Joined: Sun Feb 26 2006, 08:46PM
Location: Kingston,Ontario
Posts: 5622
Fury440 wrote ...
Before readers get too hard on the headlight guy, remember that all this regulated stuff we've been chewing on only applies to three wire alternators. The more typical one wire alternators that GM loves are a different can of worms. !stars
As I said before,Mr Stern designed his kit for all makes/models He may not know Mopars as well as we do. The GM alternator is a simple piece of work that Hot Rodders prefer. Problem with it is that all the voltage regulation,diodes,field etc are all internal.So when it craps out--it craps out. Chrysler was first in the industry to engineer the alternator. External regulator,replacable field brushes,and a simple ground system.
My "extra" voltage regulator idea was stupid and not thought out. The relays will take the brunt of the load--and rightly so by taking the load off the headlight switch. But it will not take the load off the ammeter guage--no sir. I am off tomorrow and will grab a cadavor harness and go step by step with pics on how to bypass the ammeter guage. New thread coming up..
Joined: Thu Oct 26 2006, 01:46PM
Location: northern VA
Posts: 397
The expression is �I know enough to be dangerous�, well I don�t know enough to be catastrophic! I have been considering this upgrade for a while and thought that the directions were a little on the light side and I was concerned that I could take a marginal wiring system (one that is forty years old) and really screw it up. I look forward to the �how to� that Leaburn has mentioned and my printer is cued up and ready to print. This time before I place my order. But it does sound like the MAD wiring upgrade is a good idea even if you don�t upgrade to the Stern headlight kits? Is this true? And is there a way to do this and still use the dash ammeter?
Joined: Sun Feb 26 2006, 08:46PM
Location: Kingston,Ontario
Posts: 5622
Kwise,the MAD conversion is a great idea that will save your car from catastrophic meltdown--or worse. I did 4 cars already and two of them are burn victims with one an insurance write off.(71 Coronet) My New Yorker melted on me in 2003.
The upgrade is simple and nothing special is needed just some simple tools,wire,and related connectors,solder,etc.And common sense. After the upgrade,your ammeter will still "work" but will not carry all the load of the system.It will read inaccurately so a voltmeter is an option should you need to keep tabs on the system. <span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Thu Feb 19 2009, 09:14AM ]</span>
Relays are wonderful! I usually grab a couple every time I hit the bone yard. They don't charge for them, so I keep a nice supply on hand at home. The factory used Bosch relays. You can find some interesting prewired relay holders on mini-vans. There will be 4-6 relays in one block sometimes.
I have been really impressed how the newer vehicles use a power distribution center for relays and fusible links. It really made wiring my Magnum EFI swap a lot easier. It already had relays for the horn, AC, fuel pump & trailer. I re purposed the 2 ABS relays for the head lights. The battery and alternator meet at the PDC and everything splits off from there. Another bonus is it breaks off 4-5 circuits to feed into the bulk head, instead of one holding a much larger load. I think it would be relatively straight forward to utilize a salvaged PDC into a vehicle, if you were to rewire one. I completely rewired the truck, so that made it a lot easier. I am not recommending everyone run out and start splicing, but it would provide a very clean and compact way to bundle many of the discussed wiring modifications into one box, and offer room for expansion. Just a thought. !hat
Joined: Thu Feb 12 2009, 02:56AM
Location: Portland OR
Posts: 690
Great idea NFURY8 I would like a little more info on how you did this as I would like to do away with the amp gauge entirly, as well as run some high amp loads. So this would solve a lot of my issues in 1 stop.
If I fuse the # 10 wire from the battery to the relay, and the wire from the highbeam circuirt is already protected by a circuit breaker. Why will my car burn?
Joined: Fri Dec 22 2006, 08:41PM
Location: Warrenton, Virginia
Posts: 1366
I looked over the wiring diagrams in the FSM, as a follow-along for Leaburn's videos. I probably still have questions about this, but I haven't fully digested all the info yet.
I Do have a question for now though.......if I shouldn't take the power for the headlights from the alternator or the battery, WHERE should I connect into the car's wiring???