HO Alternator

[CamaroYoungDude]

I just bought a HO Alternator off ebay and it said I needed 4 guage power wire from the alternator to battery well I want to put 1/0 guage instead and want to use it on the ground too

do yall have any writeups on how exactly to do this and what I need ie. how much wire and what terminals and how many

thx

[CamaroYoungDude]

So I can use the side terminals from here on the positive and negative side posts for the 1/0 guage cable http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDe...fm?prodID=GMBT
and then get regular regular ring terminals with about 15 feet of wire

If im wrong could you please tell me

[memphis_raines]

I just installed mine not long ago. They recommended 4 gauge, so I used a 2 gauge power/ ground. I got those same battery terminals from knukonceptz, but I would recommend getting some thicker ring terminals. Take a look at these:

http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/LITLSSRT10

You'll need 2 sets.

Then I used one of these for the ground wire:

http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/LITLSGT2

Also, you won't need that much wire. 6 feet should be plenty.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the install.

[96firebird311]

Yes. You can use the GM side post terminal. Yes. Regular ring terminals are used with it. 15 is far too much wire. You would probably need 5 feet at the most for the positive end. And 1 foot to run from the battery to ground.

[memphis_raines]

If you use a ground terminal (like the one I gave you the link for) there is a hole already in the metal just behind the battery and a flat place next to it. Just sand the paint off the flat area and use a self tapping screw to install the terminal. If you go that route, your ground wire probably won't even be a foot long. I would also recommend using a protective wire loom (available at most parts stores) on the alt-to-battery wire cuz it will get quite hot near the alternator.

[DevinLooney]

Is there also a chassis to ground cable or just the batt to chassis ground? Basically is it a big 2 or big 3 upgrade for a 1998 Camaro. Thanks!!

[Freeser]

The big three consists of...[*]Alternator positive to Battery positive [*]Battery nevagive to Chassis ground [*]Engine to Chassis ground

Here is a good link that tells you about the big 3 and how to do it correctly.
http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/u...c;f=5;t=007801

Matt

[CamaroYoungDude]

kewl thx

[memphis_raines]

By the way Devin....I love that sig! haha

[DevinLooney]

Hey thanks for the compliment...lol...As for the big three has anyone done it? I have a 98 base v6 and just got done checking out under the hood. I'm a little confused with the 2 grounds. Stock there is a wire going from the batt neg. to a bolt on the frame about 6 inches away from the battery. Then there is a wire going from the batt neg. to a bolt connected to the engone block. Are these the wires i upgrade? Along with the alternator power of course...

[kamarozrule]

Originally posted by DevinLooney:
Stock there is a wire going from the batt neg. to a bolt on the frame about 6 inches away from the battery. Then there is a wire going from the batt neg. to a bolt connected to the engone block. Are these the wires i upgrade? Along with the alternator power of course...

yes they are... question though... do we have to use the spot on the block for the neg-eng wire. im doing the upgrade now and it looks like its gonna b a pain to get that spot all the way down therrrrrreeee.

[memphis_raines]

I didn't upgrade the one going from the battery to the engine block. I used a 2 gauge alt-to-battery, then added a 2 gauge battery-to-body using a platinum ground terminal and keeping the factory ground, then instead of having to reach all the way down there to upgrade the battery-to-block wire, I added a new 4 gauge wire that runs from the alternator mounting bolt (this works just as well because the alternator housing is metal, which means it is grounded to the block) to the existing ground point on the driver's side. This along with the existing factory ground wire seems to work pretty well.

[ March 14, 2004, 01:37 PM: Message edited by: memphis_raines ]