everyone always talks about doing the big 3 upgrade
and ive been searching for like twenty mins and havent found out EXACTLY what it is haha

im sure this is a repost and ill get flamed for it but...my flamesuit is on
just for the record i DID atleast attempt to search it haha

also does anyone sell a bigger alt for the 97-03 trucks
its a v6 if that matters

 

Well, obviously we (Bartak, MSall, myself, and others) havent been clear enough on this issue because I have recieved 3-4 questions in the past few days.

The big 3 is an important electrical upgrade, this will allow maximum power to flow SAFELY and without exceeding the current levels each ga can handle.

1/3:

Objective: Upgrade the ground from the frame to the battery.

1. Pick up 3-5 ft of wire (A good rule of thumb, is use the same size wire as your power wire.)
2. Attach ring terminals on either side. (If you can fully solder the terminal, DO IT!!!)
3. Attach one ring to negative Battery post
4. Find a SOLID ground, and either screw other ring into the frame with 2 screws (one to hold, second to lock) and star washers, OR use the existing ground point.
5. LOOM WIRE!

2/3:

Objective: Upgrade the ground from the engine to the frame.

1. Pick up 3-5 ft of wire. (Use the same rule of thumb as 1/3)
2. Attach ring terminals on either side. (Again, solder if possible)
3. Find a solid attachment point on the engine.
4. Ground to frame using same steps as 1/3 (if you can use the same spot as 1/3, DO IT)
5. LOOM WIRE!

3/3:

Objective: Upgrade the Power wire from Alternator to Battery +

1. Pick up 4-6 ft of wire. (Same rule of thumb applies)
2. Pick up 2 ANL fuse holders with 300A fuses
3. Attach ring terminals to either side of the wire. (Again, solder if possible)
4. Wire ANL fuseblocks between 3-10" of the ring terminals
5. Attach wire to alternator positive terminal
6. Attach wire to Positive battery terminal.
7. LOOM WIRE!!! (It is most important here to do so.)

If anyone has GOOD pictures of this done, PM me and they will be added to help others out.
I also do not advise on removing the factory wires. But that is at your discretion.

 

thank you low

i appreciate your time

i know this has been talked about alot on this site but for the life of me i havent found a specific thread haha

hopefully this one will come up on the search now

thanks again

 

Ok talk to me like im an idiot (easy to do ask azmidget).

What is the purpose of benefit of this, and if you dont recommend removing the factory wires, then this is in succession of factory correct?

 

Alomar look at the wires like they are water hoses. The factory cables will only allow so much flow through them. So we need to replace them with something bigger to allow more flow through which any descent size stereo system will require.

If you're going to do this upgrade get some high end cable. I recommend Knukonceptz.com all the way around for RCA, speaker wire, power cable, connectors...ect ect. Awesome products and great prices.

Soldiering 1/0 gauge cable takes a pretty heafty soldier iron, actually you'll need a soldering gun to do this.

Mcmaster.com is a good supplier of the loom and larger heatshrink sizes you'll need.

I don't do the double screw method on ground points, it reduces contact area so I see that as counter effective and just use a existing frame holes shined up and bolts with lock washers to make grounds.

Instead of using rings on the battery side, get some high quality battery terminal connections. The Knu Konfused compressions terminals are the best. I only have 1 ring terminal and that's on the alternator the rest is konfused type connections.

just my 2 cents

 

i have a 200 amp alternator that idles at 100amps from www.motorcityreman.com you need to upgrade the wire that runs through it with a zero/1 gage wire.

the stock amp is a 95amp alt that idles around 50 to 55.

 

Holy chit, how long have you had that alt. 02Layin, and how do you like it.

200 bucks for a 200 amp alternator...not bad.

I know off the 97-03 police packaged F150s and Expys, they used a stock Ford 220 amp alt. I have yet to find out if they will work on the 04+ truck though.

Low, nice little write up

 

I will be doing the big 3 on my truck next week. I'll take some pictures.

 

layinthem24s hows your experiance with that alt been?
did you notice a significant difference when you got it?

and msall ill be awaiting pics

thanks for all the input guys

 

i noticed some change but not as much as i expected. still i guess it was worth the money for 200 amps. i still want to get a 2nd battery since im runnin big *** compressors and a mean *** stereo. the alternator its a straight swap, easy to install but i had a stereo shop do it for me since i dont touch nothing electrical in my truck, i let a pro do it. im only good with painting and body work. hehe.

 

cool.
thanks alot thats exactly what i was wanting to know

im sure it gives you good peice of mind knowing that you HAVE enough amps for almost anything you wanna do haha

 

Ah thank you for the explanation!

 

Surprisingly its not, Electrical and plumbing are almost identical. Except water will choke at the smallest point. Electricity wont, however it will add a slight bit of resistance (that slight amount is negligible). Electricity will take the total R of the run, not the smallest part. (Its not making sense how I am saying it, but just know its not.... )

And a soldering gun will not work to do the 1/0. You must use a butane torch. I have burnt a few guns out trying to solder 1/0, it just needs too much power and current. http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brand...c=037103212290
The trick to using this to solder is to use the flame at the tip of the ring terminal. If you start to see the insulation burn, release the heat. The other part is regardless, KEEP FEEDING SOLDER!!!! until it wicks through. Solder will come out the other end.

 

yea I was going to say use a torch but that's a bit much for most people. Have you seen the new compression terminals KNU is making now? Solves that problem except at the ring terminals and I'm sure they are working on a product to cover that. Heck I'm going to email them to suggest it.

Using plumbing is just a laymans explanation. What happens when you choke electricity is smoke and fire because you just make that wire into a light bulb filament!

 

Ok, Id really love to see you turn 1/0 into a lightbulb... But now you are talking a bit overkill. Of course one single strand of 32-40ga tungsten wire with 60W will light up. But 2 screws of carbon steel arent going to do that even with 200A.