the big 3
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=113084
Printed Date: May 08, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Topic: the big 3
Posted By: locologan
Subject: the big 3
Date Posted: April 12, 2009 at 10:28 AM
hi i started doing the big 3 yesterday and i put a optima battery in my 2007 silverad and put a 0 gauge wire from battery to chassis. i put a digital battery terminal on my battery and it reads 14.7 and when it hits it gos down to 13 somthing and at the most it gos to high 12's. my lights are still dimming why is that.
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boom boom
Replies:
Posted By: t&t tech
Date Posted: April 12, 2009 at 10:49 AM
The "Big Three" upgrade means improving the current capacity of three cables: 1) alternator positive to battery positive, 2) battery negative to chassis, and 3) engine ground to chassis. Have you done this? ------------- COMMIT YOUR WAY TO JEHOVAH AND HE WILL ACT IN YOUR BEHALF.
PSALMS 37:5
Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: April 12, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Why are your lights still dimming? Or why is the battery voltage still dropping to 12 volts?
Posted By: locologan
Date Posted: April 12, 2009 at 10:59 AM
well i only had time to do the ground grom battery to chassis i still have the other 2 to do but i have good volts and my truck should have a good alt shouldnt it.
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boom boom
Posted By: locologan
Date Posted: April 12, 2009 at 11:04 AM
if i do the other 2 upgrades should that help alot more and if i put hids on my truck will it hert the hids when it dims
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boom boom
Posted By: coolman85
Date Posted: July 07, 2009 at 3:18 PM
i cant do the big 3.. they dont make high out put alternator for my car.. but i want to put 5000 rms system in my car.. what should i do??
Posted By: glass22
Date Posted: July 07, 2009 at 3:34 PM
there are companys that will build you an alt. https://www.ohiogen.com/index.html
Posted By: KarTuneMan
Date Posted: July 07, 2009 at 4:12 PM
locologan wrote:
if i do the other 2 upgrades should that help alot more and if i put hids on my truck will it hert the hids when it dims
Yes.... so far you have completed "the big ONE" 1 down 2 to go. Your HID's shou;d be more "stable" than standard bulbs. -------------
Posted By: whiterob
Date Posted: July 07, 2009 at 8:20 PM
coolman85 wrote:
i cant do the big 3.. they dont make high out put alternator for my car.. but i want to put 5000 rms system in my car.. what should i do??
Contact Ohio Generator, as said above, as well as a couple of other alternator companies. Many will make you an alternator for your truck.
If you want to run that much power you have to upgrade your alternator. There is no way around that, you stock system will never be able to produce that much power.
Finish doing the big 3 and your voltage should improve a little bit. If you are still having that large of a voltage drop then you will need a new alternator.
Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: July 07, 2009 at 9:33 PM
KarTuneMan wrote:
Yes.... so far you have completed "the big ONE"
My thoughts exactly.
Posted By: coolman85
Date Posted: July 08, 2009 at 3:23 PM
how do i get the cheapest D1-CS144-A200 alternator ?? is there a bigger one will fit my car that is cheap?? 1985 Buick Electra Park Avenue 3.8L 231CI V6 FI VIN: 3 .. this one is to high of a price for me H.O. Power Rating:220 Amps
YOUR COST: $589.00
Posted By: t&t tech
Date Posted: July 08, 2009 at 4:26 PM
t&t tech wrote:
The "Big Three" upgrade means improving the current capacity of three cables: 1) alternator positive to battery positive, 2) battery negative to chassis, and 3) engine ground to chassis.
now i'm invisible  . ------------- COMMIT YOUR WAY TO JEHOVAH AND HE WILL ACT IN YOUR BEHALF.
PSALMS 37:5
Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: July 08, 2009 at 5:44 PM
t&t tech wrote:
now i'm invisible .
Is this your first time? I can help you get through it. It happens to me all the time. The last time, I was invisible for 12 days.
Posted By: t&t tech
Date Posted: July 08, 2009 at 7:38 PM
nah, lemme see if i can beat your record! LOL! ------------- COMMIT YOUR WAY TO JEHOVAH AND HE WILL ACT IN YOUR BEHALF.
PSALMS 37:5
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: July 08, 2009 at 9:32 PM
I guess no one is going to answer this guy's question...  ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: seismicburban
Date Posted: July 12, 2009 at 11:11 PM
I talked to a guy at ohio generator and he said you should go no bigger than 4 ga from alt stud to first battery...right now I have 2/0 and he said that will cause heat to back up and burn out the alt.... does this make sense to anyone?
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AVIC F90BT
4 15L7s
4 ZX 1000.1s
BIG 3
295 AMP ALT
2/0
2 KINETIK HC 2000
STILL GETTING VOLT DROPS
wth???????
Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: July 12, 2009 at 11:37 PM
It makes no sense at all to me. Resistance = Heat. Larger wire has less resistance.
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: July 13, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Yes, that "guy at ohio generator " must have been the janitor. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: July 13, 2009 at 11:27 AM
seismicburban wrote:
I talked to a guy at ohio generator and he said you should go no bigger than 4 ga from alt stud to first battery...right now I have 2/0 and he said that will cause heat to back up and burn out the alt.... does this make sense to anyone?
Wow... that guy has ZERO idea of what he's talking about.
Wires dont carry heat, they carry current. The bigger the wire, the more efficiently they do that job, and that is without exception. Also, heat can't be "backed up". It's one of the first principles of thermodynamics. Heat doesn't like to stay where it is, and as long as there is adequate heat removal capacity, the thermal energy CAN'T stay where it is. If your alternator burns up, it's because you are expecting more power density than can be safely gotten from your given case volume. ------------- It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
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