wire size for high amp alternator

green67cuda said

ground to the trunk???

if you don't have a lot of current-drawing modifications, your alternator's 130-amp capacity will never be reached anyway.

you can only charge the battery so much.


the BEST thing to do would be to figure up your car's maximum current requirement (driving at night in the rain with the stereo cranked)
and use that for your car's used current.....gauge the charge wire from there.

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You are asking for trouble if you do not size the wiring for the capacity of the alternator. You are correct in that under normal conditions it's highly unlikely you will ever reach the capacity of the alternator.

It's the abnormal conditions you need to consider, for example, you run the battery down by leaving the lights on or give a jump to someone with a dead battery. Under those conditions the alternator will for a period of time will operate a max output. If the wire is under size you will over heat the insulation and it will fail causing a short potential or worest case start a fire.