questions about battery disconnect wiring
Let me try to clarify what I meant.
Illustrated below applies a relay as 273 suggested to a car where an in-line ammeter is being used.
Much of the wiring is same as factory. Alternator output wire is factory (black either 12 or 10 ga).
Below is way to do the same thing, but with a solenoid in the starter cable.
The 8 gage battery feed is protected by the 12 ga fusible link.
In both the relay is only carrying current to the ignition and alternator's rotor.
That could be as low as 3 amps or as maybe as much as 7 or 8 amps with a later model alternator and/or an ignition like MSD's that can draw 1 amp per 1000 rpm. (That's from MSD's instruction booklet, I've not tested it).
The point is that max through a relay used this way is much much less than the maximum current of a relay in the alternator's output wire.
Let me try to clarify what I meant.
Illustrated below applies a relay as 273 suggested to a car where an in-line ammeter is being used.
Much of the wiring is same as factory. Alternator output wire is factory (black either 12 or 10 ga).
Below is way to do the same thing, but with a solenoid in the starter cable.
The 8 gage battery feed is protected by the 12 ga fusible link.
In both the relay is only carrying current to the ignition and alternator's rotor.
That could be as low as 3 amps or as maybe as much as 7 or 8 amps with a later model alternator and/or an ignition like MSD's that can draw 1 amp per 1000 rpm. (That's from MSD's instruction booklet, I've not tested it).
The point is that max through a relay used this way is much much less than the maximum current of a relay in the alternator's output wire.
