Alternator died... Any low cost upgrades?

[1 Wild R/T]

Single biggest change, run a wire from the output stud of the alternator to the battery stud on the starter relay..... If you stick with a 60 amp or smaller alternator a 10 gauge wire is ok.. If you step up to a 120 amp alternator you need at least an 8 gauge wire & personally I'd go 6 gauge...

Second change, disconnect the wires at the Ammeter & bolt them together, insulate the connection....

Third get ahold of Crackedback & buy his Headlight relay kit....

Forth... What ever bigger loads you have should be also be fed by a relay....

Relays take the load off switches & stock wiring....

[FSHTAIL]

So I ordered a 120amp alternator. 

I'll go 6 gauge on the wiring but I'm thinking of using a manual 150amp marine style inline circuit breaker. 

Does that sound like that would be effective?

Should I breaker the wiring going into the cabin? 

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[FSHTAIL]

It's coming right along.   
I still have to pull the dash apart to bypass the Amp gauge. 

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[1 Wild R/T]

You can do that from under the dash, pull the seat, four nuts from under the car...  To bypass, disconnect the battery, crawl under dash, remove the 3/8" nuts from both ammeter terminals, move the wires both to the same terminal & put the nut back on...

[FSHTAIL]

Thanks for the tip 1 Wild!

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[FSHTAIL]

I never thought about just bolting them together off of one stud.      Much easier than trying to dink around with soldering as such.   

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[73440]

 

Single biggest change, run a wire from the output stud of the alternator to the battery stud on the starter relay..... If you stick with a 60 amp or smaller alternator a 10 gauge wire is ok.. If you step up to a 120 amp alternator you need at least an 8 gauge wire & personally I'd go 6 gauge...

Second change, disconnect the wires at the Ammeter & bolt them together, insulate the connection....

Third get ahold of Crackedback & buy his Headlight relay kit....

Forth... What ever bigger loads you have should be also be fed by a relay....



Relays take the load off switches & stock wiring....

all good advice, have the @crackedback headlight relay kit, real nice , just need to install one day.

[FSHTAIL]

That worked out killer @1 Wild R/T..     
Thanks for that time and back saving tip. 
I was seeing 14.2-14.4 at Idol...   
Flicker is gone.   

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[cudaragtop]

Overcurrent protection needs to be sized for the ampacity of the wire.
Too small can result in nuisance trips or burned fusible link. Too big can result in Car-B-Que on the side of the road.
6AWG, 8AWG or whatever size wire, the circuit breaker or fusible link is to protect from burning up the wire.
Too large overcurrent protection is the same as none at all.

Wish I had known that as a teen. Had a fuse blow in my parents ElCamino and the radio quit.
My buddy says wrap a piece of foil gum wrapper around the glass fuse and away we go with the radio blasting again.
Moments later smoke and flames are coming out of the dash...
The fuse did it's job. Needed to troubleshoot the short in the wiring not defeat the overcurrent protection.

[cudaragtop]

We use a lot of this type of wire in our critical facility infrastructure.
http://www.cobrawire.com/x-flex/x-flex.php
Not going to find X-Flex at Lowes, Home Depot or your favorite auto supply store...

#6AWG  NEC Max is 75 Amps for 90*C rated wire
Cobra Wire X-Flex #6 AWG is rated to 118 Amps at 105*C

[FSHTAIL]

I'm running 4 gauge wire with a 125amp mini anl fuse with a 120amp alternator.   

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[cudaragtop]

I'm running 4 gauge wire with a 125amp mini anl fuse with a 120amp alternator.   

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Your wire will burn before the fuse. Most #4 AWG is only rated for up to 95 Amps.
The alternator isn't capable of putting out enough to burn the fuse but it can put out enough to burn your #4 wire.

[FSHTAIL]

http://www.offroaders.com/technical/12-volt-wiring-tech-gauge-to-amps/

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[FSHTAIL]

More than adequate for a 12v system.     
Are you confusing AC with DC?

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[Skunkworks Challenger]

I made those modifications to my wiring and couldn't be more pleased.