Need help with wiring

[skep419]

I have been stranded twice in the last month because of electricity. I have a mopar Alt (dual field ext V reg) mini starter, battery in the trunk. Today The alt was not charging while I was 10 miles from home. As I looked for the issue the car got up to 235 deg and I was forced to shut it off. I checked V at the battery and terminals 12.4. Checked at started solenoid 12.4. Turn key to start clickckckckckckckckck. :angry7: Cleaned all battery terminals.The battery relocation kit came with crappy non soldered eyelet ends with a stud and wing nut battery terminal. As I was cleaning the battery terminals the pos Eyelet fell off :angry7:. Took a screwdriver and a hammer to it for temporary fix. Finally I called a friend to bring a battery jump pack over. Hooked it up nothing. can't believe this day. Long story crappy ground was the culprit. Engine finally started tick tick tick tick for about five min. Still not charging. Checking fuses noticed alt field fuse blown. Field spade was loose. After replacing fuse and tightening spade terminal. It is now Charging at 14.

Where to mount the ground wire. Trunk floor is NOT cutting it... (car has sub frame connectors)

Anybody run a ground wire to there alt? Is there such thing as too many grounds :toothy10:

This diagram is what I will be going off of.

 

[fishy68]

There's never such a thing as too many grounds but you really only need one good one and it doesn't have to be connected to the alternator. Just the engine block. Frame rails do not provide a good connection generally because they are rusty and you can't get a good electrical connection to them. I ran a ground wire along with the positive wire on my truck I used to race and never had a problem with it.

 

[abodyjoe]

As I was cleaning the battery terminals the pos Eyelet fell off . Took a screwdriver and a hammer to it for temporary fix.

solider that end on.

Field spade was loose. After replacing fuse and tightening spade terminal. It is now Charging at 14.

you have to go back and check all you connections. solider,crimp,clean and grease everything. from your description it sounds like a disaster looking for a place to happen.


i know quite a few people using the trunk floor as the ground for the battery. is where it bolted down clean of any paint grease etc.. ? you usung crappu ends on that cable like on the positive side of the bat? do you have a ground strap from the body to the engine?

 

[oneway71]

Alternator doesnt need to be grounded unless it is earlier than '70 (1 field & 1 ground lug on back) dual field alternators are not grounded.

I would run a ground from battery to the trunk floor, then one ground, from battery, to the transmission to motor bolt. That should supply the starter with enough amps to turn the motor.

 

[nothingbutdarts]

solider that end on.





you have to go back and check all you connections. solider,crimp,clean and grease everything. from your description it sounds like a disaster looking for a place to happen.


i know quite a few people using the trunk floor as the ground for the battery. is where it bolted down clean of any paint grease etc.. ? you usung crappu ends on that cable like on the positive side of the bat? do you have a ground strap from the body to the engine?

Joe nailed it on the head, you need a GOOD ground strap from the chassis to the engine, (and it needs to be the same wire size as the ground cable is now, going from the battery to the chassis) especially since the battery is now in the trunk!!!!! Or run a full negative battery cable all the way to the engine!

 

[moper]

When I do a trunk mounted battery I use welder's cable. It's MUCH less likely to have issues over a long life than std battery cable or the cheap kits. Also, you can either solder the terminals or use Moroso terminals that screw together and make a great connection without heat. All other connections should be soldered. I run the negative from battery to the lower side of the frame rail, then a complete 2nd cable from the frame rail spot where the battery cable ends up to the front of the car to the block. I also run a seperate ground strap to the firewall off the block. I run a 10ga wire from the output stud of the alternator directly back to the cut-off switch, and then from the switch to the battery positive. This assures that when the alternator is charging, there is a low-resistance path back to the battery but the switch will still cut the power. For the positive cable, I run it from the cut off switch to a positive buss bar under the hood, and then to the starter and fender relay. Then you can use the buss bar for any connections like fan relays, fuel pump relays, head lamp relays, etc. That limits the length of wire for every circuit, and it will work for years.

 

[cuda2ya]

I have been stranded twice in the last month because of electricity. I have a mopar Alt (dual field ext V reg) mini starter, battery in the trunk. Today The alt was not charging while I was 10 miles from home. As I looked for the issue the car got up to 235 deg and I was forced to shut it off. I checked V at the battery and terminals 12.4. Checked at started solenoid 12.4. Turn key to start clickckckckckckckckck. :angry7: Cleaned all battery terminals.The battery relocation kit came with crappy non soldered eyelet ends with a stud and wing nut battery terminal. As I was cleaning the battery terminals the pos Eyelet fell off :angry7:. Took a screwdriver and a hammer to it for temporary fix. Finally I called a friend to bring a battery jump pack over. Hooked it up nothing. can't believe this day. Long story crappy ground was the culprit. Engine finally started tick tick tick tick for about five min. Still not charging. Checking fuses noticed alt field fuse blown. Field spade was loose. After replacing fuse and tightening spade terminal. It is now Charging at 14.

Where to mount the ground wire. Trunk floor is NOT cutting it... (car has sub frame connectors)

Anybody run a ground wire to there alt? Is there such thing as too many grounds :toothy10:

This diagram is what I will be going off of.

You almost always need to ground the engine to the body, also if your motor got hot it sounds like a loose belt in which it is slipping on alt also causing charging problems. This will really show up at higher speeds, (or RPMS). Make those checks first before you pull your hair out.

 

[tedsweet]

12.4 volts is low

 

[skep419]

Problem solved. Soldered all connections, new solderable battery terminals, 6ga wire from alt - battery side of cut off switch, ground from engine to frame, ground battery to clean spot on trunk. charging at 14.2v

 

[DadGum_Teen]

Nice, sounds like you had a fun afternoon

 

[Rob Eppler]

Good electrical connections are a must. Solder and shrink wrap all connections. Next, remember good wire is AWG rated. Mulit strand wire is best, infact the more strands, the better current carring capability the wire has. [electrons flow on the outside surface of the wire, therefore, more strands, more current capability] Clean grounds to trunks supports should be sufficient. Clean grounds from the engine block to the frame rail should be sufficient. A full length ground should not be needed, just good connections soldered and shrink wrapped! In the end, any voltage drop should be .5v or less! [insulated side or ground side] Knowing how to use a volt meter is very important when "problems" like this "crop up"!

 

[D-mailman]

What Moper said. I also run welders cable from the neg. side of the battery to the starter itself. solved my sluggish and slow starter problems. As already stated..you can't have too many grounds with a DC system.