4g alternator wiring

[MikeKC130J]

I’m not sure how to wire up this 4g alternator
I have 2 plugs 1 has 2 wires the other has 3 except the wire in the middles is taped off

 

[Slednut10]

The outer 2 wires are the only ones needed. Green/red stripe is the turn on signal and the yellow is the battery voltage sense

 

[904Bronco]

3 wire regulator plug...

- Green/red stripe is field wire has 12v in run.

- Yellow with white stripe is voltage sensing wire, correct way is to connect it to (+) Batt post... But it works if you connect it to the Batt terminal on the alt.

- White or White/black wire is the stator wire and is typically not used in the Explorer application. Shrink wrap the end.

 

[904Bronco]

The outer 2 wires are the only ones needed. Green/red stripe is the turn on signal and the yellow is the battery voltage sense

You win, faster typer... ;D

 

[Slednut10]

Barely......

 

[Montoya]

Not to hijack...but I'm going to hijack.

What fuse does everyone run on the 6ga wire and where do you mount it?

 

[MikeKC130J]

Not to hijack...but I'm going to hijack.

What fuse does everyone run on the 6ga wire and where do you mount it?

This is what I came up with. 175 amp fuse mounted on the fender well.

 

[DirtDonk]

Mike, is that a ground wire connected to the starter relay battery stud? If so... YIKES!
Have you connected the battery yet?

Anyway, other than that question you've got a super nice looking setup there.
Montoya, common protection is a Mega-Fuse, a Midi-Fuse, or big circuit-breaker.
The 175a choice is good because a decent 3G can put out well over 140a so a typical 125a or 150a fuse is potentially a failure point.
And the 6ga cable size is more than capable of handling 175a at least for the short term. Depending on how long it is.

Paul

 

[73azbronco]

I recommend using what you find on shelf at napa or auatozone as uoir fuse, I found those midi/mini need to be ordered.

I also googled that plug for the alternator and got one pre wired, no muss nor fuss, think napa has those as well.

 

[DirtDonk]

Beautiful wiring job Mike. Are you making your own?
The cable routing (mostly!) and the quality of the ends looks great.

But looking again at your starter relay I'm curious. Can you take a wider shot and give a rundown of what is connected to what?
I assume you intended to connect that ground wire from the alternator to the starter relay's attaching screw instead? Even if not, that's where it should be. And NOT connected to either the battery's or starter motor's power lead.

And speaking of the battery, which side are you planning to connect it? Usually it's on the left side stud in your pic, where I now see a Black wire that looks like a power feed to something?
What's that other wire connected to the same side that your alternator charge wire goes? Is that the battery or starter?
If the battery is on the left and the starter on the right, then as soon as you turn the key to START you will have a nuclear meltdown on the wires.
And if things get past that and the engine starts, the alternator will keep the starter engaged permanently until you disconnect the alternator.

Maybe I'm seeing it wrong, but those are the things that concern me and I wanted to bring them up.

Paul

 

[904Bronco]

I recommend using what you find on shelf at napa or auatozone as uoir fuse, I found those midi/mini need to be ordered.

I also googled that plug for the alternator and got one pre wired, no muss nor fuss, think napa has those as well.

782-1143 and 782-1138 > Mega Fuse block and (2) 150 amp fuses

VRC441 4G Alt connector plug
Napa Part #'s

 

[Slednut10]

175a Mega fuse and holder

 

[73azbronco]

Order extra auto stores dont stock those big ones.

 

[Slednut10]

I carry spares too, but my local Autozone, O'Reillys and NAPA all stock the 175a
fuses. But other common items I need, no........%)

 

[Montoya]

What do you do if you have a 220A alternator? Do you use a 250A Mega Fuse (that will only be available online?)

 

[Slednut10]

Not to hijack...but I'm going to hijack.

What fuse does everyone run on the 6ga wire and where do you mount it?

What do you do if you have a 220A alternator? Do you use a 250A Mega Fuse (that will only be available online?)

If your alternator is a 220a unit, 6ga wire is not big enough.

 

[DirtDonk]

If you keep it really short, it's probably safe enough. But since "safe enough" is not good enough for us here(!) I'd say just do what Ford does and use 4ga on it. And yes, a 250a fuse that you have to buy online.
And since they're probably so cheap you can't afford not to, just buy five of them and hope you never need even one of the spares.

Or you can use a self-resetting circuit breaker instead. Pretty sure they come in 250a ratings and are probably between about $30 to $50 or so.
But that would be the answer to carrying spares for most of it's life.

Ford uses 4ga cable on the longer runs and that's what I usually pull out of the junkyards when I need some of that cool Black w/orange stripe wire they use. Vehicles like certain trucks (probably diesel) and full-size vans where the charge wire is about 10' long (that's only a slight exaggeration) they use the larger size.

And just for our information, I believe that Ford uses a properly sized fusible link to protect those big boys. Just like they do most of the smaller ones like Explorers.
I found a Mega-Fuse on a Mountaineer one time, but while I assumed it was factory (because it looked to be) it's still the only one I've seen. So perhaps it was PO installed (and done very professionally) when the original fusible links needed replacing.

Paul

 

[JKH67302]

The 98 Mountaineer I bought and got my 5.0/4r70 swap parts from had that same mega fuse that Paul mentions. I saved it for this same purpose. It is located on the side of the main fuse box under the hood. 165 amp.
James

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[DirtDonk]

Hey, that's great to hear JKH! Thanks for the confirmation. It sure looked factory, so that's what I assumed for years. But not having seen another, and mostly found fusible links, I was beginning to have my doubts.

Good stuff to know.

Paul

 

[Montoya]

Paul you never disappoint. Thanks for the info. I'm actually running 0/2 Gauge simply because I had some from an old stereo install.

I was going to run the factory Explorer alternator until I found it was bad so I ended up getting a 220amp unit from DB.

I think I will go ahead and circuit break it and never have to worry about losing anything.