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thanks ted,this is my first big 3 so i wanted to make sure i wasn't going to screw anything up...

Damon

welding cable works fine. just make sure it has a high strand count.
the more strands, the better.

yes you need to fuse the wire from alt to batt

I belive a rating close or just under you alts rating would suffice..i use 100 on an 80 amp

From what I have seen most cars dont have a fuse there...

I wouldnt be worried about drawing more current then wire can handle. I would be more concerned about shorting the wire, which is hard in said setup.

Jaydee23 wrote:yes you need to fuse the wire from alt to batt

I belive a rating close or just under you alts rating would suffice..i use 100 on an 80 amp

You don't HAVE to. The only reason they say to do that is in case the wire comes loose on either end, when it hits metal on the car, it will break the fuse and not cause a fire.

which is why you fuse that cable, and use a fuse rated at the peak current capacity of the wire.
the fuse is there to protect the wire and the car, not the equipment attached to it.

yeah..i would fuse just to be safe but i guess it isnt necessary..no fuses anywhere are necessary to run your equiptment.... just good practice

its funny you never expect things to come loose when you install correctly but i had a 4 ga wire that i clamped a large terminal to..held up very solid for 2 years...then one day i look and the wire is sitting loose in the terminal??you never know!!

considering the amount of jarring and vibration a car is subjected to under normal conditions (and I'm not even talking about harsh climates or off roading) I couldn't "trust" anything not to fail at some point. Especially with newer planned-obsolecense cars.