Got a little time tonight to clean up something that has been bothering me. Back when I was planning this project I intended to use a PVC pipe to run the wiring from the front battery racks to the rear. After seeing a few cars not using any conduit, I changed my mind and decided just to tie wrap up the cables to the former exhaust pipe mounts. As you might recall this didn't work so well - the cables sagged enough that they could catch road debris and they weren't protected from said debris that might, over time, damage the cable insulation.
I got a comment pointing this out on the blog and an email from a Spec Miata racer explaining the damage to his exhaust system that he has personally seen. Plus he pointed out that in rare cases one of the axles could break free from the differential which could potentially wallop the cables into a heap of sparks.
So, back to plan A.
First I got a short length of 1.25" diameter PVC pipe just to protect the cables around the axle. It was hard to get the cable ends through the pipe and it didn't do anything for the sagging (naturally).
I returned this pipe and got a 10' long 2" diameter conduit - which was of course too big to make it under the axle with any ground clearance.
I returned this pipe and got a 5' long 1.5" diameter pipe - which was about 2.5' too short...
I returned this pipe to Judy (we are on a first name basis now) and got a 10' long 1.5" diameter pipe. It was long enough, it was wide enough it was small enough, it was just right...
The cables went into it real nice and I added a couple of 45s at the end to bring it right into the battery rack. This also let it sit down a little lower than if it was a straight pipe.
After I got the cables in it, I pushed through the cable for the 220vac line from the charging port to the charger.
Looks pretty clean, and definitely a lot safer.
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