Alright gents, got another update, but nothing major yet unfortunately, life always gets in the way of hobbies. The crazy economy down here in florida and rising home prices kinda put the final stage of this build on hold, but hopefully I'll be making a simple baffle to run the pair of 18's IB instead of the enclosure and calling it good for now. Now, on to the update:
So my alternator caught on fire about 6 weeks ago. It wasn't a very large fire, but seeing the smoke under the hood definitely caused a bit of panic. The insulation on the stator windings melted and started to burn, but a little bit of coffee fixed that right up so I could make it home. Turns out a 20+ year old alternator can't handle charging at full output for hours at a time... Odly enough, the diodes and rectifier were still good, I could have just paid 40 bux and had a new stator thrown in and been good to go with 100a of raw Kraut power!
After that debacle, I pulled the electrical out and decided I needed a revamp and a fire extinguisher. So, in a few days I'll be installing a 400a denso hairpin alt built by SEA Manufacturing, a company 3 blocks from my house. He has rebuilt many starters and alternators for me in the past and he does quality work. I managed to source a conversion bracket from JS Alternators (stupid expensive for 2 Lazer cut 3/16" thick mild steel brackets...) to fit the denso onto the jetta and modified a case so everything fits. At the same time I'm installing the alternator, I'm re-wiring the factory power/ground system in the engine bay and adding new fused connections for the starter wire, factory charging connection, big 3 charging connection, and also adding a second fuse in-line with my lithium bank inside the cabin. All of this will be mounted inside the factory battery tray/cover so things will, hopefully, look nice and neat.
I also laid out an amp rack for the back-seat area. I got it mostly finished, but then a Florida suprise shower got it wet. So I guess I have a template now? I have plenty of power wire and signal wire to tidy everything up once I get a day to put it all together permanently.
I should have some picture updates soon-ish, and I'm hopeful I'll get everything buttoned up and be able to drive the jetta again in about 2 weeks.
Matt