The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Self made wiring question

So i pulled the wiring out of my truck since the PO had made a good rats nest of the wires and were impossible to follow. Its a 53chevy on a 64 chassis with 12vlt battery. First thing i did was to make sure ive got enough grounds.
Any ways now that ive started from scratch i just want to double check that everything is good to go and no fire worries.
The way i have everything wired inside goes to a switch then to the fuse box. The fuse box is wired so it is always getting power ( i figured the switches would cut the power and not cause any drain on the battery)
I've got one wire going from the battery to the starter and one to a terminal on the horn relay. then from the other terminal on the horn relay one wire that feeds the fuse box. And one that runs to the ignition switch then to the starter solenoid so the only thing the ign. switch does is start the truck ( no aux.)
Does this sound like an ok setup? everything has been working ok so far, and nothing is on while the switches are off.( well somewhat off i do currently have a drain i'm trying to find). Just want to run it by you all so everything is as safe as can be,since im kinda learning as i go. Thanks in Advance

I also read that with two post alternators wiring the two post together and to the back bolt of the ALT then to the battery is ok to do, and is currently how i have it set up which does charge the battery. What are peoples thoughts on this? i have a regulator that i plan to use once i figure how to wire it, but in the mean time is this ok?
Il make a wiring diagram and post it up here once im finished so its a little easier to understand.


list of things powered to switches then to fuse

dash lights,tail lights,dome light- switch-fusebox
heater -switch- fusebox
headlights -switch- fusebox
electric motor fan-switch- fusebox
distributor,tach -switch- fusebox

lotsa switches, you must wanna look like a bus or an airplane probably your drain is the 2 wires at the alt DA plug hooked together, one of them should be to a dash light - and the one to the dash light goes thru the ignition switch so the light comes on when the key is on, off once the alt is running

Bill

Yea kinda is like that have to at least flip the distributor switch to get it started, good theft deterrent not that i think anyone would want to steal it haha.
here is a link to my Photobucket Microsoft paint diagram of my setup-

http://s1045.photobucket.com/user/mage0095/library/?sort=3&page=1

well, for my money, the horn relay is redundant, just adds more connections that could corrode or loosen and give you fits trying to track it down - also leaves your fuse panel always hot, so anything you do there [even change a fuse] you have to disconnect the battery first, I'd power the fuse panel via the ignition switch .... and yes, both wires from the DA plug to the battery connection is a drain, one of them [yellow if you have red and yellow] must be switched by the ignition [or another toggle ] or go to the coil+ to get powered only when the ignition is on - but that alternator would appear to be internally regulated, why would you add an external regulator?

Bill

I guess i just assumed it was externally regulated because one was there and use to be hooked up, and thought a two post alt. meant external. I guess i should have mentioned the motor is a 350 out of a mid 80s truck.
I tried a few variation of which wire goes where and then turned the truck on. The only thing i could get a charge with is the way its set up now.
So the 1# or field post runs to a wire that needs power, and the second post to a indicator light( from what i gather) then a wire from back post to battery?

I'l have to look into wiring it to the coil cause believe it or not i'm running out of room for new toggle switches!I guess i only have three but that's still probably more than most people haha.

I didnt think i would need to unplug the battery for fuses but if that's the case il wire it up to the ignition switch. I just used the horn relay because it was convenient, and wouldnt have to splice the current wiring together, or go out and buy a longer wire. By the way what gauge wiring should i be running from the horn relay to the fuse block or horn relay to ignition switch then fuse block?

Actually just realized i don't have an ignition coil anymore since i bought a new streetfire distributor, I was thinking about when the old 283 was still in it.

you actually have a one wire alt, the big post on the back, the side connector [DA plug] has 1 wire [red] to the main terminal on the back of the alternator [BATT], the other needs to get a ground [usually via an indicator dash light] only when the ignition is on, with it hooked to the BATT terminal also it's powered all the time, causing the drain thru the alternator - [edit] you could run that wire to the fuse panel switch for the ignition

you don't necessarily have to de-power the panel to change a fuse, but not doing so could be a hair-raising experience I'd use a 10ga wire from the battery to the fuse block, no matter the route, although with no fancy electrical things a 12ga should work - if you have a soldering iron and some heat shrink tubing you could splice a couple shorter pieces to get the length you need

Bill

Sure it will work just fine having them all powered when the key is off, but I wouldn't do it that way. If you do have an issue with a circuit (say between the switch and the fuse box), then you need to get to the battery to disconnect it while your truck may be trying to light on fire. There are many circuits that don't need power when the key is off. This is as much for safety as theft deterrent.