Alternator upgrade

[dredgeguy]

When Marc did this upgrade on mine last year he doubled up on the wire rather than replacing with a larger wire. He said it would not be very easy to rerouting a much thicker wire. Said double wiring would have the same end result with less labor time. If Marc says it will work and you save money then it is fine by me! By adding a 200 amp alternator and double wiring it to the battery and also to the AC blower, end result was the air flow out my vents went from 10 mph to 14 mph. I can tell you that the difference is awesome. Nice and cold in the summer and toasty in the winter. One of the best mods to my car for comfort.

[-=Jeff=-]

Hey Charlie,

Marc had told me the sizes he used on your car. 8Ga from Alt to battery and 14Ga for the AC Blower. I need to do the AC Blower upgrade, but having manual AC it is a bit different wiring set up

[dredgeguy]

Hi Jeff and thanks for the correction. I am not the technical one so glad it was corrected. I will stick to cooking for the boys and letting them keep my car on the road.
Took it out today, nice and warm and now the AC is not blowing cold again....story of my life but will get it sorted out.

[anton28]

Wanted to bring this super helpful thread back from the dead lol as I have a couple of questions after reading through it in regards to increasing wire size. Let me know if I have the following correct:

a. 8 gauge from batter to the alternator
b. 14 gauge to AC/HVAC module
c. 18 gauge between battery and electric fan motor

I was confused about B and C. Is this the same wire that's being discussed per comments below?

"8Ga from Alt to battery and 14Ga for the AC Blower."

"I added additional 18 ga. wire from the battery to the HVAC controller and fan's performance improved a lot also."

[secondchance]

Originally Posted by anton28

Wanted to bring this super helpful thread back from the dead lol as I have a couple of questions after reading through it in regards to increasing wire size. Let me know if I have the following correct:

a. 8 gauge from batter to the alternator
b. 14 gauge to AC/HVAC module
c. 18 gauge between battery and electric fan motor

I was confused about B and C. Is this the same wire that's being discussed per comments below?

"8Ga from Alt to battery and 14Ga for the AC Blower."

"I added additional 18 ga. wire from the battery to the HVAC controller and fan's performance improved a lot also."

Hi Anton,

I believe B and C are the same.

I had to go back to my original post since it's been awhile.

"Additional 8 ga. cable was added between the alternator post to battery to allow for additional current and, while at it, added additional 18 ga. between the battery and HVAC controller resulting in some extra oomph to HVAC fan."

I added 8 ga between the alternator post to battery and added 18ga from the battery to HVAC controller on top of factory wire for power (I think red wire).

It has been 4 years or so and coolant temp has never been an issue since this conversion. Improved AC performance is a bonus.

[anton28]

Originally Posted by secondchance

Hi Anton,

I believe B and C are the same.

I had to go back to my original post since it's been awhile.

"Additional 8 ga. cable was added between the alternator post to battery to allow for additional current and, while at it, added additional 18 ga. between the battery and HVAC controller resulting in some extra oomph to HVAC fan."

I added 8 ga between the alternator post to battery and added 18ga from the battery to HVAC controller on top of factory wire for power (I think red wire).

It has been 4 years or so and coolant temp has never been an issue since this conversion. Improved AC performance is a bonus.

Thanks for the reply! I will have my engine out and was going to run new wires vs doubling up. What size wires should I run if I am to run thicker new wires?

[secondchance]

Originally Posted by anton28

Thanks for the reply! I will have my engine out and was going to run new wires vs doubling up. What size wires should I run if I am to run thicker new wires?

I suggest asking Marc Heibeck at ZR1 specialist.com.

[anton28]

Originally Posted by secondchance

I suggest asking Marc Heibeck at ZR1 specialist.com.

Will do!