85 hp suzuki

[spanishmak]

What's up guys,long time no talk.I've got a 1987 88 hp oil injected 2 stroke suzuki,my question is the battery cables on this motor are alot thinner than all the other cables I have ever seen used for battery cables,is this right for this motor ordid someone rig this?What happens is when I dont start this motor for a day or 2 the battery will not turn the motor long enough for it to start,it will only turn the motor over for about 4 or 5 seconds then it will slowly turn slower and slower until it sounds like the battery is dead but then if I wait 5 seconds and hit the key again the battery will sound VERY strong again for 4-5 seconds and do it again,and the positive cable WILL get HOT.so what I do is squirt some premix into the carbs (so the motor will not have to turn over so many times before it starts)and then I will have no problems the rest of the day!Can anyone help??Thanks guys!The black cable is a regular size battery cable the red is about half the diameter.the black cable is just a piece of cable that I am holding in my hand loose,both + and- on the motor are the same size,about half the diameter of a regular battery cable

[reelapeelin]

The heat thing tells me the story....heck yeah, change it out before it causes you a REAL problem!!...

[THEFERMANATOR]

The stock cables on that engine are not very big, but the getting hot tells me that it has begun to corrode inside the shielding and is a fire hazard waiting to happen. I woulddo like reel said and replace them ASAP. As for spraying pre-mix into the carbs, is your choke working? I've got one of those engines, and it isn't that hard to start up. It doesn't idle worth a crap, but starts pretty quick.

[spanishmak]

do u think someone rigged this it looks like a pretty clean job.what I mean is,if the wires are factory why would they start overheating nowBut I am changing it!

[spanishmak]

ok that was posted while I was writing this and yes it is that is another mystery to me but if the motor did turn a little longer it will start without premix squirt

[gw204f]

I've never seen an engine manufacturer use red cable. Usually it's black with red heat shrink at the terminals. So, I would say it's been rerigged.

[spanishmak]

ok but should I replace it with the same gauge wire or regular size batterry cables,will there be an advantage

[THEFERMANATOR]

6 guage cable is fine for that engine. It doesn't need alot of juice to turn over I have found.

[macojoe]

i used 4 gauge when i redid mine also 4 g all the way to fuse panel in cabin

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by macojoe

i used 4 gauge when i redid mine also 4 g all the way to fuse panel in cabin

If it was a V-4 or cross-flow engine then yes it would need 4 guage or larger, but for a 3 cylinder 85HP looper 6 guage is plenty. I believe starter current draw on it is around 110-120 amps whereas a V-6 would be upwards of 160 amps.