i know this has got to be the easiest thing to get done but it doesnt seem to work with me.... so i got everything connected

ALT+ > fuse holder > battery+
engine ground > chassis
battery ground > chassis

is this right? lets say it is right... but when i connect everything to the battery IT SPARKS and go crazy.... NOWMY CAR WONT START!!!

 

ok so i got the car starting down... the battery fuse blew.... now i was wondering why is the BIG 3 UPGRADE causing the spark and fuse popping and catching on fire!!!!!!!!!!

 

Double check that everything is going to the correct spot. There should be no reason for a large amount of sparks or your fuse to catch on fire.

 

double check triple check.... i even put a 300a fuse in the inline holder.... thats when it couldnt blow so it caught on fire... does anyone have a detailed picture of exactly where and how they wired on a CL.

wasted about 40 bucks on fuses... and it still dont work... so sad

 

You have your polarities wrong some where.

 

Yea u wired something wrong. U must be buying fuses from a audio store where they r like 5-10 a piece ebay man ebay.

 

Did you removed the old factory wires or add to them.like doubling them up.
just follow the oem wires for guides.Then if you decide to go just to your big 3 upgrade wires it's just as easy.
What gauge wire are you using ?
You should not be blowing fuses unless you have the polarity like said before backwards.
And you should not melt wire if you are using atleast a 4 gauge minimum alt to battery wire.
Just out of curiosity what size fuses were you blowing ?

 

@Richard

He said in post #4 he tried a 300 amp and that's what caught the wire on fire. PLEASE check your connections and make sure NOTHING is touching.

 

I know but, he was blowing fuses before he installed the 300 amp fuse that was starting a fire.

Check first post.
Or get your comprehension skills up.
I know what I was asking and
if you could comprehend what was going on you would too.

 

300A??? You need a 150A WAFFLE FUSE (More than Enough for our Alternators)... Re-Check wiring I think you are Hitting grounds with the Positive Wire.

 

^ uh no.. you dont put anything higher than the actual amp rating of what ever its being used for. 5 amps over is the max i would go for anything. having a higher rating makes it harder to blow and would more than likely help fry what ever its hooked up to.


and if its not obvious on the battery that you are shorting it somehow, i would check the connector you have on the alt post to make sure its not grounding out either on the alt case or anything else near it. do not keep adding fuses, if its blowing even a 100a fuse youre doing it wrong.

 

^ Thank you WLG. Exactly what i said several posts ago.

 

Easy kid. Everyone is just trying to help. I imagine R Parkers audio knowledge may be higher than yours so calm down.

 

Hummm I'm pretty sure I ran all the wires right... Can someone take pictures of how they wire the big 3? To be exact pictures of a 01-03 cl. I was using 2g wires yes I know I spent too much on fuses but that's what I had to get at the time...

 

Connect 1 wire at a time and see which wire causes the problem. Then let us know which wire and we can try from there. Or are you certain its the alternator wire causing it?

 

Man I don't feel like going through sparks and fire again hahaha and going through and buying another battery box fuse from the deal... If any ne has detailed pictures in think that will help?.... Ohh forgot to mention... I had a little paper and duct tape residue on one of the wire but that should matter right

 

No one has detailed picture of where you hook from the alerternater? And etc?

 

...you add a run of power wire from the output post on the alternator. There is probably a boot over it.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/diy-big-3-a-692969/

 

i did that but i didnt do the alt ground to ground.. and i ground to the strut bolt... is there a positive connection there or something? maybe i should use the OEM ground.. but to me it feels so weak of a ground...

 

I dont know how else to explain this. You dont really need the alt ground. You run a cable from the alt post to the positive terminal on the battery. You run a ground from the negative terminal on the battery to the chassis(you can follow the factory ground) then you upgrade the engine block to chassis ground.

 

ok so i shouldnt run engine ground to terminal ground? is that why its sparking? cause i see that the oem is running like so...

 

let me correct myself...

ALT+ --> +terminal
NEG. terminal >> strut tower bolt.(paint removed)
engine ground >> neg terminal.

thats how i had it.

 

u got a neg and pos mixed up... and ur battery is probably fried

 

... battery still good car runs.

 

sounds like you connected the alternator ground to the positive on the battery, thats the only possible mistake

 

no need to run the engine ground to the negative terminal, heres what you do...
run wires from :
-battery negative to chassis
-alternator body/ground to chassis
-alternator (+) to battery (+) with fuse. people say you dont need a fuse but just to be on the safe side...

that should be all you need to do.

all i did in mine was ran the 2 negative wires (battery to chassis and alternator to chassie and it helped my dimming lights alot! didnt run a positive wire at all.

 

pretty sure i hooked up the alt+to terminal + cause the alt+ have that cover over it right? and it has the plastic housing.

 

Have you tried not connecting anything to the wires in the trunk and see if the fuse still blows( use a small amp one first) if it still blows then you have a short somewhere between hood to trunk on your power. Then just run the ground from a shock tower mount, good luck.

 

trunk?!? wait what? i thought this was all done up front

 

Sorry. I started to think this was an amp install. Have. You used a volt meter to check if you have the wires on the right sides??

 

I looked at the stock wires and I followed that... Idk could it be my grounding? I ground to the shock tower... Scraped of some paint.

The positive on the alternator has the rubber boot cover am I correct?

Would it matter if I'm not running 1/0 gauge wire? I'm running the jl audio 2gauge

 

By the sounds of it your + wire from alt to batt is grounded.

Use a digital volt meter and test and understand the factory system before adding any wires. Regardless of a really good DIY with pictures of where wires go always test and understand the electrical circuit so you understand it. Last thing you want is major electrical issues that go beyond just replacing fuses

 

How do I test such thing? I'm not really a electrical guy.... So if you was to ask me something about that area I wouldn't know anything... Hahah please explain on how to test

 

Get a volt meter, and check the voltage in the line? All you do is touch the positive probe to the lead youre trying to test and touch the negative one to a ground.

 

Have you fixed your issue yet ?

Listen man this is how I have mine.

alt to + battery, That line is there for you to follow. It's the biggest one on your alt.
- battery to radiator support ground spot, it there also oem.
- battery to the front trans ground,it there also oem
All these oem wires you will find them all where I said.
That's what you need for your big three.
Don't try to find a alt ground.
Then run your big +wire from battery + to the back for your amps and ground your amps in the back.

(I have a feeling you are looking for a alt ground and that is you problem.)

Some people choose to be safe running a fuse in between the alt and battery + but, I won't unless I'm am close to the wires amp ratting.
0 gauge should be good for 250-300 amps if I remeber correctly.

 

op, if you are sure all your wiring is correct, go back and check all the +cables to make sure it is not "pinched" and grounding out. make sure that all +cables are free from any grounding issues.

 

Chaffed + wire grounding out on the body would pop a fuse every time.

 

No I haven't had time to go back and get this done.... BUT...

What do you mean by this chaffed and pinched?!

 

I don't trust that neg ground to the shock tower, I would try grounding somewhere else