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Wiring to/from the alternator

Posted: 27 Jun 2012, 20:19
by Nicola&Tony
I changed the brush pack in our alternator last night and whilst doing it I noticed that the 3 wires that go into the spade connectors on the plug (on the back of the alt) are looking very old, green and falling apart (lots of broken strands). The plug only just reaches the alternator and when I pulled on the cable, it doesn't feel like there's any slack that I could use if I cut the plug off and made new connections.

So I'm thinking that it's maybe time to replace this cable but as my electrical skills are fairly basic I'm wondering how difficult this would be to do, or should I just take it to an auto-spark. Does this cable just go to the battery or does it go to other places as well (e.g. we have a split charger)? Would it be difficult to follow this cable along its route, or does it get bundled with lots of other wires along its journey?

Grateful for any info or advice.

Cheers

Tony

Re: Wiring to/from the alternator

Posted: 28 Jun 2012, 18:17
by DentedDevon
IIRC, the 2 thick wires go to the battery terminal on the starter motor.
The thin wire goes through the junction box in the LH corner of the engine bay and then off to the front of the van.
If you replace the cables make sure you use automotive cable of the same size.
New plugs readily available , best to solder the connections unless you have the proper crimping tool for them.
Try http://woodauto.com/default.aspx for the plug
And http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/p ... ategory/11 for cable.

Re: Wiring to/from the alternator

Posted: 28 Jun 2012, 20:40
by Nicola&Tony
That's great, thanks very much for the info and links :ok