Great White
04-29-2008, 12:25 PM
(1st installment)
So, you want a big stereo, eh?
You go through the whole install, spend mucho bucks on a high dollar system and now your lights are dimming like a German disco at night when you turn it up, eh?
Forget about capacitors and high output alternators, your stock alt probably has enough power to run that puppy. You just need to access it's full potential.
You need to do the "BIG THREE" upgrade.
What we are going to do is "double up" what the factory has already done. You will run an extra alternator positive to battery wire, an extra alt to ground wire and an extra battery neg to ground wire.
Yeah I know, cool. But what does this mean to me? Well, the alternator is rated at 130 amps for my 04 special (not sure about other M models, but I think it's around 90 amps or so), so if your wire is rated for "x" amps you can probably see the "bottleneck" in current flow already. By adding a second 4 guage (or what ever you choose) you are allowing more of the available current to be used. Keep in mind that with current, the alternator is only going to produce what the system demands. That's why the OE's can get away with running an AWG less than the alt rating, you seldom have everything turned on at once, and even then, they know the battery will provide sufficient reserve to get past the idleing at the lights in the rain problems. It's a bit more complicated than that, but this will suffice for this write up.
Don't worry about the links/fuses not protecting your vehicle due to the upgraded capacity. Both fuseable links/fuses will blow in the new system in a short to ground situation as that big ol' 400-600CCA battery will make short work of them.
Also remember:
When selecting your fuse, fuse it for the wire gauge, not the load.
You will need:
Stuff:
Wire (duh), whatever gauge you choose ( I recommend no smaller than 4-8 guage as it is a waste of time for this procedure otherwise)
"Soldier on" eye end terminals
Soldier and flux (make sure you use rosin core, not acid core or your copper will quickly corrode and increase the resistance. Not what we want)
Quality battery cable terminals (I used some Ti stereo aftermarket ones, don't go cheap here!)
Dielectric grease (or spark plug silicone if you prefer)
Mega fuse and holder
Wire ties
Wire loom
Shrink wrap (get the good double walled stuff. It stays nice and water tight)
Tools:
Side cutters
Wire strippers
Soldiering torch (and iron isn’t going to cut the mustard on 4 gauge wire)
Wire brush/Battery terminal cleaner tool
Screwdriver, common
Wrenches and general automotive tools.
Lots of rags and have a fire extinguisher handy, just in case……………..
Standard procedures:
Any time you take apart an electrical connection, anywhere, use your wire brush and clean things up nicely. Use a dab of the dielectric grease to protect this clean surface from corrosion when you assemble your connections. Corrosion is the enemy here gents. It raises the resistance as it patina’s the copper and corrodes the steel; this is what we are trying to avoid in the first place. Remember, we want more continuity here, not less.
Wire lugs should be soldiered on for proper continuity, corrosion resistance and strength. Crimping and soldiering is prefered.
And as always, disconnect the neg terminal first when working with the electrical system.
Now, let’s get in there:
Remove the air cleaner, the air box and associated tubing. It all just "more or less" pulls out of the car except for the gear clamp on the air hose to the throttle body adapter box.
You're left looking at this:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-010.jpg
What we need to do is disconnect the battery. I pulled the neg cable off the post on the fender first for safety's sake.
Remove the Pos cable clamp from the battery and cut the heavy pos wire and the fusible link off the factory clamp:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture012.jpg
No turning back now! Before you cut the lines, make sure you get a clamp with enough connections for Four wires of the proper gauge.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-023.jpg
Take your new battery post terminal and connect these two wires to it:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-011.jpg
Now you want to run a second line from the alt pos terminal to the battery pos terminal. Soldier a nice lug on the end of your power wire and connect it to the pos terminal of the alt. Use a split wire loom to protect the wire's insulation from abrading on the engine's metal parts. Also, try to get as much seperation from teh cam sensor as possible if you route it this way. Mine was laying up against the sensor originally and the cam sensor failed one day later. Coincedence? Maybe, but better safe then sorry considering the magnetic feild that can be induced by a conductor and the consideration that the cam sensor is a magnetic pick up. Your choice.....
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-032.jpg
Now route your wire nice and neatly to near the battery pos post while avoiding sharp edges and hot surfaces. Use wire ties and wire loom as required. Run your wire to the mega fuse holder and position it as close to the battery pos terminal as possible. You can use fuseable link of appropriate size if you wish, I just prefer the ease of replacement a fuse offeres. I found a nice spot close, accessible and out of the way:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-052.jpg
Put a nice soldiered on terminal lug here and a dab of dielectric where you screw it together. Do the same on the other leg of the holder and now to the pos bat terminal. I fill the hole with dielectric (keeps the wires form corroding) since these are “clamp down” style cable holders.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-052.jpg
DO NOT OMIT THE FUSE AND MAKE IT AS CLOSE TO THE BATTERY AS POSSIBLE! THIS IS YOUR PROTECTION AGAINST AN UNDERHOOD ELECTICAL FIRE! OMIT THE FUSE AT YOUR OWN PERIL!!!!!
Now, you may notice the fourth 4 gauge wire on my pos bat terminal:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-013.jpg
This is the supply to the trunk to power the amps, carputer, etc. Same procedures apply here for making proper connections and fuse it as close to the battery as possible.
Now that we have the pos power side of things sorted out, let’s address the ground path.
The vehicle (like pretty much al NA manufactured vehicles) is a neg ground chassis. Which means, the chassis itself is the neg ground path back to the battery. The alternator uses this path by grounding out through its mount, through the block and to the chassis ultimately back to battery neg.
What we will be doing is reducing the resistance in the neg path from the alternator to the chassis ground. You can either do this at the alternator itself or you can address the biggest problem, the engine neg ground straps.
Take a nice piece of 4 gauge and measure how much you need to go from and engine ground to a chassis ground. Keep in mind, you have to leave enough slack for the engine to move around slightly while still not allowing the wire to be cut or fall on a heat source. While it’s mot so critical since it’s the ground path (insofar as electrical shorts are concerned) the wire insulation can catch fire. Also, if it’s not neat, it’s not professional.
And we do want to be professional about this, right?
Here’s a pick of mine:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-029.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-031.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-030.jpg
I used a little wire loom and some creative routing to ensure it wouldn’t “bind up”.
The rest of the installation is completed, I'll post the conclusion when I get a few free moments. I just got back off a 5 day flood evacuation mission and I'm pretty tired. Please excuse spelling and grammar errors asI'm so tired my eyes aren't even pointing in the same direction yet! :wacko:
Completion:
Now, lets address the negative terminal.
If you've gotten this far, the neg is relatively simple.
Cut the stock battery terminal off the factory wire:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture012.jpg
(shouldn't be as scary anymore!)
connect it to your nice new terminal:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-023.jpg
Now connect your new neg wire to the new battery terminal using the same methods for the pos terminal:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-040.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-039.jpg
route it neatly along the engine bay, avoiding sharp edges, moving components, etc:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-044.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-047.jpg
Now we need to terminate it at the strut tower. You need to notch the plastic cover on the stock neg cable wire where it connects to the strut tower for the second wire:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-046.jpg
Now it's a simple matter of bolting it all back together. Start with the positive terminal on the battery, then the neg terminal at the battery, and finally the neg cable at the strut tower. Remember to use that good ol' dielectric grease to help stave off corrosion.
Whe you're done, it s ould nearly invisable to casual observer:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-015.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-017.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-016.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-014.jpg
Just the way I like it!
Now, if you want it to be "flashy", just use some contrasting color split loom or wire, chuck in a power meter somewhere and call it done.
Cheers
So, you want a big stereo, eh?
You go through the whole install, spend mucho bucks on a high dollar system and now your lights are dimming like a German disco at night when you turn it up, eh?
Forget about capacitors and high output alternators, your stock alt probably has enough power to run that puppy. You just need to access it's full potential.
You need to do the "BIG THREE" upgrade.
What we are going to do is "double up" what the factory has already done. You will run an extra alternator positive to battery wire, an extra alt to ground wire and an extra battery neg to ground wire.
Yeah I know, cool. But what does this mean to me? Well, the alternator is rated at 130 amps for my 04 special (not sure about other M models, but I think it's around 90 amps or so), so if your wire is rated for "x" amps you can probably see the "bottleneck" in current flow already. By adding a second 4 guage (or what ever you choose) you are allowing more of the available current to be used. Keep in mind that with current, the alternator is only going to produce what the system demands. That's why the OE's can get away with running an AWG less than the alt rating, you seldom have everything turned on at once, and even then, they know the battery will provide sufficient reserve to get past the idleing at the lights in the rain problems. It's a bit more complicated than that, but this will suffice for this write up.
Don't worry about the links/fuses not protecting your vehicle due to the upgraded capacity. Both fuseable links/fuses will blow in the new system in a short to ground situation as that big ol' 400-600CCA battery will make short work of them.
Also remember:
When selecting your fuse, fuse it for the wire gauge, not the load.
You will need:
Stuff:
Wire (duh), whatever gauge you choose ( I recommend no smaller than 4-8 guage as it is a waste of time for this procedure otherwise)
"Soldier on" eye end terminals
Soldier and flux (make sure you use rosin core, not acid core or your copper will quickly corrode and increase the resistance. Not what we want)
Quality battery cable terminals (I used some Ti stereo aftermarket ones, don't go cheap here!)
Dielectric grease (or spark plug silicone if you prefer)
Mega fuse and holder
Wire ties
Wire loom
Shrink wrap (get the good double walled stuff. It stays nice and water tight)
Tools:
Side cutters
Wire strippers
Soldiering torch (and iron isn’t going to cut the mustard on 4 gauge wire)
Wire brush/Battery terminal cleaner tool
Screwdriver, common
Wrenches and general automotive tools.
Lots of rags and have a fire extinguisher handy, just in case……………..
Standard procedures:
Any time you take apart an electrical connection, anywhere, use your wire brush and clean things up nicely. Use a dab of the dielectric grease to protect this clean surface from corrosion when you assemble your connections. Corrosion is the enemy here gents. It raises the resistance as it patina’s the copper and corrodes the steel; this is what we are trying to avoid in the first place. Remember, we want more continuity here, not less.
Wire lugs should be soldiered on for proper continuity, corrosion resistance and strength. Crimping and soldiering is prefered.
And as always, disconnect the neg terminal first when working with the electrical system.
Now, let’s get in there:
Remove the air cleaner, the air box and associated tubing. It all just "more or less" pulls out of the car except for the gear clamp on the air hose to the throttle body adapter box.
You're left looking at this:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-010.jpg
What we need to do is disconnect the battery. I pulled the neg cable off the post on the fender first for safety's sake.
Remove the Pos cable clamp from the battery and cut the heavy pos wire and the fusible link off the factory clamp:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture012.jpg
No turning back now! Before you cut the lines, make sure you get a clamp with enough connections for Four wires of the proper gauge.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-023.jpg
Take your new battery post terminal and connect these two wires to it:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-011.jpg
Now you want to run a second line from the alt pos terminal to the battery pos terminal. Soldier a nice lug on the end of your power wire and connect it to the pos terminal of the alt. Use a split wire loom to protect the wire's insulation from abrading on the engine's metal parts. Also, try to get as much seperation from teh cam sensor as possible if you route it this way. Mine was laying up against the sensor originally and the cam sensor failed one day later. Coincedence? Maybe, but better safe then sorry considering the magnetic feild that can be induced by a conductor and the consideration that the cam sensor is a magnetic pick up. Your choice.....
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-032.jpg
Now route your wire nice and neatly to near the battery pos post while avoiding sharp edges and hot surfaces. Use wire ties and wire loom as required. Run your wire to the mega fuse holder and position it as close to the battery pos terminal as possible. You can use fuseable link of appropriate size if you wish, I just prefer the ease of replacement a fuse offeres. I found a nice spot close, accessible and out of the way:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-052.jpg
Put a nice soldiered on terminal lug here and a dab of dielectric where you screw it together. Do the same on the other leg of the holder and now to the pos bat terminal. I fill the hole with dielectric (keeps the wires form corroding) since these are “clamp down” style cable holders.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-052.jpg
DO NOT OMIT THE FUSE AND MAKE IT AS CLOSE TO THE BATTERY AS POSSIBLE! THIS IS YOUR PROTECTION AGAINST AN UNDERHOOD ELECTICAL FIRE! OMIT THE FUSE AT YOUR OWN PERIL!!!!!
Now, you may notice the fourth 4 gauge wire on my pos bat terminal:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-013.jpg
This is the supply to the trunk to power the amps, carputer, etc. Same procedures apply here for making proper connections and fuse it as close to the battery as possible.
Now that we have the pos power side of things sorted out, let’s address the ground path.
The vehicle (like pretty much al NA manufactured vehicles) is a neg ground chassis. Which means, the chassis itself is the neg ground path back to the battery. The alternator uses this path by grounding out through its mount, through the block and to the chassis ultimately back to battery neg.
What we will be doing is reducing the resistance in the neg path from the alternator to the chassis ground. You can either do this at the alternator itself or you can address the biggest problem, the engine neg ground straps.
Take a nice piece of 4 gauge and measure how much you need to go from and engine ground to a chassis ground. Keep in mind, you have to leave enough slack for the engine to move around slightly while still not allowing the wire to be cut or fall on a heat source. While it’s mot so critical since it’s the ground path (insofar as electrical shorts are concerned) the wire insulation can catch fire. Also, if it’s not neat, it’s not professional.
And we do want to be professional about this, right?
Here’s a pick of mine:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-029.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-031.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-030.jpg
I used a little wire loom and some creative routing to ensure it wouldn’t “bind up”.
The rest of the installation is completed, I'll post the conclusion when I get a few free moments. I just got back off a 5 day flood evacuation mission and I'm pretty tired. Please excuse spelling and grammar errors asI'm so tired my eyes aren't even pointing in the same direction yet! :wacko:
Completion:
Now, lets address the negative terminal.
If you've gotten this far, the neg is relatively simple.
Cut the stock battery terminal off the factory wire:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture012.jpg
(shouldn't be as scary anymore!)
connect it to your nice new terminal:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-023.jpg
Now connect your new neg wire to the new battery terminal using the same methods for the pos terminal:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-040.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-039.jpg
route it neatly along the engine bay, avoiding sharp edges, moving components, etc:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-044.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-047.jpg
Now we need to terminate it at the strut tower. You need to notch the plastic cover on the stock neg cable wire where it connects to the strut tower for the second wire:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-046.jpg
Now it's a simple matter of bolting it all back together. Start with the positive terminal on the battery, then the neg terminal at the battery, and finally the neg cable at the strut tower. Remember to use that good ol' dielectric grease to help stave off corrosion.
Whe you're done, it s ould nearly invisable to casual observer:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-015.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-017.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-016.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/300M%20speciala/big%20three/Picture-014.jpg
Just the way I like it!
Now, if you want it to be "flashy", just use some contrasting color split loom or wire, chuck in a power meter somewhere and call it done.
Cheers