Alternator to Battery wiring

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Jan 19, 2008 | 07:09 PM
  #1  
The wire that goes from my battery to my alternator is toast and thus my battery stopped charging. However, the alt-bat wire has two wires coming off of it out of a black piece of rubber that they all seem to be spliced into. Those two smaller wires go into a weather pack connector.

What do those two smaller wires do? Can I just splice those two wires together and run them to a +12 source?

Thanks!
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Jan 19, 2008 | 07:10 PM
  #2  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
What year car is it?
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Jan 19, 2008 | 07:14 PM
  #3  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
Doh, sorry, 1991 GTA w/ TPI
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Jan 19, 2008 | 07:20 PM
  #4  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
That's not a one-wire alternator, is it?
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Jan 19, 2008 | 07:22 PM
  #5  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
Nope, 3 wire I would guess it is called. Clip on the top with two wires and one from alt to battery.
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Jan 19, 2008 | 07:30 PM
  #6  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
I haven't got the diagrams handy to look at, but I think there's a fusible link for the cooling fan, and an inline fuse for the fuel pump and ECM.
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Jan 19, 2008 | 07:53 PM
  #7  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
I had the same thing happen.. It turned out somthing shorted out in the alternator. so I took and got the alturnator fixed then ran new wire where it burned.
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Jan 20, 2008 | 01:54 AM
  #8  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
Quote: I had the same thing happen.. It turned out somthing shorted out in the alternator. so I took and got the alturnator fixed then ran new wire where it burned.
I ended up just cutting the alternator side wire off, leaving the battery side and the weather pack connector with fusable link. Turns out my alternator is probably toast, still no charging. The bat/alt wire had already been hacked, so that may of been what killed the alternator anyway.

Thanks for the help guys!
Douglas
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Dec 8, 2008 | 01:22 PM
  #9  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
I'd like to bring this back because I am concerned with the same exact wire(s) for my setup.

I went carb from TPI and ever since have been having crazy electrical problems.
I relocated my battery to the rear and used 8ga. power wire from the alt to the factory alt power wire (with the black thing, fuse, connector...) then more 6ga wire from that same factory wiring all the way to the battery in the trunk.

Is this sufficient all the way back there??


Also, what exactly does that connector power?
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Dec 14, 2008 | 08:46 AM
  #10  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
I don't quite understand what you did, but running 6 or 8 gage wiring from the alt seems too thin to me, and running it all the way to the back of the car is definitely no good. You would hook the alt wire to the starter, where the "welding" cable from the battery is connected.
The other connector on the alt gets power from the key to activate the alt. Autozone has wiring diagrams on their site.
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Dec 14, 2008 | 09:04 AM
  #11  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
I agree with Fullsizewagon, running a 6 or 8 gauge wire is too small. You need something like a 4 or 2 guage wire, 2 guage if you have a starter that draws alot of amps. As for the wiring, the large heavy guage wire that comes from the post on your altenator goes to the starter. The other two wires that come from the plastic connector: large red one goes to the power distribution block next to where your battery used to be, and the small tan one (I think thats the right color) goes to the key to get 12 volts to activate the altenator.
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Dec 14, 2008 | 12:47 PM
  #12  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
I am running a new 4ga alternator charging wire to the new kill switch I will need to purchase. I can't believe I didnt fry the old one! Stock cars with stock electrical systems would be perfectly suited for 6AWG all the way back there but not mine

Running the alternator charging wire directly to the starter is a big no-no. That would completely defeat the purpose of the kill switch since, at that point, the alternator charging wire would still provide power to the starter and associated wires connecteed to it. These include the ignition circuits and one would then experience the dreaded (and illegal) alternator run-on.

As far as the alternator charging wire is concerned, it doesn't care how many amps the starter draws.
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Dec 17, 2008 | 11:27 AM
  #13  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
4g minimum from alt to battery. It is a awsome upgrade but if your wanting to up grade the wire to your fuse block then you better be running something serious inside. Just upgrading the power wire and the engine grounds will show an awsome improvement but since I have upgraded my charging system my lights are brighter, my stereo is crystal clear, and my guages are more acurate.
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Jan 5, 2009 | 10:50 AM
  #14  
Re: Alternator to Battery wiring
CAN ANYBODY HELP I WANT TO UPGRADE MY ALTERNATOR WIRE CAN I USE 2 GUAGE AMP WIRE WILL IT HURT ANY THING AND I WAS WONDERING HOWT UP GRADE THE BATTERY WIRE MINE HAS TO WIRE THAT COME FROM THE POSITIVE PART OF THE BATTERY ONE IS THICK I GUESS ITGOES TO THE STARTER AND THE OTHER IS THIN THAT GOES TO LOOK LIKE A DISTRIBUTION BLOCK CAN ANYBODY HELP ME OUT IT A 92 CAMARO RS
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