dead batteries,ignition boxes, and melted wires

[Hemi Rebel]

Hemi, you say theres no wire big enough or thick enough to handle the batteries output,

not true, the positive cable handles it. all the pos cable is is a huge glorified wire, a wire that easily handles the batteries out put, albeit it wound, its still a functional wire.

short that positive cable straight to ground. It will melt the insulation right off. The average starter on an everyday cars draws about 125 or so amps. It spikes as soon as you hit the key to about 300, then once it gets turning it will come down. Excessive cranking will get it warm. Straight short to ground will fry it.
Im sure there is a wire thick enough. Maybe 3 times the average positive cable. The battey would probably explode before the wire got so hot it opened up the circuit. Not an expiriment im willing to try

 

[cwhubb]

Yes, short the cable out and it'll fry to death. But you're talking shorts, I'm talking about a perfectly functioning system, no 40 yr old wires, dry cracked insulation, hack jobs, wrong gauge wires, improper wiring, bad grounds corrosion. Re-wire the car back to new condition, dont overload the charging and electrical system, fleet like applications, emergency lights, two way radios, big amp draw add ons etc, or a heavy duty high amp battery, and no problem.

 

[440roadrunner]

by the battery fitting the application he's talking about the electrical app not if the battery fits in the tray. if you put a heavy duty high amp battery in, the stock system cant handle it and you get the ammeter, bulkhead, over load problem.re-charging the extra amps of the heavy duty battery is the same thing as over loading the STOCK alternators charging capacity to run lights, radios, extra fans etc. any extra high drain load on the stock system needs the re-wire by pass.

Yes but that's EXACTLY why I say he is incorrect if he's alleging this was a "good design." Even in the 60's and 70's you could get some pretty darn decent batteries in group 24/ 27, long before Optima and other specialty batteries came along. A properly designed charging system should be able to cope just fine. Frankly, this IS where Ford/ GM has Mopar beat all to hell.

Not only that, the "heavy" of the battery really doesn't matter. Let's say you have a factory stock (I did) 383 or 440-6 Roadrunner. Let's say you leave the lights on a little, and either jumper it, or maybe it will start on it's own. You have a battery big enough to crank a 440-6 -- just like the car was "designed" and with a low battery, that factory 35-45A alternator is going to be charging like hell.

I've seen LOTS of these fail or become pretty damaged, and I'm not even a "pro" mechanic. These were over the years, friends and relatives, acquaintance, and others such as members of the 4x4 club we used to have.

Let's take an example. You have a factory car, in an area that has both a need for A/C in the summer and heat in the winter, and an owner who does a lot of city and night driving. This means that there are times, stopped or slow, when the battery is supplying considerable power while discharging. As soon as you speed back up, with lights/ heater or AC running, now you have to recharge. So there is a constant cycle of charge / discharge through the bulkhead.

Even Mopar went with shunt type ammeters in the big cars somewhere around 72. Why they kept the old ammeters in pickups and vans is beyond me.

Here's the bottom line. Bulkhead connectors are basically just push-on spade connectors. These were NEVER designed to handle 40 - some - odd amps, much less more

I used to service HVAC/R, and many of the heat pumps around here have nothing more than what amounts to a forced air electric furnace, which provides the blower as well as emergency heat. I used to carry LOTS of replacements and high temp wire in the truck, because if you service an electric furnace, generally you'll find some failed/ failing spade connectors. THOSE only have to carry about 20A, as the usual electric heater element is 5KW (20A x 240V)

 

[cwhubb]

440, I agree the bulkhead is fragile and it doesnt handle much of a load. Nacho mentioned that the alternators were something like 30 amps out put and were matched to the electric system, The point I got from his article was that as long as you dont over tax what the design called for it wouldnt give you problems. like putting in a higher amp battery etc. Nacho also stated that any thing added to the electrical system that would make the alt work harder or put added strain on the system should be re-routed and bypass the ammeter. I dont know about gm or ford alt ratings or battery applications but do you think the higher amp 24/27 group battery you could get were for gm or fords? maybe the big three's trucks? Didnt gm have a 40 amp alt? I've heard stories of people retro fitting gm to mopar, dont know if thats true or not.

anyways people, give him a fair chance and read his article, like I said I barely scratched the surface of it and only addressed the stock set up.