Overcharging
That wire will at times carry a pretty high load.
It will carry the current to run the ignition, the power the alternator's rotor all the time.
Then add on headlights, brake lights, heater fan, etc.
Plus, charging for however long it takes for the battery to get recharged.
If your '71 has a 10 gage wire, that's good.
The bulkhead connection is a 'Packard 58' type terminal. Do a search here and that will get you more info on them.
Not the best for carrying high loads.
One work around that I like is to add a parallel wire straight through the firewall. Use a grommet of course. A crimped ring terminal on the alt end and a smaller ring terminal on the inside. Connect it to the ammeter stud.
That provides an alternative parallel flow path.
A similar scheme was used on '73 A-bodies with optional 60 amp alternator.
It's a little more complicated. It looks like it was used in conjunction with electric rear window defrost option but I have yet to see an unmolested original. Only going here by the service manual.
I think the standard alternator output wire to the bulkhead was not used, but again I don't know for sure based on the diagram alone.
You're getting there!
That wire will at times carry a pretty high load.
It will carry the current to run the ignition, the power the alternator's rotor all the time.
Then add on headlights, brake lights, heater fan, etc.
Plus, charging for however long it takes for the battery to get recharged.
If your '71 has a 10 gage wire, that's good.
The bulkhead connection is a 'Packard 58' type terminal. Do a search here and that will get you more info on them.
Not the best for carrying high loads.
One work around that I like is to add a parallel wire straight through the firewall. Use a grommet of course. A crimped ring terminal on the alt end and a smaller ring terminal on the inside. Connect it to the ammeter stud.
That provides an alternative parallel flow path.
A similar scheme was used on '73 A-bodies with optional 60 amp alternator.
It's a little more complicated. It looks like it was used in conjunction with electric rear window defrost option but I have yet to see an unmolested original. Only going here by the service manual.
I think the standard alternator output wire to the bulkhead was not used, but again I don't know for sure based on the diagram alone.