I got an optima that keeps dying im going to buy a 200a alt but it says i should upgrade the cable from battery to alt, i recently bought new battery cables what im wondering is do i have to upgrade all the cables to 4ga or just the one to the alt? cause im looking at battery terminals and it would be easier to just get a dual 4ga one for my system and the alt rather then try and get one that holds 4ga for everything? if i should upgrade them all where can i find a terminal like this?

 

You should upgade the positive to 4 gauge and also the ground. You said the battery keep dyeing? Was the alternator bad in the first place?

 

the ground from the neg battery cable right? cause theres like a 4 foot black wire on the positive cable im not sure if its a ground or not. i had another post in here saying how only optimas die on my car, some people say with an optima you need a better alt cause the optima will kill the stock alt dont know what truth is in that.

 

I actually did a write up on it.

Back when I was into doing stereo competitions with usac, I started checking into getting an upgraded alternator. I called one comapny (can't remember the name, but was a reputable one), and he asked what I was running and what kind of batteries. I told him I was fixing to upgrade to the yellow tops. The guy stops and said I can not warrenty my alternator with that battery.

Then he explains....

With a normal car battery, the alternator is only allowed to use some much of it to charge it. Hydralic batteries (as used in hydralic cars) need a little more and so the alternator does it. With the optima, if you kill the battery and have to jump start it, it will take everything that the alternator has to recharge the battery, even if it means burning out the alternator.

This was a few years ago, and I am sure technology has changed. But this is how it was explained to me. Which is why maybe your battery is always dieing. I would have the alternator tested, and get a battery charger on your battery and charge it.

Just my 2 cents..trying to help...


Yes the ground from the neg. cable.
The 4ft cable on the positive might go to the starter. You WILL need to upgrade it. You are putting out alot of amps through the stock wires.

 

the long cable looks pretty thick like maybe a 6ga, i already ordered the stuff to upgrade the positive wire to the alt and the entire negative cable to 4ga, i dont know how id go about upgrading that long cable too, id have to get a different battery terminal that holds another 4ga which is hard to find.

 

You probably can just use one terminal connector that has a 4 gauge wire input on it and a couple of 8 gauges. The main one is the alternator to battery connection, and battery to ground connection.