Electrical System Upgrade Question
 

Ok, well I was trying to get a more efficient electrical system tonight since I had some spare money. To be honest, I wasnt exactly sure what I was doing, but I think its ok...Yes, no?

I went to a local car stereo shop and bought some 8 gauge Stinger power wire. I ran a new wire that goes from the battery to the fuesable link box, and a new wire from the alternator straight to the battery in addition to the stock charging wire. The only thing I want to do now really, is upgrade the stock wire, or remove it, or whatever. Anyone know how to do this? I wasnt sure where it goes once it disappears into the main wiring harness...

~T.J.

Look, don't worry about it. The big juice is going to go straight to the battery from the alternator since that's the path of least resistance. That stock wire feeds the cabin and now its job just got a lot easier with the two new cables you've put in. No point in trying to upgrade it, it's completely not necessary now....

Oh ok :).

So are you telling me that the stock charge wire goes up through the cabin and everything else then comes out to charge the battery? How does it get to the battery? Does it go through the fuseable link box first? So from the alternator, to the cabin, to the fuseable links, to the battery? That doesnt really make sense. I thought that it went from the battery to the fuseable links then to the cabin? Im so confused now...

~T.J.

I believe, but I'm posting from work so don't believe me yet, the wire goes into the cabin, fuse box, gauge cluster...never to come back out to the battery...it's a feed line, the circuit is completed by the body chassis...I'll look in the haynes to make sure...I just know it would be a major PITA to unwind the wrap sufficiently to first pull the wire loose and then re-insert the upgrade wire for extremely minimal gains...;)

Yeah, but now Im curious as to how the circuit works. There are only 2 wires on the stock battery terminal, one for the starter, and the other that goes to the fueseable link box. The only way I see power getting from the alternator to the battery would be through the fuseable link box wire. Maybe the voltage comes from the alternator, goes to the fuseable link box, gets distributed to the cabin, and also to the battery?

~T.J.

I believe you're right RMD. ;) The stock alternator wire feeds both the gadgets in the car as well as charges the battery back through the main fusible link.

hey! send me some $$$$

J/K

your the man!,, the thicker wire will help, you will see

I'm at work and not in front of the car, but from memory, that's how it's set up. I was tracing wires last weekend because I'm thinking about moving my battery to the passenger side storage bin.

There is a positive wire from the battery to the box, and then the other side of the box is connected to both the alternator and the interior gadgets.

As for upgrading your electrical system, make sure you upgrade the grounds. Although for simplicity's sake, the chassis of the car is used as a common ground, it's really not a great conductor, and in a lot of cases, you're better off running a new ground. On my list is a new ground from the negative terminal of the battery to the alternator and a new ground for the engine block (better power capacity for the spark plugs). Some cars this does nothing, some cars it has a pretty big affect, it all depends on the stock system.

As I was saying...they go into the cabin, both wires from the alternator, one feeds the ignition switch and the other the choke relay (!) of all things...from those positions the wire from the ignition switch winds back to the fusible box then battery. On the choke relay side, the circuit goes through the choke magnet, then to the ECU, then the ignition, then the fusible box, then battery.:cool:

getting overambitious a bit aren't you T.J.?

If he was, he'd be moving that battery to a better location. ;)

Re: Electrical System Upgrade Question
 

Why don't you think your current wiring is efficient? A little advise - You should make sure that you know exactly what you're doing before you go messing with the electronics. Electronics aren't meant to be tinkered with. They're either working or they're not. :)

Re: Re: Electrical System Upgrade Question
 

The exact opposite is true. I don't know what his reasons are, but if there is a problem, by tinkering, he can lengthen battery life, alternator life, get more spark out of his plugs, etc.

Tinkering with electronics is why I spent a fortune and gave up years of my life to go to school. Upgrading the electrical system can definitely be worth the time and effort.

Re: Re: Re: Electrical System Upgrade Question
 

No. I don't agree. We're talking precision equipment here. There shouldn't be a need to do anything to the electronics unless something stops working. Otherwise, they're designed to last forever (in a perfect world), until they fail.

Now, the ignition system is a different story. I agree that adding aftermarket coils and an ignition system will definitely improve efficiency. Adding an alternator with a higher current output can also aid if you are running sound or cooling equipment that puts a heavy load on the battery. Anyway, I'll try to keep it simple - all the little things that work behind the scenes in the electrical system in the car are definitely adequate for the job.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Electrical System Upgrade Question
 

Well, not to hijack a thread, or start a pointless discussion, but a wire is hardly a precision piece of equipment. In an FB, the wires are about 20 years old, and all the connections are as well. They may function, but not as well as they should. Upgrading them by running new wires and cleaning up the existing connections is definitely a good exercise. It really doesn't get any more simple than that.

But I really don't want to bring this thread off topic. Feel free to PM me and discuss it.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Electrical System Upgrade Question
 

You're missing the boat :( Come on man! Digital circuits here!

now heres something interesting, when I got my car, the positive battery bable had been replaced as well as the alternator. Theres a wire that goes directly from the positive battery terminal to the alternator on mine.

Doesnt really matter much anyway, because I'm switching to a second gen fusebox.

But the way it works in my setup I guess is that, the alternator is charging the battery and doing nothing else while all the power the car needs comes from the battery itself.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Electrical System Upgrade Question
 

What boat? Where did anybody mention digital circuits?

All I read was that he's running a new power wire.



And while I'm thinking about it, RotorMotorDriver, you won't gain much without upgrading the ground.

Red top in the driver's side storage compartment.

More like Red Top in the stock location...Heres why:

The whole reason I did this was because I WAS having a small problem thats bugging me. My car would put out 13.5 volts at an idle with my new alternator, and new battery (bought at the same time). Recently however, my voltage will drop to about 10-12 volts at an idle, then go back up to 13.5 anything over ~1000 RPMs. Its just annoying because all the lights dim, the fans slow down (both the radiator and the heater fans), the wipers go slower, etc. I figured that maybe the charging wire on the alternator wasnt working "properly". I remembered reading about running a new charging wire straight to the battery, so I started out doing that, then I upgraded the wire to the fuseable link block, but when I realized that there was still the stock charging wire on the alternator, thats when I was confused. I didnt know what to do with it, so I cut the old ring terminal off, stripped it back till the wire looked better, and crimped on a new gold plated terminal and boot.

All that work and no change. When I check the voltage on the alternator output at an idle, it reads like 11.8-12.5, but at the battery I only get like 10.6-11.5. I have a feeling that this battery just isnt taking a charge or something. This is the third Sears Die Hard Ive had, Im tired of the damn things. I just want to buy a new Optima Red Top and call it good.

Back when everything was working "right", I would get about 14 volts from the alternator at an idle, and 13.5 at the battery. Its just all really weird. I dont know.

~T.J.

die easy more like it..

Re? :p -> Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Electrical System Upgrade Question
 

I don't know where these digital circuits are, but digital circuits will either work or not, BUT how well they work (efficiency) is another question....

On a car this age you'll find corrosion and dirty contacts... so replacing ground and power wires isn't a bad idea....

At the very least when replacing the cables he can be sure all contacts and terminals are nice and clean :)

Re: Re? :p -> Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Electrical System Upgrade Question
 

Exactly :cool:

100% with you :).

~T.J.

Re: Re? :p -> Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Electrical System Upgrade Question
 

Well, you're right about digital electronics working or not working. There's no in-between state and if there were, it would be considered non-working. :)
Digital circuits were designed to replace faulty contacts that have been proven to be inefficient. This is what I've been trying to tell narcisse91. :)