Alt question

[mendon mafia 10+ year member]

is the case of the alt the ground "post". if i run a wire touching the case of the alt to the negative battery post is that a sufficient connection? my alt dosnt have a ground post like it has a positive post.

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[Bigbear 10+ year member]

are you talking about the big 3? if so then you only need to upgrade the pos alt to batt...i thought

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

is the case of the alt the ground "post". if i run a wire touching the case of the alt to the negative battery post is that a sufficient connection? my alt dosnt have a ground post like it has a positive post.

1) Chassis to engine

2) Chassis to battery NEG-

3) Engine to battery NEG-

Those are the three that I would recommend. In reality, you only need two of those three, the third being redundant, but I like to over-do things sometimes.

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

1) Chassis to engine2) Chassis to battery NEG-

3) Engine to battery NEG-

Those are the three that I would recommend. In reality, you only need two of those three, the third being redundant, but I like to over-do things sometimes.

i say do 2 and 3. 1 is the redundant one //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

and do the alt pos to battery pos. that makes 3. isn't there a thread for this..??

i swear there is somewhere... shits so hard to find though //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

i say do 2 and 3. 1 is the redundant one //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif
and do the alt pos to battery pos. that makes 3. isn't there a thread for this..??

i swear there is somewhere... shits so hard to find though //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

Shit son, I am reinventing the GAME! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/verymad.gif.3f39c5c2fd57527b671fad3efdfac756.gif

 

[mendon mafia 10+ year member]

you guys dont get what im asking. basically theres no negative terminal on my alt like there is a positive one. i just need to know where to run the wire from the alt(-) to the battery (-) / chassis.

i already have the alt(+) to battery(+) and battery(-) to chassis done is 1/0.

all i need is alt(-) to chassis/battery(-). only reason ppl say to use the engine block to chassis be because the alt mounts to the engine block via the mounts. so im thinking that the casing of the alt is (-).

but theres no post for the alt(-) so i was thinking that the casing of alt was essentially the negative "post" from the alt.

basically would it be ok if i had a wire running from the alternator case to the battery (-) to complete the big 3?

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

alt case = alt ground //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

i think that's what you needed to hear

and if you stop by the BIG 3 THREAD (STICKY) you'll see that is exactly how i have mine done...

 

[mendon mafia 10+ year member]

alt case = alt ground //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif
i think that's what you needed to hear

and if you stop by the BIG 3 THREAD (STICKY) you'll see that is exactly how i have mine done...

beautiful! that is exactly what i wanted to hear.

ill check it out. i prob should have done that first lol. would have saved myself and you guys some time. thanks anyways tho. i appreciate the help.

 

[JarvisB 10+ year member]

from what I thought, you dont have to wire alternator (-) to battery (-)?

I always thought that you only need to wire alt's positive to battery's positive thats all? and other grounding points of course..

 

[mendon mafia 10+ year member]

from what I thought, you dont have to wire alternator (-) to battery (-)?
I always thought that you only need to wire alt's positive to battery's positive thats all? and other grounding points of course..

ive heard that too but im running 5 kw and i want all the help i can get my alt is only 200 amp and i only have 2 spv 70's in the back and a stocker up front..

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

from what I thought, you dont have to wire alternator (-) to battery (-)?
I always thought that you only need to wire alt's positive to battery's positive thats all? and other grounding points of course..

you have to complete the upgraded circuit. so if you do the alt POS, why wouldn't you do the alt NEG?

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

Let me explain my reasons a little further in hope of schooling some n00bs.

1) Chassis to engine

This first connection is to connect all of your chassis grounded electronics to the alternator. When the alt supplies the power (POS+) for a device, those electrons must make it back to the source of the power, which is the alt in this case. Most alts do not have a dedicated NEG- post because the entire exterior is the NEG- post. Because it is bolted to the engine, every metal point on the engine is an extension of this same point on the alt case.

2) Chassis to battery NEG-

This is also the end grounding point for all of your electronics that are chassis grounded throughout the car. This is only needed when the front battery is the source of power (POS+) for the given device. So, if your engine is off and the battery is producing the charge, the electrons have to make it back to to the NEG- post of the battery.

3) Engine to battery NEG-

This is the optional one, because if the first two are done, then the engine is in fact already connected to the battery via the chassis. But ask yourself this question; Would a short piece of wire be better than making the power go down one wire to the chassis, around the engine bay through that chassis, up another wire to the battery? This wire will alleviate that long trip through the chassis.

Now this wire is only going to aid in the charging of the front battery. It is not crucial to have this wire like I said, but it does reduce the overall resistance in your grounds. I just prefer to have the shortest path available for any ground in my system.

Remember that the end point of your ground is NOT the chassis, it is the source of the power. Sometimes that source is your alternator, sometimes it is a battery.

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

i still say if the battery is connected to BOTH the engine AND the chassis, then #1 is out.

thats my theory. and it's been working for well over a year.

 

[JarvisB 10+ year member]

Let me explain my reasons a little further in hope of schooling some n00bs.
1) Chassis to engine

This first connection is to connect all of your chassis grounded electronics to the alternator. When the alt supplies the power (POS+) for a device, those electrons must make it back to the source of the power, which is the alt in this case. Most alts do not have a dedicated NEG- post because the entire exterior is the NEG- post. Because it is bolted to the engine, every metal point on the engine is an extension of this same point on the alt case.

2) Chassis to battery NEG-

This is also the end grounding point for all of your electronics that are chassis grounded throughout the car. This is only needed when the front battery is the source of power (POS+) for the given device. So, if your engine is off and the battery is producing the charge, the electrons have to make it back to to the NEG- post of the battery.

3) Engine to battery NEG-

This is the optional one, because if the first two are done, then the engine is in fact already connected to the battery via the chassis. But ask yourself this question; Would a short piece of wire be better than making the power go down one wire to the chassis, around the engine bay through that chassis, up another wire to the battery? This wire will alleviate that long trip through the chassis.

Now this wire is only going to aid in the charging of the front battery. It is not crucial to have this wire like I said, but it does reduce the overall resistance in your grounds. I just prefer to have the shortest path available for any ground in my system.

Remember that the end point of your ground is NOT the chassis, it is the source of the power. Sometimes that source is your alternator, sometimes it is a battery.

So I do all this plus alternator's positive to battery positive.. that is all I am supposed to do? 4 separate wires, correct?

 

[mendon mafia 10+ year member]

run direct from alt casing(-) to battery neg(-) or chassis(-).

then from batt negative(-) to chassis(-) (In my car i have my battery and alt casing grounding at the same chassis point)

then do the wire from alt pos(+) to batt pos(+)