I recently purchased a Garmin Striker 4 fish finder.  I have it all wired up, and connected to my 9AH battery in my kayak.  All is powered up, and working fine.  My biggest concern I have is that the 20 ga wire (red/black), that goes from the unit to the battery is very thin.  I have the wire crimped into the connectors, that slide on to the battery terminals.  Over time, when I remove those wires from the battery in order to charge it, I can really see those wires breaking.

 

how can i strengthen the connection at the connector so I wouldn't need to worry about the wire from breaking over time?

 

Fish finder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017NI17HQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Battery: https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Max-Battery-ML9-12-Rechargeable/dp/B00K8V2Y8W/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=ML9-12+-+12+V+9+Ah+Rechargeable+SLA+Battery+-+Mighty+Max+Battery+Brand+Product&qid=1581360063&s=electronics&sr=1-1

 

Power cable in question: https://www.westmarine.com/buy/garmin--6-power-cable-for-the-echo-series-fishfinders--16361768?&mrkgcl=481&mrkgadid=3085587852&cm_mmc=PS-_-Google-_-GSC>NonB>Vendors-_-16361768&product_id=16361768&creative=108421554244&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&lid=92700049311034684&ds_s_kwgid=58700005413518619&ds_e_product_group_id=273775945924&ds_e_product_store_id=&ds_e_ad_type=pla&ds_s_inventory_feed_id=97700000007545409&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwrqCxtHH5wIVSr3ACh0wYQG0EAQYASABEgKzufD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

 

Not a whole lot you can do. I run a very similar set up on my personal pontoon. What I do is carry a couple spare connectors and a wire stripper/ crimper to do any repairs needed. It has only happened to me once and that was when I was done fishing for the day and packing up to go home. To reduce the chances of it breaking be sure to only grab the connector and not the wire every time you take it apart. You might also be sure there isn’t any stress on the connection where you keep the battery while fishing.

I kinda assumed that was going to be the answer, but figured I'd ask. I don't deal with wiring that small in size, nor the connectors, so I wasn't sure if there was a remedy for this possible issue.

 

thanks for the response.

a piece of heat shrink will help give it some additional robustness

Splice in heavier wire for the last few feet?

I installed a marine grade electrical connector (male/female) so I don't have to keep plugging/unplugging at the

battery

Solder them. 

I assume you are running something like this? This is what I'm running, and make sure you put the clips on and off and don't pull by the wire and you should be fine.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082NJHLKZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

On 8/9/2020 at 1:50 AM, Smalls said:

Solder them. 

 

And pull from the connector, not the wire