Which Amperage fuse for stock alt?

[Nevalite 10+ year member]

Hey,

I have a 1992 Camry with the stock alternator and I'm doing the BIG 3, I was wondering what size of a fuse do I need to be safe for the wire going from alt to battery?

Thanks

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[Nevalite 10+ year member]

It's either a 70 or 80 amp alt

 

[iamamp3pimp 5,000+ posts]

put in a 200a fuse.

its moreso to protect your car if somerthing shorts out

 

[Nevalite 10+ year member]

No fuse? That doesnt sound safe lol

 

[Nevalite 10+ year member]

Yeah but I'm guessing nothing has shorted yet.

Anyways I want to understand the theory behind this, since I have only 70-80 amps coming from the alt does that mean anything above an 80A fuse is overkill? A 150A fuse would be plenty? Or are there other factors that come into play?

 

[Nevalite 10+ year member]

You mean if its only having 80A run thru it, even if it shorted the 150A wouldnt break because its too strong for the 80A signal? How many amps would you be getting on a short?

 

[Nevalite 10+ year member]

Anybody know what is needed here or how this is calculated?

Thanks

 

[kev7706 10+ year member]

The whole point of a fuse is to protect the wire. I'm no electrical engineer, but I'd fuse the wire just below it's maximum amperage capacity. Can't hurt.

 

[bass-aholic 10+ year member]

The whole point of a fuse is to protect the wire. I'm no electrical engineer, but I'd fuse the wire just below it's maximum amperage capacity. Can't hurt.

Correct, a fuse is to keep the wire from starting a fire. The amount of amperage going through the wire doesn't matter. Its the size of the wire that matters. You want the fuse to blow before the wire burns up and starts a fire. For your stock alt use 4ga and a 125-150a something like that fuse.