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I think, 4 guage is fine for the majority of people. Just get good quality wire. Most people don't need 0 . Cause, most people aren't hooking up competition sounds systems. Many thousands of watts. I get it what you're saying, but if the power requiment isn't there, than it's ok to have thinner wire. 4 guage is way fatter than stock anyways. The stock wire is a joke for sure, and for some reason, the ground straps aren't even insulated!? But. The other critique I have is the 4th upgrade. To me it seems like it doesn't do anything. The way I'm thinking about this, is that the alternator is already grounded. It's bolted to the engine. And the engine is already upgraded from the ground strap to the chassis . and the negitive terminal from the battery to engine. It's basically part of the engine, in terms of ground. I personally don't think the forth would matter. It just seems like a waste of material. I'd like to discuss this further if you want
My amp only supports 4 gauge lol but without a alternator upgrade or dual battery probably not much need for 0 gauge. 4 gauge will handle the 130 amps just fine at that length
Always fuse the Positive (power wires) closest to the battery. That is a big mistake to not fuse that lead to the + side of the alternator. If that shorts out, oh my.
@@undergroundking217 that would be fine. There is a very slim chance that a short would occur, but it is extra security & peace of mind if a mechanic or yourself bumps the alternator + terminal with a wrench or the vehicle is involved in an accident. Take the extra effort & disconnect the negatives from batteries when working on or around exposed terminals. I don't want to be a safety sally, but connecting a dead short across the battery terminals with 1/0+ cables is not something anyone with a sane mind would do on purpose.
Kiel'thalin I think my oem alternator is finally giving up. Voltage at 12.3-12.5... I had installed my XSPower and I was up to 13.9-14, but I overtime I noticed reading less and less every time I started the car... I noticed this last night, so I came home and checked it this morning. I was around 13.5, so I left and about 5-10 minutes later it just sits at about 12.3 lol. Idk I should drive it anywhere until I get the mechman 240 in. I’m just waiting on my big 3 to arrive.
@01:04 AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries are also lead/acid, but the lead is 99.9% pure unlike standard flooded lead acid batteries, and there is a fiberglass separator between the plates. Optima AGM batteries have six each, 2 volt, spiral cylinder cells. Flat plate AGM batteries are very similar to a flooded lead acid battery, but the design, construction and materials are quite different. They have 99.9% pure lead plates, and and have an AGM separator between the plates.
Paused @ 6:11 this doesn't apply to Honda owners or anyone else who is grounding in a unibody. The entire car is the same ground. There's no frame so don't freak out when you can't find it. 🤬🤔. Thanks Jacob!
Also doesn't matter. The battery is your source voltage and ground. No matter the car. everything that's "grounded "goes to your battery. So you really do need a good clean circuit with little resistance to ground.
Alt to battery AND engine block to battery is redundant(but not an issue). Running from the Alt to battery OR block to battery are both just as effective.
best advice at @4:46 amen brother If your Car audio works without grounding your engine and just with your battery hooked up, upgrading the ground wire on your engine is pointless, that is for your ignition system-but if only ground point for alternator....noted, it is needed it supplies all the power, battery just stores it........ that being said You better fuse any power wire upgrades, as their lower gauge is in effect a fuse of it's own.... 0 gauge will burn the house down if shorted, fuse all nearest the battery you can
After Watching JP from D4S explain the difference between a 12v a 14v and a 16v system was an eye opener yo!! Big 3s are more a 14v system necessity then a 12v upgrade.
And here I always thought the big three was upgrading the wiring (everything just described) as step one then upgrade your alternator to a high amperage model as number two and finally upgrade your battery as the third and an optional forth of installing a high Farad capacitor to the positive side. But I looks like I was wrong. I mean upgrade the wires without the other two isn't that big a priority as the stock system is set to fully handle the stock output of its alternator.
First off . On a standard system u check voltage at battery and the wiring in the back if your less than .5 voltage difference then your ground location is ok. Second always look for factory ground to run off of. There made to give the best current flow. Inside vehicle you clean each location and use dielectric grease. Fourth by doing these steps you shouldn't need to run wiring all the way to the back, just to much. That's for 10000 watt or more type systems in witch case you running a hole battery bank in back so you won't have to run more than one run of positive and negative to the back. Lastly when doing outside connections after cleaning the contact points use a clear clear coat to protect them. If your going to do the trouble of the ( big 4 ) you should take alternator off and clean the mounting location before connecting wiring and then use the clear coat to protect.
I have a question or 2 about my set up. I bought a Skar EVL15 D2 and a Skar RP1200.1 monoblock class D amp. According to the owners manual and customer service at Skar, 4 gauge wire is required and Skar told me I wouldn't need to run a second battery or upgrade wiring. I hooked everything up. Grounded my amp to the chassis under the back seat bolts. Both power and ground are 4 gauge, but it's CCA wire. It's a DS18 amp kit. I first had the sub wired to 1ohm with the speaker wire ran straight to the amp. So whenever hard bass or the volume was to high, the amp would go into protection mode. Tested at the battery, the alternator, and at the amp. My volts ranged from 13.8 to 14.3. So my question is, if I'm in the right voltage range, then why would the amp go into protection mode? So then I rewired the sub to 4ohm and I still had the same problem. I checked into the alternator a lil deeper and I believe my voltage regulator is going bad in the alternator. So my other questions would be, do you think if I buy a new OEM alternator would solve my problem with the amp going into protection mode? A lot of people have told me to upgrade my wire to 0 gauge and run a second battery, and do the big 3. But all that seems excessive to run a 1200 watt amp that's 1 ohm stable. I'm sure I should upgrade to OFC 4 gauge wire, and it's ALWAYS good to do the big 3. What is your opinion?
Sounds like your amp is at its limit being maxed out and goes into protect from clipping and exceeding it's limit. Make sure to use a voltage meter like this amzn.to/3FyyLWV to monitor voltage as you play. You may want to do a 0 gauge ground run from the alternator to the back and not ground to the vehicle, also do the big 3 and confirm your amp is tuned right and not maxing out.
The amp isn't the problem. It's not maxing out like your thinking. When it was hooked up in the car, I couldn't use any of the settings. Everything was turned ALL the way down. So when the volume was to high and a hard note would hit, it was pulling more voltage than the car could produce. Also, Skar customer service assured me that I shouldn't need a second battery. But they did recommend that I at least upgrade to OFC 4 gauge wire. So I'm gonna start with the alternator and go from there. The only thing I haven't mentioned is, at the time I had the amp hooked up, the sub was new and wasn't broken in. I was trying to set the amp to a setting to brake the sub in when I found the issues. Since then I've been running the sub on an old school Lanzar Vibe 1000watts class a/b amp for 6 months or more. So the sun should be broken in. Plus it's been wired at 4 ohm this hole time. When I first wired it up, I wired it at 1 ohm like the manual said to. Then when I found the issues I wired it down to 4 ohm and have left it there since. I plan to run it at 1 ohm once I get my issues fixed. I researched for several months and corresponded with Skar untill I found this combo. They told me that it was a perfect match for what I wanted. Which is the lows and SPLs...lol
Your alt is your source of power and your battery is just a reserve your ground is the most important more so then your positive when you run your wires guys try and run double the grounds and your chassis is on average only good upto carrying 500amps of current so if your running big amps double up on your ground wiring and run it straight to the back of you have a rear bank DONT rely on the chassis your amps and reserve banks will thank you the most efficient you can make it the more power you will put out
Instead of running 2 0 gauge, power and ground each from the alternator to the battery. Can you just run 1 double 0 gauge power and ground each from alternator to battery? Also in these 2 setups what size fuses will you use?
I just got a 290 A alternator but the mechanic took the pulley from the 290A and added the stock one. 290A has 9 lines and my stock one has 6 lines. Is that a big No No
I just upgraded to a 4,500 watt system that at 1 ohm can push over 5k stable. All of this is currently being ran by stock electrical. Is this new system worthy of a big 3 upgrade WITH a high output alternator/high capacity battery? Or would I be okay staying stock?
The alternator doesn’t turn unless the car is running. The alternator has to be connected to the battery so when the car is running it charges the battery
Are you just leaving the old wires there for comparison. Because I’ve seen someone just hook the alternator power wire to the battery instead of the whole old connection
Can you run a direct alternator bracket ground all the way to a trunk terminal block to ground your amplifier directly to instead of a rear chassis ground? Having voltage dips to 12.4 with heavy bass while idling at stop lights have a brand x 340 alt big 4 0guage ofc and a die hard platinum agm under the hood running a jp13 to a dual ct tropo 12 loaded enclosure the jp13 is grounded under a rear seat bolt because it was the thickest part of the chassis i could find, alt was tested by brand x at 171 amps at 800 rpm but my car idles around 600 rpm was wondering if my rear ground was the problem for voltage dip since the car is a unibody design chassis!
Yes that is actually the best ground from 1-3 ground runs front to back. Big 4 complete too under hood. You’ll want to have a back battery to die that system
3:35 to 347 completely lost me and im.pretty good at hooking up systems etc...so if u can help...ready...im going 0gauge power alt to pos batt..the im going eng ground to neg batt terminal following stock run..then im grounding neg batt terminal to chasis again following stock run...so wtf are u saying with 2 runs blah blah..help if u can...im literally going to keep the pos alt stock wire to batt pos and just add my wire in addition without removing those wires...now as far as engine ground that runs to neg on my battery and meets up with neg battery terminal ground to chasis ...should i again just add my 0 gauge and connect it exact same way..or remove the original stock neg ground to chasis and engine block....as you can see ive wired alot of stuff and you have utterly confused me at 3:30 to 3:50
Hello Jacob, I have same explorer engine like in this video, I ran 4awg ofc amp kit knukonceptz and now going to do big three with 0gauge ofc also knukonceptz ofc, I ordered 10 feet black wire and going to cut as I go should 10 feet be enough wire? Also ordered 250 watt fuse , and a 6 plug in set of battery terminals, so is it OK for me to keep the 4awg to amp kit with big 3 done with 0gauge or should they be the same gauge wires for wiring both amp and big 3 ?
So basically will it be okay using for AWG amp wiring and then using zero AWG Big 3 wiring and do you think 10 ft is plenty enough to do the big three? Maybe even do the negative battery terminal to the negative alternator ground lost the other big three if so if I ground the battery to motor block would it still be better to do the battery to the negative alternator post or is that just unless you're running another battery in the back of the Explorer?
I would think 10-12’ is enough for big 3 yea. If the amp requires only 4 gauge then you’ll be fine. Make sure 0 gauge ran to back battery from front and fuse is good size.
Seen several videos now on this big 3, and all say that they kept the stock cable, but not why, why keep the stock cable I assume a 0 gauge cable can handle the same job as a 8 gauge.
Safety and doubling up runs is better then removing to upgrade size only. Also never know if you will later remove or have problems with stock being replaced so just don’t mess with.
What if there's a fuse and relay Box in between the alternated charging cable and the battery positive? Should I bypass the box or just upgrade both wires?
To verify : You grounded most/all grounds to factory locations along with factory wiring/grounds. 2, you have 2 power wires to alternator. 3, you have 4-5 wires on the negative of the battery. ,,,Will I still get a improvement by doing this if I keep the factory alternator? My alternator is only 90 amps Thanks
Adding to just beefs up the electrical wiring even more, some do remove the stock but not required. Fusing is always safest yes within 6inches of power wire near battery
Probably a group 34 agm like amzn.to/3ViRq0I under the hood and group 31 agm in the back. If not amazon, checkout www.down4soundshop.com/accessories/batteries/xs-power/?afmc=z2&
If I run 4 awg power wire from battery to alt, and my alternator is rated at 120a, what size fuse would I use just to prevent damage in case a short occurs?
Okay I understand this but what is the point in a “big 3 upgrade” what happens if I don’t do it , what could happen . what is the benefit of making this upgrade
It's for better electrical current draw across the system and vehicle. Usually people with after market car audio systems running 1,000 watts or more do it.
@@JacobViral2 so if my truck drops voltage at 3,000 or higher rpms because of my 2k scar monoblock amp does this mean it won’t drop lovage anymore if I do “the big 3” because my alternator and battery are brand new and I don’t know what else my car loses battery to other than my power wire to my amp
I have my ground for the alternator from bolt, grounded to the strut tower bolt and reads 0 ohms, does that make a difference not being grounded to the battery directly? Does that cause a ground loop?
@@JacobViral2 Thanks man, so it doesn't have to be grounded directly? Now I'm having problems with my H.O alt. Battery is 6 years old, new alt. Tested alt with car running, fluxuating between 11.8- 12 then when alt kicks in, shoots up to 15v. Car is off right now, charged batt up to 12.26, took off the charger and now battery is draining back under 12.
I wouldn’t leave that engine ground hanging down like that, I’d look it and ziptie to factory wiring. Also, did you not in-line fuse your power > alt wire? I have a Honda with the stupid ELD sensor so idk if it’s going to help but I’m gonna try it anyways, good video though brother
Question. On my 06 F150 my engine ground block is on the back of the motor and stock 8g wire ran to the firewall. Would I be able to use that ground from the firewall to the battery or go directly from the starter to the battery?
I have my power ran straight from the alternator to a second battery and then have the amp hook to my second battery I had to take my system out because every time I was at a red light for a stop sign and even if I had the music Low when I would start driving again the truck would really struggle I have a 2009 Ford F150 with two 12in 10000 watts each with a 4500 watt amp I already replace my alternator once and a new battery would I have to still get a high powered alternator or do you think if I just ran the big three it would help a lot more or should I do both? Sorry if my question is a little confusing or a little bit everywhere
You should explain what kinda power from the amps and subs you running before you have a lot of this people running around trying to buy 1/0 ofc gauge to run a 500rms amp. So I really suggest stating that before anything. Big 3 is always good even with a 500rms amp. All you will need is 4 gauge wire and you'll be fine. Unless you want to upgrade later then you use 1/0 but to the people who won't i suggest start with 4 gauge
He should also mention that not all vehicles even need a big 3 at all too. My 200Sx was spraying sparks with the live trying to hook the battery and alternator and throwing my amp into protection mode. Without the live and the upgraded grounds left alone i was reading 14+v from a stock alternator from a junk yard
My 2018 Kia already comes with 140 Amp alternator and 4 Gauge wires to the +/-.(200amp Fuse factory) I don't see the necessity of doing this, I'm only running one 12" - 750-1000 watt rms amp/woofer, and 200rms amp/speakers. My lights don't dim at all. Maybe its good for older cars?
@@AudioAddict. All wire is the same concept correct and can use it for big3 too. Nice job, don't forget to use discount code 'JACOBVIRAL' if you shop at sky high/d4s/xplicit/jeff
I have 07 dts and puting js 300 amp alt in i can't find the ground that goes from engine to chassis there is a stock ground from alt to chassis can I make a new engine to chassis ground, do you know
@@JacobViral2so I just installed a small second battery for my subs and really don’t want to spent 300-400 on a high output alternator there’s still a draw on my battery and was wondering if not having the wiring upgraded yet could be the cause of that
Hi Jacob! My oem wire from alt to battery goes to a fuse block under hood. When doing the big 3 charge wire do I bypass the oem alt to battery wire a d leave it in place then do my 1/0 from alt to battery? Or do I run my 1/0 like the factory did to the oem fuse block?
Would do big 3 but my Ford Focus makes it nearly impossible to get to the alternator in the first place still hold over 14v on over 3k tho that’s only doing extra ground wire.
Some cars don't need a big 3 at all. My Nissan 200Sx was spraying sparks trying to hook the live from the alternator to the main battery and kept putting my amp into protection mode. Uninstall the live and left the ground hooked to the alternator and i was pushing over 14v and would rarely drop below 12v on a 2k draw
Hey Jacob I have a 21 Chevy Equinox I looked and my battery under the hood is an AC Delco AGM 20 hr capacity/ 70 Amp Hour/ CCA 700...is that good enough to run a 2,000-3,000 watt amp for subs or should I upgrade the battery?
@@trickedoutequinox3265 yea car audio can get expensive. I mean you can get by with a group 34 amzn.to/3mf8nZ6 but make sure to do big 3 wire and monitor voltage with meter
@Jacob Viral2 I actually found a volt meter that plugs into cigarette lighter that is super accurate for only 15 bucks...it's really nice and goes down to the 100th like 13.43 instead of just 13.4
Is it ok to run different sizes of batteries? Different brands? I just put a platinum AGM battery under hood am planning to run several small kinetiks in the back because I only have maybe 5in. to spare. One other question. Shouldn't the ground to alt take care of ground to engine block if alt casing is grounded directly to the block?
I have a 2013 f150 with the 5.0l coyote. I just ordered my system and will be running a Skar audio 1500.1 monoblock amp. Should I do this to my truck or will I be alright with the stock electrical. I know it doesn't hurt to do it, but I'm just wondering if it's worth the trouble and money for the 1k watt RMS system.
Thanks for making this video where can I make a ground from engine to chassis I can't find my stock engine ground but my alt is grounded to chassis with 0 guage
@@JacobViral2 I got the 300 amp alt on from js alternators I wonder if there's something wrong with it because my car is staying in high 12s while driving while parked sometimes it goes up to 14
So I'm gonna do this next to my 08 civic. Only running 1k watt amp, 2100watt sub. I was told if I run a 0 or 1 gauge I would have to upgrade the alternator is this true?
You can run upgraded wire on a stock alt and be fine. The high output alt would help your electrical for your system more is all with more amperage supply.
THANKS FOR WATCHING and SUBSCRIBING! MORE VIDEOS TO COME! ➡️Shop Audio: amzn.to/3lqomCw & ebay.us/6vdEev
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Llllllllllllllpppp0p 00 ppl
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Good video. Me and my buddies did that back in the 90s but we didn't call it the big 3, we just called it plain old under the hood wire upgrading. Lol
Yessir! This was the first upgrade done with the amp install. Used 2 gauge welding cable. Totally worth the work and money
Did it make a difference even without high output alternator
@@rudydaberry122yes it will help keep lights from dimming when the bass hits and vice versa faster starting I think
I think, 4 guage is fine for the majority of people.
Just get good quality wire.
Most people don't need 0 .
Cause, most people aren't hooking up competition sounds systems.
Many thousands of watts.
I get it what you're saying, but if the power requiment isn't there, than it's ok to have thinner wire.
4 guage is way fatter than stock anyways.
The stock wire is a joke for sure, and for some reason, the ground straps aren't even insulated!?
But. The other critique I have is the 4th upgrade.
To me it seems like it doesn't do anything.
The way I'm thinking about this,
is that the alternator is already grounded.
It's bolted to the engine.
And the engine is already upgraded from the ground strap to the chassis .
and the negitive terminal from the battery to engine. It's basically part of the engine, in terms of ground.
I personally don't think the forth would matter. It just seems like a waste of material.
I'd like to discuss this further if you want
i used 4 guage i only got a 1200watt amp i dont think i need 1 gauge yet
My amp only supports 4 gauge lol but without a alternator upgrade or dual battery probably not much need for 0 gauge. 4 gauge will handle the 130 amps just fine at that length
Yep. Exactly right
Proper grounding is important on everything dealing with voltage.
Always fuse the Positive (power wires) closest to the battery. That is a big mistake to not fuse that lead to the + side of the alternator. If that shorts out, oh my.
Kiel'thalin When picking a fuse, lets say if your running a mechman 240, would you put a 250amp fuse?
@@undergroundking217 that would be fine. There is a very slim chance that a short would occur, but it is extra security & peace of mind if a mechanic or yourself bumps the alternator + terminal with a wrench or the vehicle is involved in an accident. Take the extra effort & disconnect the negatives from batteries when working on or around exposed terminals. I don't want to be a safety sally, but connecting a dead short across the battery terminals with 1/0+ cables is not something anyone with a sane mind would do on purpose.
Kiel'thalin I need the piece of mind. Thanks for the info. 👊
Kiel'thalin I think my oem alternator is finally giving up. Voltage at 12.3-12.5... I had installed my XSPower and I was up to 13.9-14, but I overtime I noticed reading less and less every time I started the car... I noticed this last night, so I came home and checked it this morning. I was around 13.5, so I left and about 5-10 minutes later it just sits at about 12.3 lol. Idk I should drive it anywhere until I get the mechman 240 in. I’m just waiting on my big 3 to arrive.
My wire jacket split wide open from to much engine heat, luckily I was fused and it prevented a really bad day.... Always fuse!!!!✌️✌️
@01:04 AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries are also lead/acid, but the lead is 99.9% pure unlike standard flooded lead acid batteries, and there is a fiberglass separator between the plates. Optima AGM batteries have six each, 2 volt, spiral cylinder cells.
Flat plate AGM batteries are very similar to a flooded lead acid battery, but the design, construction and materials are quite different. They have 99.9% pure lead plates, and and have an AGM separator between the plates.
Agm and sla batteries are the same. Agm just has a matt, made of fiberglass, that absorbs the lead acid, hence Absorbed Glass Matt
Paused @ 6:11 this doesn't apply to Honda owners or anyone else who is grounding in a unibody. The entire car is the same ground. There's no frame so don't freak out when you can't find it. 🤬🤔.
Thanks Jacob!
Yeah. I have an 01 Civic. I just kept the existing wires. Just added 4 guage to them. Use a wire brush the the contact points.
Also doesn't matter. The battery is your source voltage and ground.
No matter the car. everything that's "grounded "goes to your battery.
So you really do need a good clean circuit with little resistance to ground.
Alt to battery AND engine block to battery is redundant(but not an issue). Running from the Alt to battery OR block to battery are both just as effective.
You didn’t explain the WHY to do it
he did within a minute of the video literally
He literally said to get more power current
best advice at @4:46 amen brother
If your Car audio works without grounding your engine and just with your battery hooked up, upgrading the ground wire on your engine is pointless, that is for your ignition system-but if only ground point for alternator....noted, it is needed
it supplies all the power, battery just stores it........ that being said
You better fuse any power wire upgrades, as their lower gauge is in effect a fuse of it's own....
0 gauge will burn the house down if shorted, fuse all nearest the battery you can
After Watching JP from D4S explain the difference between a 12v a 14v and a 16v system was an eye opener yo!! Big 3s are more a 14v system necessity then a 12v upgrade.
more overhead
Plus I'm going to give it a thumbs up,... keep the info coming it really helps.... I'm TYRONE....
And here I always thought the big three was upgrading the wiring (everything just described) as step one then upgrade your alternator to a high amperage model as number two and finally upgrade your battery as the third and an optional forth of installing a high Farad capacitor to the positive side. But I looks like I was wrong. I mean upgrade the wires without the other two isn't that big a priority as the stock system is set to fully handle the stock output of its alternator.
I have 3k Watts and my buddy was like, this doesn't make a difference you don't need it. Glad you made this video to educate some dumb people
Did it help with voltage drop?
Anything over 800+ watts is a must do for sure
I’m running 5 runs to the rear 3 power an 2 grounds all 0 gauge
Some cars have an additional transmission to chassis grounds like my Hyundai has.
If a have a 4gauge wire is still worth installing a big 3 with the same 4gauge wire?
It would work but suggest 0 gauge amzn.to/3rp2XxG
First off . On a standard system u check voltage at battery and the wiring in the back if your less than .5 voltage difference then your ground location is ok. Second always look for factory ground to run off of. There made to give the best current flow. Inside vehicle you clean each location and use dielectric grease. Fourth by doing these steps you shouldn't need to run wiring all the way to the back, just to much. That's for 10000 watt or more type systems in witch case you running a hole battery bank in back so you won't have to run more than one run of positive and negative to the back. Lastly when doing outside connections after cleaning the contact points use a clear clear coat to protect them. If your going to do the trouble of the ( big 4 ) you should take alternator off and clean the mounting location before connecting wiring and then use the clear coat to protect.
my battery is in the trunk, and the alternator is under the engine, so already going to be a complicated job..
I have a question or 2 about my set up. I bought a Skar EVL15 D2 and a Skar RP1200.1 monoblock class D amp. According to the owners manual and customer service at Skar, 4 gauge wire is required and Skar told me I wouldn't need to run a second battery or upgrade wiring.
I hooked everything up. Grounded my amp to the chassis under the back seat bolts. Both power and ground are 4 gauge, but it's CCA wire. It's a DS18 amp kit. I first had the sub wired to 1ohm with the speaker wire ran straight to the amp.
So whenever hard bass or the volume was to high, the amp would go into protection mode. Tested at the battery, the alternator, and at the amp. My volts ranged from 13.8 to 14.3.
So my question is, if I'm in the right voltage range, then why would the amp go into protection mode?
So then I rewired the sub to 4ohm and I still had the same problem. I checked into the alternator a lil deeper and I believe my voltage regulator is going bad in the alternator.
So my other questions would be, do you think if I buy a new OEM alternator would solve my problem with the amp going into protection mode? A lot of people have told me to upgrade my wire to 0 gauge and run a second battery, and do the big 3. But all that seems excessive to run a 1200 watt amp that's 1 ohm stable. I'm sure I should upgrade to OFC 4 gauge wire, and it's ALWAYS good to do the big 3. What is your opinion?
Sounds like your amp is at its limit being maxed out and goes into protect from clipping and exceeding it's limit. Make sure to use a voltage meter like this amzn.to/3FyyLWV to monitor voltage as you play. You may want to do a 0 gauge ground run from the alternator to the back and not ground to the vehicle, also do the big 3 and confirm your amp is tuned right and not maxing out.
The amp isn't the problem. It's not maxing out like your thinking. When it was hooked up in the car, I couldn't use any of the settings. Everything was turned ALL the way down. So when the volume was to high and a hard note would hit, it was pulling more voltage than the car could produce.
Also, Skar customer service assured me that I shouldn't need a second battery. But they did recommend that I at least upgrade to OFC 4 gauge wire. So I'm gonna start with the alternator and go from there.
The only thing I haven't mentioned is, at the time I had the amp hooked up, the sub was new and wasn't broken in. I was trying to set the amp to a setting to brake the sub in when I found the issues. Since then I've been running the sub on an old school Lanzar Vibe 1000watts class a/b amp for 6 months or more. So the sun should be broken in. Plus it's been wired at 4 ohm this hole time. When I first wired it up, I wired it at 1 ohm like the manual said to. Then when I found the issues I wired it down to 4 ohm and have left it there since.
I plan to run it at 1 ohm once I get my issues fixed. I researched for several months and corresponded with Skar untill I found this combo. They told me that it was a perfect match for what I wanted. Which is the lows and SPLs...lol
Your alt is your source of power and your battery is just a reserve your ground is the most important more so then your positive when you run your wires guys try and run double the grounds and your chassis is on average only good upto carrying 500amps of current so if your running big amps double up on your ground wiring and run it straight to the back of you have a rear bank DONT rely on the chassis your amps and reserve banks will thank you the most efficient you can make it the more power you will put out
Agreed. Copper wire is a much better conductor than a steel chassis.
is it fine to do it to a stock alternator?
Yes, usually that’s one of the first steps in upgrading electrical
Instead of running 2 0 gauge, power and ground each from the alternator to the battery. Can you just run 1 double 0 gauge power and ground each from alternator to battery? Also in these 2 setups what size fuses will you use?
correct that will work. Usually 250-300 amp fuses if 2 runs I always did.
I just got a 290 A alternator but the mechanic took the pulley from the 290A and added the stock one. 290A has 9 lines and my stock one has 6 lines. Is that a big No No
I just upgraded to a 4,500 watt system that at 1 ohm can push over 5k stable. All of this is currently being ran by stock electrical. Is this new system worthy of a big 3 upgrade WITH a high output alternator/high capacity battery? Or would I be okay staying stock?
Definitely upgrade alt, big3 wiring, and extra battery reserve: check voltage drop 👍
@@JacobViral2 I’m having trouble finding a place to find an upgraded alt for a 2015 Kia Forte
I understand the reason for multiple grounding points. My question is, why ground the battery(s) back to the alternator?
The alt is the main source of amperage supply to the batteries to its a direct line to it.
Most new cars come with AGM batteries now. My kia Optima has a AGM under the hood so I left it
Aye man what year Kia you have ? Is it the ex or Lx ?
My 18 Sportage came with lead acid, switched it to XS Power and what a difference, I might try the Big 3 and see how it does.
Wouldn't running positive and negative from the battery and to the alternator make the alternator turn or is there a feature to avoid this?
The alternator doesn’t turn unless the car is running. The alternator has to be connected to the battery so when the car is running it charges the battery
Might not be the prettiest but it works! 😂🤣 u kill me with that line! And u changed it up a word or 2. 🤔
Homie must have stock in OFC copper wiring...
Are you just leaving the old wires there for comparison. Because I’ve seen someone just hook the alternator power wire to the battery instead of the whole old connection
I wanted to add to connections and not replace. Optimal safety and additional current flow.
Can you run a direct alternator bracket ground all the way to a trunk terminal block to ground your amplifier directly to instead of a rear chassis ground? Having voltage dips to 12.4 with heavy bass while idling at stop lights have a brand x 340 alt big 4 0guage ofc and a die hard platinum agm under the hood running a jp13 to a dual ct tropo 12 loaded enclosure the jp13 is grounded under a rear seat bolt because it was the thickest part of the chassis i could find, alt was tested by brand x at 171 amps at 800 rpm but my car idles around 600 rpm was wondering if my rear ground was the problem for voltage dip since the car is a unibody design chassis!
Yes that is actually the best ground from 1-3 ground runs front to back. Big 4 complete too under hood. You’ll want to have a back battery to die that system
Can you put the engine block ground anywhere? Or does it have to be on the stock location
I would suggest stock but wouldn’t hurt to be anywhere in the engine block long as good connection as well.
@@JacobViral2 thanks
3:35 to 347 completely lost me and im.pretty good at hooking up systems etc...so if u can help...ready...im going 0gauge power alt to pos batt..the im going eng ground to neg batt terminal following stock run..then im grounding neg batt terminal to chasis again following stock run...so wtf are u saying with 2 runs blah blah..help if u can...im literally going to keep the pos alt stock wire to batt pos and just add my wire in addition without removing those wires...now as far as engine ground that runs to neg on my battery and meets up with neg battery terminal ground to chasis ...should i again just add my 0 gauge and connect it exact same way..or remove the original stock neg ground to chasis and engine block....as you can see ive wired alot of stuff and you have utterly confused me at 3:30 to 3:50
People need to use lock washers
Hello Jacob, I have same explorer engine like in this video, I ran 4awg ofc amp kit knukonceptz and now going to do big three with 0gauge ofc also knukonceptz ofc, I ordered 10 feet black wire and going to cut as I go should 10 feet be enough wire? Also ordered 250 watt fuse , and a 6 plug in set of battery terminals, so is it OK for me to keep the 4awg to amp kit with big 3 done with 0gauge or should they be the same gauge wires for wiring both amp and big 3 ?
So basically will it be okay using for AWG amp wiring and then using zero AWG Big 3 wiring and do you think 10 ft is plenty enough to do the big three? Maybe even do the negative battery terminal to the negative alternator ground lost the other big three if so if I ground the battery to motor block would it still be better to do the battery to the negative alternator post or is that just unless you're running another battery in the back of the Explorer?
I would think 10-12’ is enough for big 3 yea. If the amp requires only 4 gauge then you’ll be fine. Make sure 0 gauge ran to back battery from front and fuse is good size.
I also grounded my Alternator bracket too... after that the alt whine in my system was complete gone...
Nice info thanks
Should I run the positive or negative wire from the battery and to the metal part of my engine? I am confused.
Good video bro! Thanks.
Xs Agm batterys are lead acid batterys
Seen several videos now on this big 3, and all say that they kept the stock cable, but not why, why keep the stock cable I assume a 0 gauge cable can handle the same job as a 8 gauge.
Safety and doubling up runs is better then removing to upgrade size only. Also never know if you will later remove or have problems with stock being replaced so just don’t mess with.
I have a rear wheel well factory battery location which throws a wrench in this but pulled it off I think.
Nice will work
@@JacobViral2 at least a big 2 lol
What if there's a fuse and relay Box in between the alternated charging cable and the battery positive?
Should I bypass the box or just upgrade both wires?
Upgrade/add additional wire direct from alt to battery, fuse if desired
Doing this upgrade will help my battery wattage from going down everytime i turn up my system?
Yes battery upgrades help plus secondary battery.
Can it drain my battery faster if I have my car in ACC. or RUN without engine running?
Would be the same if vehicles off honestly that is a different variable
To verify :
You grounded most/all grounds to factory locations along with factory wiring/grounds.
2, you have 2 power wires to alternator.
3, you have 4-5 wires on the negative of the battery.
,,,Will I still get a improvement by doing this if I keep the factory alternator?
My alternator is only 90 amps
Thanks
Correct also don’t forget ground to engine block and yes even stock alt more current helps
I was wondering why should you keep the stock wiring when doing the big 3 and also should fuse the power wire and if so where do I fuse it?
Adding to just beefs up the electrical wiring even more, some do remove the stock but not required. Fusing is always safest yes within 6inches of power wire near battery
@@JacobViral2 so when I do it, do I fuse the power wire that comes off the alternator to the battery?
@@IsaiahBell228 yes you can 👍
When I fuse it what do I go by to select the fuse size?
@@IsaiahBell228 Standard 0 guage wire rating at 18-20', I always just did 250 amp fuse and did 2 runs to double up.
Soooo you had 3grounds on the alternator due to a back battery correct????
How much 0 gauge wire do you think you used for the big3/4? Figuring with 2 batteries like you did.
They have big 3 kits; amzn.to/3HMsIij ; you can use for under hood only. The back isn’t part of big 3 but an amp kit.
✨🗣I need a xs power battery for my dodge charger.can u send me a link to purchase ✨
Probably a group 34 agm like amzn.to/3ViRq0I under the hood and group 31 agm in the back. If not amazon, checkout www.down4soundshop.com/accessories/batteries/xs-power/?afmc=z2&
Get some terminal distributor blocks. Not that much and it looks much better.
If I run 4 awg power wire from battery to alt, and my alternator is rated at 120a, what size fuse would I use just to prevent damage in case a short occurs?
Rated amps of wire, most do 250-300 fuses, but if it’s 4 awg probably 150/200
Should use the velgate terminal for a nicer look
Why not do a new power wire to your starter also??
Because this is about car audio.
Okay I understand this but what is the point in a “big 3 upgrade” what happens if I don’t do it , what could happen . what is the benefit of making this upgrade
It's for better electrical current draw across the system and vehicle. Usually people with after market car audio systems running 1,000 watts or more do it.
@@JacobViral2 so if my truck drops voltage at 3,000 or higher rpms because of my 2k scar monoblock amp does this mean it won’t drop lovage anymore if I do “the big 3” because my alternator and battery are brand new and I don’t know what else my car loses battery to other than my power wire to my amp
@@brianwillett6717 ye I would do the big 3 and upgrade agm to one like this amzn.to/33NEKrR to sustain 2,,000 watts
@@JacobViral2 aye man I appreciate it fr
I have not seen any videos or verbal content displaying someone doing the big 3 on 2013 Kia Optima can it be done to these vechiles
You run the Kia over the scales and get you a vic or marquis 😂😁
I have my ground for the alternator from bolt, grounded to the strut tower bolt and reads 0 ohms, does that make a difference not being grounded to the battery directly? Does that cause a ground loop?
Multiple grounds isn’t going to hurt your good
@@JacobViral2 Thanks man, so it doesn't have to be grounded directly? Now I'm having problems with my H.O alt. Battery is 6 years old, new alt. Tested alt with car running, fluxuating between 11.8- 12 then when alt kicks in, shoots up to 15v. Car is off right now, charged batt up to 12.26, took off the charger and now battery is draining back under 12.
@@BEAZY_5150 I would do both personally, age can be a sign of replacement too
Really enjoying your second channel and the knowledge.
Thank you Sir 🎉
Glad to help 👍
Nice video, good explanations. Keep it up bro 😎👍
Thanks glad to help
I wouldn’t leave that engine ground hanging down like that, I’d look it and ziptie to factory wiring. Also, did you not in-line fuse your power > alt wire? I have a Honda with the stupid ELD sensor so idk if it’s going to help but I’m gonna try it anyways, good video though brother
Thanks Jacob🙌 I needed this knowledge😂
Your welcome! Be sure to subscribe if you haven't!
Will doing this make voltage drop even lower, or will it make the voltage drop less?
Less drop
Question. On my 06 F150 my engine ground block is on the back of the motor and stock 8g wire ran to the firewall. Would I be able to use that ground from the firewall to the battery or go directly from the starter to the battery?
Double up both grounds if able.
I have my power ran straight from the alternator to a second battery and then have the amp hook to my second battery I had to take my system out because every time I was at a red light for a stop sign and even if I had the music Low when I would start driving again the truck would really struggle I have a 2009 Ford F150 with two 12in 10000 watts each with a 4500 watt amp I already replace my alternator once and a new battery would I have to still get a high powered alternator or do you think if I just ran the big three it would help a lot more or should I do both? Sorry if my question is a little confusing or a little bit everywhere
It’s going to always be best to cover every option so both 👍
Short run inside engine 4ga ofc copper wire is plenty 95% of the people and is good way past 5000w system tbh
You should explain what kinda power from the amps and subs you running before you have a lot of this people running around trying to buy 1/0 ofc gauge to run a 500rms amp. So I really suggest stating that before anything. Big 3 is always good even with a 500rms amp. All you will need is 4 gauge wire and you'll be fine. Unless you want to upgrade later then you use 1/0 but to the people who won't i suggest start with 4 gauge
He should also mention that not all vehicles even need a big 3 at all too. My 200Sx was spraying sparks with the live trying to hook the battery and alternator and throwing my amp into protection mode. Without the live and the upgraded grounds left alone i was reading 14+v from a stock alternator from a junk yard
My 2018 Kia already comes with 140 Amp alternator and 4 Gauge wires to the +/-.(200amp Fuse factory) I don't see the necessity of doing this, I'm only running one 12" - 750-1000 watt rms amp/woofer, and 200rms amp/speakers. My lights don't dim at all. Maybe its good for older cars?
It’s always good to double up and I would check your voltage when bumping to see how much you drop.
@@JacobViral2 It does 14.2V when I'm bumping.
If I gotta battery in the back I just gotta run ground wire from alternator to the back no power wire?
Power and ground runs.
@@JacobViral2 bet that’s what I was thinking I appreciate it.
@@JacobViral2 I can use 0 gauge power wire as ground wire? I can only find power wire when I try to get some online.
@@JacobViral2 just ordered 50ft of sky high ofc 0 gauge wire to do two runs from the front to back thanks man. Still gotta do a big 3 tho.
@@AudioAddict. All wire is the same concept correct and can use it for big3 too. Nice job, don't forget to use discount code 'JACOBVIRAL' if you shop at sky high/d4s/xplicit/jeff
I just do not understand why, the big three. What is the purpose? Thank you
It's if you are going to use a lot of power. Small wire will melt with too much power. Imagine a garden hose connected to a fire hydrant.
It is to lower electrical resistance so your aftermarket stereo/sound system can work to it's full potential without roasting your car's wiring.
It's how you go from little boy bang to big boy bang.... Now we in the big League 😂
No need of a fuse on the positive wire?
It's always safer and recommended to fuse yes but I didn't
yo thats my engine, thanks man
No problem
Does anyone know where or how to do it on a 2006 Nissan Altima?
I have 07 dts and puting js 300 amp alt in i can't find the ground that goes from engine to chassis there is a stock ground from alt to chassis can I make a new engine to chassis ground, do you know
Yes ground to the alternator casing and 1-2 anywhere in chassis locations.
@@JacobViral2 thank you 😊
Thank you for showing your upgrade. I still confuse why you use black wires to hook on the battery positive terminal. Very informative video.
It’s what I had and used it, color is just cosmetic. Thanks glad to help.
I got a question if you do the big 3 do you have to upgrade your alternator
No you aren’t required to upgrade alt when doing big3 but of course upgraded amp alt gives more current
Gr8 tutorial bro
What if I keep my stock battery stock but go up to 1000ca/800cca instead of 700ca/550cca??
Should I do this if I’m running an amp for subs and one for just four door speakers at most pulling 2800 watts combined in a 96 explorer
Yes definitely as your vehicle stock electrical isn’t made for the power you run for a system
@@JacobViral2so I just installed a small second battery for my subs and really don’t want to spent 300-400 on a high output alternator there’s still a draw on my battery and was wondering if not having the wiring upgraded yet could be the cause of that
What does the amount of guages mean? You say 8 and zero Guage a lot but I don't know they mean lol so I'm a bit lost
It’s the thickness of the wire, 0 being much larger with more wire. Google explains it easiest is you lookup products
What alternator belt did you use on this if you have the part number would be great thanks
Hi Jacob! My oem wire from alt to battery goes to a fuse block under hood. When doing the big 3 charge wire do I bypass the oem alt to battery wire a d leave it in place then do my 1/0 from alt to battery? Or do I run my 1/0 like the factory did to the oem fuse block?
Stock Fuse block I never needed to touch, just add wires to the critical.
Would do big 3 but my Ford Focus makes it nearly impossible to get to the alternator in the first place still hold over 14v on over 3k tho that’s only doing extra ground wire.
Some cars don't need a big 3 at all. My Nissan 200Sx was spraying sparks trying to hook the live from the alternator to the main battery and kept putting my amp into protection mode. Uninstall the live and left the ground hooked to the alternator and i was pushing over 14v and would rarely drop below 12v on a 2k draw
@@ChaosTherapy719cause you don't know what the shit you're doing
Hey Jacob I have a 21 Chevy Equinox I looked and my battery under the hood is an AC Delco AGM 20 hr capacity/ 70 Amp Hour/ CCA 700...is that good enough to run a 2,000-3,000 watt amp for subs or should I upgrade the battery?
You need a 2nd back battery with atleast 80-100ah as well to support 2-3k rms. I suggest amzn.to/3auptzu Group 31 agm
@@JacobViral2 Jeez...100 ah for just 2-3000 watts? Could I get by on 50-80 ah? That's a lot of money for one battery
@@trickedoutequinox3265 yea car audio can get expensive. I mean you can get by with a group 34 amzn.to/3mf8nZ6 but make sure to do big 3 wire and monitor voltage with meter
@Jacob Viral2 I actually found a volt meter that plugs into cigarette lighter that is super accurate for only 15 bucks...it's really nice and goes down to the 100th like 13.43 instead of just 13.4
@@trickedoutequinox3265 nice and that plug works but always best for seeing voltage at the amp/back battery
Is it unsafe not adding a fuse between the battery and alternator positive connection?
It’s recommended but if all secure and no overheat issues or crossovers I don’t see a problem.
Is it ok to run different sizes of batteries? Different brands? I just put a platinum AGM battery under hood am planning to run several small kinetiks in the back because I only have maybe 5in. to spare.
One other question. Shouldn't the ground to alt take care of ground to engine block if alt casing is grounded directly to the block?
It’s fine long as same technology, and for grounds it’s safest to double up and do both but realistically same thing but two different locations.
Would the big 3 still work if I don’t ground to the engine ground? Just the alternator and body ?
Yes, doubling up and additional anywhere is always helpful but overkill at times.
@@JacobViral2 ok appreciate that because I sure didn’t feel like finding an engine ground and running a wire to it
What's the point of doing a big 3 or 4??
Sweet bass action brother wise words of wisdom knowledge and education spoken from a very wise man who knows car audio
you running a damn power plant in this car!
Is it a good idea to also have a smaller pulley on the high amp alternator?
Some do that for Faster RPM reasons yes
I have a 2013 f150 with the 5.0l coyote. I just ordered my system and will be running a Skar audio 1500.1 monoblock amp. Should I do this to my truck or will I be alright with the stock electrical. I know it doesn't hurt to do it, but I'm just wondering if it's worth the trouble and money for the 1k watt RMS system.
I would suggest big 3 for anyone going bigger then 1k+watts as a system that big isn’t ever made for stock electrical
@@JacobViral2 okay thanks I will start looking into it!
I am learning so much man tanks for great videos
Thanks for making this video where can I make a ground from engine to chassis I can't find my stock engine ground but my alt is grounded to chassis with 0 guage
Check the side of your vehicles panel Mount hole locations.
@@JacobViral2 thanks
@@JacobViral2 I got the 300 amp alt on from js alternators I wonder if there's something wrong with it because my car is staying in high 12s while driving while parked sometimes it goes up to 14
@@basscaddy1449 If you have a plug driving from your vehicles computer/regulator then that may be it. Idk much about alternators.
How many watts rms can that battery power ?
Depending on alternator power 2-3k rms
So by doing this do i still need to hook up a second battery?
If you have a system I would. Also depends what your doing.
So I'm gonna do this next to my 08 civic. Only running 1k watt amp, 2100watt sub. I was told if I run a 0 or 1 gauge I would have to upgrade the alternator is this true?
You can run upgraded wire on a stock alt and be fine. The high output alt would help your electrical for your system more is all with more amperage supply.
@@JacobViral2 I had a feeling thanks
This didn’t explain anything on why we should do it 🙄
how many watts before upgrading
1,000 watts clamped rms, probably anything over that you’ll start seeing major electrical voltage spike drops and unsafe