New one wire alternator... removing unused wires

[CompassRDB]

Hi... my PO installed a single wire alternator and left the unused wires just hanging. I have pulled apart the wiring loom and can remove these unused wires... any reason not to?

Thx

Bob B

[Tbob]

A future owner may want them. Otherwise, the car will be fine without them.

[CompassRDB]

Since the alternator has a regulator built into it... can I remove the relay that mounted above the battery? Is there anything else that can be removed? Trying to clean up the engine compartment of wires not being used.

BB

[Tbob]

Since the alternator has a regulator built into it... can I remove the relay that mounted above the battery? Is there anything else that can be removed? Trying to clean up the engine compartment of wires not being used.

BB

I did away with it.

[CompassRDB]

Took the bold step and removed the fan, over ride and ac relays... engine just purrs... am curious if the voltage regulator which has a lead going to the Bosch Relay for the fan can be removed as well... will figure that out tomorrow!

BB

[christopher storey]

Once you start removing relays, you are increasing the current in those circuits which the relays served. The original wiring was designed to cope with no more than about 30 amps even as a transient load , and perhaps 17 amps as a continuous load. If you have aftermarket additions e.g high output fan , you are at risk of a fire .

[johnetype]

Once you start removing relays, you are increasing the current in those circuits which the relays served. The original wiring was designed to cope with no more than about 30 amps even as a transient load , and perhaps 17 amps as a continuous load. If you have aftermarket additions e.g high output fan , you are at risk of a fire .

Chris, what you say is absolutely true but what isn't clear from this single thread is that Bob is talking about removing relays no longer in use, not bypassing them.

Bob, it would be really helpful if you could cease your scattergun approach to posting so many threads around the same topic as each thread doesn't give folks the full picture of what you're up to unless you've read every thread you've posted, which I've tried to do.

[CompassRDB]

John and Chris... being new to the forum... I truly appreciate any and all advice... I bought my S2 5 years ago (first fell in love xke's when a soccer team mate in high school... probably in 1976 ... bought a very rough E which now I suspect was a S1... it took me 40 years to find the time and $ to finally buy her... In between I bought a poor man's jag ('63 TR4 in 1980... rebuilt the engine, transmission... cleaned the rest of her up as best I could but PO had done alot of fiberglass and bondo so I just made her "pretty" and drove her for a few years and ended up putting her away in a garage... she's undergoing a frame off proper restoration at this point ... but that is another story for another time)... <br/>
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I will dig in a bit deeper tomorrow to the wiring... the alternator has two wires attached to the same terminal (of which there is only one on it)... both are heavy duty wires... probably 8 gauge to the dash and 8 gauge to the battery (and also attached to the Bosch Relay before heading off to the fans).<br/>
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I need to spend some time under the dash and behind the instruments to better understand what goes where. The AC loom and relays I wanted to remove I found to already to be cut under the dash so that was an easy decision to make and removed it today.<br/>
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Car seems to running smoother for some reason... maybe she just likes looking pretty under the hood now.</t>

Thanks again for all your help!

BB

[CompassRDB]

My before and after detailing engine compartment ... Covid finally gave me the time to pull the left side of the engine compartment apart... replace old hoses, remove non functional factory AC components... cleaned up and painted nearly all the components... not new... but sure looks a lot better!

BB