ohio gen alternator for 2007 pathfinder

Doing the the BIG 3 upgrade for a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder V6 LE. I just placed my order from Ohio Gen for a 300amp monster with 100 to 125 Amps output at 1000RPM. Will put up the spec chart. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. This is my first Alt upgrade on a Nissan. I was reading up and found out there is a ground-sensor relay on the side of the battery from the neg wire on the battery to the engine and that all the ground must go thru this sensor. So all ground point with have to be from the battery terminal? I will put up pic of the Ohio beast in a few days. Also for power/ground wires, does anyone have recommendations, I was was thing to go with Knukonceptz 1/0 AWG and 4 AWG all the way around.The best tool in my work shop, is my BRAIN!!!!

if the ground has to go through the sensor then dont replace the factory ground, just add a 0 gauge ground to the frame and leave the factory ground alone. this is what i did in my 2011 frontier which is basically the same thing as your pathfinder, also ran knukonceptz 0g in mine too. i havent upgraded my alternator yet but i havent had a reason yet because the factory system keeps up with 1800 watt amp

THX for the info soundnsecurity.... its a crime to see the cheap doodie wire Nissan used on the ground. I know a 4awg will fit thru it, but after i remove the factory wire i will have a better idea. Looking at the factory wire it just seam to go thru the sensor and not connecting it in any way? Ground-sensor on 2007 Pathfinder My thinking was to replace it with a min of good quality 4awg or better and soldiered terminals. Also remove the paint under the bolt where the ground sensor is bolted down with a smaller 10awg ground wire going to the somewhere under the fuse box ( cause Nissan did the smart thing by grounding on top of the paint ) Where did you run the frame wire, to the engine ground or to the battery neg? Also did you have to run your amp ground from the neg battery term to the Amp?The best tool in my work shop, is my BRAIN!!!!

i grounded it to the frame right below the battery, nothing special except that i sanded down to bare metal and then i re-coated it with undercoating after i made the connections. i did not have to run the amp straight to the battery, if you did that then it would make no sense to upgrade the factory battery ground. i just made a solid connection close to the seatbelt bolt on the drivers side.

received my XS bus terminals and knukonceptz battery pos and neg mounts yesterday. This will allow me to add the room i need for the added wires and leave the factory connection in-tacked. Anyone have recommendation for a battery.... I was thinking yellow top?The best tool in my work shop, is my BRAIN!!!!

Okay here is what I have found out about Nissan's: Variable voltage control system: CAUTION: - Do not ground accessories directly to the battery terminal. Doing so will bypass the variable voltage control system and the vehicle battery may not charge completely. - Use electrical accessories with the engine running to avoid discharging the vehicle battery. Your vehicle is equipped with a variable voltage control system. This system measures the amount of electrical discharge from the battery and controls voltage generated by the generator. The current sensor (A) is located near the battery along the negative battery cable. If you add electrical accessories to your vehicle, be sure to ground them to a suitable body ground such as the frame or engine block area. ------------------------------------------------------------------ So the best thing to do is to swap the wire from the battery terminal to the engine ground and as soundnsecurity said use a heavy AWG to the engine ground to the chaise and ground everything to the frame. Also stopped off at the Nissan dealer and spoke to a few mechanic's and they confirmed, that it doesn't matter the wire type and size, only that it need to pass thru the sensor and ground to the engine block. One mechanic even told me that he upgraded his ground and it improved his idling & cold starts, had it for a year or so and no problem with the charging system to date.The best tool in my work shop, is my BRAIN!!!!

Deleted and reposted - it's amazing how a wet slidy drive clears the brain! That's good research and it makes sense. I figure that they monitor current to determine when the battery is fully charged and drop the charging voltage from the normal max of 14.4V (probably 14.2V) down to a float voltage of about 13.4V. The fully-charged acceptance current - aka float current - is up to 2A for a large 12V battery. [ Before my sideways clarity I was curious if it was another "ECU controlled" alternator which AFAIK is only for improved acceleration but at the expense of fuel economy (in most circumstances). ] Normal vehicle charging systems use mere voltage regulation and have no need top monitor current - ie, alternators sense the voltage and adjust rotor current to maintain it at (say) 14.2V. It'll be interesting to see if Nissan (and others) continue with this system. It is probably to improve battery life. In theory a 12V lead-acid battery should normally be charged at 13.8V and then drop to its float voltage of ~13.4V once fully charged. In practice, in vehicles charging voltages are now typically 14.2V or a max of 14.4V (steady-state) as the older 13.8V was too low to reverse sulfation that occurs in discharged batteries - hence leading to premature failure - and few bother with float voltages. Temperature compensation is usually the only sophistication that vehicular charging systems have.    The current sensor appears to be a loop sensor as opposed to a shunt (series resistor). Hence it should not be bothered by higher currents to & from the battery (even if the cable size could be and is increased), not that changing the alternator makes much difference to what current the battery accepts, or supplies. If the battery -ve goes direct to the engine and is left as is, cranking won't improve unless the +ve cable from the battery to the starter is improved. However improving the engine to chassis cable if the battery- goes to chassis will improve cranking. But a heavier cable can probably be run thru the current sensor even if stripping and re-sheathing one end to thread thru, through the inner diameter of the sensor is probably plastic that can be partially removed, though I'd ensure it is still insulated from the cable, and weatherproofed. Note too that if the higher output voltage is preferred (ie, to its 14.2V - 14.4V instead of its ~13.4V float voltage), running a load of 2A or more direct from the battery should do the trick. The current sensor will sense that "extra" load and think it's the battery's recharge current and - by never dropping to less than a few Amps - deduce that the battery is not yet fully charged and will maintain the higher voltage. That of course assumes that the current sensing is to adjust the voltage (for/to float) as I described. If the sensing is for other reasons, let me know and I will reinvestigate. And there are other possibilities to maintain higher voltages. One of them is to fit a normal alternator (I suggest at least a 2-wire, ie, one that has an S or Sense input).

spark- my thinking was on the same line (not as in-depth to your level) the sensor is mainly to reduce idle RPM and overall RPM on daily driving to increase MPG, as Nissan trucks have a pretty good MPG for the engine size. Also to increase battery and alternator life?[in-theory]. This may also explain the rough idle, at times its like being in a paint-shaker to as smooth as a Bentley LOL. But lets see how this plays out as Ohio Gen as shipped my new HO Alternator as of today. Should have it in a few days!!!!! Yellow top is getting pickup on Saturday. WAIT I JUST RECEIVED A UPS DELIVERY!!!!!!!!!!!The best tool in my work shop, is my BRAIN!!!!

I doubt it's to reduce RPM since alternator's have little effect - even 50A is only about 1HP which shouldn't matter much. Air-cons however take a few horsepower (and hence idle increase). Road RPM is set by gearing etc, and fuel usage is MUCH higher than at mere idle. And too low an idle increases stall risk etc. You could be right - I have seen some (IMO) crazier ideas & implementations by OEMs - though I still think it's to drop the alternator to a float voltage. (Let me know if you find official info to support a lower idle. And by official I mean knowledgeable, not some self declared expert or (other!) forum opinion.) I guess if the original alternator does not have an input from the ECU or other circuit, it may well be some other function - like idle speed.

Just got the new Alternator in. as a correction to my first statement it was 100AMP~125AMP @ 2000 RPM not 1000RPM. any here are the spec and pic of the Alternator. Spec Sheet The best tool in my work shop, is my BRAIN!!!!