Radioflyer97's How-To Post #6: Big 3 Electrical upgrade.

Lets stop for a moment to think about The charging system in our car. Most C5s have a Valeo alternator with a 110 amp capacity while some have the Mexican 140 amp model. Reguardless, having a look at the OEM wire you'll see that it's a thick stranded ~8 gauge wire with a really wimpy connection. For those of you wanting a high output audio system or just want to see your voltmeter hover at the normal 13.5v range, you need the "Big-3" upgrade:

The "Big-3" is a setup of three wires (typically 4 awg audio grade)

Wire 1 (main power) Runs from the alternator (+) to the battery (+)
Wire 2 (Alternator ground) runs from alternator mounting bolt to frame grouding point
Wire 2 (Battery Ground) Runs from battery (-) to frame ground

Alternator hookups (note the wires are the same color but were eventually changed once I got more silver)
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c200/radioflyer1986/CIMG0884.jpg

Grounding point:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c200/radioflyer1986/CIMG0883.jpg

Power/ground to and from battery (going through the plastic battery shield)
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c200/radioflyer1986/CIMG0882.jpg

This completes the electrical circuit from the alternator extending the life of your battery, alternator and allows you to get the most out of your electrical system.

For those of you wondering, I'm running a 200 amp custom built alternator on a 1200w sound system. I can Idle and blare the stereo and not go below 13.3v

:cheers: