The "Big 3" is an easy mod to your automotive’s electrical system that may help it maintain larger voltages for more power hungry amplifiers. If you’ve got ever measured your voltage drop when enjoying music with the quantity to the max together with your engine running, you’ll see that instead of reading 14.4v or 13.8 (depending on automobile), your voltmeter will learn 13v, 12v, or even decrease! You can easily inform if you are experiencing these voltage drops by watching your headlights. In the event that they dim whereas enjoying your system, you most definitely have voltage drop happening. This voltage drop could doubtlessly trigger harm to your amp if it is important enough. I had a Treo SSX 1500.1 blow as a result of I used to be letting my voltage drop to about 9-10v, which the amp did not like very a lot.

What causes this drawback are the stock, small gauge wires used to attach various electrical elements. The stock wire is usually 8 gauge, which is ample sufficient for roughly 50 amps. Giant amplifiers can pull up and over 200-300amps, so now you see the issue.

When doing this mod, 3 runs of wire will should be put in. They’re:

1. Battery positive (+) to alternator – From the constructive terminal in your battery to the alternator optimistic (+) put up2. Engine block to chassis ground – From engine block to chasis. That is to strengthen the bottom.3. Battery ground (-) to chassis ground – From the detrimental terminal in your battery to your car’s chassis.

I recommend using 1/zero gauge wire. You can use 4 gauge wire if that is all you could have laying around, but you might as nicely use 1/zero the primary time so you will not have to go back when you determine to upgrade your system later on down the road. The wire I used was Knu Konceptz 1/zero Kollosus Kable Additionally, you will need 1/0 ring terminals to terminate the ends of the wire.

Earlier than you do something, be sure to be secure. Disconnect the wire from the unfavourable terminal of your battery before you begin. This makes an incomplete circuit and keeps you protected from sustaining electrical injuries.

First, measure a size of wire to go out of your battery positive (+) terminal to your alternator. Be certain that to leave a bit of little bit of slack, round 6 inches, so you can place the cable freely. Terminate the ends of the cable with ring terminals, then connect the wire from battery positive (+) terminal to your alternator. There could also be a plastic tab on the alternator submit. If there’s, go forward and break it off; it is what I needed to do. If you don’t remove the plastic tab, you will not have the ability to remove the nut off of the terminal submit.

Adding a fuse to go in between the battery positive (+) and the alternator is extremely recommended, but not obligatory. There is a small probability that the wire will come lose and brief out, but it is a chance some individuals don’t want to take. On the contrary, I’ve had no problems in the 2 years I’ve had the massive three put in whereas running an unfused wire.

The following step is to run a wire from your engine block to your automobile’s chassis. car4life may be difficult as a result of you’ll have a hard time discovering a place on the engine block to attach your wire. Look for a non-essential bolt; do not use a bolt that holds fluids again.

From there, you then need to attach the opposite end of the wire to your chassis floor location. This ground will be wherever in your automobile’s chassis/body, but ensure that that you’ve metallic-to-metallic contact with the terminal and your ground location. A very good begin is to follow your inventory floor wire again to its grounding location. If there is paint on the bottom location you’ve got chosen, you need to sand it off till it’s naked steel to ensure minimal electrical resistance.

Lastly, the ultimate step is to run a wire out of your battery’s floor (-) terminal to the bottom location on the chassis. Measure the wire and ensure to leave just a little slack in case you want it. Then terminate the ends with ring terminals and attach one end to the damaging terminal and the other to your grounding location on your chassis (as seen above).

Once you have made the new, beefier battery floor, you can cut off, disconnect, do no matter you need to the inventory ground wire as a result of it’s not needed anymore. Whenever you suppose you are finished, go ahead and double verify your whole connections making sure that they are snug and tight.

That is it! The "Large 3" is now completed. You must notice a difference in voltage when enjoying your system at max quantity. Earlier than I did this upgrade, my voltage was at about 10v below heavy load. After doing the "Large 3" upgrade, my voltage underneath heavy load was stabilized at about 11v. Quite a large distinction for how a lot you spent on the wire and terminals. That is why the "Large 3" is considered the first electrical improve it is best to do to make sure constant power to your amplifiers.