Replacing Starter Motor -> 96 Z26

[1badz26]

The battery is currently grounded in the rear. The positive wire is pretty thick, but I am not sure what gage.

When I bought the car in 2011 it was already set up this way with the battery in the trunk. I want to move it back to the engine bay where it is suppose to be.

Currently, the battery says its holding 12.6 volts and is also good under load but it wont charge. It was suggested by a mechanic to put the battery back in the front due to the extra long positive cable from the battery to the starter. I am having imtermittent starting issues. Sometimes I turn the key and it clicks once. Turn the key back, turn key forward again and it starts. The battery is 6 months old and the one before that was just at one year old (replaced under warranty).

With all the trouble I figured it was time to move it back to where it is suppose to be.

[1988GTU]

I have mine in the trunk and it has only had one issue, and that was in the very beginning when I ran 2g wire for the positive and ground that came with the generic "kit". It wasn't even fine braid.
I switched to 0g and used fine braid, no problems since.

What I did do additionally was upgrade the charging wire from the alt going thicker and tying it into the positive feed wire going to the trunk.

Also know, that since you have pretty much unlimited space in the trunk for a battery. Your options are very big with the size (CCA) you can put back there.

[1badz26]

Could you elaborate on the reason for moving it to the trunk? I have been curious as to why on my car but previous owner didnt know.

Also, when moving it back to the engine bay, should I use some heat shrink tubing on positive and negative cables? I am guessing so but thought I would ask.
Thanks again.

[Slinky]

Look at his sig, he has something else where his battery should be, like a turbo haha
I moved mine to thunk for the same reason, my S/C was in the way, but i used 0/2ga gauge welding wire, cheaper than battery wire ect and just as conductive..
And yes use all proper precautions such as heat shrink tubing

For the record, I'm on the same mini-starter that Aaron sold me back in 2001-2002. Which was used at that point too.

Rettax3, I'm not sure where you are getting your information regarding the smaller starters burning up, but I have had zero problems with mine.

My mini starter actually caught on fire LOL
But it was while i was driving and because of cheap wire loom that got soaked driving through rain which caused the positive to arc i believe starting it..

[1988GTU]

Yip, little snail power trumps battery space. I prefer to have room to do any work within an engine if I can make that happen without too much trade-off.

Always practice using shrink tube, wire loom, clean wrapping of electrical tape, and proper positioning of zipties when needed.

I was about to use welding wire, but I just wasnt happy with the soft protective coating it tends to have after it gets old. Have used it in the past for other battery relocations, but this time around I just wanted try something different and be that guy. haha

[1badz26]

So more or less, the previous owner had a s/c on the car. I figured something as such.

Thanks for the input guys.

[1988GTU]

SC or Turbocharger... or they put in a huge usless CAI and couldnt figure out how to route the plumbing for it.

[3X00-Modified]

Probably the latter..

[Rettax3]

My mini starter actually caught on fire LOL
But it was while i was driving and because of cheap wire loom that got soaked driving through rain which caused the positive to arc i believe starting it..

ROFL! That is the best one yet... Very glad your car didn't get burned down with it...

Because I initially moved the small intercooler on my '90 Turbo 'Retta to where the battery sat, I put the battery behind the engine, but left it in the bay. I basically just cut a huge notch into the heater-blower motor duct and welded in a battery-tray. It is a bit of a PITA to swap the battery out, but nothing compared to a lot of the newer cars that require structural brackets to be removed or have the battery tucked in through the wheel-well (Chrysler, shame on you!). With the new setup, I have a ram-air NACA-style scoop feeding the CAI through the hood (the scoop used to feed fresh air to the intercooler), and the new intercooler gets air from the front, obviously being a FMIC. I am not a fan of trunk-mounting the battery, just because of the extra cost and weight a sufficient cable adds, and because anything but a maintenance-free or AGM battery will put corrosive fumes into the trunk where they don't belong. Of course, doing it right gives you a sealed box for the battery, but even then it SHOULD be vented to the outside, so punch a hole in your trunk! (Or, you know, buy a decent sealed battery, that was tough.) If you were having problems with the battery not charging, I would say the trunk-mount kit wasn't done right or the cables had gotten corroded or damaged somehow. Good luck.