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Favorite way to reroute the alternator wiring? 200

I took this evening to yank the alternator out of the wagon, and pull the voltage regulator. Brushes look great. Took a look at the wiring, and the big fat wire from the starter to the alternator is torn to shreds. Whoops.

So I figure I'll cut the tubing, and pull that wire out... but routing the thing right under the crank pulley seems silly. Where would be a good place to reroute it? Is the cable actually long enough to be routed under the radiator/intercooler?

- alex

'85 244 Turbo
'84 245 Turbo








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    Re-routing may not be best for that particular wire. 200

    Alex,

    I've run replacements for the oil sender wires and the small red one around the right fender and across the firewall, but considered the output wire best left where it runs. My reasoning was the large gauge and strand size would not last long if parts were attached to the motor and other parts attached to the body.

    The original route does seem silly when you see how poorly it was protected, relying only on that thin PVC jacket and sharp metal cable clamps. I think you can improve that with new sleeving and rubber covered or plastic clamps and still keep the wire solid to the motor with the exception of the rubber accessory bushings on the alternator.

    I'm not sure of the metric gauge size of that wire, but mine all look like something a bit fatter than 8 AWG.
    --
    Art Benstein near Baltimore








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    Favorite way to reroute the alternator wiring? 200

    My 86 has the small wires- oil pressure and alternator warning lamp- routed along the right side of the engine compartment, to the grey connector. Note that the connection pins are kind of specialized- you'll need to splice the originals or (good luck) find a proper terminal somewhere. A well-stocked dealer should have a bin full of terminals in the parts department. The big wire is best left alone if it can be saved- heat shrink tubing works really well on it. Also inspect the ring terminal for cracks- mine broke about 3 weeks ago, it was the original terminal, and fortunately the wire kept it right in place against the bolt. However, it could have caused a FIRE! That's a big, unfused wire right from the battery- please take every precaution when working on these wires.
    --
    Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '86 244DL- 215K, 87 244DL- 230K, 88 744GLE- 198K, 91 244 180K








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      Favorite way to reroute the alternator wiring? 200

      D'oh. I knew there was a reason I still smoked... ;-)

      Thanks for reminding me about the heat shrink tubing. I went to RS on my way home and picked some up. The 1/4" didn't shrink quie enough and the 3/8" was a bit tough to fit over the connector.

      Hopefully that'll be enough to prevent the car from catching fire until I get rid of it :-D

      - alex








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    Favorite way to reroute the alternator wiring? 200

    Yeah, I don't like the wires going under the pulley. Especially in black sheathing that you can't see through. I rerouted the thin oil pressure sender and the other thin alt. wire along the firewall and approached from the passenger side. The thick alt. wire I wrapped in clear plastic tubing. But I didn't reroute it.

    But then again, I did this when I redid the wiring harness because it was in bad shape. Now the individual wires are covered in a clear plastic (teflon(?)) sheath.








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      Favorite way to reroute the alternator wiring? 200

      I ran all the wires clear around the front just behind the grill. There are some other cables there already. I used 10 GA for alternator and put everything through 1/2" shrink tubing. The tube comes in both vinyl and olefin materials. The latter won't get hard and brittle like the stock tubing. Put a cable clamp on one of the small nuts on the back of the alternator to prevent vibration from flexing the wire(s) at the terminals. Then run the wire down and across the backside of the cross member and up the fender. This makes a will protected route.








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        Favorite way to reroute the alternator wiring? 200

        I did something similar, running 8 ga copper wire along the rear of the front grille. The nearest Radio Shack store didn't carry the crimp-on ring connector but a local electronics parts store did. I always solder my cable splices, insulate them with heat-shrink tubing, and use the corrugated wire splines for the wiring bundles. Runs great!
        --
        -- Bruce / '82 244 (315k miles!), '86 745, '87 760Ti, '94 854







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