Like the title says how important is it to get this done? Got my truck back a few hours ago and amidst the excitement didn't realize that these didn't get done. The system sounds great and loud just dont want to hurt anything without these being done. Can I just use it like this?
How important is the "big three"?
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AWD EXPY
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I'm lost. What is the big three?
Thermo
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3expyMG, the effect that "the big 3" will have on your truck is dependent on how much power you are pulling. If you simply upgraded your alternator from the stock 95 amp unit to say a 150 amp unit, doing the big 3 is going to be very minimal. You upgrade to say a 250 amp unit and you are maxing that out, doing this upgrade is going to have a very big impact on your truck. Without additional information, it is hard to say what you may gain. Please keep in mind that with the big 3, you should also do a 4th wire which is the alternator to starting solenoid wire. It may be great that you can get the power back to the battery, but if you are choking it down from the alternator to the distribution system, you are going to have the same issues (granted, not quite as bad as if you had done nothing).
What types of issues will I have?? I'm running zx1500.1 and 650.4, 2 l7 12's, 12 inch flipdown, and pioneer z140bh head unit, and viper alarm with smart start, hid's, I think that's everything. All bulbs are now LEDs and have relays. Thanks thermo. Oh and I'm running high output alternator. No dimming of the lights at all with bass all the way up. I love it.
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Thermo
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03ExpyMG, for you, I would say doing this mod is going to be important. The stereo system alone can be pulling upwards of 200 amps. So, you start adding in other truck loads and you are going to have your alternator maxed out. So, upgrading the wiring all the way around is going to be good and should net you even more volume (due to the amplifiers not having to work as hard and being able to maintain its internal voltage higher).
It is nice that the shop upgraded the wire from the body to the battery, but keep in mind that the alternator is the source of power, so, the current has to return all the way to the alternator. So, upgrading battery to block and body to block will minimize any voltage loss there. Just to put this into perspective, even if the wiring added in 0.01 ohms of resistance (all wiring has some amount of resistance), with your stereo cranked up, you are dropping potentially 2 volts in just your wiring (assuming all other wiring was perfect). So, instead of your amp getting 14 VDC, it is only getting 12 VDC. This is where the difference between ok wiring and higher end wiring can start making a difference.
If you need to start knowing more about wiring, let me know. I will do what I can to explain things to you.
It is nice that the shop upgraded the wire from the body to the battery, but keep in mind that the alternator is the source of power, so, the current has to return all the way to the alternator. So, upgrading battery to block and body to block will minimize any voltage loss there. Just to put this into perspective, even if the wiring added in 0.01 ohms of resistance (all wiring has some amount of resistance), with your stereo cranked up, you are dropping potentially 2 volts in just your wiring (assuming all other wiring was perfect). So, instead of your amp getting 14 VDC, it is only getting 12 VDC. This is where the difference between ok wiring and higher end wiring can start making a difference.
If you need to start knowing more about wiring, let me know. I will do what I can to explain things to you.
Thermo could you possibly show me under the hood where the cables are located so I can just do it myself?? Also they upgraded the one cable to 4 awg instead of 0 cuz the battery terminals I bought only hold one 0awg and 3 4awg openings. Is that ok??
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Thermo
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03ExpyMG, I am not familiar with the 03 and newer trucks, so, you will need to work with me a little bit here. First off, go to the negative battery terminal. You should see 2 wires coming off of that. One will run to the body of the truck, the other should run to the motor block. Both of these should be 0 gauge wire. The other ground wire should be mounted near the top of the fire wall and run from the firewall to the top of the motor. Upgrading this to 0 gauge would help too.
The final wire that needs upgrading is the large wire coming off the back of the alternator and running over to the starting solenoid. This wire should be 0 gauge also.
When making these wires, what I would tell you to do is to strip back about a 1/2" to 1" of the insulation and then stick the end of the wire into the lug. You want about an 1/8" or so of spacing between the lug and the insulation on the wiring. Before crimping it, slide some heat shrink (about 2-3" of it) over the wiring and slide it about 18" away. Using a pair of channel locks, crimp the lug on to the wire. Now, using a propane torch, heat the lug up some so you can apply some solder to the wire. You are wanting to fill the spaces in the lug and get just a little bit of solder flowing out the top of the lug. Then once the lug cools, slide the heat shrink down over the lug some to cover the area that you crimped and then shrink the tubing down around the lug (want to seal the gap between the lug and the insulation). Repeat this for each lug.
The final wire that needs upgrading is the large wire coming off the back of the alternator and running over to the starting solenoid. This wire should be 0 gauge also.
When making these wires, what I would tell you to do is to strip back about a 1/2" to 1" of the insulation and then stick the end of the wire into the lug. You want about an 1/8" or so of spacing between the lug and the insulation on the wiring. Before crimping it, slide some heat shrink (about 2-3" of it) over the wiring and slide it about 18" away. Using a pair of channel locks, crimp the lug on to the wire. Now, using a propane torch, heat the lug up some so you can apply some solder to the wire. You are wanting to fill the spaces in the lug and get just a little bit of solder flowing out the top of the lug. Then once the lug cools, slide the heat shrink down over the lug some to cover the area that you crimped and then shrink the tubing down around the lug (want to seal the gap between the lug and the insulation). Repeat this for each lug.
rburch
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As Thermo stated its very important for guys running over 1000 watt amps because it lowers the strain on the electrical system and us stereo guys do it because if you read the specs or build sheet of the amp it will say tested and/or max power rating @ x ohms @ 14.6v. The big three help get the most power to the amps with less resistance.
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