Let’s talk VOLTAGE

[RawbDidIt]

I'm sticking to my story!.........

Oh, I meant to show you some love earlier, you're absolutely correct. Hence why I upgraded the stock 6ga cable to 4ga on mine.

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[Blanco_obs]

It seems the (6 gauge?) cable that goes to the power block is bare minimum for 96+ trucks. Plus every one of those cables I have checked in the last decade had a pretty significant voltage loss, even ones that did not show any signs of corrosion.

A ground cable from the alternator/alternator bracket to the battery, and replacing the loooong cable to the power block with a heavier gauge cable are two of the better upgrades for the electrical system under the hood.

Call it the the Big 1 1/2..........

Completely missed your comment lol. But I think that’s the only cable I didn’t bother to do. From the power block to battery


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[RawbDidIt]

Completely missed your comment lol. But I think that’s the only cable I didn’t bother to do. From the power block to battery


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Lol, and that's the one you decided to add a huge power draw on... you live and you learn.

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[HotWheelsBurban]

Lol, and that's the one you decided to add a huge power draw on... you live and you learn.

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Yes that cable is 8 feet long, there's gonna be a little power drop just from the distance. Remember back in the day at the parts house, when folks wouldn't want to get big enough battery, cables, etc. because they didn't want to spend the money. And then these people had the money. Electricity flows on the outside of the wire, so the larger gauge it is gives more room for the juice to move. And I agree that the cables can have hidden corrosion, been there done that. But if they're new that shouldn't be a problem yet
. As for the "new" alternator, my retired fleet mechanic cousin has a saying he learned from his grandfather: " N-E-W does not spell G-O-O-D". If I had a dollar for every brand new part that was defective, I'd have a lot more money in my pocket than I have now. Even OEM stuff can be bad.

 

[FIREBALL 94]

Yes that cable is 8 feet long, there's gonna be a little power drop just from the distance. Remember back in the day at the parts house, when folks wouldn't want to get big enough battery, cables, etc. because they didn't want to spend the money. And then these people had the money. Electricity flows on the outside of the wire, so the larger gauge it is gives more room for the juice to move. And I agree that the cables can have hidden corrosion, been there done that. But if they're new that shouldn't be a problem yet
. As for the "new" alternator, my retired fleet mechanic cousin has a saying he learned from his grandfather: " N-E-W does not spell G-O-O-D". If I had a dollar for every brand new part that was defective, I'd have a lot more money in my pocket than I have now. Even OEM stuff can be bad.

Amen to that brother, I totally agree on parts... it’s hit or miss regardless what you get nowadays

 

[Schurkey]

Electricity flows on the outside of the wire, so the larger gauge it is gives more room for the juice to move.

Are you referring to "skin effect"? Skin effect varies with frequency. As such it doesn't apply to DC.

For all practical purposes, it doesn't apply at audio frequencies, either. Most any stranded cable is fine to 20KHz if the DC resistance is adequate. But the audio salespeople like to take advantage of folks, so they bring up skin effect in the hope of selling audio cables, one of the highest-profit items in an audio store.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect

 

[RawbDidIt]

Are you referring to "skin effect"? Skin effect varies with frequency. As such it doesn't apply to DC.

For all practical purposes, it doesn't apply at audio frequencies, either. Most any stranded cable is fine to 20KHz if the DC resistance is adequate. But the audio salespeople like to take advantage of folks, so they bring up skin effect in the hope of selling audio cables, one of the highest-profit items in an audio store.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect

Solid cable is the only way to go for low frequencies. The skin effect only starts to take effect at high frequencies like that found in data transmission. Just to be clear, I'm agreeing with you about sound and DC applications. aluminum core has its place, just not in any of my vehicles lol

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[Schurkey]

The skin effect only starts to take effect at high frequencies like that found in data transmission.

Skin effect is a factor in designing power-transmission cables, which operate at 60 hz; but with high power handling and aluminum (poor conductivity) wire. The issue with consumer products is that the skin depth is so large that for audio purposes, any commercially-available stranded cable uses strands smaller than twice the skin depth--so the full diameter of the conductor is used. At bass frequencies, solid-core (non-stranded) cable is OK.

 

[RawbDidIt]

Skin effect is a factor in designing power-transmission cables, which operate at 60 hz; but with high power handling and aluminum (poor conductivity) wire. The issue with consumer products is that the skin depth is so large that for audio purposes, any commercially-available stranded cable uses strands smaller than twice the skin depth--so the full diameter of the conductor is used. At bass frequencies, solid-core (non-stranded) cable is OK.

I meant solid copper. Stranded cable is necessary due to the inherent movement and vibrations of a vehicle. And yes, the skin effect would be apparent at 60 hz, but then as you mentioned, you're talking about high throughout applications requiring heavy gage cable. Even typical 110v household wiring would be too thin to have negligible effects from aluminum core, wouldn't it?

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[Schurkey]

I've never used aluminum wiring, and I consider Copper-Clad Aluminum to be a deceptive cheap-junk trick used to fool unwary consumers.

So I've never researched skin effect in aluminum wiring other than to know they use aluminum for the high-voltage power transmission cables.