Quote: ...If you upgraded with a 100 amp alt you have to upgrade alt. wiring
Amen to that! This is a meltdown waiting to happen.
Rick
I respectfully disagree! The way I have my fans wired, it is no more likely to "meltdown" than a factory setup.
I take the fan relay feeds directly from the alt stud so while the car is running, no fan current goes through the bulkhead/ammeter charging circuit! The only point where the 20 amp draw of the fans would go through the entire charge circuit is when it fulls from battery (car off). I doubt that a couple of seconds of 20 amp draw when the car is off would burn up the OEM wires which are all brand new in my case. :-)
Also a common misconecption is that a hi output alternator will push those extra amps through the charging circuit. The car/battery will only "take" what it needs (ohm's law). The only difference is that the hi output alternator will be able to "hold" a higher voltage given a lower resistance (more load/accessories ON) than the OEM 60 amp unit.
The issues where people are burning up their cars with hi-output units is where they tap into 12V power from the starter relay or battery terminal whitch DOES pull the extra current for those extra accessories (fuel pump/fans/etc) through the entire engine/dash harness while the car runs.
It also doesn't help if you have 40+ yr old wires and they are dirty and corroded....not to mention the factory didn't build much margin into the charging circuit as we all know.
Not a bad idea to upgrade the wiring but not necessary if wired/maintained correctly.
