David Cunningham from Missouri is a Porsche 944 enthusiast who always thinks that there is a better way. His background in mechanics, machining and electrical prototyping helped him develop some needed wiring and cables for our cars. He submitted this article about what he is doing to help us all with our cars.
The David Cunningham Story…Better Cables
I always loved Porsches and finally bought my first one back in November 2019. It’s a 1995 Guards Red 968 Cabriolet with about 61k miles. I found that my original wires were in bad shape while doing my water pump, belts, rollers, seals, oil cooler housing seals, and cam chain and pads.
I needed a new harness. There was no way out of it. The insulation of the OEM alternator to starter wire is basically non-existent and legendary in its reputation to break and crumble over time causing all kinds of problems including shorting to the solenoid wire or causing fires.
I decided that to replace the original harness with another of the same was not in my interest. Since I work in an electrical prototype laboratory and knew I could make a more reliable and longer-lasting set of wires than the original harness, I made my own. Several of my friends on Rennlist liked what they saw and wanted their own, so I made up four more sets for them. So far, they are working out just fine.
The alternator to starter cable is made of TEMCo Industrial 4 AWG EPDM-jacketed welding cable (150 amps / 600 volts) with tin-plated marine grade lugs at both ends. The cable ends are coated in dielectric grease before crimping the lugs.