeps the other half. I guess one of those wires, or more, could have taken on new responsibilities.

Let me thank you in advance for any help you can be.

 

[Evilempire1.3JZ-GTE]

The negative tie down to the battery in your situation is the worst & most horrible.

Instead lug a 0-1 gauge wire run the negative post into the forward most dustcover for the rear bumper support then bolt it down to the frame at the rear bumper support bolt inside the car.
At this ground location you will get a perfect ground & too the frame of the car.

 

[IJ.]

Chassis as a ground path both sucks and blows.....

 

[reydio]

Chassis as a ground path both sucks and blows.....

I'm with IJ, run a negative wire direct to the front and connect to neg cable. This will assure that you have a complete ground to the engine and it's components.

 

[Evilempire1.3JZ-GTE]

Actually where I tied it down at for the rear is the best option I meggered Ohmed out the connections needs the least prep work other then running a seperat ground cable 0 gauge to all the rest of the electronics using the factory ground the way toyota designed the car is most efficient the chassie rib that travels from the rear of the car to the front is the same tie down the factory uses can handle the most current and least likely to cause galvanic or dissimilar metal corrossion from the electrolysis of chemicals or moisture etc..

Working these departments of Aerospace and the Navy as well as a higher education comes into play in this I never guess at my work.

You do not want to use the spare tire wingnut clamp nut hole because usually at the back in that area it likes to fill up with water mix a little current bare metal iron oxide any corrosive materials you will have rapid corrosion also it is tied to the skin of the car not directly to the frame.


Also for the postivie side of the battery
You want to run it as factory as possible
0-1 gauge multi stranded cable the more strands the better because DC voltage current travels through the outer perameter of the conductor so the more strands the more surface area the more surface area the better conductivity & efficiency.

From there you want to lug it and bolt it to the old cable that went to the starter post & the old cable went into the fusebox #2 in the front of the car.

As for the engine block old negative cable lug & tie it down to the front of the car at the frame. Do not rely on that original 10mm bolt lug it down good to the frame.

 

[IJ.]

Low comp 3.0L engine you get away with it try it on a high comp large engine and the voltage drop will kill the starter in days....

 

[kamikazemkiii]

Ive heard the best place for the gound is on one of the motor mounts

 

[Davismj711]

Ian

I, like many others on the board value and respect your fact based opinions.

Most mods I have seen undertaken always need thorugh research and the assumption that more work will need to be done in order to do it right.

Your input on the Catch tank thread helped me do it the right way, I am certain there is a right way here also.

I realize if the search function is used there are many answers to be found, and perhaps I just have not found a section intitled " How To Mods ". Other than the Stickys in each sub section.

I am not doing this mod at this time, but it sure would be nice to have a section dedicated to THE RIGHT WAY to do a mod.

 

[Mk3runner]

I run my power and ground straight to the front.

as for why your getting ign switched power on when batt is connected no clue.

 

[shaeff]

I'm with the "run power and ground straight to the front" crew.

 

[jdub]

Ian

I, like many others on the board value and respect your fact based opinions.

Most mods I have seen undertaken always need thorugh research and the assumption that more work will need to be done in order to do it right.

Your input on the Catch tank thread helped me do it the right way, I am certain there is a right way here also.

I realize if the search function is used there are many answers to be found, and perhaps I just have not found a section intitled " How To Mods ". Other than the Stickys in each sub section.

I am not doing this mod at this time, but it sure would be nice to have a section dedicated to THE RIGHT WAY to do a mod.

It's called the "Articles" forum

 

[Davismj711]

Thanks Jdub.

I must admit that the "Articles" tab is one I have missed. I may not be the only one that has.
That is a treasure chest, now that I know it is there I will be doing some heavy reading.

I suppose articles always translated into a non fictional literary composition to me. Something akin to a car review or test.

Just a thought, but seems like a tab intitled "How to" or something like that may indeed cut down on many often over answered questions on the board. It may also save the many related mistakes from doing it the wrong way first ^^

Again, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[ForcedTorque]

Thanks for the many replies! I do know now, that I need to re-work the ground for my set-up. But, does that explain why I'm getting power where I shouldn't have power in more than one spot?

Also, I'd like suggestions on a route to the front for the negative. I'm assuming the positive goes along the driveshaft tunnel under the carpet, and he drilled a large hole in the firewall to get out. I'm not a fan of drilling too many holes, so some suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Mk3runner]

I ran mine through the drivers side wiring loom that goes to the rear. then ran it through the fire wall under the fuse block.

here:

 

[SupraStardom]

Also for the postivie side of the battery
You want to run it as factory as possible
0-1 gauge multi stranded cable the more strands the better because DC voltage current travels through the outer perameter of the conductor so the more strands the more surface area the more surface area the better conductivity & efficiency.

From there you want to lug it and bolt it to the old cable that went to the starter post & the old cable went into the fusebox #2 in the front of the car.

As for the engine block old negative cable lug & tie it down to the front of the car at the frame. Do not rely on that original 10mm bolt lug it down good to the frame.

That multi strand wire is why i use 0 gauge welding lead wire. It has a lot of little wires that carry its voltage/amperage. its cheap and found at any Airgas or other welding supply. I use that and the gold plated connectors and spray it with the terminal protector, i have no grounding or power problems at all. Overkill isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[IJ.]

Mine is based on practical experience trying to start a Crower injected 12.5:1 440Ci BBC, I ran the ground through the chassis and would trash a starter per week until I ran a second dedicated ground cable, following that it became a non issue.
(this was using a pair of BIG Tractor batteries in the back to try and get around the V drop I was seeing)

At the time I was very young and didn't understand the "why" just that the starters would get red hot in a minute or so of cranking then die shortly afterwards, as I mentioned above low comp 3.0L motor this isn't so much of an issue but it's just the way I do things and will continue to do so.

Ditto on the .5" multistrand welding cable it's cheap readily available will carry mega current and is flexible.

 

[ForcedTorque]

I just looked at my wiring, and it's 2 gauge with the gold connectors. I'm leaving on my way to the Hard Rock Casino shortly, so no pictures tonight, but I'll take pictures of the whole set up tomorrow. I feel like other than the 2 gauge wiring, the positive side is done OK (stopped short of saying real good)

 

[Evilempire1.3JZ-GTE]

I ran mine through the drivers side wiring loom that goes to the rear. then ran it through the fire wall under the fuse block.

here:

+1 for that you want to fallow the driverside wire loom.
Here is a picture of my relocation kit.

It uses the summit kit P# http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-890028
For some reason the kit is obsolete it used to cost ~45$

 

[Evilempire1.3JZ-GTE]

Sorry could not get a clear shot of te termination point on the second bolt because the rear trim is in the car.

You want to use a piloted bonding brush to clean the surface for metal to metal contact so you dont blow up your starters like mentioned before.

You also want to use an iodine solution used to help protect the bare metal surface then spray protective paint over the terminal surface after the bolt is tightened down

 

[IJ.]

^ Damn good advice I neglected to mention, ALL the terminals need to be in perfect condition.