need help from you electrical guru's. im having problems with my battery charging. I just put on a new alternator and starter (both made by Jamie from start-n-charge). when I start the car and check for volts at the back of the alternator im getting 14 volts, then I check at the battery I only get 13 volts. here is how I have my car set up (it's an electrical nightmare) starting from the battery which is in the trunk using all 2/0 welding cable. 1) negative from battery to chassis. 2) positive from battery to quick disconnect switch (in trunk) 3) from quick disconnect to left side of remote solenoid (also in trunk). 4) from left side of remote solenoid to starter. 5) 10 gage wire from right side of remote solenoid to small terminal on starter. from alternator side "hot" terminal 1) 1 wire to fuse block 2) 1 wire to alt exciter (goes to plastic connector in back of alternator) 3) 1 wire to.... not sure need to trace it out, can get back to this later. so..... ideas? where am I going wrong?
The long run of the wire to the rear of the car and back carries resistance which must be offset by increasing the gage of the wire. If the gage is not sufficient and every junction not just right, a voltage drop is the result. It is the equvalent of putting a big resistor in series with the charging circuit. Bypass the long run and recheck the voltage. This will help you narrow down the leg that is causing the issue.
Number 2 should be the voltage sensing wire for the regulator, you could remove it from the back of the alternator and extend it to the battery, but then it'll be cranking an extra volt through everything inbetween. What voltage does the fuse panel show? The third wire should go to the GEN light in the dash.
tanks for the ideas, im off to work now, will check these out when I get back ---------- Post added at 03:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:23 AM ---------- ok, question.... through which wire does the battery get recharged? is it the main battery cable? or the little wire from the starter? or one of the wires from the rear of the alternator? I need to know so I can see which wire to check/replace. if its the main battery cable, im using a 2/0 welding wire, I don't think I could go any bigger....
Oh there is no limit to wire size, just limits to your budget for the purchase of said wire. Like others said you are getting voltage drop from the distance. If you want to eliminate voltage drop to the battery run a separate wire from the alt. to the battery. What size? That you will have to determine by the load being put on the battery versus the load being put on the fuse block.
All power comes out of the threaded bolt on the back of the alternator, The wire on there has to connect to the battery circuit some how. Since your wiring has been modified it's hard to say how your battery gets power. You're description of the starting circuit doesn't mention how the charging circuit is wired to the battery. Clearly the fuse panel is getting battery power some how as I'd guess you have head lights, dome light, etc when the engine off, so how ever the battery is wired into the rest of the electrical system is the wire in which the battery is getting charged. That is probably the wire you want to upsize, though it shouldn't have to be as large as the starting welding cable because it doesn't carry the amp load.
so, would is be best just to run a wire directly from the back of the alternator straight to the battery? if so would 10 gage be sufficient?
I use a 4 gage wire just to power the 1360watts of the two stereo amps in my 03 regal. You need a water hose sized wire to provide that power for the big draw from the starter, and the charge from the alternator.
4 gauge sounds excessive to me for the alternator to battery wire. If I'm reading the table on this site correctly you could probably get away with 8 gauge, and 6 gauge to be on the safe side. I'd just replace the wire from the battery to the fuse box if the fuse box is seeing 14v. Running a separate wire sounds excessive to me. http://www.solar-electric.com/wire-loss-tables.html
I run 4 gauge because know bigger is better. atleast run a 6 gauge wire you wool thank yourself in the long run... ---------- Post added at 08:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:42 PM ---------- And this is a better link http://www.crutchfield.com/S-FRbaWASrAFu/learn/learningcenter/car/cable_gauge_chart.html
im getting 16 volts at my fuse block?? taking volt meter black to ground and positive to the right side of multiple fuses. they are all reading 16v. is this the correct way to check? if not how do I see exactly how many volts my block is getting (p.s I have upgraded my fuse block to the plastic style square fuses from "E-Z wire".) ---------- Post added at 05:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:35 PM ---------- so.... going through my garage I found 3 old battery cables. all 4 gage and enough to run from my alt to my battery. thinking I may just go that route since I wont have to go out and spend money on wire, just a few butt connectors, plus I can just run the battery cable directly to the unused top post on the battery.
No... 16 volts is not good leave it like that long enough and you blow lights. Burn your tach... Your alternator isn't connected somewhere and is full- fielding. Do you notice your lights are super bright or power windows go up and down really fast?
no, I don't notice those things. but maybe im just used to it? what do you mean that my alt isn't connected somewhere? and is that the correct way to read a fuse block, the way that I described? I don't seem to get a reading putting the volt reader leads from one side of the fuse to the other. ---------- Post added at 06:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:02 PM ---------- very interesting find....... I was going through myy old E-Z wire installation booklet, found a little paragraph that reads something to the effect that if you are using a 1-wire alternator they suggest not using the "alt exciter" wire. so I disconnected it and I seem to be getting 14 volts at my battery and fuse block now! weird but i'll take an easy fix. any ideas on if this is a good idea to leave it unplugged? will this harm anything?
It might require the engine to initially revv upwards 2,000 rpm to get the alternator to start charging (it'll charge even at idle at that point), but otherwise not likely to have any other impacts.
