So my 1/0 is overkill? </font>[/QUOTE]nope, niether is mine [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

 

In reality the factory connections get corroded and gunked up pretty quickly. Change all three to ensure proper clean connections and to ensure you are using the factory charging system to its full potential.
Since you are changing the wires you might as well use a decent guage incase you decide to up the power and go with a bigger alt down the road.
I'll say again - Do it once and be done with it. </font>[/QUOTE]So you agree with me then. Aside from some perceived factory wire quality problem (only ever noticed that on Fords personally) there is no other reason to upgrade the charge lead nor the motor ground other than it looks purty and you're in there anyway. </font>[/QUOTE]Not at all. Seeing that you have already observed a trend of bad quality wiring on a major automobile manufacturer why would you not be wise enough to see that the best solution is to do the upgrade on any vehicle as many people find it a major improvement no matter the vehicle.

 

My - wire off my battery is stock,goes from the battery,to the block and then theres a 10 awg from the block at the same location going to the inner fender near the battery.
Should i just upgrade the 10 awg from the block to fenderwell or go directly from the battery to the inner fender?
Should i take out the 10awg all together or leave it in place?
Not to hi jack thread just need a quick answer,thanx

 

^If the stock -ve from batt to frame, frame to block, etc, are in good shape I would just leave them and double them all up with brand new wires. Add don't replace. You get even more that way.

 

Excellent advice Paul! [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

you dont know how many times I see 1/0awg to the rear of the car with no upgrade to the factory ground..

And of course when the product fails its always the amp and not the installer [img]graemlins/bump.gif[/img]

 

yea i second that. can someone please expalin the big 3, i am a noob and dotn know much so please put it in lamens terms.

 

The Big 3 are the wires that power your system (that means all the electrical system, not only the sound system).
That means:
-The ground wire from your battery to the body of the car.
-The power wire from your alternator to your battery.
-For the third one, it's the one between your alternator and the body of the car(your alternator is grounded by it's frame on the engine, so you need to upgrade the ground wire between the engine and the body)
When you add a big sound system to your car, that means you will draw more current. When they build the car, the engineers didn't desing that system to provide that much current. So, if you want to get big power, you need big wires. Like some said in that topic, if you put a big power wire to power your amplifier, you also need a bigger ground wire from the battery to the car body. If you upgrade your alternator, you also need a bigger wire between it and the battery to be sure it can handle that bigger current. You can also do it with your stock alternator, it can't be bad, when you talk about wires, bigger is always better, cause the bigger wire, means less resistance, so better current flow. The only reason why oem wires are smaller is because bigger wires cost much money. So if cost isn't an issue, go with all bigger power and ground wires, but the most important ones are the ground wire from your battery to the car's body and the one between the engine(or even better, on one of the alternator's mounting bolts)and the body. The third one is the power one between the alternator and the battery, this is why we call it the BIG3.

[ January 24, 2005, 07:14 PM: Message edited by: Mil ]

 

So you agree with me then. Aside from some perceived factory wire quality problem (only ever noticed that on Fords personally) there is no other reason to upgrade the charge lead nor the motor ground other than it looks purty and you're in there anyway. [/

So Dukk, that means anyone with a ford should maybe change all three anyway? just curious i have a ford probe, haha.