viven44 Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 OK thanks!! Yes, even for the fuel pump I will be using a relay. Horn, Fuel pump always on relay. I figured the fan was a significant current draw so a relay would be needed. The reason I didn't mention relays above is that I was pretty sure even if relays were used the alternator and shunt would see the load. But adding a second charging cable will help definitely. Its almost like halving the resistance of the shunt itself. I'll read that thread fully. In my case, I'm not adding a separate voltmeter, the stock gauge will do the job (even if it doesn't really). I test my charge voltage very periodically for ripples, swings upon load on/off, battery health.... :) :) I don't plan to remove the shunt as my expected loads are <70A. And sorry for the brain fart, I understood that X meant removal of the primary charge cable, but for some reason momentarily forgot about that. Makes sense why it is redundant if you are replacing the voltmeter, and adding the new charge cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 In my case, I'm not adding a separate voltmeter, the stock gauge will do the job (even if it doesn't really). I test my charge voltage very periodically for ripples, swings upon load on/off, battery health.... :) :) I don't plan to remove the shunt as my expected loads are <70A. And sorry for the brain fart, I understood that X meant removal of the primary charge cable, but for some reason momentarily forgot about that. Makes sense why it is redundant if you are replacing the voltmeter, and adding the new charge cable. I'm going to suggest that you fuse that shunt at 75A. Because if you have a short in the cab it's going to vaporize like an exposed incandescent filament.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 The fan & choke are NEVER going through the shunt. The clutch driven fan will always be sufficient (if you have a proper shroud) Gary already mentioned it, so I'm not going to point out the stupidity of electric fans in a remotely stock configuration.. I have never installed an electric fan, but again all the hipsters I talk to in my generation swear by it. As you know, I will upgrade the radiator, even the fan clutch before resorting to alternate means And Jim, Gary mentioned it here maybe a few exchanges ago, but I will no longer bring up the topic of energy conversion intentionally here and raise your blood pressure... That I STUPID, I get that. Just like the short-term plan "in the world" where fossil fuels are used to make bulk of the electricity to drive electric vehicles. Maybe I'm the dumb one who doesn't understand why that makes sense even short term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 In my case, I'm not adding a separate voltmeter, the stock gauge will do the job (even if it doesn't really). I test my charge voltage very periodically for ripples, swings upon load on/off, battery health.... :) :) I don't plan to remove the shunt as my expected loads are <70A. And sorry for the brain fart, I understood that X meant removal of the primary charge cable, but for some reason momentarily forgot about that. Makes sense why it is redundant if you are replacing the voltmeter, and adding the new charge cable. You don't need to install a voltmeter or remove the ammeter. But if you move the alternator's output to the starter relay, which is HIGHLY recommended if you go with an alternator with more than 70A output, then your ammeter will only show a discharge, and that will grow as you bring on more loads. If you understand that then all is ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 The fan & choke are NEVER going through the shunt. The clutch driven fan will always be sufficient (if you have a proper shroud) Gary already mentioned it, so I'm not going to point out the stupidity of electric fans in a remotely stock configuration.. I have installed a Maxi-fuse in place of a fusible link before and it worked well. But that was in a truck where the previous ding-dong blew up the fusible link and just had a staight-up 12 gauge wire. In this case, it will be Stock alternator, stock everything. Maybe better speakers, and radio, the stock fusible link should do it. It is still very much intact and healthy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 I have never installed an electric fan, but again all the hipsters I talk to in my generation swear by it. As you know, I will upgrade the radiator, even the fan clutch before resorting to alternate means And Jim, Gary mentioned it here maybe a few exchanges ago, but I will no longer bring up the topic of energy conversion intentionally here and raise your blood pressure... That I STUPID, I get that. Just like the short-term plan "in the world" where fossil fuels are used to make bulk of the electricity to drive electric vehicles. Maybe I'm the dumb one who doesn't understand why that makes sense even short term. You might be surprised how much electricity is powered by renewables. Almost all of Canada is hydro. China installed more solar last year than the US has in total. Australia has an almost perfect climate for solar. Much of northern Europe is offshore wind (GB, Denmark, Netherlands & the Scandi countries) Iceland is 100% geothermal... Coal & gas power make sense because fixed plants have had over a century to optimize, like well over 60% compared to maybe 30% for ICE. So, even with transmission losses and conversion in an electric motor you are still miles ahead of petroleum. And a ICE will ALWAYS burn fuel. An electric is agnostic. Nuclear, solar, wind, hydro, gas or coal... it doesn't care where the electrons come from. So the changing face of the grid only makes improvements in efficiency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 I have installed a Maxi-fuse in place of a fusible link before and it worked well. But that was in a truck where the previous ding-dong blew up the fusible link and just had a staight-up 12 gauge wire. In this case, it will be Stock alternator, stock everything. Maybe better speakers, and radio, the stock fusible link should do it. It is still very much intact and healthy! How many amps can your battery deliver? Because that's what counts. 🔥💡 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 How many amps can your battery deliver? Because that's what counts. 🔥💡 I agree, that's a good point... in a wire short situation, assuming what is shorted is not protected by a fuse, it will be a smoky spectacle. And it better be a smoky one because you don't want the leakage to persist under the radar. Fuse is definitely the best thing to do. I personally am comfortable with a fusible link because I am very particular about monitoring current draw on all my classics. I take the wiring part very seriously as well. On the Bronco, I pulled out all the wiring "enhancements" from the previous owner. It is completely stock. For example, on the Bullnoses, I have used the clamp meter quite a bit to study all of them. On cold start the current flow into the battery is approx ~15A and if the battery is really low in charge, closer to 25A. When everything is in steady state and all lights / AC are off and the battery is charged, a mere 3-4A is all that's flowing through the "loop". When AC and headlights are on, the total draw is as high as 35-40A. On my Bronco now, I have the clamp meter permanently attached to battery negative until i'm comfortable with it and a good baseline is established. If it doesn't meet my baseline expectations I'll go into every wire/fuse and see where the higher current draw is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 I agree, that's a good point... in a wire short situation, assuming what is shorted is not protected by a fuse, it will be a smoky spectacle. And it better be a smoky one because you don't want the leakage to persist under the radar. Fuse is definitely the best thing to do. I personally am comfortable with a fusible link because I am very particular about monitoring current draw on all my classics. I take the wiring part very seriously as well. On the Bronco, I pulled out all the wiring "enhancements" from the previous owner. It is completely stock. For example, on the Bullnoses, I have used the clamp meter quite a bit to study all of them. On cold start the current flow into the battery is approx ~15A and if the battery is really low in charge, closer to 25A. When everything is in steady state and all lights / AC are off and the battery is charged, a mere 3-4A is all that's flowing through the "loop". When AC and headlights are on, the total draw is as high as 35-40A. On my Bronco now, I have the clamp meter permanently attached to battery negative until i'm comfortable with it and a good baseline is established. If it doesn't meet my baseline expectations I'll go into every wire/fuse and see where the higher current draw is. Alternator in & out of the battery is one thing. (But again, 1G & 2G alternators don't really put out much at lower rpm) I'm talking about the battery dumping into the cab harness (protected by 2 fuselinks at the splice) Ammeters aren't telling me the actual state of charge, like a voltmeter does. And, I really don't care if I'm having a charge or discharge situation, except long term.. Like there's too much load for an alternator to keep up. With the 130A 3G (that can put out 160) I never have to worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 Alternator in & out of the battery is one thing. (But again, 1G & 2G alternators don't really put out much at lower rpm) I'm talking about the battery dumping into the cab harness (protected by 2 fuselinks at the splice) Ammeters aren't telling me the actual state of charge, like a voltmeter does. And, I really don't care if I'm having a charge or discharge situation, except long term.. Like there's too much load for an alternator to keep up. With the 130A 3G (that can put out 160) I never have to worry. So how about adding a maxi fuse between the starter solenoid and fusible links ? Maybe thats what you've been saying all along. I had incorrectly assumed you wanted me to get rid of the fusible links (sorry). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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