"Big Three / Grounding Kit" - Improving your electrical grounds

chomorro21

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I finished the Big Two upgrade and here is my cliff notes review.

I had problems with the install, because i had received two positive terminals the negative would not clamp onto the post so i had to wrap wire around it to make it thicker just so i could drive the car home, and ordered a new negative terminal but i hope these are resized for the smaller negative posts. The positive post also did not clamp on as tight as i would like it to, maybe i just have a small battery i don't know. I also had to go out and buy a 15 dollar wire cutter at home depot because it just made the job much easier(i should have bought it here Cheaper price) , the thick wire is a pain in the butt to cut without it, the only other problem i had was the thicker oem power cable has to stretch to reach the positive post even after i only snipped off the connector and nothing more, this makes me uncomfortable because its always under tension and i don't like the idea that it could pull it self out at sometime in the future. Took about 45 minutes to do it all. I will l take pics once i replace the negative terminal.

Over all it was a cheap and easy upgrade to do that i needed to be done asap anyways because my terminals were corroded. My headlights do seem brighter after doing the install and because i have some extra stuff, I am going to replace the small ground wire on the side of the motor connected to the motor mount. Probably wont do any thing in terms of improvement but it will look better :). AS a price comparison at autozone similar style terminals that were gold plated cost about 15.99 per terminal. Parts express was a much better deal.
 
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steadypimpin

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I ordered the 2 battery terminals and will be doing this soon. I will post pics and results soon. Where's a good place to buy the wire from? I would like to be able to pick some up somewhere.
 

xluben

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here's the cheapest stuff around:

50ft. Red 1/0

50ft Silver 1/0

50ft Red 2AWG

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

here is probably the cheapest big three kit:

Red 2AWG - $39.95 (1)

2AWG ANL Fuse Holder - $6.95 (1)

150amp ANL Fuse -$1.45 (1)

Pair of 1/0 Ring Terminals -$ 2.95 (3)
(they don't carry 2AWG ring terminals)

which totals to = $57.20

you'll probably use less than 10ft of wire, and you can easily sell the rest on a
car audio forum. you'll probably end up making nearly all your money back
(as long as they don't figure out where you got it from :D)

if you're going to install a stereo, just add:

(-) Battery Terminal - $3.95 (1)

(+) Battery Terminal - $3.95 (1)

2AWG ANL Fuse Holder - $6.95 (1)

150amp ANL Fuse -$1.45 (1)

which totals to = $73.50

with a big three and a single run to the trunk you should still have about half
the roll left. as mentioned before you can sell the rest and make back quite a
bit of money. even if you don't sell the rest, that total would get you less
than 10ft of 1/0 from circuit city!!!
 

steadypimpin

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engine_bay_8-4-05copy.jpg


You can see how flexible this P3 wire is for how big it is.

You're Done! - That's it. As you've probably figured out, I only did 2/3 of the "Big 3". You can upgrade your Alternator (+) to Battery (+) if you want to, but I don't really see the point if you don't have a High Output Alternator. With a stock alternator it's pointless IMO.[/QUOTE]



Umm, Isnt the alternator below where you did that?
 

Wildman

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latest response in the world, sorry haha

yeah, the alternator is just below that. I didn't say that was the alternator - I used that point as the engine to chassis point simply because it was the simplest spot. You can ground the engine to the chassis almost anywhere though.

the 3rd step to this if you want to do it is alternator to battery, but I skipped that. if someone does do that step and takes some pictures I'll add their section to the original DIY post.
 

Freedom_Fighter

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if i was to purchase a + terminal will i be able to use it ob the negative?...because parts-express is out of stock..
 

steadypimpin

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Hey I was wondering why you didnt upgrade the other ground wire that goes from the neg. terminal to a spot on the tranny I think by the tranny dip stick? I changed that wire out too. I guess thats kind of the same as the one you did by the alternator?
 

angelusnhc

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i know this is super old but i got a question. and yes i did read all 5 pages.

why do you need a fuse for the battery to alternator?

i saw one post that said "fused if possible".

so does that mean i can run it without a fuse?

and just to make sure the more grounds the better right?
 
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