I haven't found this documented anywhere, but did it this past weekend and thought I'd share the story and some pictures.

This is my "Big 3" upgrade on my 2014 Ecoboost. I haven't run power to the amp yet (since there is no amp).

What makes this "upgrade" particularly daunting is having to remove some of the air intake ducting to get to the alternator, so I took some pictures for this specifically to help people out. The pictures were taken in reverse order as everything was going back together, so pleace excuse the lack of detailed teardown photos.

As always, enter at your own risk.

It's not a terribly difficult job, maybe a 4 out of 10... but just requires you to take special notice of what you're detaching so you re-attach it later.

For the record, I used KnuKonceptz Kolossus Flex 1/0 with Knu's 1/0 ring terminals and a hydraulic crimper. The wire is easy to work with, is tinned OFC, and honestly looks pretty nice. The ring terminals were also tinned copper. For the fuse holder and fuse, I just used some Stinger Electronics stuff I had laying around. I used about 10' of power and 5' of ground for this install and 8 terminals (for those wanting to build a shopping list). I was able to connect the ring terminals to the factory battery terminals without a problem.

First, some pictures of the finished job.


The two factory grounding points were used after sanding away the base paint. One is on the firewall, the other on the side wall behind the windshield washer fluid reservoir.


Grounding to the frame was (and still is) an option. Since I only plan to run approx. 1600 watts total, I don't think I need to go to that level, but never know what the future may bring.


Red and Black wire was chosen to match the truck (even though it seems soooo "standard"). I have a black FX4 w/ the Tremor package and Red badges/trim.


Could have potentially left a little more slack than I did to get to the dip stick easier, but it is accessible.

Keep in mind there are a ton of theories/opinions about the use of deep cycle batteries and high-powered alternators. I technically shouldn't need either for my install, but I will probably end up with a deep cycle when I replace the battery. So please, no "advice" on either of these -- they are both options in the future if needed, but I doubt they will be.


And now for some details specific to the Ecoboost some may be interested in (I hope). The process of taking out and re-installing the intake tubing is not technically difficult, it just may be daunting to some at first. I felt it could be a bit daunting, hence the reason I'm post these pictures.

The first step is removing the top of the air intake box and "Y" tubing that splits the intake between the two turbos (circled in yellow). There are 3 host clamps that need to be released to do this, and the MAF needs to be removed from the intake tube.



After the Y-pipe is removed, you're going to be looking to disconnect the two tubes going to and from the turbo on the driver's side (near the firewall). These are also attached with hose clamps, and the best way to get to them is to remove the driver's side front tire.




The flap just above the upper A-arm needs to be pulled back to expose the host clamps on the turbo.



Remove the plastic retaining rivet and pull the flap back.



After the flat is pulled back, you should be able to see the

Once the hose clamps are loose from the turbos, you can search the tubing for additional attachments.


air intake hose attachments to the turbo. Air tube numbers will correspond to those in the next picture.

The air tubes are held in place with a rubber grommet that each tube is pressure fitted into. Once the hoses are detached, you should be able to lift straight up on each tube to dislodge them. In the picture below of the exposed alternator, you can see one of these rubber grommets sitting on top of the alternator (for tube #1). The other one (for tube #2) is just above it.

Essentially what you are attempting to do here is to "dislodge" tube #2 and slightly move it out of place in order to get tube #1 out of the truck. Tube #1 is what is really blocking your access to the alternator.



The alternator is exposed at this point enough to access both the postive and grounding points as you can see in the below picture. In order to get the positive terminal to fit, I had to cut away at it on the dremel tool so the protective cover would fit over both the new and factory wires.

The ground is attached to the front of the alternator, where the alternator mounts to the engine.



Overall, it took me about 2 hours to figure out how to get everything detached, and less than one hour to put it back together. Just remember to reconnect all your hoses and MAF sensor harness while putting it back together, and you won't have any problems. The installation of the wires took about 3 hours with the help of a friend.