Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

only trouble i had with one wire was with shut off switch for draigstrip. for some reason when you hit the kill switch on a one wire it kills the alternator or something like that. the alt. shop explained it something about it would need to be reenergized. all i know is it never charged right after the kill. don't know much about this except it never happened again after i went to 3 wire alt.

yes it had to be replaced. it died, at least that was my understanding. maybe i was misled by alt shop but it all worked out. i never did understand it.

-- Edited by frank on Saturday 5th of March 2011 05:17:52 PM

As for the battery cables. 1/0 gauge is perfect. You can't go too big on the battery cables.

Pushrod wrote:

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Hey bowtieman I was reading your post on one wire alt. Im confused by all the extra wiring needed when all you need to do is unplug the stock voltage reg. hide or remove the wiring then run the appropriate size charge wire to starter HOT lug then the appropriate size wire from starter HOT to batt. Of course a good chassis ground is also needed. Now if you want to use the dash "CHARGE" light, different story, typically a one wire alt wont work properly then say hello to the three wire like stock with external reg. as far as "turn on" and "turn off" of alt I think of older one wire alts. Newer gm style one wire alts turn on and off with the fan belt and only supply output amperage equal to the amp draw on the batt at any given time. So long as you start with a good quality, fully charged battery. Oh yeah...... I dont see what difference it makes where you hook electrically powered accesories, to the hot side of batt, hot post on starter, junction block or wherever, as long as the power consuming  device is properly wired and fused

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According to my electrical engineer friend, running the draw power thru another devise, such as the battery or starter solenoid, is a waste of power and the devise. If you think about it, why draw the power out of the battery forcing the alt to constantly recharge it. Bypass the battery and draw the power directly from the alt, which as you said, produces the necessary power for any/all needs on demand. The constant state of discharge/recharge is what wears a battery out. By removing it from the circuit, it recharges to full and then just sits there doing what it was designed to do.....store power until you need to start the engine again. By looking at the layout of the one wire alt circuits that GM went to years ago, you will see exactly that too. There hasn't been an accessory power wire coming from the positive terminal of a battery for over 25 years.

 

Try RUNNING your car without a batt or a dead batt then get back to me.

this is interesting, how does all this work. you can't start a car without a battery and can't run one without a alt. i.ve wired complete cars and a number of items say run to battery. but you are right nothing connects derect to battery. it all connects farther down the line but i always taught it was the same thing as going right to battery. where is john when we need him?

-- Edited by frank on Tuesday 8th of March 2011 06:37:06 AM

frank wrote:

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this is interesting, how does all this work. you can't start a car without a battery and can't run one without a alt. i.ve wired complete cars and a number of items say run to battery. but you are right nothing connects derect to battery. it all connects farther down the line but i always taught it was the same thing as going right to battery. where is john when we need him?

-- Edited by frank on Tuesday 8th of March 2011 06:37:06 AM

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You can run circuits directly from the battery and to a point all seems fine. I understand what you're saying about instructions to run a power wire to "battery" but they just mean 12 volt positive power, not necessarily the battery itself. Most modern instructions could benefit from more explanation. The engineers realized some time back as amperage draw kept increasing, that the battery was a bottleneck in the flow and went to the 1 wire design. Electricity follows the path of least resistance and by providing a location between the battery and alternator, the amperage went directly to the draw. If you are familiar with a bus bar, that is essentially how the circuit works. Yes, it's all still connected but the power can flow directly to the draw and not thru the battery. Many cars now have 100+ amp alts and running that level of amperage thru the battery constantly will cause it to overheat and self destruct. Hence my initial reply to run the fans from the alt wire rather than the battery post. The wire needs to go thru the fuse holders first to protect the alt and then to the relays that control the fan by temp or manual switch.

Dashboard, good comparison question about the chicken and the egg. With a fully charged battery, once running, you can remove the alternator and the engine will run for a limited time until the battery wears down to a level of voltage that won't support spark. Conversely, when you jump a car with a dead battery from another car, once the engine starts, what keeps it running if the battery is dead ??? The alternator. You could jump start that same car with no battery and once it is running, remove the cables and drive it until it runs out of gas. Now, is the battery the chicken or the egg ? You need both initially to start the engine but not the battery once it is running. You can't have eggs without chickens and you don't get new chickens without eggs.........you need both but for different reasons. As for which came first ??? I'm just a wrenchhead, not a politician.....

 

This post is going to get interesting we must remember electrical theory is just that, theory, so it may be no one is right and no one is wrong. Quite often water or the flow of water is used by some to help others understand how electricity flows.

So how’s this sound. I go to the sink and turn on the cold water, the water comes from the city’s water tower (alternator) but then I decide I want warm water, now some of the water is coming from my hot water heater (battery). It all runs into the sink and it’s all water.

Ok so since we have a post dedicated to splitting hairs here’s another question. Is it a motor or is it an engine under the hood of your car?

don't know where this is going my car runs fine. same battery for 10 years, pick up my power down line from alt. did have question on 3 wire verse one wire why do you think the alt. builder recomended 3 wire over one wire i did tell him i planned on killing alt. why i was running 1/4 mile, even though i never have tried it. i thought it would hurt the spark. whats your thoughts on that?

OK, This is what I am doing
1) I think Mitch is on to something and I am sure this was beat to death. The alternator is a Voltage controlled current source. The battery is a "storage" of potential energy source.
2) It is probably best to use 3 wire and to have the current put into the system most central to the system to have shorter runs to distribute the current to the loads and to have the voltage sence at the point current is put into the system. Ground case of alternator to block.
3) I am going to use 6 gauge wire from alt to horn relay 6 gauge from horn relay to to 10 gauge fuse wire to starter. Next 6 gauge wire from horn reley to front of car for fans and head light relays.
4) I like the single wire because I am lazy & it will work, but I do not think it is the best way to do it. Plus everyhting else on the car is extream over kill why stop. Plus not so sure it will be best from a safety perspective.

Now for the idiot light and I hope this work. Use the origianl volatage regualtor connector tie the blue and brown together and disconnet the red and white. The the #1 from alt to the jumped blue or brown. #2 is voltage sence I will run a 10 or 12 gauge to the horn relay where everything else is. I am even tempted to put my voltage gauge there, but it will be always on reading voltage not sure if that is a good idea or not. I will 86 my current gauge.

Powermaster just told me to run it single wire to battery. I think they concern is poor charging wire voltage drops with is hooked right to battery you will not have a big drop

from hot rod august 1998:

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/hrdp_9808_one_wire_alternator_install/index.html