Battery Cable Upgrade

[bad luck]

Fine strands of wire do not carry more current than thicker ones. For example 12 AWG is either 7 strand or 24 strand (machine tool wire), and both are rated at 20 amps. Current traveling on the surface of the wire is called "skin effect" and is proportional to the frequency of an alternating current, it has no effect with our 12vdc systems. And for your claim that welding cable is about 3 times more resistant to oil I can refer you to an actual test. Go to the wagon way.com website, and search for an article called Battery Cables. They tested welding cable vs battery cable and the results show that the most common insulation on welding cable (EPDM) is much less resistant to oil than pvc. Granted welding cable is more flexible and that is important for welding, but not for hooking up a battery. And fine strands of wire will corrode quicker unless you solder or use adhesive lined heat shrink tubing. Which you should always do anyway. The abyc standards for boats do not allow welding cable to be used for batteries, and boats are a lot tougher environment than our jeeps. If you want to get the best cables, get tinned marine cable it is more expensive but very flexible also.