So my engine has been at VT for 4 weeks now and I'm really really anxious to get it back. I've been wanting to do this for a long time and I figured that since the engine is out, this is the best time.
For those who don't know what the big three upgrade is, it's is when you upgrade the following wires in your car:
1) Alternator to battery positive (or distribution box in our case)
2) Battery negative to engine ground
3) Engine to chassis ground
Moving on..
Who: Just me
What: Big 3 electrical upgrade on a 99-04 GT
When: Took me about 3 - 4 hours.
Where: My garage
Why: Since I installed a Clarion head unit and Infinity amp about 2 years ago I've had problems with very bad alternator whine. I've tried everything I can think of to make it stop. It's probably a bad ground somewhere, so this should hopefully fix it.
This will also help with headlight dimming and if you ever decide on a larger alternator, this is a mandatory upgrade. For example, PA performance will not warranty their high-amp alternators unless you have upgraded wiring.
The parts are all from http://www.knukonceptz.com/. Here is what I bought:
- 10ft Blue 1/0 gauge Kolossus cable
- 10ft Silver/Black 1/0 gauge Kolossus cable
- 16 ring terminals (8 red, 8 black)
- 1 1/0 gauge inline fuse with 150amp fuse
- 2 Battery terminals (1 pos and 1 neg)
Total bill was ~$150.
This is mostly a journal of some of the issues I ran into and will hopefully give you a glimpse into what is involved. This is not a "insert pole A into slot B" tutorial.
Now, on to the pictures!!
This is one of the first snags I ran into. As you can see, the ring terminal is much too large for the alternator post. Out comes the dremel!!
I'm rather proud with how this turned out. It fits perfectly and the notches on the side prevent the cable from moving at all.
Here you can see the difference between the dremelled ring terminal and the stock one. Even after cutting it down, there is still plenty of strength left in it.
The stock battery negative to engine is on the left. New cable is on the right.
Compared to a penny.
I decided to take a little different approach. Most people will tell you to add on to the existing wiring. I decided to replace the stock wiring completely. In this picture you can see the engine harness with the stock alternator to battery cable removed.
Removing the cable wasn't too hard. It just took a lot of patience to unwrap the harness and remove the wire. Then, I just used electrical tape to wrap it back up again. If you notice on the far right side of the harness there is a little green wire sticking out. This was crimped to the alternator cable and then bolted to the distribution block. I will have to remember to hook that back up.
The harness still look stock eh?
This compares the modified harness, the old alternator cable and the new one. I manages to salvage the original gray cap that goes over the post. I had to cut a slit down the side though.
The battery negative to engine uses the same harness as the starter that goes down to the front of the engine. The ground cable leaves the harness and goes to the driver side while the starter cable goes to the passenger side. I unwrapped that harness and pulled out the ground. Sorry, no picture for that.
Last, but definitely NOT least as I think this is what's giving me all my alternator noise. This is comparing the stock engine ground strap to the new 1/0 gauge cable. Notice that the ground strap is FLAT. I think the new cable *might* be better
The stock ground strap is on the top.. Tiny eh?
Unfortunately, it will be another few weeks until I get the engine back from VT, so no first impressions yet.
Anyways, that's it!! This was my first "mini-journal". I hope it helps someone, or at least provides entertainment.
Thanks!!
Riley
For those who don't know what the big three upgrade is, it's is when you upgrade the following wires in your car:
1) Alternator to battery positive (or distribution box in our case)
2) Battery negative to engine ground
3) Engine to chassis ground
Moving on..
Who: Just me
What: Big 3 electrical upgrade on a 99-04 GT
When: Took me about 3 - 4 hours.
Where: My garage
Why: Since I installed a Clarion head unit and Infinity amp about 2 years ago I've had problems with very bad alternator whine. I've tried everything I can think of to make it stop. It's probably a bad ground somewhere, so this should hopefully fix it.
This will also help with headlight dimming and if you ever decide on a larger alternator, this is a mandatory upgrade. For example, PA performance will not warranty their high-amp alternators unless you have upgraded wiring.
The parts are all from http://www.knukonceptz.com/. Here is what I bought:
- 10ft Blue 1/0 gauge Kolossus cable
- 10ft Silver/Black 1/0 gauge Kolossus cable
- 16 ring terminals (8 red, 8 black)
- 1 1/0 gauge inline fuse with 150amp fuse
- 2 Battery terminals (1 pos and 1 neg)
Total bill was ~$150.
This is mostly a journal of some of the issues I ran into and will hopefully give you a glimpse into what is involved. This is not a "insert pole A into slot B" tutorial.
Now, on to the pictures!!
This is one of the first snags I ran into. As you can see, the ring terminal is much too large for the alternator post. Out comes the dremel!!
I'm rather proud with how this turned out. It fits perfectly and the notches on the side prevent the cable from moving at all.
Here you can see the difference between the dremelled ring terminal and the stock one. Even after cutting it down, there is still plenty of strength left in it.
The stock battery negative to engine is on the left. New cable is on the right.
Compared to a penny.
I decided to take a little different approach. Most people will tell you to add on to the existing wiring. I decided to replace the stock wiring completely. In this picture you can see the engine harness with the stock alternator to battery cable removed.
Removing the cable wasn't too hard. It just took a lot of patience to unwrap the harness and remove the wire. Then, I just used electrical tape to wrap it back up again. If you notice on the far right side of the harness there is a little green wire sticking out. This was crimped to the alternator cable and then bolted to the distribution block. I will have to remember to hook that back up.
The harness still look stock eh?
This compares the modified harness, the old alternator cable and the new one. I manages to salvage the original gray cap that goes over the post. I had to cut a slit down the side though.
The battery negative to engine uses the same harness as the starter that goes down to the front of the engine. The ground cable leaves the harness and goes to the driver side while the starter cable goes to the passenger side. I unwrapped that harness and pulled out the ground. Sorry, no picture for that.
Last, but definitely NOT least as I think this is what's giving me all my alternator noise. This is comparing the stock engine ground strap to the new 1/0 gauge cable. Notice that the ground strap is FLAT. I think the new cable *might* be better
The stock ground strap is on the top.. Tiny eh?
Unfortunately, it will be another few weeks until I get the engine back from VT, so no first impressions yet.
Anyways, that's it!! This was my first "mini-journal". I hope it helps someone, or at least provides entertainment.
Thanks!!
Riley