Ok so for the big three, I first took apart the areas i would be working in.
-I took off my front passenger tire and inner fender as this is the area where the wires will come into the engine compartment.
-Next I removed the spare tire cover and the carpet trim in the tunk on the passenger side, to expose the strut bolts and have room to run the wires.
-I also removed the rear seat (just the seat no the backrest), as the wiring will need to be run underneath it due to the lack of room in that area. Removing the seat is a breeze. Two black plastic levers anchor the front part of the seat.
-This is the first cable. I attached it to one of the strut mount bolts and the negative terminal of the battery. Some have said it is best to sand down the paint right below the nut, where your cable makes contact with the body.
- Now its time to run your two wires from the trunk into the engine compartment. One of them the "+" batt to alt, and other the "-" batt to engine for ground.
At first i was unsure if I would be able to run the wires under the carpet due to the limited room. But its possible.
You will notice that the factory wiring runs along the passenger side as well. As that wiring enters the cab, it runs under a bracket beside the back seat. The two 0 gauge runs will not fit alongside the factory wiring so will have to basically run underneath the back seat back rest. You can see part of this bracket on the picture above, on the far right.
The trunk is the only area of the car where the wires will be visible.
- Both wires running under the back seat back rest.
- Notice that the seat is removed and wires will run under the seat.
- Running the wires under the carpet on the passenger side.
There is only one area inside the cab that is troublesome. There is a plastic tab, on the frame of the car, right beside the passenger seat. Youll need to push both wires below this tab and against the frame or else the carpeting will " bulge out" and be tight against the passenger seat which will create pressure working against the movement of the seat. You dont want to put a strain on the seat motors. Very tight quarters.
- A bit hard to see but theres the black tab.
Now to run the wires from the cab into the engine compartment
-Underneath the passenger side carpeting. Notice all the room available to the left of the wiring.
-After cutting out the excess rubber. Now theres room for both the wires.
Hardest part of the big three was runnning the wires through this opening. It is hard to run both wires through the opening and keep the rubber "gasket" from pushing out. Everytime you try to push out the wires, the rubber peice wants to go with it. At the end, I just let the rubber peice push out. I then pushed both wires through it, and then placed the rubber back in its location using needle nose pliers.
-Both wires through opening.
-Both wires out from the cab into the wheel well.
-From here i looked for the best way to reach the alternator/ engine. After some thought and multiple attempts, this is how it worked best.
All the wiring was well protected. I covered the exposed areas with flame retardant plastic wire counduit and then wrapped the closest areas to the engine with heat retardant tape from Autozone. The rest with electrical tape.
-Wires in place. Notice the silicone (fresh) I used against the rubber gasket to create a watertight seal. Multiple zip ties keep the wires in place.
-Portion of the wires that will be exposed after re installing inner fender.
So now the connections.
- "+" batt to alternator "+". Easy to find. Just look for the red wire and connect your "+" with the same nut.
(Pic before I wrapped and protected the wire)
Next the "-" to engine for ground. There are many bolts on our engines but the one I saw the easiest to install on was the "-" from the starter. This bolt goes directly to the engine.
If any member knows of a better place, chime in, but that is one very direct bolt.
-Wire attached to starter. (Again before I wrapped the wires)
After the complete install, the only place where these wires will be visible is in the trunk. If you havea smaller sub box, you may be able to run under the spare tire cover as it extends all the way to the back seats.
It is very important to fuse your power wires, both for your amp and the new wire leading to the alternator. Ive heard some people say no less than 18" from battery and others, no less than 12".
-Both my fuses back to back. 200 amp for both. "+" cable on left is leading to the amp.
-Close up of the wiring on the battery. All factory wiring still attached.
-Blue wire- "-" batt to engine
-Silver wire- "-" batt to strut bolt
-Brown wire 1 - "+" batt to alt, 200A fused
-Brown wire 2 - "+" batt to amp, 200A fused
That is how I wired the big three. Like i said before, there are many ways to do it.
Ive been running this set up for about 3 months now. I have checked the exposed wiring by the engine at least once a week and have seen no wear or tears. Both wires are fine.
Before I did the big three to my LS, I had badly dimming lights and dash lights (with my old 1k system). Currently I am running a DC 12 XL on an AQ2200. I never ran this system on the stock electrical or stock battery so I cant compare how this system would act using it. I can tell you that since Ive upgraded my battery and electrical, my lights have not dimmed. I beleive this is due to my new battery and the big thee. Dont know how the voltage would act doing the big three with a stock battery.
I am running more watts and a hungrier sub and the upgraded battery and big three have worked. My voltage barely moves and 99% of the time im over 14 volts. When i get a little excited and really turn it up, then my voltage drops to around 13.7 or so and only for a fraction of a second when the big bass hits. (When Im very excited!!)
I like it, im very glad I did it and hope it is helpfull to you guys. If any one knows a better way chime in. Constructive criticism welcomed.
