#2 lug from WARN power interrupt to positive terminal: What am I missing?

[cr117]

I guess when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a punch chisel.

I simply stated he could make his own crimped lug cables. Doing it properly is up to the OP. Plenty of online videos are available. He doesn't have to spend $60 at a shop for a simple-to-make item.

If you think the only thing a vise-grip does is pancake things, you don't know how to use a vise-grip. There are plenty of online videos to help with that. The suggested hammer crimper pancakes the wires too. And how much force is required for a proper crimp? Does OP have that capability and heavy enough hammer? It may actually make worse, deceptive, mal-formed crimps than a pair of vise-grips. So I guess nobody should use that tool.

It appears you are short on technical knowledge of amperage, flux arcs, or resistance. A tight, solid connection is better than a loose gappy one. Most lugs in the #4-0 range have too big of a terminal hole for the screw terminal on a battery. See OP's photo above. It's actually a worse connection than using a copper strip with a smaller hole that does not create excessive leverage on the terminal connection like the badly sized lug. Look at which battery connections have the most corrosion build up - always the big, gappy ones. Why? The air gap and ambient moisture. Where would the greater resistance reside?

There is plenty of ampacity in a 1/2 inch run of 1/4in. copper pipe for a 2 AWG (125A) on an 850A battery. (Electrons flow on the outside of the metal - not the interior. Maxwell's Equations.) It's not how thick the lug is. The contact surface area and lattice support is what matters . The WARN will draw 70-90 amps on average for a 9,000 lb pull. A 10,000lb pull pushes it up to the cable (and winch) limit. The battery plates would short, or the alternator cables overheat, long before the #2 wire or lug would fail. Why do you think 200A service panels are grounded to copper pipes in houses?

Every one gets to choose what they are comfortable doing with their Broncos. Feel free to offer your suggestions. But don't go criticizing others when you don't have full knowledge. And you know the assumption saying (well, at least most people do).

I still would never recommend to a novice to try and build their own terminals, especially with the high amperage demands of a winch. If you're a pro at it, then go ahead. Apparently I'm not, I'll just spend my $2 on a pre-made terminal that I'll know will work.

I appreciate the assumptions on my knowledge taken from a post simply warning people who might be trying to figure out how to crimp terminals on to a wire maybe shouldn't be jumping straight to building their own terminals. Thanks for the lesson, I've learned so much.

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[C6ZZGT]

I need to connect #2 copper wire provided with WARN power interrupt kit to positive battery terminal. The provided wire (lug) does not fit into the terminal bay as it is too wide. Bending the lug to fix the angle does not solve the width problem. Am I just dense? (Please don't answer that last question)

I also need to create a 3 foot cable rather than 2 feet (as provided by WARN) to reach around the battery from my solenoid mount. Any thoughts?

I'm trying to search for a #2 lug that has a slightly narrower neck to fit within that slot on the terminal bay. However, almost everything I can find seems to be the same style with one width throughout the lug.

Many thanks!

JWilks
'24 Badsquatch MT

How about an end with a smaller hole ? The cable you have has a hole that is too big.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...pper/ss01/08786?q=battery+cable+lug+2ga&pos=4

then you could trim the sides to fit the bay.
And since you want a different length just build one the way it should be/how you want it.

 

[BUCKIN6VA]

What did you end up doing about this? I was so close to wrapping up this project before I found that the Positive cable from the winch is too small to fit over the stud on the interrupt. I assume to just drill that out.

But then the oversized lug hole on the provided 18" wire from the interrupt to the battery ... I wouldn't mind ordering a new cable but I don't know what sizes to look for.

 

[KreeHBronco]

Hello, looking to do something similar. Any final resolution and pictures?

 

[BUCKIN6VA]

Hello, looking to do something similar. Any final resolution and pictures?

No resolution yet. One shop didn’t want to touch it. Haven’t tried another yet.

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