Convertible owners - post your battery tray

[Ceeker]

Can anyone direct me to a thread with details to how to retrofit the battery to the rear right trunk quarter panel. I'm reading the coupe/sedan cable is to short to work? Is this correct? Also states it's better to use e36 cable because it is longer.

any clarity on this would be helpful.

thx

[Das Delfin]

^ yeah exactly. When I drilled through the rear trunk barrier I cut a bit of vacuum hose to line the sharp metal and then taped it in place with an extreme amount of electrical tape

[Bearmw]

Nice job on that former tray. I also used a stock E30 cable and proactively paid attention to potential chafing issues before they resulted in some scary sparks.

[Das Delfin]

Got around to fixing this. Here's what it looks like now


I put a group 48 AGM in the back of the car and installed the battery cable system from a 325i. When I went to install the remote positive terminal, the battery cable looked a bit short for the stock punch outs in the firewall. Because the holes were only punch outs, I just drilled a set of new holes that would work with the length of cable. The engine harness and fuse box wires attached like normal.

[Klug]

Note for future vert guys moving the battery to the rear. Since the stock 325i cable is a few inches too short- make sure that when you do add another few inches to the cable- to buy a 2/0 butt splice (crimp connector) since 1/0 is too small (the cable itself is somewhere between 1/0 and 2/0 but not an exact standard gauge)

I'm using the stock 325i cable from the front, put the 2/0 splice near the door frame and continued back with a e36 m3 cable I had from a partout to the trunk (they turned out to be the same measurements, both length and inner/outer diameter)

[Klug]

How did you guys relocate the battery to the rear? The stock e30 cable has a zero chance in my '92 vert of being pulled from the rear seat area (by that support bar) in the existing hole that is back there.

I can run it through the 'back firewall' that is between the seat back and trunk....but I'm going to have length issues if I run it to the side.

Also- Since the setup is a little different in the verts vs coupes- I ended up wrapping the cable with this thick rubber material that I had laying around- don't want this cable to rub against the body and short without any plastic tray etc protecting it. However- I didn't wrap the other end of the cable being pulled through the back- since it's already turning out to be a bitch.

[jeffnhiscars]

Thanks, Jeff! With this as my retirement project I can take the time to do things right...hence my purchase of your seat shocks a few weeks back!

I appreciate it and keep up the good work.

^ "take time to do things right" that's my motto!

Jeff, I'll let ya know if your shocks are any good in a few years

I'm counting on it...lol..and as long as I stil have these available I'll replace any that go bad within a year.

[Das Delfin]

^ "take time to do things right" that's my motto!

Jeff, I'll let ya know if your shocks are any good in a few years

[PKile]

Thanks, Jeff! With this as my retirement project I can take the time to do things right...hence my purchase of your seat shocks a few weeks back!

[jeffnhiscars]

Now there's a man who takes pride in his battery tray. Nicest one I've ever seen :)

[PKile]

Here's mine.. the clueless first owners had a battery leak and never cleaned and neutralized the spill. I sanded and wire brushed the tray, gave it three coats of epoxy primer from a Spray Maxx two part rattle can followed by three coats of brush-on Randolph Aerospace Acid Proof battery box paint from Aircraft Spruce. Here is the result...

[mr2peak]

Awesome, thanks!

[Das Delfin]

Here we go.

It's a Group 92


Package Weight 37.0000 lbs
Length 12.5000 in
Width 6.8750 in
Height 6.8750 in

[mr2peak]

Can you look up the dimensions of the E36M3 battery? I want to see if it will fit.

[Das Delfin]

^ Hmm that's right. I work in a battery store and a customer came in today for an e36 M3 convertible battery, which specifically says "vibration resistant." And also costs like $150

I want to swap in an AGM because they are by design vibration resistant. But I don't want to do all that and find out it was better left stock :P