Bill,

I haven’t done a wirebook on my a/c as yet, but it is based on the Z-14 architecture. (I tried to attach the Z-14 pdf, but it was too large and so it bounced.  I will send it to you directly.)  Like I said earlier, the only real difference is that I’m using Tracy’s EC-2/EM-2 rather than mags.  These are wired per Tracy’s instructions, and directly to a CB on the “Flight Critical Bus”.  If you haven’t done so, I recommend you read the article I referenced earlier on charging system design by Bob Nuckols of the Aero-Electric Connection.  He discusses the pro’s and con’s of the different architectures.  He describes the dual alt, dual battery system as the mother of all electrical systems. 

 

As for the choice of alternators, that’s up to you and your needs.  For backup, many builders are using the small, 20 amp permanent magnet unit similar to those used on John Deere garden tractors.  B&C sells them with the appropriate regulator.  I chose to go with two of the 55A ND units.  They are used on many small cars and are very compact and can be converted to external regulation fairly easy, should you choose to do it.  They come with different type of mounting tabs, so pay close attention to that aspect.

 

Another change I made to improve longevity was to oversize the alternator pulleys, as well as undersize the eccentric pulley.  This reduced the maximum alternator rpm to about 10,000.  This is about half of what it was initially.  By reducing the eccentric pulley, it slows down the alternators as well as the water pump.  I would have to check my records to find the supplier for the oversized pulleys.  It may have been Canton Racing, but I’m not certain.

 

Mark S.