Alt install and Big 3. DUW

Lownslowlsc

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Well i finally got my fuse holder in so ima go out to the garage and get working. I have a new dbelectrical 130a alt, 4 awg(i know but i allready had it w/ terminals already on), 150a anl fuse and holder,flex tubing and new battery terminals. Here are some pics of what going on..I'll have pics of what the current alt reads, what it reads w/ the new alt, and new alt + big 3. I hope to see a good increase in v's or i'll be a tad dissapointed, moreso if it doesnt maintain them well under preasure. So if i dont load pics in the next 3hours call the cops.

And if i come back before that it means i have lost any and all motovation i had to do this at 12am.


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I like the looks of that alt. Keep us updated on how good it works and how long it lasts.

lol, thats the most impotant part..I've heard good things but we'll see..I'm still going to keep my oem alt and my 50pcs kit in the trunk incase i need to do a side of the road repair.
 
that 4awg isnt really going to do much for you. If i were you i would at least go to vatozone and grab some 2awg starter wire cable and use that.
 
I would do the shortest path possible if you are doing the big three with 4g wire.
I did the big three with my car 0g wire with the stock alt didnt see much of a difference. Bigger is better is what everyone says. but do what you want. I dont hate
 
Well all done w/ everything but the big 3.Took about 20min.

As for the big 3: I know 4awg aint sh!t. But i just started my job and dont feel like spending 40 bucks on 0awg and another 15-20 on decent terminals. I don't expect anything huge from the 4 awg. It was free so i used it:)

Stu, the paths will be short. The chassis ground is about 6", Alt to battery is a little less then 1.75' and the engine ground is about 1.25'. Those are rough cuts... I can afford to shorten up 2 or 3 of em w/ the ring terms i bought.

Pics.......This is what i have thus far.

Wow, i dont know what it was but my alt was LOW...It was taken while warm.

No light, stereo ect

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W/ lights, heater and stereo half way..It barely fluxuated with the stereo going. That a diff project for a diff day..Something is def wrong with my stereo.

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Alt
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batt
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:)
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Much better..No lights ect. Not 14.5 like i hoped but i'll live.

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Everything on, stereo half way. Didn't drop much with the stereo going..

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Well theres the first half. I was hopeing it was the reason my stereo sounded like sh!t.. It wasn't..
 
Got thursty and chargeing up my cam batt..Not to much progress..Got the batt terminals on.
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f'n exhuasted.Dont like how 1 wire tuned out..Pretty much done though..I'm working slooooowly..
 
Obvious tip #1: Dont do electrical work when your tired.

Anywho, I put the stock wires back on. And at initial startup it reads 14.6v and 14.2-3 when warm.. So far so good.

I'll prob finish the b3 next weekend..Or should i say small 3.
 
sbcaprice if you lived close by I would give you some 0g wire. I have 6ft of it hanging in my garage.
 
sbcaprice if you lived close by I would give you some 0g wire. I have 6ft of it hanging in my garage.

I can pay for shipping.;).lol. Thanks for the offer but i couldn't take it for free. I've decided just to forget about it till i upgrade my system next month.

The Factory wire at the battery just barely fit into the 4awg terminals i bought..The alt to batt appears to be 8awg though.
I was only able to get the neg terminal done. The wingnut on the pos was to big for the ring terminal so i didnt get to change that. I did clean the chassis ground and wire along with the neg batt wires..They were very very dirty. All shiny again.
 
Eh, some of this got lost..Iirc my last response was answering trippen's question. All i remember is that i said i used the left bolt to the left of the ps resiviour @ the head for my batt to engine ground.
I have no idea where the block ground is T. But even if i knew were it was and is as diff as you said it was theres no way these fat mj hands could fit in there.
 
Eh, some of this got lost..Iirc my last response was answering trippen's question. All i remember is that i said i used the left bolt to the left of the ps resiviour @ the head for my batt to engine ground.
I have no idea where the block ground is T. But even if i knew were it was and is as diff as you said it was theres no way these fat mj hands could fit in there.

nice. ya i ended up using the top of the alternator. i still kept the original engine ground intact too. can never have to many grounds
 
Total n00b question,so please forgive me here,but what is the benefit of doing this?
No sarcasm intended,I honestly don't know.
 
Total n00b question,so please forgive me here,but what is the benefit of doing this?
No sarcasm intended,I honestly don't know.

Well, I know what they're doing and I have the outputs on my terminals and the wire to do it with but as long as I'm not having any charging problems or lights dimming with stereo beats, I'm not gonna bother.

Supposed to help the alternator and battery charging and some other stuff but I never have messed with it.

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ah,so its for the stereo takin the light power n stuff....i see. thank you for the help :)
 
http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/312025/page/1

As many of you know, upgrading the "Big 3" wires in your engine compartment can lower the overall resistance of your entire electrical system. The effects of the lower resistance are typically:

1) Reduced dimming and smaller voltage drops
2) More stable voltage and better current flow
3) Less strain on your vehicle's charging system

So for those of you looking for a cheap and easy way to upgrade your system and help out your electrical system without adding a high output alternator or an aftermarket battery, this is the modification for you. If you have heavy dimming or are getting large voltage drops during loud bass hits, but you don't have the money to spend on a high output alternator or a battery, upgrading your vehicle's "Big 3" will usually help to reduce and sometimes even eliminate the problems. So without further ado, the "Big 3" wires are:

1) Battery negative to chassis
2) Alternator to battery positive
3) Chassis to engine

Now, I suppose it would help if I explained what each of these wires does, and to do that I would like to paraphrase an explanation by IMTfox from a while ago: Think of your vehicle's charging system as two different circuits, one consisting of your amplifier and your battery, and the other consisting of your alternator and your battery. The current in your electrical system flows from your positive battery terminal to your amp, from your amp's ground to the chassis, and then from the chassis back to the negative battery terminal. But how does it get to the positive terminal in the first place? That's where the alternator comes in. Current in the second circuit flows from your alternator's positive post to the battery's positive terminal, then from the battery's negative terminal to the chassis, and from the chassis back to the block, which happens to be the grounding point for your alternator.

So, from your battery, you have the power wire going to the power terminal on your amplifier and then your amplifier is grounded to the chassis of the vehicle. From here the current needs a way to get back to the negative battery terminal, and that way is through the first of the "Big 3," the battery negative to chassis wire. Upgrading this wire will "upgrade" the circuit between your battery and your amp by giving the current a larger path to flow through to get back to the battery.

Now, think of your alternator as the battery and your battery as the amp. From the positive post on your alternator, you have the second of the "Big 3," the alternator to battery positive wire supplying "power" to your battery. From there the battery, just like your amp, is grounded to the chassis through the wire mentioned in the previous paragraph. Again, the current needs a way to get from the chassis back to the alternator's "negative terminal" and that way is through the last of the "Big 3," the chassis to engine wire. Since your alternator is most likely mounted to your engine block using a metal or conductive mounting bracket, you can simply add your new wire from the chassis to one of the mounting posts for the alternator. Upgrading these two wires will "upgrade" the circuit between your alternator and your battery, again giving the current a larger path to flow through.
 
Oooooh wow,thanks for the write up...now i feel a bit smarter ;)

I didn't write it up;).Good info nonetheless.


As far as i could tell the chassis to batt is a little smaller then 8awg, so prob 10. The alt to batt is the same. The batt to engine is the one thats 4-8awg i thinks. I'd say the 4awg would be a worthy improvment over stock or with a medium sized system. I did look up some Cadence 0awg and could get 6ft for 15 shipped and prob another 12 for ring terminals. It looks like decent stuff, not overwhelmed w/ coating.
 
Yea i was considering there zrs 6.5" comps f+r and a 4ch of theres. Never heard them in person but always wanted to try some of there equipment.
 
1 week later: (somebody asked for an update, i forget who)

It's still kickin', no noises ect.


Was still reading 14.23ish..Changed the positive terminal today and cleaned up the oem wires(filthy) w/ a brush. It's now reading a steady 14.33, 14.28-14.31 w/everything on.
 

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