Big 3 Upgrade w/ Pictures & Optima Yellow Top
Today I did the big 3 Upgrade on my 9G. This was my first time doing this on any car but I think it went pretty well, and I remembered to take pictures so I could post a quick run through to the forum.
I purchased the NVX's big 3 kit from sonicelectronix and even though I'm completely new to wiring I think this is pretty good stuff. It's 1/0 gauge, 4704 strand, oxygen free copper. The kit I used came with 6 feet of power wire, 2 4 foot runs of ground wire, ring terminals (3 pre attached and 3 loose), pre cut heat shrink, and mounting hardware.
http://i.imgur.com/NJ8e8Sh.jpg
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For cutting the wire I just used a simple pair of garden sheers and they did the trick well enough. I used a hammer crimper to attach the terminals but I wish I would of had something better. The crimps were ok but I know they could have been better.
http://i.imgur.com/u0DGJPn.jpg
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I started with removing the weather strip from the lip under the hood. This is where I drilled to hang the power wire from the alternator to the pos battery terminal.
http://i.imgur.com/WFKa1lP.jpg
I zip tied the new wire to the old one until I split it off to towards the fire wall. I had to use a zip tie for the first connection because I drilled to close to where I mounted the fuse holder and couldn't get a good angle with a hanger. The fuse holder mounted perfectly in that open spot on the fire wall with some self tapping screws, there was nothing but open space behind it. It's a little farther down the wire then I wanted but it will work just fine. all the wires are wrapped in cheapo 3/4" split loom.
http://i.imgur.com/1z4Igyn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mNy7U4g.jpg
Next up was grounding the engine. I ran the engine ground from an alternator bracket bolt to the point for the factory grounding strap. I made sure to sand off the paint down to bare metal then sprayed with a rust inhibitor AFTER mounting the ring terminal.
http://i.imgur.com/p9R9HZ5.jpg
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Running the ground from the negative battery terminal actually turned out a little tricky. I couldn't use the side posts like I planned for the factory wiring because the post rubbed the fender wall so cut it off and put the wires into a new NVX terminal with multiple inputs. unfortunately cutting them made them a little to short so I had to get creative. One side was removed from the factory loom to get a little more length, and the other I had to drill a new hole for the ground a little to the left. I was going to ground the new wire to a strut tower bolt but the ring terminal was too small. I had to use the old factory ground location for now after sanding it down. It's just a flimsy piece of sheet metal but it will do for now. I am going to drill out the ring terminal and move it to the strut tower for a better ground soon.
http://i.imgur.com/TJvNsjv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/CY8qDCa.jpg
The new positive terminal has another 0 gauge output that is unused right now so I can easily add a power wire for an amplifier.
http://i.imgur.com/jmjt902.jpg
Here's the full run from one end to the other
http://i.imgur.com/ESDpx1Q.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/jMpUEl3.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/JmWL9gy.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rCLiLBk.jpg
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http://i.imgur.com/NcehZrX.jpg
And finally a couple full finished shots.
http://i.imgur.com/gBzUU2N.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/BrjqhOF.jpg
