I am installing a 200 A. alternator in a 2003 Chevy S-10 4.3 L. engine and the factory 100 A. alternator is a 8 Ga. wire to the starter, is it necessary to put a heavier wire to the starter to allow 200 A. to go to the battery for charging?
Seems that GM did not have a larger CS130D alternator from Delphi so I had to go after market.
I have 8 Ga. wire going to the starter and 8 Ga. wire from the engine block to the frame.
Thanks.
Your starter wire should be fine. It will still pull the same amount of current unless you have installed a much larger heavy duty starter. Your ground should be sized for 200 amps because it carries all of the current load for the entire car. That is a 2 awg. Make sure your wire for you stereo, amps, etc, is large enough to handle their current draw. Use this chart to be sure.
https://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp
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Famous last words: Hey man, what's this wire do?
OK, I have sufficently confused myself now. Isn't this the same question I just answered in a separate post? And to elaborate on that a little bit, you said the alt. output wire, not the starter wire from the battery. The alt. output wire should be sized for 200 amps as well as the ground.
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Famous last words: Hey man, what's this wire do?