Alternator To Battery......

[bigd6983]

well i was thinking since the original 8 gauge from alternator is too thin, and seems almost impossible to do a factory replacement and it remain easy......what i was thinking is, is it possible to run a 4 gauge directly off the alternator and put a fuse inbetween? i mean thats the same thing the oem cable is doing and there should be no problem running the extra cable cause schematically its just like adding a thicker wire......the other cable upgrades are pretty simple, this was my only curiosity.........anyone is welcome to answer but mikegett usually seems like hes got all the answers.......

thanks guys

[mikegett]

I haven't upgraded my alero, so I wouldn't be the best choice. In the past, I simply added a new wire opposed to replacing the factory. It made for a easier job.

[bigd6983]

its not so much an alero question.........its more of a general one, all i need to know is that its do-able, the original wiring would be a pain to replace with a thicker cable so what about adding an extra piece, fusing it, and running it to the battery, thats what the original cable does and it also distributes power to all the underhood fuses, but basically its just fused from the alternator to the battery........

[cherrington17]

hey bigd, i'm doing this in a day or two... i got a 2ga wire and some connectors.... i'll let ya know how it turns out.

[Cliff8928]

Yeah, that would totally be fine. There wouldn't normally be a fuse there either, but then again it won't hurt to have one.

[cherrington17]

just finished.... and for a first timer, 2ga wire is NOT easy to work with.... :shout:

i didn't voltmeter it before (digital readout) so i can only go from what my gauge tells me and that i was around 14V at idle. after the accessory cable was installed, i'm not at 14.9V (w/ meter)

Everything seems to be running great, so i'm happy. for like $13, i added a full volt on my battery. :thumb:

i didn't put a fuse inline. i talked to a friend who has done this before, and its a good safety measure... but there normally wouldn't be one there, so why bother. if i get some cash later, i'll put one in.

[racin4JC]

Just curious bigd6983 why are you adding the extra wire?

[acold7dusta]

if you guys ever need any car audio help- go to www.carstereo.com theres a lot of great knowledge floating around there and theres thousands of installs to give a lot of different ideas.

[cherrington17]

racin4jc, this thread stems from the alternator change "how to" thread.

basically, if you upgrade to a high output alternator, the stock wire going to the battery, is very small (12 gauge maybe?) and is not meant to handle the kind of amps a high output, puts through it... therefore your car isn't getting the full effect of the alt swap. Putting in an accessory power wire from the alt to the battery 8 gauge or better, essentially gives you the extra power the alt already produces.

make sense?

[racin4JC]

Ya, it makes sense I didn't need an explanation of how it works I was simply wondering (and you did anwser my question) what he was adding to the car. I was thinking if he was having current issues or something that he should put in a surepower isolator. (but thanks for the kind explanation cherrington!) :)

[2fst4u]

i will be needing to do this very soon as well. thanks for the info.

[Cliff8928]

Originally posted by cherrington17@Apr 24 2006, 10:37 PM
racin4jc, this thread stems from the alternator change "how to" thread.

basically, if you upgrade to a high output alternator, the stock wire going to the battery, is very small (12 gauge maybe?) and is not meant to handle the kind of amps a high output, puts through it... therefore your car isn't getting the full effect of the alt swap. Putting in an accessory power wire from the alt to the battery 8 gauge or better, essentially gives you the extra power the alt already produces.

make sense?
Quoted post



It probably even helps with the stock alt. You will get some amount of voltage drop across the wire in all cases, however the better the connection and larger the wire, the less drop you have. This would be especially good for reducing the amount that the lights dim with a big stereo, etc.. If you really want to go nuts, you could even add in an auxiliary ground from the alternator casing to a good ground point on the body.

[cherrington17]

the alternator is grounded right to the engine block. i dont think adding another wire will help there.... you cant really beat whats already done. :lol:

[AftermathAlero]

When u upgrade the positive wires.. make sure to do the grounds also. or you'll f*** something up.

I had this done up long time ago.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b302/Aftermathalero/c132.jpg

^ damn thats an old pic. LOL

[FormulaNERD]

looks like top notch work my friend. ^

[mikegett]

I think that everything Aftermath does is topnotch.

[Cliff8928]

Originally posted by cherrington17@Apr 25 2006, 07:08 AM
the alternator is grounded right to the engine block. i dont think adding another wire will help there.... you cant really beat whats already done. :lol:
Quoted post


I actually helped a guy who had a corroded ground on the alternator. Somehow the corrosion got between the alternator and bracket and/or the bracket and engine block. He was actually quite irritated that i wouldn't sell him an alternator, however he thanked me when he got it fixed.

[cherrington17]

^interesting.....

and i also have a top notch battery now. (optima redtop, and like a douche, i now realize i should have spent some more and gotten a yellow.. but oh well)

and aftermath, where do you get something like that done, and how much does it cost?? I know your pulling more power then most people, but DAMN. lol

[AftermathAlero]

Originally posted by cherrington17@Apr 26 2006, 07:42 AM

and aftermath, where do you get something like that done, and how much does it cost?? I know your pulling more power then most people, but DAMN. lol
Quoted post


I do everything on my car myself. 100% Only thing it cost me is for parts (the power wires and ring terminals,etc) and lots of time!

Any custom audio shop can do it, but they prolly won't want to do it and quote you a large sum of money.

[violentrapture]

Originally posted by cherrington17@Apr 26 2006, 07:42 AM
and i also have a top notch battery now. (optima redtop, and like a douche, i now realize i should have spent some more and gotten a yellow.. but oh well)


Why? Planning on killing/recharging it every other day? The only advantage of the Yellow over the Red is that is that the Yellows are deep cycle... Reds have quicker response to power loads, and Yellows can just be drained and recharged with no ill effect.

If you want to go for the big boy batteries look at the Odyssey, Kinetik (HC 2400 anyone? :eek:) , Northstart, Hawker/EnerSys or Deka

I went with dual Yellows just for the bling factor ;)

~vR

[cherrington17]

i think i drained my red once.... maybe it was just really low.. not sure.

since the new alt went in, i've had no problems though. :thumb:

[2fst4u]

anyone want to do a little write up how they did this?
i put mine in today, and i want to make sure i did it right. what did you guys do with the original alternator wire? did you leave it in the loom? and is it absolutely necessary to upgrade the ground, too? i have pulleys on my car, and i did this to get the alternator to output enough for my amp. i don't think i'm actually ever going to push the 160 Amps that my new alternator is rated at.

btw, anyone need a stock alternator for a 2.4L?

[cherrington17]

sounds like you did the same as me.

all i did was take my alt off, take the power wire off, put the new accessory power wire on, then put on the old power wire, but the nut back on top, then connected the other end of the accessory wire to the battery.