Another Battery Question

    Well my 2015 battery croaked this week too. It lost voltage a month ago and had to recharge it. It won't keep a charge so I'm in the market for a replacement like so many others here.
    I don't want an expensive battery and a wet cell or maybe a agm type will do fine for me.
    In my searches I found the following chart showing battery sizes. I looks like a 21 or 26 series is a nearly perfect match for the stock 2015 battery. I'll check out local auto stores and Walmart's tomorrow.
    UPDATE: The 121R is taller and just barely fits into the space AND then only if you put the posts to the outside due to the + post being reversed. So forget this battery.


    BCI Battery Group Size Chart


    I'm checking one of theses first --
    Everstart MAXX MAXX-121R

    • 5 Year Warranty Program (3 Years Free Replacement + 2 Years Prorated)
    • 600 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps)

    $102.62†View OnlineMore Info




    Everstart Platinum AGM H6


    • 5 Year Warranty Program (3 Years Free Replacement + 2 Years Prorated)

    $137.87†View OnlineMore Info

    Quote from lowlander

    The pic is of my 2016 battery. Which I replaced with a group 34 AGM auto battery. 400 CCA is the reply to your question.

    So this brings up another question for those who have upgraded the shrimpy motorcycle battery with a real battery. Polaris used a 2 AWG wire for the 2015 car-sized battery and a 4 AWG wire for the motorcycle battery. Has anyone who has upgraded the battery also upgraded the cables to the larger size? I see that the adaptor plates include new terminals but not cables. Have there been any issues with heat building up in the 4 gauge cables for those who have installed car batteries in the 2016s? Could this be the cause of any fires? @ericastar76 ?

    Remember folks - this isn't a rehearsal, this is The Show!8)

    While I will defer to those more in the know, I believe if a 4 ga wire is sufficient for the oe battery, unless there are substantially more current draw items added, it will be adequate for any size of battery. The current draw determines the needed wire size. Not the capability/capacity of the power source/battery.

    Quote from SlingLow

    So this brings up another question for those who have upgraded the shrimpy motorcycle battery with a real battery. Polaris used a 2 AWG wire for the 2015 car-sized battery and a 4 AWG wire for the motorcycle battery. Has anyone who has upgraded the battery also upgraded the cables to the larger size? I see that the adaptor plates include new terminals but not cables. Have there been any issues with heat building up in the 4 gauge cables for those who have installed car batteries in the 2016s? Could this be the cause of any fires? @ericastar76 ?

    Quote from SlingLow

    So this brings up another question for those who have upgraded the shrimpy motorcycle battery with a real battery. Polaris used a 2 AWG wire for the 2015 car-sized battery and a 4 AWG wire for the motorcycle battery. Has anyone who has upgraded the battery also upgraded the cables to the larger size? I see that the adaptor plates include new terminals but not cables. Have there been any issues with heat building up in the 4 gauge cables for those who have installed car batteries in the 2016s? Could this be the cause of any fires? @ericastar76 ?

    Everything is based on load and distance of wire to the power source. 2AWG (IMHO) is the largest pipe I would install to avoid voltage drop for the 140amp alternator/stock battery config. Any thicker wire would be a waste... any thinner, some simiple math is needed to avoid burning stuff up (i.e. like stereos which gobble more than 70amps running on collective circuits that have HOT thin 22AWG wire).

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    Edited once, last by ericastar76 ().

    Quote from lowlander

    While I will defer to those more in the know, I believe if a 4 ga wire is sufficient for the oe battery, unless there are substantially more current draw items added, it will be adequate for any size of battery. The current draw determines the needed wire size. Not the capability/capacity of the power source/battery.

    Quote from ericastar76

    Everything is based on load and distance of wire to the power source. 2AWG (IMHO) is the largest pipe I would install to avoid voltage drop for the 140amp alternator/stock battery config. Any thicker wire would be a waste... any thinner, some simiple math is needed to avoid burning stuff up (i.e. like stereos which gobbles more than 70amps running on collective circuits that have HOT thin 22AWG wire).

    I appreciate both of you answering my question. So here's where I'm at. If the OEM wiring size is load dependent (not battery capacity dependent), and Polaris installed larger wire with the larger battery and smaller wire with the smaller battery, and (this is important) the load on each of them is approximately the same, then presumably the only reason to change the wire size is to facilitate connection to the battery, i.e. large terminals on the large battery and small terminals on the small battery.


    I'm planning a 100 amp fuse block installation and based on @ericastar76 's recommendation was/am going to use a 2 AWG wire off the battery to a splitter, then 6 AWG wire to the fuse block to ensure that there is no heat buildup and, therefore, risk of fire. This seems unnecessary if the wire to the starter and alternator (presumably the largest draw) is 4 AWG. Am I missing something?


    I'm probably overthinking this but want to do it right and only once.

    Remember folks - this isn't a rehearsal, this is The Show!8)

    Quote from ericastar76

    The starter motor (while load is high on cranking), only runs for a brief period of time - so wire heat is short. If your starter motor ran non stop... then there would be an issue.

    Ahhh, that's why I keep gas in the tank. Once again logic prevails. Rock on!

    Remember folks - this isn't a rehearsal, this is The Show!8)

    Quote from SlingLow

    @essixx I'm thinking I'll manufacture my own adapter to convert from the motorcycle battery and am wondering if you made your own.

    No. @Slingrazor replied about one from Slingmods and Slingshotonly. I feel I have so many mods I want to do when the weather gets nice that I did not want to take the time to make one. I took the easy way out and purchased one

    If you get hit, it's because you were there.

    Considering the Slingshot is about 12.5 ft long, the wire run from the charger back to the battery shouldn't be more than about 8-10 ft long. According to this site - Automotive Wire & Wiring Guide from TESSCO - TESSCO.com, a 6 ga or larger wire is rated to carry at least 200A, so using a 4 or 2 ga cable should be more than sufficient.

    Edited once, last by BKL: Clarity ().

    Quote from BKL

    Considering the Slingshot is about 12.5 ft long, the wire run from the charger back to the battery shouldn't be more than about 8-10 ft long. According to this site - Automotive Wire & Wiring Guide from TESSCO - TESSCO.com, a 6 ga or larger wire is rated to carry at least 200A, so using a 4 or 2 ga cable should be more than sufficient.

    That chart is quite different than the one I've been using which shows that 10 ft/100 amps should be 4 gauge compared to 10 gauge on the tessco chart:


    Remember folks - this isn't a rehearsal, this is The Show!8)

    Quote from SlingLow

    That chart is quite different than the one I've been using which shows that 10 ft/100 amps should be 4 gauge compared to 10 gauge on the tessco chart:

    OHM’s law accommodates for a 100Amp circuit (using a variable draw current) on a 2AWG wire @ 5 feet ~> I wouldn’t run my configuration if there was any risk of fire or wire integrity. Sure, you’ll probably never pull the max load on a 2AWG wire... but why run wire twice since a 5 foot wire is less than 10 bucks at Lowe’s?!

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    This has been my latest “go-to’ for doing wire calculations... and while I haven’t fried an electrical system since automotive school (back in the 90’s) ~> anything is possible if you skip the math part... So never do that!! :thumbup:


    *if you do skip the math part (willingly or unwillingly)... it’s always a good idea to have one of these in your sling: https://www.meansling.com/prod…-fire-extinguisher-holder


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