OK...so I relocated my battery, I used a flaming river disconnect switch and wired in the relay from painless that kills the alternator as well. Everything fucntions properly and the disconnect switch kills the car, etc. Before I did this install, my alternator was charging at 14.0 volts, and now after everything was said and done, it'll charge at 13 and then drop to like 11volts just above the caution marks. For anyone who has done this, can you point me in the right direction? thanks in advance.
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1995 Pontiac Formula Firebird 383 Stroker 11.5:1 compression, ASM Thottle body, Custom Grind Comp Cam, MSD ignition, BMR strut, k-member, Upper and Lower control arms, rear control arms, and still a work in progress. -
What size (gauge) cable did you run from the battery to the starter? Did you run the alternator hotwire straight to the positive battery terminal or the cutoff switch? Where in line did you install the Painless alt. relay? -
I ran 2 gauge from the battery to the junction terminal and a 4 gauge wire from the junction box to the starter. But the wire that goes to the relay and out to the back is 10 gauge. I ran it right to the cut off switch as per painless wiring's directions, could a bad ground on the relay cause it to charge low?1995 Pontiac Formula Firebird 383 Stroker 11.5:1 compression, ASM Thottle body, Custom Grind Comp Cam, MSD ignition, BMR strut, k-member, Upper and Lower control arms, rear control arms, and still a work in progress.Comment
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Could be a bad connection or ground. It is usually a good idea to run 0 gauge from the battery to the junction terminal and then 2 to the starter. Did you use the Painless kit #50103? Did it come with the 10 gauge wire to go from the relay to the switch? I would use a larger gauge if it were me for the relay output wire.Originally posted by crazilyconfusedComment
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2 gauge is plenty big for the set up, and the starter wire had 4 gauge going to it from the battery when it was in the front so it should be any different. Yeah I used painless #50103 but the relay has the wires built in already and it was 10 gauge wire. The problem really isn't starting the car, it is getting the alternator to charge at 14 volts like it used to. I'm wondering if the ground on the relay isn't grounded properly. I'll try that tomorrow. Any other suggestions would help...thanks.Originally posted by fastTA1995 Pontiac Formula Firebird 383 Stroker 11.5:1 compression, ASM Thottle body, Custom Grind Comp Cam, MSD ignition, BMR strut, k-member, Upper and Lower control arms, rear control arms, and still a work in progress.Comment
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Could be the relay ground. Get a multimeter on it. Have you verified that the alternator itself is not going south........maybe the voltage regulator or rectifier? Put a multimeter on it as well. Should be well over 14 volts at the output.
We thought 2 gauge would be plenty on my car and another one of my buddies cars and neither would turn the starter. We put 1 gauge marine grade cable and it started fine. But if I did it again I would be sure to use 0 gauge. It is in no way overkill.Comment
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Yeah but starting it is not my problem, it's keeping it charged. I'm gonna try test all the voltages tomorrow. Thanks for your input. It really helped a lot.Originally posted by fastTA1995 Pontiac Formula Firebird 383 Stroker 11.5:1 compression, ASM Thottle body, Custom Grind Comp Cam, MSD ignition, BMR strut, k-member, Upper and Lower control arms, rear control arms, and still a work in progress.Comment
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