drgnlzrd Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 Hello everyone...............thanks to all who replied about my capacitor question! I got one do to frying my alternator and battery.I am interested in upgrading my alternator wiring on my 95 gp. I wanted to use a smaller gauge ( larger wire) like maybe 4 guage wire to increase the current flow. Is it adviseable to run an additional wire right from the alternator to the battery or should I connect it like the factory did?? In example.....from the alternator to the starter and then the starter to the battery. I was going to upgrade the ground wire for my battery also....actually got one of those wire upgrade kits off of ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 I have 4g wire as a 'Big 3' upgrade on my car. Its ran as Alt to batter, battery to AUX, neg battery to ground, ground to chasis. In other words, run a straight wire from the battery to the alt. Some people fuse this, but I dont have a fuse. This arguement will go either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puggsley456 Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 I have 4g wire as a 'Big 3' upgrade on my car. Its ran as Alt to batter, battery to AUX, neg battery to ground, ground to chasis. In other words, run a straight wire from the battery to the alt. Some people fuse this, but I dont have a fuse. This arguement will go either way. ^What he said. But fusing is recommended within 18" of the battery. You want to gaurd against any surge that may occur. I didnt bother upgradding the battery to aux connection, but it doesnt hurt. And be sure to add the wires dont replace them. That way if anything happens to one of the new ones you arent stranded. Luckily I did this and when the terminal came off on my alt to batt wire I was still ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puggsley456 Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 Hey everyone ...just a lil fyi....................talked to the guys at one of the big car audio shops in my area, They said ya don't need to fuse the wire from the alternator to the battery. Told me it would be a bigger challenge to try to find a fuse that would even be able to handle the current. Then they are very uneducated. I have a 100amp fuse inline from alt to batt And I picked it up from walmart. And even that one would take a hell of alot more of a surge than that to pop it. Its only there, "Just Incase". I'd rather replace a fuse that all my wireing and have the battery explode. Why would they fuse the factory wireing then? Its to guard against the possible....not the probable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 Hey everyone ...just a lil fyi....................talked to the guys at one of the big car audio shops in my area, They said ya don't need to fuse the wire from the alternator to the battery. Told me it would be a bigger challenge to try to find a fuse that would even be able to handle the current. Then they are very uneducated. I have a 100amp fuse inline from alt to batt And I picked it up from walmart. And even that one would take a hell of alot more of a surge than that to pop it. Its only there, "Just Incase". I'd rather replace a fuse that all my wireing and have the battery explode. Why would they fuse the factory wireing then? Its to guard against the possible....not the probable. Exactly. I'm able to get a pack of 100, 150, or 200 amp ANL style fuses for less than $10, and those are more than sufficient enough to cover an over-surge of the alternator(probably should have put one on the Z34 with that damn alternator always getting hit by splashes from puddles). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 The only thing I dont like about the ANL style fuses is the size. I already have one under the hood, having to in the same spot would be a bitch. I might put a fuse in later if I can find something smaller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 The only thing I dont like about the ANL style fuses is the size. I already have one under the hood, having to in the same spot would be a bitch. I might put a fuse in later if I can find something smaller. Yeah, I'm not too awful fond on the size of them as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 I have 4g wire as a 'Big 3' upgrade on my car. Its ran as Alt to batter, battery to AUX, neg battery to ground, ground to chasis. In other words, run a straight wire from the battery to the alt. Some people fuse this, but I dont have a fuse. This arguement will go either way. ^What he said. But fusing is recommended within 18" of the battery. You want to gaurd against any surge that may occur. I didnt bother upgradding the battery to aux connection, but it doesnt hurt. And be sure to add the wires dont replace them. That way if anything happens to one of the new ones you arent stranded. Luckily I did this and when the terminal came off on my alt to batt wire I was still ok. yes this is true ^ you want to keep the factory charge wire there shrink wrapped and tucked away because just in case you take out the system, you can hook it back up and keep the 2 gauge wire. just dont stack them up on the charge stud. if you take an amp meter you will see the voltage will split through the two leads and neither one will put out enough power to charge your battery. you are going to need 14.7 volts, 13.2 is not gonna cut it. not that the alt is going to ever send enough power out to swell or explode your battery! you would have to have a huge 100 Amp charger left plugged in for like 2-3 hours on a dead battery before you will see any fireworks. whats more likely to happen is when you split the current off the alt and the extra resistence arcs off the charge wire and grounds out starting a fire in the greasy wire loom or the fusible links melt down by the starter. I am not saying any of this as a joke. I have personally made these mistakes and it almost happened to me. I replaced all fusible links and upgraded the starter and alt. people that stack wires on the alt, I guarantee they have non functioning charging systems. I had them stacked one time and the lead melted off the charge stud arced and shorted out the whole car and the factory wire was still there and started charging the car even better than with both wires on! then later on I had to fix it and my starter wiring like I was saying. new fusible links and a high torque starter made it all better as for the place to run the charge wire to; the aux post will be just fine. that is the hub for all the power to be directed. notice all the fusible links stem from there. the battery, engine,electronics,fuse box,amp all get power from this post. no upgrades are needed here just a big fat amp cable. the battery should be just fine with better grounds of course. its use is to start the car, then the alt takes over. you want all the power for the amp and cap to come directly from the alt; so why come from the battery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drgnlzrd Posted September 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 Garrett..........so you are saying that the best place to hook up to is the amp post?? Never thought about the current dropping if it was split between 2 sets of wires. Looks like i will definitely upgrade my battery ground wire to a 4 gauge and relocate my power wire from my side post to the auxillary. Now if I wanted to upgrade my power wire I take it that i would be better off disconnecting the factory wire and running the 4 gauge power wire to the starter.then 4 gauge power wire to the aux or battery ? My take on it would be alt to starter starter to aux then aux to battery.....correct? Pretty sure i will need to do something about fusible links or a fuse in there to then if i disconnect the factory wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drgnlzrd Posted September 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 not amp post.I meant aux post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 most of what you are thinking is correct, only thing you have to worry about with the starter though is the fusible link heating up and arcing through the wire jacket and grounding out on the body of the starter. ...that happened to me I think because the stock alt wire was still on the post with the 2 gauge one. once I shrink wrapped and tucked it away no longer overheats that circuit. cut away all the old link material away to the harness lead and crimp in a new one so you dont have a weak link. then if your all loomed up your golden on the starter. just run the charge wire straight to the aux post. starter and battery wire should be fine unless its corroded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puggsley456 Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 yes this is true ^ you want to keep the factory charge wire there shrink wrapped and tucked away because just in case you take out the system, you can hook it back up and keep the 2 gauge wire. just dont stack them up on the charge stud. if you take an amp meter you will see the voltage will split through the two leads and neither one will put out enough power to charge your battery. you are going to need 14.7 volts, 13.2 is not gonna cut it. not that the alt is going to ever send enough power out to swell or explode your battery! you would have to have a huge 100 Amp charger left plugged in for like 2-3 hours on a dead battery before you will see any fireworks. whats more likely to happen is when you split the current off the alt and the extra resistence arcs off the charge wire and grounds out starting a fire in the greasy wire loom or the fusible links melt down by the starter. I am not saying any of this as a joke. I have personally made these mistakes and it almost happened to me. I replaced all fusible links and upgraded the starter and alt. people that stack wires on the alt, I guarantee they have non functioning charging systems. I had them stacked one time and the lead melted off the charge stud arced and shorted out the whole car and the factory wire was still there and started charging the car even better than with both wires on! then later on I had to fix it and my starter wiring like I was saying. new fusible links and a high torque starter made it all better as for the place to run the charge wire to; the aux post will be just fine. that is the hub for all the power to be directed. notice all the fusible links stem from there. the battery, engine,electronics,fuse box,amp all get power from this post. no upgrades are needed here just a big fat amp cable. the battery should be just fine with better grounds of course. its use is to start the car, then the alt takes over. you want all the power for the amp and cap to come directly from the alt; so why come from the battery? Wow...! First off...electricity 101....Electric current will Always take the path of least resistance. So unless something is horrendously wrong with the new wire used, or for some reason you have a short in the wireing. There should be no way that the current would use the old wiring. I have both the new and old wireing connected to my alternator. I have tested both wires and my old factory 8/10 guage wire is not moving and substancial current at all. And I have a full 14.76v running from my alternator directly to my battery through my 4 guage wire. I would never run my amps power off of the Aux connector. It is not designed to handle that kind of current. My main fuse for my car is only 60amp. And is insufficient. My PG amp alone requires a minimum of an 80 amp inline fuse. Not to mention the added resistance that the aux termainal and attached box would add to the wireing. It would increase the resistance thereby reducing the amp efficiency. And thereby puting an even greater strain on the charging system. I recommend running your amps right off of the battery. It is by far your best option. Even with my amps running a 50hz test tone at maximum unclipped volume, I dont drop below 14v. And thats in my trunk. So I say, add for the stereo, and let the existing wiring handle the factory stuff. Oh, and Garrett....I have personnally witnessed an alternator blow up a car battery on two seperate occasions in the shop I worked at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 first off, the aux post handles all the power for the whole car and the fusible links for the starter so why is it not designed to handle it next, yes it does split the voltage, I have witnessed it first hand at PM alternater where the problem was resolved. so how did you manage to blow up two batteries at work? nuff said here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 LOL These threads are funny. Personally I dont think its worth it to argue about this shit. Whatever do what you please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drgnlzrd Posted September 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 whoah .......even more confused than before i asked!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan from Ohio Posted September 10, 2006 Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 KISS Keep It Simple Stupid Never forget this golden rule For the big 3 your best bet is to just add the wiring and leave the stock. The extra wiring WONT hurt anything. As for the whole fuse argument off the alternator, thats debateable. Ya it can help, but ya it can also be the biggest slut to change if it blows during the winter at night... Also it adds more resistance to the system. Look in any serious SPL competitors car. You wont see any fuses up front. If your blowing batteries there a HELL of a lot more wrong with your vehicle outside of a fuse and a slight spike Your alternator will only put out whats required, its how it operates. So if your pulling 150 amps, its going to give 150 amps. Not 183.2454 amps . Charging occurs as the alternators voltage is higher than the batteries voltage. Not becasue of amperage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.