Big 3

[Earl]

how do i go about doing the Power Wire from the alternator through the fuse box? because i dont see how it connects

[scrued1]

What size fuse do you guys put in Power wire going from alt. to batt.? Max ampacity on 4 gauge?

[buddykiller]

i got a question about "the big 3"

if i have a batt in the trunk would i really need to upgrade the starting batt's ground? also, i have a 1 wire alt, i've already got 0ga running from the alt to the batt, so aside from upgrading the ground for the starting batt what else would i have to upgrade? i've got a 200amp alt. right now i'm only pulling 60amps, but when i get another sub i'll be running 120 again.

[ComeClarity]

I whould like to see pics of how its done! As it should have been on the first post but they are gone!

Just that i was a bit confused at one point! But i know how its done, but a picture says a thousand words so!

[duvanator]

what size fuse should be used from alt + to batt +, using 4 gauge?

[Fluffy]

Originally Posted by duvanator

what size fuse should be used from alt + to batt +, using 4 gauge?

ya i wanna know i got some laying around and figured i would use it considering i can't afford 1/0

[notoriousroc1]

so the engine block ground wire...shouldnt there be a factory one like that already? so we just add the new one to that? and if there are no chassis grounds easily accessible, can i just find a place to drill 1?

[Warlockmatized]

i can't remember WHO posted this but it seems to be a little bit easier to understand. for noobs like me anyways LoL.....remember this is NOT my work and all props for this goes to the original poster!!!


The Big 3....
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As it is so often reffered too, The Big 3 is a fairly simply upgrade.
Here is WHY you might need to do it.
First, lets look at the vehicles electrical system. It is a 12 volt system. This voltage is suitable, although not ideal, for running a car and all its associated electrical loads. The basic electrical system is an Alternator, and a Battery, and the devices that they operate such as lights, computer, starter, wipers radio, etc.......
Most factory electrical sytems are well designed and very suitable for running the car on its daily mission hauling your butt around town. They are NOT designed for excessive electrical loads on a continual basis. Most cars use the bare minimum as far as wire goes to tranfer power from one point to another, this saves them money and helps to lighten the car. they DID NOT design the cars electrical system for your 7 billion watt amp and 78 subs in the trunk, that is the LAST thing on the auto makers mind. So what is it that needs to be done you ask? upgrade the big 3....

Lets start with the device that does all the actual work for powering up your cars electrical loads, the alternator. The alternator is the heart of the system, It is the alternators job keep the battery charged, operate ALL electrical loads on the car, and do this on a self regulating basis. Heres the first step in the upgrade. the alternator CHARGING wire. This is the wire that goes from the alternators output, to the positve battery terminal, It is THIS WIRE, and THIS WIRE alone that RUNS YOUR ENTIRE CAR!!!! Now look at the wire under your hood, it comes off the back of the alternator case, attached by a bolt and usually a protective cover. How big is that wire?? Not very big at all is it!! Alot of them are only 10 gauge!!! that 10 ga. wire is what runs your car, AND the big bad stereo pulling all kinds of current!!! This is the first wire that needs attention from you. Typically an 8 ga. wire is sufficient to allow the alternator to put out its full potential, although alot of people use 4 ga. or larger....... You need to run the new wire from the alternator directly to the positive battery post. It needs to be run in a safe manner so as not to rub on belts, have enough length to allow for engine rotaion and movement, and again, as safe as possible....I typically find a good path to run the wire, crimp AND solder the correct terminals to each end, heat shrink them, then DOUBLE LOOM the wire as a final step to ensure no future issues or problems. And NO, dont fuse this wire, its a waste of time and a waste of money to do so, besides it would require TWO fuses to properly do it, and thats just not practical or needed. Once this wire is installed, you alternator is going to be allowed to do ALL tht it can possibly do to keep your cars electrcial system up to par!!!

Moving on we come to the battery, that big heavy ugly thing that stores our electrcity. The battery is there for one real reason, that is to start your car. its not there to "make" power for your stereo!!! Yes, the battery also does one other important thing, It also supplies power to the elecrical loads of the car to keep them going when electrcial loads are HIGH and current output from the alternator is LOW, like when its cold at nigh, raining, you have the heater on full blast the wipers on the head lights on the defrogger on, the stereo on, the neon light going, and even your GF has her sex toy plugged into the ciggarette lighter. ALL while sitting at a stoplight with the engine running at idle and the alt. is kicking out a mere small fration of its available output! The battery is an important part of your stereo though, THE BATTERY is what supplies the PEAK SHORT TERM curent demands to your amp. So guess what, you need to upgrade it also......... Simple enough, here we want to use at least 4 ga. wire. " Where do I want to put it" you may ask yourself????? Here is where the grounds come in. the battery needs to be properly connected to the chassis of the vehicle. AND to the engine of the vehicle. The ground Is JUST as importatn as the positive power leads. And FYI, Current flows from negative TO positive by the way.... So first step is to go from the battery neg. to the chassis/body...Try to keep the run as short as practical. Find a good existing bolt in the car, or drill a hole and make your own connection, but either way, be sure to grind the area of attachment down to bare, shiny metal. try and use a bolt that is at least 1/2 inch in diameter..... be sure to paint the connection so as to prevent rust. next step is the ground from the battery to the engine block. same rules apply here as they do to the alternator wire, EXCEPT all the protection stuff, if this wire shorts out, NOTHING bad will happen! Simply find a good attachment point to the block, using something like a alternator bracket bolt, engine lift point bolt, etc....again, be sure the metal is clean and shiny....

Congrats dude, you just upgraded your "Big 3"

The idea of all this is to allow the battery and alternator to do ALL that they possibly can to supply your audio system with as much current as it needs. this technique will work on a majority of cars that have a nice system in them. If you are pushing some SERIOUS wattage and pulling some MAJOR current, Other things will need to be done to your cars electrcial system.
Well, I think i covered everything, did I forget anything???

again NOT my post but i found it a little easier to understand and i hope you do to. on a side note MOST autoparts stores carry DIRECT factory replacements in a LARGER gauge. so replacing is a snap. at least for my vehicle my local autozone had em in 2 gauge for $9 a piece

[tony]

that post says not to fuse it?

I'd rather be safe and fuse it anyway...but maybe it is uneeded? Blowing up my battery doesnt sound like a good time though.

[Warlockmatized]

Originally Posted by tony

that post says not to fuse it?

I'd rather be safe and fuse it anyway...but maybe it is uneeded? Blowing up my battery doesnt sound like a good time though.

i followed that post to the letter and have had NO issues.

[Escblads]

What about the alternator ground? Should I do that in 1/0 also? I'm not sure if I have to b/c It's not like a battery, it's just designed to put out power not store it in anyway really.

[icweiner]

some pics!

done with new knonceptz klm 0 gauge. not bad for 2 bucks a foot shipped

Originally Posted by icweiner

pos batt to alt




ran beside the raditor near nothing hot. i have that grey hose just incase something is hot.




pic of how tiny my batt is. the kicker is my stereo fuse holder and the audiopipe is the one from the alt to batt.. i have a 250 amp fuse in both.soon to have a kinetik hc 1800!








here u can see where the grounds go sorta





down in there is the engine ground. it is a bitch to get to so you will need a long ass wrench





and here is where i ran my power wire thru the firewall. if u run 0 gauge you might want to run it the same as i did. it takes more wire but looks awsome or should i say is hid awesome.

[Escblads]

Originally Posted by icweiner

some pics!

done with new knonceptz klm 0 gauge. not bad for 2 bucks a foot shipped

But did you do your alternator ground? or just the Batt wire?

[icweiner]

nope just batt to chassis and engine to chassis.

[beanerbass]

any 1 have pictures on how to do this?

[Tacosys]

Originally Posted by beanerbass

any 1 have pictures on how to do this?

It is so easy pictures shouldn't be needed. Seriously.

[connersdad19]

i agree....if u dont know where all this is why drive lol...jk


naw its not really that hard just follow wires....

[goingdef]

the big three is the sh*t my voltage went from 12.9 to 14.5 the biggest results from the change,s I,ve made and if you add a fuse 100A=0.4ohm which only raised it to 13.6 giving it gas now 14.5 idle with a piece of 4ga in place of the 100A fuse so......DON,T USE A FUSE ON THE ALT. TO BATT HOT IT WILL DROP YOUR VOLTAGE AT LEAST 1V

[crunch1]

Batt to Alt
Chassis to Block
Batt to chassis

1,2,3 easy as pie. I dont use a fuse for the Alt to batt connection, because I get better power that way. You can fuse this connection to protect the Batt if you want, but there is a trade off for power. The less fuses the less resistance there is. 4guage would be the minimum to use for the Big 3 The bigger the better. I leave the stock wiring in place and just add to this, because power will travel the path of least resistance. Removing the stock wires is just more work. To me the Alt to block connection is already there because of the fact the Alt is bolted to the block(unless for some reason they have the Alt isolated from the block then yes upgrade this connection). Not all power cable is heat resistant some cable is really cheap and the covering on the cable is even cheaper. Stick to trusted brands Rockford,Tsunami,Kicker ect... If your not sure about the quality. If your placing most any cable to close to the exhaust manifold it will melt. Use heat shield If you (must) rout your cable close to a extreme heat source. Its way better to spend the extra bucks on a little more length of cable than to risk frying your cable. The whole deal for the Big 3 is to keep your volts up, so that you get the most out of your system. Amps are more likely to fry from low voltage than from to much voltage.

[pd8731]

The only part I'm confused on is the placement of the wire on the engine. Where on the engine is there a wire on it?

[kensaudio99]

Just curious!! If the wire seem to be heated is that bad or good??

[kensaudio99]

Originally Posted by pd8731

The only part I'm confused on is the placement of the wire on the engine. Where on the engine is there a wire on it?

Are you talking about the chassis to engine block? I think they are talking about the alternator is grounded so you need to find that other wire and ground it. I forgot to mention you suppose to look for bolt from the engine block and then ground it to the chassis. I find it less work to replace the engine block wire to the chassis.

[emd2260]

Since you have to put a fuse in when installing the big 3...does that inline fuse have to match the fuse i haev for my amp to battery connection (which happens to be 200A)??

[sdelthon]

do you have a batt or cap in the back?

[emd2260]

no, i dont, i was just gonna go with the big 3 and see how it is from there...if i have to get a battery i would.