| Custom
grounding/charging rewire We
all know that rx-7s of all years suffer various electrical issues
and hesitations, largely attributed to poor grounding and charging.
ON top of this, all cars 10+ years old develop charging issues
due to age and corrosion, and poor connections. Because of this,
many seek to rewire their charging/ground system. There are kits
sold on ebay, but you can hardly expect quality from a 20 dollar
wiring kit, when quality 4 gauge wire alone sells for $2.50/foot
or more. For
time, fitment, and availability reasons, I choose to make my own
kits. I do so from high grade 4 gauge power wire, obtained at
most any local stereo installation shop. Also get the appropriate
4 gauge heavy duty ring terminals for the wire here. In addition,
you’ll need new battery terminals (the FD only needs one), available
at the stereo shop, auto parts stores, even walmart. You’ll need
electrical solder and a small propane torch (a solder gun won’t
cut it for these big terminals, you’d be at it all day). A vise
is very helpful for making the crimps on the large terminals as
well. Total cost for the project is under $100 most of the time,
and it’ll take about an hour to make, a bit more to install. With
a good battery and alternator, you can see voltage increases of
.5-2.5vdc. This helps with lighting, idle quality, hesitations,
etc. in some cases (if you had a problem to begin with). I
make the following connections (in addition to the stock wires)
which vary by car: -battery + terminal to alternator + post -battery + terminal to starter + post -battery terminal to chassis (bare metal) at strut tower -battery terminal to top of block (where wiring harness bolts down) -ground to alternator body -ground
to starter body This
gives clean, high voltage signal to the starter, alternator, and
engine wiring harness/ecu. BE sure to clean all connections and
tighten securely during installation. I’ve
not done a rewire on a 1st Generation, but lengths
should be similar to the 2nd generation cars. For
2nd generations, you’ll need 10 foot of ground wire,
and about 8 foot of power. You can use the same wire if you want,
this is personal preference. Ground is normally black, power is
normally red or yellow. It’s the same wire, just color coded for
reference. You’re going to make 6 wires, so youll need 12 terminals.
You’ll use 2 battery terminals, and be sure to clean off the battery
posts if youre using an old battery. You’ll cut positive wires
in 38” and 52” lengths, and ground wires of 18”, 44”, and 2- 24”
lengths. The longest positive wire goes to the starter, the other
to the alternator. The longest ground wire goes to the top of
the block, the shortest to the strut tower frame. The other 2
bolt on top of the one we ran on top of the block, one going to
the alternator mounting bolt/body, the other going down to the
starter body. For
3rd generation cars, you’ll use 15 foot of ground wire
and about 8 power. You’ll make 8 wires, so youll need 16 terminals.
You only need one battery terminal, the positive/fuseblock assembly
should get thoroughly cleaned and reused. You’ll cut positive
wires in 50” and 28” lengths, the longest power wire goes to the
starter terminal, the shorter to the alternator post. For the
grounds, you’ll cut a 30” for the battery to alternator, a 30”
for the strut tower to starter, a 26” for the strut tower to bottom
of block (stock ground location), a 24” for battery to strut tower,
a 40” for strut tower to upper intake manifold (back, p. side,
stock ground wire location), and if desired a 28” wire for strut
tower to top of block/coils. Start
off with your wires cut to length. Cut
about 3/8” of material off each end. I use a razor knife, make
an initial cut, and roll the wire on the bench while the knife
cuts evenly. Twist the wire a little to make it easier to insert
into the terminal. Insert
the terminal over the wire… Use
a vise to crimp firmly… Be sure it’s nice and tight, and it can’t come out. Touch
the solder to the area just above the wire and let it run down
and saturate the wire. Repeat for all connectors. You
may need to use a few flat washers in conjunction with your battery
terminals to mount the wires. It should look like this for a 2nd
generation (1st similar). Note the stock wires in the
center of the terminal, and the additional wires on each clamp
bolt: For
a 3rd gen:
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