EZ wire alt wire

[cuda guy]

Hi everyone
I am rewiring a 1968 cuda with a 440 I seem to have figured out some of the wiring but when it comes to the alt wire I'm confused
My alt has 1 feed which I ran the green wire from the voltage regulator to the pin in the alt
The ez wire kit has a red wire called Alt from the fuse assembly where does that go ? do I run this to the lower post on the Alt or do I run a wire from that post to the starter relay to help recharge the system or do I rum it straight to the battery in the trunk ?
Long question
sorry
I did run the Alt ex white wire to the voltage regulator
I followed the 5 pin wiring diagram right to the letter 4 pin Ballast resister the works

Thanks

 

[crackedback]

Depends on how you are running the charge line on your car. How is the charge from alternator getting back to your battery? Are you running an ammeter and want to keep it?

I'd run a direct line from alternator to starter relay, then buss things from that location.

The fusebox likely is a deadhead of sorts. It will grab energy from a location and isn't an in series piece, that will allow for the charge to pass through to the battery. Just a guess.

 

[famous bob]

Hi everyone
I am rewiring a 1968 cuda with a 440 I seem to have figured out some of the wiring but when it comes to the alt wire I'm confused
My alt has 1 feed which I ran the green wire from the voltage regulator to the pin in the alt
The ez wire kit has a red wire called Alt from the fuse assembly where does that go ? do I run this to the lower post on the Alt or do I run a wire from that post to the starter relay to help recharge the system or do I rum it straight to the battery in the trunk ?
Long question
sorry
I did run the Alt ex white wire to the voltage regulator
I followed the 5 pin wiring diagram right to the letter 4 pin Ballast resister the works

Thanks

At least a 10ga. wire from the single alt. post to the post on the relay , regardless of where ur battery is at ---------will charge the battery even if its in the trunk.

 

[67Dart273]

Sorry bob that statement is misleading. "Charge the battery." The truth is that this does not mean much. The severe voltage drop that would cause ON A ONE WIRE SYSTEM would render a modern hotrod with efi, fans, pump(s) and other electrical loads nearly useless.

Even with an external regulator, the voltage drop on no10 from front to rear of the car---and even a front mount battery--could cause problems even if nothing else that it overheats the wire

Just to pick some figures out of the air, no10 can have as much as 1 ohm/ 1000ft when heated. So say, 20 ft and charging at 100A is 2V drop. Even if only 1V drop that's 7-8% at 12-14V which is consdiderable

The other issue on a "too small" charge line is "where are you pulling loads?" if you junction the loads up front from the charge line, then maybe the engine bay loads are fine when running and charging, but what about when the charge system sags and the battery has to supply power all the way back through the too-small charge line?

If loads are taken off the main cable, then the too-small charge drop is added--all the way to the trunk, and then what little more coming back up front on the main cable "there is some."

 

[Brooks James]

Is there a problem with running the line
Directly from the alt to battery ??

 

[famous bob]

Sorry bob that statement is misleading. "Charge the battery." The truth is that this does not mean much. The severe voltage drop that would cause ON A ONE WIRE SYSTEM would render a modern hotrod with efi, fans, pump(s) and other electrical loads nearly useless.

Even with an external regulator, the voltage drop on no10 from front to rear of the car---and even a front mount battery--could cause problems even if nothing else that it overheats the wire

Just to pick some figures out of the air, no10 can have as much as 1 ohm/ 1000ft when heated. So say, 20 ft and charging at 100A is 2V drop. Even if only 1V drop that's 7-8% at 12-14V which is consdiderable

The other issue on a "too small" charge line is "where are you pulling loads?" if you junction the loads up front from the charge line, then maybe the engine bay loads are fine when running and charging, but what about when the charge system sags and the battery has to supply power all the way back through the too-small charge line?

If loads are taken off the main cable, then the too-small charge drop is added--all the way to the trunk, and then what little more coming back up front on the main cable "there is some."

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I hate to bust ur bubble , but mine has been running that way for about 10 yrs. now , but the car has been rewired , msd/fast 2.0 fuel inj. , no ballast resister ,
battery in trunk i
Battery cable from the rear runs up the pass. side to inside at at front pass. side firewall , relay is close to where the heater motor used to be , heater is under the dash now .
Length of welding cable that was given to me dictated where the relay would be located , didnt have room for any heater motor there anyway = raised port heads are big.

 

[famous bob]

Hi everyone
I am rewiring a 1968 cuda with a 440 I seem to have figured out some of the wiring but when it comes to the alt wire I'm confused
My alt has 1 feed which I ran the green wire from the voltage regulator to the pin in the alt
The ez wire kit has a red wire called Alt from the fuse assembly where does that go ? do I run this to the lower post on the Alt or do I run a wire from that post to the starter relay to help recharge the system or do I rum it straight to the battery in the trunk ?
Long question
sorry
I did run the Alt ex white wire to the voltage regulator
I followed the 5 pin wiring diagram right to the letter 4 pin Ballast resister the works

Thanks

With my fast fuel inj. systerm , an E Z rewire , single pole 130 amp G M alternator , I dont use the exciter wire at all.
Its all a little foggy now, been that way for about 10 yrs,------------see above post^^

If Sean is still at E Z , call him , he`s one smart dude !! Helped me a lot !!

 

[Mattax]

Is there a problem with running the line
Directly from the alt to battery ??

It depends.

It depends on the path(s) you've set up to deliver power to the other equipment. Think about other equipment on the car that also needs power. How often do those items need power and how much power do they need?
Also it depends on how the design has been executed. If there is a ground short in the main feeds is there any protection from a full battery discharge? Has the path been made longer and do the connections have more or less resistance between the power source and the final equipment?

Rookie electrical question

 

[Brooks James]

It depends.

It depends on the path(s) you've set up to deliver power to the other equipment. Think about other equipment on the car that also needs power. How often do those items need power and how much power do they need?
Also it depends on how the design has been executed. If there is a ground short in the main feeds is there any protection from a full battery discharge? Has the path been made longer and do the connections have more or less resistance between the power source and the final equipment?

Rookie electrical question

The only significant draw I think is the
Fuel pump (4amps) , the elec fans I think are 20 amps. No heat no ac
And the instrument won’t draw much.
I don’t know the wire gauge but it’s
Pretty fat. I don’t know the alt output
It was originally a 65 amp and I had a guy soup it up for me. He sai something to the effect of this will DEFININETLY
Get the job done!! I told him in detail about the electrics. Am I in the ball park?? The paths is directly from alt to battery. All wiring is size overkill, overkill on the fusing every I mean everything is fused with slightly lower amps fused for extra protection

 

[67Dart273]

View attachment 1715718410
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I hate to bust ur bubble , but mine has been running that way for about 10 yrs. now , but the car has been rewired , msd/fast 2.0 fuel inj. , no ballast resister ,
battery in trunk i
Battery cable from the rear runs up the pass. side to inside at at front pass. side firewall , relay is close to where the heater motor used to be , heater is under the dash now .
Length of welding cable that was given to me dictated where the relay would be located , didnt have room for any heater motor there anyway = raised port heads are big.

You haven't busted any bubble and neither your nor my answer is the "doomsday" either direction. But it is poor practice, and as loads get bigger and alternators get bigger, the drop involved gets worse. As I attempted to explain, it also depends--on whether it's externally regulated and whether the loads come off the main cable. It STILL is poor practice, And I'm not an advocate of no 00000000 cable for the charging line, either LOLOL

Tell you what you do..........some day when you ain't busy create a "worst case" situation. You start your car when the battery has been sitting. The fans pumps whatever are running and the battery is low from sitting. The alternator is really charging. Now put a meter between the output stud on the alternator and the battery positive post---or the main power junction up front---and see just what the drop is. If it's less than 1 1/2-- 2V I'll lbe surprised

 

[Brooks James]

Thank you very much it sounds like one wire would be best suited for a race car where loads would be minimal