Big 3 Upgrade
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta Ga
Big 3 Upgrade Hey guys i just finished my Big 3, (Alternator to battery, Chassis ground, Engine Ground) i decide on 1/0 AWG. Let me say that ive done this before on my previous car Caddy Eldorado w/NorthStar, i did notice and increase in voltage and voltage stability but not really to much in the performance area of that car. With that being said i swear i may have just given this car a burst of energy by doing this upgrade. The car just seems much more responsive. When going into reverse i would always have to wait for the tranny to engage before pressing the gas (3 to 5 secs) but now it is almost immediate engagement. While driving it really does seem more responsive. At first i thought it was just in my mind but after driving for a couple of days im convinced that this upgrade has given my car a new breath of fresh air and im glade i did it. Ill try to post pictures if any one wants to see the way i ran my wires or what not...
The good thing with these cars is that the ECM controls the alternator..this allows it to reduce voltage, turn it on/off under certain circumstances, which reduces the load on the alternator and therefore less HP used to converter to electrical energy. Most will do this under different electrical/vehicle loading scenarios.
So to understand why you may have seen gains, if you are maintaining a higher battery voltage due to the increased wire guage, or just new runs of wire then you probably just made the system more efficient and have more horsepower available more often, even if it's only a 1-2HP.
Fairly certain if you have a bad or low battery that only partially charges to X volts, when it should charge to Y volts, the ECM isn't smart enough to know that the new top off charge is now lower. So it will continuosly hold the alternator at a higher load expecting the battery voltage to increase. This means those with junk batteries may experience performance benefits by 1. getting a new battery, 2. Improve the wiring, 3. Replace the alternator if it is not functioning correctly.
Just my theory, pretty sure it's at least 75% correct
So to understand why you may have seen gains, if you are maintaining a higher battery voltage due to the increased wire guage, or just new runs of wire then you probably just made the system more efficient and have more horsepower available more often, even if it's only a 1-2HP.
Fairly certain if you have a bad or low battery that only partially charges to X volts, when it should charge to Y volts, the ECM isn't smart enough to know that the new top off charge is now lower. So it will continuosly hold the alternator at a higher load expecting the battery voltage to increase. This means those with junk batteries may experience performance benefits by 1. getting a new battery, 2. Improve the wiring, 3. Replace the alternator if it is not functioning correctly.
Just my theory, pretty sure it's at least 75% correct
Last edited by redlightrampage; Feb 9, 2012 at 09:38 AM.
What is the rectifier being used for?
They don't make power, they actually use power to converter from AC-DC or DC-AC, DC-DC, which will come from your battery. They are usually at best 85% efficient. If you are running short on AC it's because you don't have enough DC to produce the amount you need.
If you truly need more power I would recommend you get a 2nd battery and use it specifically for those accessories, or get a battery with a bigger capacity. In the end a bigger power source is key, even amplifiers only really manipulate power, they can't output more than what is going into it.
Let me know your situation and I might be able to help.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta Ga
@neilownz i thought about fusing it but i didnt..ive read and researced that topic. But that was my own judgment call. On my caddy i had it fused and it never blew for any reason and could give u a million for why it should have. Oh and yea i just ran additional wires w/factory....ill post pics when i get home tonight...
Trending Topics
Very cool.
I Just finished getting the new ALT 140 amp, Gold plated bat terminals, 1/0 wire and a couple ring terminals.
- Currently experiencing crappy idle, low power, but just completed FULL tune up. so if im going to be cleaning grounds, im going to put in some thicker wire So i can be ready for some JL Audio amp
I Just finished getting the new ALT 140 amp, Gold plated bat terminals, 1/0 wire and a couple ring terminals.
- Currently experiencing crappy idle, low power, but just completed FULL tune up. so if im going to be cleaning grounds, im going to put in some thicker wire So i can be ready for some JL Audio amp
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta Ga
Pics of big 3 Okay here are the pics...i ran out of wire loom so i didnt wrap the wires at the battery in it.
The Body/Frame ground was cut out in this pic, but it is a wire about 5 in. long going to the same place a the factory ground. In the pic its the wire on the left side coming out of the dual ring terminal.
Alternator Power wire (non-fused)
Engine ground running along the front support
Engine ground
I tell you this gave new life to the engine and tranny....A must.....
The Body/Frame ground was cut out in this pic, but it is a wire about 5 in. long going to the same place a the factory ground. In the pic its the wire on the left side coming out of the dual ring terminal.
Alternator Power wire (non-fused)
Engine ground running along the front support
Engine ground
I tell you this gave new life to the engine and tranny....A must.....
bringin this back from the dead...does anybody know where the alternator power wire goes to? in my experience i always thought u take off the wire from the alternator and re route directly from the alternator to the fuse box. thats how i had it in my 97
TECH Fanatic
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,769
Likes: 0
From: Fargo, ND
There is probably a fusible link from the alt to power.
Just add a second fused wire. Fuse it to the wire gauge not the alt output or whatever. The fuse is so the wire won't burn up.
http://www.knukonceptz.com/assets/pdf/PowerWireSpec.pdf
Something like that. 200amp for 1/0awg, 150amp for 1awg, 140amp for 2awg, 125 for 4awg etc.
It really shouldn't get to 200amp with our stock alternator, but if the fuse blows figure out why and just don't put a bigger one in.
Just add a second fused wire. Fuse it to the wire gauge not the alt output or whatever. The fuse is so the wire won't burn up.
http://www.knukonceptz.com/assets/pdf/PowerWireSpec.pdf
Something like that. 200amp for 1/0awg, 150amp for 1awg, 140amp for 2awg, 125 for 4awg etc.
It really shouldn't get to 200amp with our stock alternator, but if the fuse blows figure out why and just don't put a bigger one in.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta Ga
as long as it 0 AWG, shouldnt make a difference...only thing is that "residential" wiring might not be as flexible in that thick of a wire as it would be in high strand, similar to the stuff used to install car audio....
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta Ga
u can do it that way, but the best way is to go straight from the alt. to the battery..by going to the fuse box you dont get the full current flow, b/c the wire at that connects from the fuse box to the batt. uses a thinner wire (8 awg), which will still flow a low current...keep the factory wiring, and cut the proper length of ur wire that will need to reach from the alt to the battery....U can fuse the wire if u want, this has been up for debate all over the net.. i had mine fused in my last car (93 Eldorado Northstar)...really saw no real benefit for it safety maybe, but i decide not to this time...
Id still like to know where the hell the power for the alternator goes cause to me a Alt rewire is disconnecting the factory wire and wiring straight from Alt to fuse box on a side note Atlterrel what part u from?
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta Ga
the factory wiring goes from the alt to the fuse box, and from the fuse box to the positive batt. terminal.......leave the factory wiring as is. u want to go from the alt. to the positve batt. terminal. if u look at my second pic. i have the factory wire still connect and the other wire that goes along the fire wall goes straight to the batt........oh and i cant really say i from a certain part grew up all over, Adamsville, East Point, Decatur, Lithonia, went to high school in Stn/Mountain reside in Jonesboro...
