PoFokRacing
Member
I have researched a BUNCH of threads about converting my car from the stock external alternator to a 1 wire, internal alternator and watched the videos from @72RoadrunnerGTX as well as the wiring diagrams, slides, discussions, banter, etc. in this forum and others. I am more so asking for validation or the dreaded "What are you smoking" blasts on what I am considering.
The goal of this car is to keep as much of the factory wiring, etc. in the car since it is for sale, in case someone wants to take it back to stock, but since I mostly race it, I don't want to burn up what I have got here already. I am posting to see if the attached wiring plan makes sense and whether or not someone may see a potential issue with this that I can address now rather than cleaning up a smoldering mess later.
My Challenge: I am running an electric fuel pump, electric transmission cooler, electric water pump, electric fans (2 x Afco puller w/shroud), Racepack datalogger dash, MSD 6AL Digital ignition, Dedenbear autoshifter and solenoid) directly from the battery and I seem to keep toasting the Napa 95amp alternators and in doing so toasting my Optima Yellow top batteries with frying a diode and introducing AC Ripple. (Yes, I am moving to red top). I am currently feeding my fans, pump, aftermarket LED headlights, etc. directly from the battery vs. from the alternator side of the circuit. (Head nod to @72RoadrunnerGTX and others for pointing out my GM (oh dear God) based mistakes)
What I Do Different: The biggest difference between a normal street/strip rod and I is that we have a short cooldown period between rounds so what I have been doing is connecting a battery charger to the battery, applying external fans (110v carpet dryer fans) to the radiator, then turning on my water pump and radiator fans between rounds. I can cool the car from 195 to 90 degrees in 20 minutes doing this. Sounds simple right... BUT... doing so seems to cook at least one of the diodes in the Napa 3 wire alternator (stock external regulated alternator) and therefore introducing excessive AC Ripple which is killing cells in my Optima battery!
What I Have Already Changed: I removed the factory dash cluster and directly bypassed the Dash Ammeter. Beyond that, the fans and water pump are controlled by a logical relay pack (should create a thread about this one) but those are powered directly off the battery through their relay packs. Fuel pump & trans cooler get their power from the battery. (Yes, I did not see the previous posts about sourcing this from the alternator until now!!!)
My Proposed Solution: I am considering going to a 1-wire or internally regulated Powermaster (or similar) 165amp alternator and changing how I am feeding various components. For those components that I need on during startup (MSD Switched Batt+, Racepack, Ignition switch signal to starter relay) I am going to use the Batt Bus Feed coming from Splice 1 under the dash via a fuse block so each component is fused. For those components used after engine start, I am going to use a direct connection to a fuse block from the Alternator output. To avoid any potential of frying pin 16 or 18 in the bulkhead Packard Terminals, I am also going to do a direct fused (150amp) connection from the alternator back to the battery. As well, I am going to put a 30amp fuse between pin 16 and the wire to the starter relay. This way if for some reason the 6 gauge wire between the alternator and the battery fails, I am not sending all of that current (amperage) across pins 16 or 18 of the Packard Terminal at the bulkhead. If for some reason, the fusible link at the starter relay fails, I won't melt the car down from the dash out to the pretty vinyl wrap.
My Request: Please take a look at the proposed wiring diagram and let me know if I should change anything. If you feel I am smoking the wrong kind of crack, please point me to a better dealer. If you think I am on the right track, I would greatly appreciate knowing that as well! I am just sick and tired of getting called up for the next round and finding out I have fried my battery (again) and the car won't start without some help.
The goal of this car is to keep as much of the factory wiring, etc. in the car since it is for sale, in case someone wants to take it back to stock, but since I mostly race it, I don't want to burn up what I have got here already. I am posting to see if the attached wiring plan makes sense and whether or not someone may see a potential issue with this that I can address now rather than cleaning up a smoldering mess later.
My Challenge: I am running an electric fuel pump, electric transmission cooler, electric water pump, electric fans (2 x Afco puller w/shroud), Racepack datalogger dash, MSD 6AL Digital ignition, Dedenbear autoshifter and solenoid) directly from the battery and I seem to keep toasting the Napa 95amp alternators and in doing so toasting my Optima Yellow top batteries with frying a diode and introducing AC Ripple. (Yes, I am moving to red top). I am currently feeding my fans, pump, aftermarket LED headlights, etc. directly from the battery vs. from the alternator side of the circuit. (Head nod to @72RoadrunnerGTX and others for pointing out my GM (oh dear God) based mistakes)
What I Do Different: The biggest difference between a normal street/strip rod and I is that we have a short cooldown period between rounds so what I have been doing is connecting a battery charger to the battery, applying external fans (110v carpet dryer fans) to the radiator, then turning on my water pump and radiator fans between rounds. I can cool the car from 195 to 90 degrees in 20 minutes doing this. Sounds simple right... BUT... doing so seems to cook at least one of the diodes in the Napa 3 wire alternator (stock external regulated alternator) and therefore introducing excessive AC Ripple which is killing cells in my Optima battery!
What I Have Already Changed: I removed the factory dash cluster and directly bypassed the Dash Ammeter. Beyond that, the fans and water pump are controlled by a logical relay pack (should create a thread about this one) but those are powered directly off the battery through their relay packs. Fuel pump & trans cooler get their power from the battery. (Yes, I did not see the previous posts about sourcing this from the alternator until now!!!)
My Proposed Solution: I am considering going to a 1-wire or internally regulated Powermaster (or similar) 165amp alternator and changing how I am feeding various components. For those components that I need on during startup (MSD Switched Batt+, Racepack, Ignition switch signal to starter relay) I am going to use the Batt Bus Feed coming from Splice 1 under the dash via a fuse block so each component is fused. For those components used after engine start, I am going to use a direct connection to a fuse block from the Alternator output. To avoid any potential of frying pin 16 or 18 in the bulkhead Packard Terminals, I am also going to do a direct fused (150amp) connection from the alternator back to the battery. As well, I am going to put a 30amp fuse between pin 16 and the wire to the starter relay. This way if for some reason the 6 gauge wire between the alternator and the battery fails, I am not sending all of that current (amperage) across pins 16 or 18 of the Packard Terminal at the bulkhead. If for some reason, the fusible link at the starter relay fails, I won't melt the car down from the dash out to the pretty vinyl wrap.
My Request: Please take a look at the proposed wiring diagram and let me know if I should change anything. If you feel I am smoking the wrong kind of crack, please point me to a better dealer. If you think I am on the right track, I would greatly appreciate knowing that as well! I am just sick and tired of getting called up for the next round and finding out I have fried my battery (again) and the car won't start without some help.
