Hooking One-Wire from alternator to battery???

[HotRod929]

How do you guys hook the one wire from the alt. to the battery? I only have a single terminal battery so i dont have that second hook up that some batterys have. Any Ideas Please. Thanks

HotRod

[XXL]

You can buy positive battery cables that have a 12 gauge pigtail coming out of the terminal connector. Or, you can use a crimp-on ring terminal and attach it to the bolt that holds the connector onto the battery post.

And... don't forget to use a fusable link or fuse somewhere in there. If that wire ever shorts, you don't want it to burn down the truck.

Kenneth

[HotRod929]

The wires I have seen guys putting to their battery's were like 4 gauge. 12 gauge isnt gonna take a full alternator load is it (135AMPS)? What do you mean put a fuse? an inline fuse? what size? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks for the help.

HotRod

[XXL]

I'm looking at one in front of me. It's a 12 gauge wire. 4 gauge is the size of the main cable (that runs down to the starter). If you've got a 135 amp alternator (not likely unless you spent a LOT of money), then you'll of course want to use a larger cable. As for my fuse comment, the factory wiring had a fusible link I believe (anyone???). The purpose of this "breakable" curcuit is in case there's a short... so you'd want it to be able to handle whatever current load you were expecting to pull off the alternator. But a short's basically a gazillion amp draw, which needs to be checked with some kind of fuse apparatus.

Kenneth

[mikep]

I run a 105 amp one wire alternator. I run a 10 gauge wire directly to the battery fused at 60 amps. I'll probably never actually draw more than 40 amps total with the radio cranked, fan on, all the lights on, cigarrette lighter going . Your'e only going to pass as much current as the internal circuitry in the alternator will actually allow so i dont have any problem running a 10 guage wire there. I still dont know why guys run 8 gauge wire to their HEI ignitions. Ever see the wiring INSIDE one of those things?

[O'l Buck]

mines a 12 ga wire with a crimp on conector tied to the bolt in the terminal.

[chevynut]

What do you do with all the wires running to the external regulator after you switch to the 1-wire alternator ??

[NSANE68!!!]

You can get these at any High end stereo store. They were $15ea. The good thing is you can run many AUX wires in or out, and NO MORE CORROSION, like the lead ones do. They look kinda cool too, but that's just a bonus.

[mikep]

"What do you do with all the wires running to the external
regulator after you switch to the 1-wire alternator ??"

Either you can hook it up to run the charging current from the alternator through the ammeter on your dash or you can simply ignore the wiring altogether.

Drawbacks to running it through the ammeter are that that circuit is not sized to handle the amperage modern alternators are capable of putting out so there is a definite fire hazard or melting the dash circuitry hazard if you load up the circuit . You could run a 40 amp breaker in line to protect the original wiring but that sort of defeats the purpose of a 135 one wire alternator doesnt it? A lot of guys do it just be warned there is a hazard. All you have to do is run the charging wire to the wire that normally runs to your harness from the old alternator and then jumper 1-2 and 3-4 on the voltage regulator connector. Remove the regulator of course or leave it there unhooked.

I just run a wire to the battery and my ammeter always shows a discharging conndition. I have a real ammeter I should hook up one of these days although I dont much see the point.

[XXL]

Originally posted by chevynut
What do you do with all the wires running to the external regulator after you switch to the 1-wire alternator ??

I chased them back to their origins in the wiring harness and removed them. If you decide to do this, and you cut them off, don't forget to either crimp cap the ends or tape them. I also like to cut wires like this off at staggered lengths... like so--

=======D
============D
=================D

This reduces the chance that a wire might short against another one. In this case, the wires should be dead, but if, for some reason one was still carrying a ground and another still carrying hot, if they shorted together you'd have a problem.

Also, on NSANE68!!!'s suggestion of the "car audio" battery terminals, just make sure you get covers for them. They are available in clear if you want to see your expensive gold parts. If you hit enough of a bump and the battery pops free from its tiny little foot clamp, it can jump up enough to short on the hood (that was the voice of experience ). With the covers, it won't short the battery and you will avoid the imminent explosion.

Kenneth