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Question to those that have added extra wire from alternator to battery.

Started by GMP440, October 20, 2019, 10:28:58 AM

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GMP440


   I had a question on adding a wire from battery terminal on alternator directly to positive terminal post on battery.  Is there an advantage to doing this?  Also, is there any risk to doing this since this would be unregulated voltage.  Thanks.  George
 

A383Wing

It's still regulated voltage. The only thing is that you will not get a true ammeter reading due to the extra wire taking a shortcut to the battery

Bryan

John_Kunkel

 :iagree: With the bypass, the ammeter will only show discharge so a voltmeter is needed to gauge the system.
Pardon me but my karma just ran over your dogma.

GMP440


  Thanks for the responses.  Is there an advantage to doing it?  Does it improve the performance of the electrical system? 

John_Kunkel

Taking some of the load off of a flow-through ammeter is always an improvement...eliminating the ammeter altogether is better.
Pardon me but my karma just ran over your dogma.

mAdMoPaR

Thinking of doing the same while I have the dash out. But just might leave the ammeter alone and run a parallel thru the firewall and attach a voltmeter to the bottom of my dash. Just wondering on a source for 10 gauge (or 8?) wire to do the parallel bypass.  Seems I could only find aluminum clad speaker wire in that gauge.

John_Kunkel

I use a #6 wire to parallel the ammeter, hooked directly to the alternator output terminal and routed across the core support to the battery terminal. Larger gauges aren't as easy to find as the smaller sizes, try an electric supply.
Pardon me but my karma just ran over your dogma.

A383Wing

My local O'Reilly parts store has #8 & #6 gauge wire in stock on the shelf....you need to ask them for it....it's not out in the electrical section in the store

Bryan

Nacho-RT74

Quote from: John_Kunkel on October 20, 2019, 02:01:46 PM
:iagree: With the bypass, the ammeter will only show discharge so a voltmeter is needed to gauge the system.

It shouldn't show any reading actually.


Aaaand if in any case some discharge reading is coming, you could be getting a damaged conection on bulkhead at alternator wire. Check for that.
Venezuelan RT 74 400 4bbl, 727, 8.75 3.23 open. Now stroked with 440 crank and 3.55 SG. Here is the History and how is actually: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,7603.0/all.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,25060.0.html

b5blue

Quote from: mAdMoPaR on October 25, 2019, 01:42:18 PM
Thinking of doing the same while I have the dash out. But just might leave the ammeter alone and run a parallel thru the firewall and attach a voltmeter to the bottom of my dash. Just wondering on a source for 10 gauge (or 8?) wire to do the parallel bypass.  Seems I could only find aluminum clad speaker wire in that gauge.
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I found the best deal was amplifier install wire kit on eBay to get 8ga  :2thumbs:

John_Kunkel

Quote from: Nacho-RT74 on October 26, 2019, 02:23:26 AM
Quote from: John_Kunkel on October 20, 2019, 02:01:46 PM
:iagree: With the bypass, the ammeter will only show discharge so a voltmeter is needed to gauge the system.

It shouldn't show any reading actually.


Aaaand if in any case some discharge reading is coming, you could be getting a damaged conection on bulkhead at alternator wire. Check for that.

"Bypass" wasn't a good word, shoulda said parallel. As long as the original circuit is left intact, the accessories that draw power will draw it through the ammeter circuit thus showing a discharge even though the battery is receiving full charge voltage through the parallel wire.
Pardon me but my karma just ran over your dogma.

A383Wing

yes...parallel is the proper term to use...and it will show movement on the ammeter...just not as much as before the extra wire was added

Bryan

Nacho-RT74

Venezuelan RT 74 400 4bbl, 727, 8.75 3.23 open. Now stroked with 440 crank and 3.55 SG. Here is the History and how is actually: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,7603.0/all.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,25060.0.html

mAdMoPaR

If going with the parallel setup is there any particular type of special grommet that needs to be used for the two wires running through the firewall, in my case I'm running 8 gauge.

b5blue

Quote from: mAdMoPaR on November 10, 2019, 11:27:46 PM
If going with the parallel setup is there any particular type of special grommet that needs to be used for the two wires running through the firewall, in my case I'm running 8 gauge.
I used marine grade compressible, a concern is the connectors also. Look at the amp rating, they need to be beefy.