Should my alternator have a positive from the battery?

[Tony8169]

I have been restoring my 85' esprit turbo for a while now and have come to fit the starter and alternator.
i have tried to fathum out the wiring in the engine bay as best as i can but i am sure the alternator should have a positive cable as thick as the starter has from the battery, although i cant find one!!
any help will be most appreciated.
Tony.

[Esprit2]

Tony8169 said:

(Snip)... i am sure the alternator should have a positive cable as thick as the starter has from the battery, although i cant find one!!

Tony,
There are two connections to the alternator... a large stud & nut (M8 thread ?) for the power output wire and a very small one for the control wire.

The output lead you are asking about is brown, about 18 - 24 inches long, and heavy gauge wire about 1/4 - 5/16" OD (?)... but not a large "cable" like the battery cable. It goes directly from the alternator's output stud to the same starter solenoid stud that the red battery cable attaches to.

The alternator output wire isn't as large as the battery cable since the alternator isn't capable of putting out the large peak current that the battery is.

Peak loads, like starting the engine, are handled by the battery. Then the alternator recharges the battery with a smaller current applied over a longer period of time. So the alternator's output wire is heavy for a wire, but it's not a cable like the battery has a cable. Make sense?

And the connection is direct from stud to stud without getting wrapped up in the wiring harness.

Regards,
Tim Engel

[Andymaserati]

He's right you know

just replaced my starter motor and alternator as both broke

i was really looking forward to finally having something i knew about asked, but i was pipped to the post.