So I searched but found nothing. Does anybody have a walkthrough on doing the Big 3. I feel that with all the talk about alt's and caps and batt's that doing the Big 3 would be a good cost effective approach to trying to stabalize my voltage without having to buy new alt. Any help would be appreciated but please dont turn this thread into cap vs alt vs @$#%... Thanks.

 

what kind of issues are you having? I have a D1 with Alpine type R components in the front and type R coxials in the back and Alpine V12 4ch amp with 1 farad digital cap and stock batt and alt with no voltage drain or dimming. I live in Mass and if I could help please let me know.

 

Im not necessarily having any problems, its just that if lets say im driving in the city and have to stop at a bunch of red lights, my volatge drops down to like mid-12's. It doesnt do it all the time but its done it enough to get me thinking. I was going to get a cap but from what I have been reading, it seems that doing the Big 3 is a good alternative to getting a cap.

And I appreciate the willingness to help, Thanks.

 

My amp voltage dips down (12s) as well. Its a big amp too. But I don't have any electrical/dimming problems. Unless you feel like the weaker signal is lowering your sound output, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

i dunno what my voltage drop to everytime my bass hits, but im guessin its in the 10's b/c my light dim like a b****. i need to get a voltmeter to actually see it. but to solve that problem, get a optima red top, and invest in a higher amp alternator. maybe even get a NST overdrive alternator. it will help some.

 

actually a nice 5 farad capacitor will knock out any light dimming issues and stable out your signal. NO need whatsoever for a new battery and alternator. Unless you're running multiple high current amps, those are Totally unneccessary. IMGHO

 

yeah I dont have any dimming problems or things of that nature. I was just looking for a way to attempt to stabalize my voltage a little better than it is right now WITHOUT having to a buy an alterator. I know that nothing really beats a higher amp alt, but that is out of the question money wise. And ThetC, I do feel that my output is weaker when Im just idling for awhile, thats why I want to get a more stable power signal to try to keep quality optimized.

The purpose of this thread though was too see if any one had done or had a walkthrough for doing the big 3 on a tC. I appreciate the advice about the cap but thats not what Im looking for.

 

well, based on how u describe it...a CAP is EXACTLY what u need. A cap stablilizes the signal!!!!!! what else do u want?!!! But if you wanna spend your money on "the Big three" lol, then go rite ahead. Just an enormous waste of $$$, time, and effort IMO, and the opinion of at least 2 professional installers I discussed this with when I first setup my system. Whatever floats your boat kid...

 

im running a jl 1000/1 amp. its a 1000watts rms. and with just that 1 amp, my light dim. a cap wont help for s***. lol

 

are you asking what the big 3 is? (1. power wire from alt to batt (+), 2. ground from alt to chassis, 3. batt to chassis. )

you decide where to run the wires basically... also a grounding kit may help as well... i'm running a self-made one and it helped out with things (though i'm not running any audio, so i can't say how much it helps in that department)

 

for record... with the audio kids out there

for every 1000w RMS you are putting out, you need 1 farad cap (ideally). I am going to be running (2) 600w RMS amps, so i am installing (2) 1.2 farad caps (one cap to each amp... for functionality and show).

as for a grounding kit... it wont help you much. It helps in audio a LITTLE, but not much at all.

 

def do the big 3 if u're upgrading audio stuff. i'm doing that along with a 2f cap and the red top battery when i install the rest of my audio stuff. the thing to remember is that if u're gonna run the big 3, just be careful about where the wires are being run. the wire from the alt to the batt should be kept a good distance from the header shield. if u don't, it has a chance of melting from the heat. other than that one wire, the big 3 is a simple and pretty effective first step. if that doesn't take care of any problems u may have, then go with a battery and cap. some people have said that the cap is basically useless, some people swear by it. i got the cap first, but looking back, i prob should've just done the battery first.

 

^^ to add to some of what is being said I have a cap and thinkit works great it stays at 13.8 at idle. As for the batt. the Red top is what most say but the yellow top is a better batt. I am getting a red top because I think yellow is ugly...but if u look at the top audio competitors they all are using yellow top optima batt.......hope u get this fixed however u see fit....

 

Larry,

Big 3 is cake in a tC...I haven't managed to do it yet, but I'll post pictures when it happens.

For people w/ Yellow/Red tops...

http://www.tsunamionline.com/product.php?id=300

It's awesome...I'm debating it myself