Volvo RWD 444-544 Forum

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posted by triumph61 on Mon Jul 13 04:20 CST 2009
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last visit: Wed Jun 15 05:25 CST 2011

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I was given a Delco 78 amp. alt. from a friend to use in my conversion from a generator to an alt. on my 544. I also picked up a newer fuse box, old looking but uses blade fuses. My question is, is a 78 amp alt. going to cause problems with overheating the wiring in my car. Most of the wiring was upgraded when the car was converted from 6V to 12V, but there still is some of the old wiring in the car. Any input on this question will be greatly appreciated.

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posted by sdewolfe on Mon Jul 13 05:10 CST 2009
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last visit: Mon Jan 31 05:56 CST 2011

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Heat is caused by current passing through resistance. Circuit current is expressed as I=E/R, where E is voltage, I is current, R is the resistance of the circuit.

In your system, R is unchanged, E doubled. Which means, I must be 1/2 of the previous value. Your wires will run cooler than they did on the 6V system.

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Mr. Shannon DeWolfe -- I've taken to using mister because my name misleads folks on the WWW. I am a 53 year old fat man. ;-)

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posted by 65_Dude on Mon Jul 13 05:22 CST 2009
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last visit: Fri Apr 4 07:06 CST 2014

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If I=E/R, and R is constant and E is doubled, then wouldn't that double the current instead of halve it thus creating warmer wires?

I haven't had any coffee yet so I could be missing something.

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posted by sdewolfe on Mon Jul 13 07:44 CST 2009
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last visit: Mon Jan 31 05:56 CST 2011

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I did have my coffee and I still got it backwards. :-)

But, the loads are the thing to consider, not the wires. Take the headlights for instance. Say they are 55W lights, one on each side for a total of 110W. If the source voltage is 6V, then it would require 18.3A to run those lights. If the source voltage (and hopefully the bulbs are rated for it) is 12V, the same pair of 55W bulbs pull 9.2A -- 1/2 the load of the 6V circuit.

I knew what I wanted to say but I didn't say what I wanted to. ;-)

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Mr. Shannon DeWolfe -- I've taken to using mister because my name misleads folks on the WWW. I am a 53 year old fat man. ;-)

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posted by triumph61 on Mon Jul 13 10:53 CST 2009
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last visit: Wed Jun 15 05:25 CST 2011

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It's obvious that you both know alot about the engine electronics,Which I don't, but answering in simple terms. Will using the 78 amp alt. present any danger to my wiring system. As mentioned earlier, the wiring has been replaced when the 6V was converted to 12V and I will be using some more modern electrical, front lights, CD player, but no amps or anything crazy. The brake lights, inside lights, etc. will be original.

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posted by 65_Dude on Tue Jul 14 06:27 CST 2009
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last visit: Fri Apr 4 07:06 CST 2014

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I only know enough about electronics to be dangerous. But I'm pretty sure you'll want to change over things like your lights to 12V or they won't last too long. Things that you don't use constantly (like your 6V horn and starter) will last much longer, in fact they'll operate in hyper-mode! I still have the original 6V horn in my 544 (converted to 12V) and it screams. But the wires should be fine, I would think the fuses should pop before the wires got too hot.

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