ground wire upgrades

[petdmc]

Hey all, I want to upgrade my grounds and positives.

now can i upgrade the wire that runs from the alternator to the starter? it's a pretty tiny wire too. i'm doing this cause i have a 200 amp alternator and want to make use of it.

[madpogue]

Originally Posted by petdmc

Hey all, I want to upgrade my grounds and positives.

now can i upgrade the wire that runs from the alternator to the starter? it's a pretty tiny wire too. i'm doing this cause i have a 200 amp alternator and want to make use of it.

It's not a "wire" per se, but a fusible link. Not sure of the current rating. Perhaps someone makes one of a higher rating.

[Low Saturn]

Originally Posted by petdmc

Hey all, I want to upgrade my grounds and positives.

now can i upgrade the wire that runs from the alternator to the starter? it's a pretty tiny wire too. i'm doing this cause i have a 200 amp alternator and want to make use of it.

I would leave the fusable link in place. I'm sure if your new alternator were to have a problem, you'd rather have the fusable link fry and burn up rather than the car and all the equipment you must have that requires a 200amp alternator.

[petdmc]

lol naw i don't really have anything yet, just a h/u and comps.

it's just that my old one crapped out, so i was like what the hey. But anyway that fusable link is looking worn and tired... the plastic wrap on the wire is split and peeling.

hmm may i'll just upgrade it to a better fused link.

[97coupe]

Originally Posted by petdmc

Hey all, I want to upgrade my grounds and positives.

now can i upgrade the wire that runs from the alternator to the starter? it's a pretty tiny wire too. i'm doing this cause i have a 200 amp alternator and want to make use of it.

Why would you want a 200 amp alternator? If it is for a stereo, it would be better served by adding a extra battery and a capacitor bank. You need to be careful that you do not burn out the main buss in car from extra current potential.

[petdmc]

ok... my bad i checked and i think its only 160.

the only reason i ask is because when i would start the car i would get the battery light every once in-awhile. I would happen on cold starts really.

i only want to does this now cause i have the engine out so it would be hella easier now.

-96 sl2 5spd.

[97coupe]

Originally Posted by petdmc

ok... my bad i checked and i think its only 160.

the only reason i ask is because when i would start the car i would get the battery light every once in-awhile. I would happen on cold starts really.

i only want to does this now cause i have the engine out so it would be hella easier now.

-96 sl2 5spd.

With new alternator or old one? Ground would not cause this but a higher current surge could maybe cause some issues with system designed for a lower peak current. I would suggest that if problem persists that you verify alternator output and also consider that a larger alternator needs more field current to power it and maybe the supply for this current is a bit soft under have demand at startup which would cause output to soften.

[quiksc2]

How old is your battery? When it's cold out, they don't work as well, so your battery light would be coming on because the battery isn't putting out enough volts (i think). On a cold day, have someone start your car, and use a voltmeter on the battery to see how many volts it's putting out.

[Sky King]

Originally Posted by petdmc

ok... my bad i checked and i think its only 160.

the only reason i ask is because when i would start the car i would get the battery light every once in-awhile. I would happen on cold starts really.


-96 sl2 5spd.

If everything is working right, even on the coldest of days, you should not get this light after the start. The fact that you have this light indicates somthing is not performing as it is supposed to. As somebody already posted, I would think that the battery is not being charged fully. So on a cold day, it is not able to deliver it's full potential. Because it was weak before the start, it is drawn down during a cold start. The cause for the battery not getting its full charge now is not able to allow the battery to recover.

Putting a replacement alternator MAY be the fix if the current alternator is failing. But it is not necessary to go to the high amperage alternator you are contemplating. If the problem in the charging/start system is high resistance caused by a corroded or loose connection, putting a high capacity alternator in will not fix the problem.

I do not know the rating of the fusable link. If it is rated lower than that 160 amp alternator which it probably is, you will never get the benefit of all that capacity as the link will blow when it reaches its limit.

[quiksc2]

Every time I open this thread, I keep forgetting to say this.

A friend of mine was on the Honda tuning scene back in the day, before rice was invented... He was saying there was a kit you could get that attached to the negative side of your battery, and had about 6 wires that came off it and went to different grounding points. Supposedly having these extra grounds gave you more power. Whatever. Anyway, there are those screws on the cables that go into our side terminals. There's a part you can get at a car audio place that replaces your positive with one that has a bolt on the back to hook a sub power wire up to. If you got one of these, and put it in your negative side, you could make another grounding point on your chassis, and run a wire from it to this extra post. I'm thinking about doing this, because I have some noise interference that seems like a ground issue.

[fetchitfido]

Would upgrading the size of the cables on otherwise stock parts do anything helpful, other then maybe looking cooler?

[quiksc2]

Originally Posted by fetchitfido

Would upgrading the size of the cables on otherwise stock parts do anything helpful, other then maybe looking cooler?

Maybe if you had added extra things to pull more power, a thicker cable would help give it the power it needs.

[Sky King]

Originally Posted by quiksc2

Every time I open this thread, I keep forgetting to say this.

A friend of mine was on the Honda tuning scene back in the day, before rice was invented... He was saying there was a kit you could get that attached to the negative side of your battery, and had about 6 wires that came off it and went to different grounding points. Supposedly having these extra grounds gave you more power. Whatever. Anyway, there are those screws on the cables that go into our side terminals. There's a part you can get at a car audio place that replaces your positive with one that has a bolt on the back to hook a sub power wire up to. If you got one of these, and put it in your negative side, you could make another grounding point on your chassis, and run a wire from it to this extra post. I'm thinking about doing this, because I have some noise interference that seems like a ground issue.

Redundant grounds certainly can not hurt but if the existing grounds and bonding points are kept clean and tight I can't really see how the extra grounds will achieve much of anything.

It is true that many noise issues can be traced to loose/dirty connections. Again if the ones you have are clean and tight there should not be a problem. Adding additional ones don't actually solve the problem. You just give the current a NEW path AROUND a bad connection when in reality just cleaning and tightening the one you have probably would have also solved the problem. Electricity is lazy. It takes the path of least resistance and dirty, corroded and loose connections manifest themselves as a source of resistance in the current path.

As for the additional post connections at the battery. I think these can be benificial. Adding accessories that draw high current would be better served by going directly to the battery. Trying to get the power you need by tapping into a "hot" wire somewhere else could lead to trouble if the circuit you pick is not wired for the load you are adding. However, when going directly to the battery, remember you are not going through any fused circuits. Be sure to include in your new circuit the appropriate fusing at the source to protect the car, the wiring and the newly added toys.

[quiksc2]

Ya, it definately wont hurt adding another ground. I cleaned and made sure my stock grounds were tight, but still having issues. I have a 60 amp fuse between my battery and my amps.