> > I'll be
> > putting in a new brown wire direct from the battery just for the lights.
>
> Just a thought ... when you're running down the road (which presumably is
> when you need bright lights the most), the highest voltage is not at the
> battery, but rather at the alternator output terminal.
This is an interesting point. I recently came across an article
(which, of course, I can't find right now) that points out that
a three-wire alternator is better at keeping the system voltage high,
if you go to the trouble to connect the sense wire at the main junction
point of the harness (say, the ammeter input) instead of just jumpering
it at the alternator. This lets the alternator's regulator sense
the voltage in the system, after any voltage drop through the wiring
harness.
Without this, the voltage at the main junction will always be a
touch low. I'd never really considered this possibility. Probably doesn't
matter so much for our smaller cars with relatively short wiring harnesses,
but it's apparently a big deal in older Detroit iron.
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