I just purchased a new (rebuilt) Nissan Alternator that has been upgraded to 180Amp output. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/300ZX-Nissan...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item415c6d8db7 The reason for this upgrade was to meet the current needs I will be employing in the future. Those being the Ford Taurus 2 Speed E-Fan and a very high wattage stereo system. My research has revealed that in installing a high amperage alternator, I also need to upgrade the main wires/cables for the alternator for Ground and Power. I plan to double up on the existing oem wiring/cables with 4AWG wire since the oem wiring harness is only 4 years old. As it probably shows, I've never done this type of upgrade myself. Before I even start to tackle this job, I'd like to know what the lengths are of the Positive battery cable and the Negative grounding cable from the alternator. This way I can make up the proper length cables ahead of time at home before I take the car to a shop to use their hoist to do the install. Any help or suggestions in this regard would be appreciated. Cheers.
why not remove your current alternator... and the wire.. then use that to measure the new one :S ? And.. what kinda wattage sound system do you have to upgrade the alternator ?
I will be using the services of a shop's hoist that's not close to me to do this work. I don't have the time or equipment/facilities to make a cable from scratch while I'm on that shop's hoist. This is why I need to know the length of cable ahead of time so that I can have it premade before I go to that shop. I'm not going to remove the oem cable as my oem harness is only 4 years old. The oem harness also has the 2 pin voltage regulator connector as well which must be retained. The doubling of the oem positive is a recommended procedure when installing a hogh output alternator. The Ford Taurus (american) 2 speed fan draws a continous 40amps when it's on the high speed mode. That would put the oem alternator 90 amp output to it's very max with no headroom. I also have this amp I'll be using - Specs Dolby Digital 5.1CH Decoding Pro Logic Decoding 1-optical Input 1-coaxial Input Satellites (Front & Rear, Center) Power: 200 watts Peak / 100 watts RMS x 5 at 2 ohm Subwoofer Power: 1000 watts Peak / 360 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohm Frequency Respons: 10 Hz - 30,000 Hz THD: <0.05% Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 120dB Channel Separation: 80dB High-pass Filter: 40 - 240 Hz Low-pass Filter: 40 - 240 Hz Input Impedance: 47K Ohms Input Sensitivity: 0.2-6V Fuse Rating: 30A x 3 A-aux Input (stereo): Max 2 Vrms High Quality 24 bit ADCs and DACs Subwoofer Speaker On/Off Switch Test Tone 6Ch Level Control: +/-10dB in 1 dB Step Master Volume Control Stop Band Slope of LPF: 24dB/oct
that sounds like a nice set up .. however i think you would still be ok ? im running a more or less stock alternator with; 2Xtype X subs (3000w maxx 1000w RMS each) and Front and Rear hifonics 6.5 componants (500watt max 110rms) powered by a 640 X 4 ch hifonics amp and a 2100 hifonics amp and i dont have a problem ? as for the fan ? im not sure about amps and fans but do you need them both to operate ?
Anyone know of the approximate length of cable from alternator to battery. I'd like to be able to pre-make one ahead of time and not rely on removing the old oem one as I may not be routing it the same way and will be leaving the oem one in place and just doubling up on the cable.
Would be a bit difficult to get an answer from us, as the lengths will vary from RHD to LHD. Battery is in different position & the Harness layout changes a bit. Also, in OEM trim the Alternator does not have a 'direct' line to the Battery, it has its own Harness, which has the Gearbox plugs off it as well (technically separate but they are both bundled as they both plug into the same area right behind the Driver's Headlight... Passenger side for you). The Alternator Harness plugs into the Engine Room Harness. I think the safest bet would be to prep one end of the cable (being a long cable, maybe 2-5 feet? depending on routing path, longer for us RHD'ers as Battery is on other side), then on the day route it however you would like and install it, then finish the other end end of the cable with whatever terminal you chose. (And holy crap! 180A Alternator?! Got any pictures of it?... the listings are more then 90 days old ) MoulaZX
you need to run a fuse aswell mate if your running new cable straight from the battery to the alternator at least 250 amp or higher. id get at least 2.5 or 3 metres of cable so you can route it nicely away from anything hot. i looked at doing mine decided it was going in the to hard basket for now tho
I already have a 200A fuse for this. Your not aware of what exact length you will settle on? I would like to have my cable completed before I even go to install it and do not want to be fitting cable ends at the time of install.
Nope, didn't notice, because seriously what're the odds I run into like the one person in your country with a RHD Zed? :rofl: Hrm, in that case. I'd venture a guess of 1.5-1.7M (5-5.5 feet) would be good to come out from Alternator, snake along to back of firewall near BMC, up around that, across the firewall with the EFI Harness straight to Battery. Even if you have about 20cm (approx half a foot) of slack, shouldn't be difficult to tuck it in somewhere or go back and reroute to stretch it out a bit more. It really depends on if you have a path in mind already to route it mate. Could easily go out with a measure tape tomorrow and get a possibly slightly closer approximation but my previous guess seems about right to me. Let me know how this goes, quite curious now. Cheers, MoulaZX
I made easy work of coming up with the right length of cable. First I cut/removed the oem battery clamps and replaced them with plated ones that have an assortment of gauge thickness holes with allen head locking screws for each of those slots. I attached 4Ga cable to the alternator with an extra long length of cable prior to installing the alternator. I fished that cable up to the spot where my Hicas solenoid used to be (Hicas deleted now) where it connects to a 180amp fuse holder. From that fuse holder, I ran another 4Ga cable to the new positive battery terminal. The positive battery terminal now has the old oem positive cable attached to it as well as the newly run alternator cable. The negative battery terminal has the oem negative cable going to it as well as a secondary grounding wire system that begins with 4Ga and splits off into separate 8Ga grounding cables to various parts within the engine bay. After ~ 3 months of use, everything appears just fine. I monitor the voltage output via my Ipaq PPC (with ECUTalk) and with the voltage reading on my Apexi NEO AFC and everything seems to be the same as before the alternator change. (Please note: I've had a constant difference in readings between the NEO and ECUTalk for almost 3 years now where the NEO's voltage reading will always be ~ 0.3V lower than what's displayed by ECUTalk. And I still have no idea why that is.) Cold start voltage is ~ 14.1V and will slowly drop and hold at ~ 13.8V after warmed up and driving for about 20 minutes. From what I have read, this is normal for our cars.
