Consider this a warning for Big 3 people, fuse yo sht!!

[DBDesignsElite]

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

What awg is that? I cant tell from the picture

 

[DBDesignsElite]

You can look them up but they make all kinds of them.... Ill see if i can get you some links...

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

^^^ That would be very pamp, thank you sir

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

http://www.hi-line.com/products/search.php?search-field=fusible+link

Just did a quick search and found a lil somethin somethin

 

[mazzasec 5,000+ posts]

cant you just trim down the terminal so that its not big fat and round?

 

[InfinitePeace 10+ year member]

Yes exactly, but it is all going to depend on the alternator, for mine personally, my 220amp Iraggi, can hold a 1/0 ring terminal on the post no problem. Which is exactly what I will be putting on it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

See now that's a different animal. I would have to believe that a larger alternator would have to have support for a larger wire otherwise it would be choked for current. Theoretically the size of the post would change with respect to the output amperage. So, I agree that that's probably exactly what you should use.

 

[InfinitePeace 10+ year member]

cant you just trim down the terminal so that its not big fat and round?

Wouldnt that somehow jeopardize the contact between the wire and the post? I.e. taking a huge wire and a tiny contact point would be essentially like a tube with a tiny opening... you can put all the liquid you want into it but it first must squeeze through that tiny hole? Maybe not the best analogy but that sounds like what you're getting at...

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

To some point there will be overkill using a larger wire ^^^ So in some cases a 4awg wire will be enough, in other cases with more current draw, 1/0 may be required.

 

[InfinitePeace 10+ year member]

^^ Agreed, why I did 4 awg. I don't forsee having any problems, it's a sq install, what I did may even be overkill for my purposes, but it's not colossal overkill. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Wouldnt that somehow jeopardize the contact between the wire and the post? I.e. taking a huge wire and a tiny contact point would be essentially like a tube with a tiny opening...

In theory, yes.

But the length of that relatively small contact area is a factor too.

Look at a fuse - What's the cross section of a 200A anl fuse element? I don't know, but it's pretty dang minimal. How long is it? 1/4"? Maybe 1/2"? How much resistance does it introduce? Pretty close to nothing, right?

If you calculated the contact area of a seemingly small terminal what do you think the total would be? Half a square inch maybe? Pretty big compared to the cross section of a fuse, don't you think? At almost zero length, right?

Plus, in the case of the OP, in that first pic it looks like only about 1/4 of that terminal's surface area was part of the connection anyway. Shaving it down to about the size of the nut MIGHT have made a difference.

 

[2002XLT 5,000+ posts]

Interesting guys, didnt know people could still carry on civil and meaningful convos on here anymore. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

What exactly is the fusible link that you guys are mentioning?

 

[Lil Poot 5,000+ posts]

Exactly, as is a general rule in all electical, when in doubt, fuse.
If you have a single doubt that a wire could short, then obviously fuse it to avoid a meltdown, but if you are somewhat skilled in wiring, and know what to look for, I dont think it is necessary with the big 3.

Now if you are a noobie, or think you could run into a problem, then by all means fuse it. But like I said, I wont be fusing any of the big 3's ive done.

theres a reason every wire in every car is either a fusible link or fused. what happens when you get into an accident and your entire front end is smashed back to the alternator? then, not only are you severely injured from the accident, but you could very likely have an unneeded vehicle fire to have to escape from, and substantially more damage to your car.

i've been saying this for years, and yet morons still continue to not fuse them for what... to save 15 dollars? to "allow current to flow more freely?" give me a break. it's laziness or the "nothing ever happens to me" mentality and shit like this is the result.

 

[Lil Poot 5,000+ posts]

I've read this thread, and it seems like everyone is jumping on the "fuse" band wagon. Dont get me wrong, it a great preventative measure to have a fuses. But I dont believe this issue would have been prevented if there was a fuse on this wire. Here's my reasoning... If you put a fuse on the wire going from the Alt to the battery, where would you be puting it? I'm guessing somewhere between 3 inches and 2 feet away from the actual Alternator post. Now the reason the fuse is there as we all know is that when the amperage(from a short) will exceed the fuses rating and blow the fuse to cut the circut. Well if the short happens BEFORE the fuse, which seems to be the case here (looks like the o-ring touched the casing) the fuse would have never blown b/c it was after the short circut. Now this senerio would be the case when the cars running since the alternator is the primary power source. IF the car was off, and the short happened and there was a fuse on the line..then it would have prevented this issue since the battery is the primary power source when the car is off.
In my car, the stock wiring never had a fuse close to the alternator, there is about 5 feet of wire off the alterator which goes to the main fuse block. If there was a short somewhere in that 5 feet of wire while the car was running...that wire would be toast since the alt is the power source when the cars running

you fuse by the battery, not the alternator...

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

theres a reason every wire in every car is either a fusible link or fused. what happens when you get into an accident and your entire front end is smashed back to the alternator? then, not only are you severely injured from the accident, but you could very likely have an unneeded vehicle fire to have to escape from, and substantially more damage to your car.
i've been saying this for years, and yet morons still continue to not fuse them for what... to save 15 dollars? to "allow current to flow more freely?" give me a break. it's laziness or the "nothing ever happens to me" mentality and shit like this is the result.

Yes in this case then definately a fuse would be beneficial to keep your car from catching up in flames in the event of an accident.