VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Electrolock Protection - Shorting

heard stories about the electrolock cable hitting the starter power and shorting/arcing. from mild to wild incidents. was wondering what you guys do if anything to prevent this?

i have seen and read about people putting on a small piece of hose around the electrolock cable in that area, even seen some starters with some sort of guard/ shield over the open connection.assume it is NOT metal or would not help any.

wondering if this is a big concern or a dont worry. i was thinking of putting on a piece of clear heat shrink around the cable in that area, that way would protect in case they touched and would not be a visual eyesore or distraction. could design and 3d print a shroud or guard for the starter.

I made a rubber boot similar to what is used on todays modern battery cables and installed it on the positive cable at the starter end.

something like these ??

Yes. Those do look nicer than what I made up so "someday " will replace with what you pictured.

lol, they are CHEAP, the ones on left (Straight Terminal Clamp Protectors) are 1.66 ea for 1/0 & 2/0
i ordered a set of those, and then a tab protector for lie 2.67, then shipping was only $2.50 !! USPS

they are here:
Remy Battery

this is the place i got my battery terminals & connectors from as they are nice quality. ship quick, and parts & shipping are affordable !!

Thanks for the info.

Originally there was a woven fabric insulating sleeve on the spark cable and a rubber insulator on the positive connection on the starter. I am sure the rubber insulator is long gone and also likely the insulating sleeve. Rhode Island Wiring Service and others sell the woven sleeve material. As stated here before many slit a heater hose and fit it over the electrolock cable to keep it from contacting the starter connection stud. May not look good but keeps from frying the electrolock cable. Can be easily removed if desired. BTW a spiral slit is better than a straight one.

I have this picture of what looks like a metal shroud but I believe it is on backwards. Any thoughts about it?

The metal shroud is a 1932 part.

ok, got in a few samples as pictured above, so decided to test fit and play with them to see how they fit on the starter with the power cable i have, which is 1/0 !and the Fusion Connectors. (Cable Build Thread)

they are very nice boots, heavy duty and thick, not cheap and thin like many out there. you can buy them in varying sizes based on the cable size. i bought the 1/0 since that is the cable i used both ground and power to starter.

here are a few pictures of the cable, starter, etc...

5736B (B = Black, R=Red)

this is a smaller diameter boot, not much room for connector, is a tight fit and not much room to cover or move around
not happy with how tight it was and trying to squeeze it on and not much coverage on the terminal, plus really NO room for the other small red wire to under dash

5737B

this is a larger diameter boot, has a dome like on the end with an angle undercut on it. with the connector angled up it fits nicely and hides all exposed metal on the starter and the wiring.

nicely fit and function, plenty of room for extra wire to dash and with dome plenty of room for stem and nut and no interference !!

5745B

this is a larger diameter boot, has a straight stem on the end both up and down to cover suds. with the connector angled down it fits nicely and hides all exposed metal on the starter and the wiring.has a nice tab on the front that aids in pulling the boot up out of the way if needed. with the tall stem on the boot plenty of room to hid the stud of the starter. may be a little hard to work the red wire from dash and protect it.

bought a set of 5724B&R
these are for the battery terminal connectors. they are nicely made like the rest. fit great over the cable and terminal.

for those wondering, yeah i did a test fit of the 5724B on the starter just for kicks...

connector up and connector down, up puts the boot closer to the starter, but the stud on the starter pushed up on it and pokes it good. plenty of room for red wire. covers all the metal on the stud and connector.

Thanks for providing part numbers and pictures. I just finished ordering parts protecting the electro lock cable from touching the terminal on the starter.

For the rest of you. The easiest and cheapest way to protect the electrolock cable is to: cut a length of old garden hose, then spiral cut it and wrap around the electrolock cable. You can also feed the advance cable through the hose so it doesn't short out. If you use a black hose it blends in. If another color it shows up more. You can also use an old heater hose if you have one of them.