3G upgrade question March 20, 2007, 03:36:33 AM Hey guys & gals, My alternator quit charging over the weekend so i figured it would be a good time to upgrade to the 130 amp 3G.My question is,what is the best route to run the 4 gauge wire and where to place the fuse holder. thanks in advance, Joe Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #1 – March 20, 2007, 07:17:56 AM I ran mine around the core support like the factory wiring and put the fuse behind the core suppport.Keep it all looking factory......except I polished my alternator. Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #2 – March 20, 2007, 10:13:27 AM When I did mine last November,instead of using a fuse holder I just went ahead and soldered 2 pieces of #12 fuse link to the end of the 4 ga. cable and hooked it up to my solenoid. plus I did the whole conversion for less than $47 inc. alt. Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #3 – March 20, 2007, 10:42:29 AM I used a 150-amp circuit breaker from the stereo shop...a measly $20, and no fuses to blow or fusible links to replace. A small arm just pops out if the CB pops...just push it back in to reset. Couldn't be simpler. Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #4 – March 20, 2007, 08:54:14 PM I do not have any fuses or circuit breaker installed in mine. I ran a heavy gauge wire (not quite as big as the battery cables) from the alternator around the core support directly to the battery. Mine has been done for about 4-5 years without any problems. What would installing a fuse or circuit breaker prevent? Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #6 – March 20, 2007, 09:29:02 PM Quote from: bhazard;135483uhhh....fire? death? Yeah, thatA fuse, fusible link, or C.B. will prevent fire if the alternator shorts out, or if that wire happens to rub on metal (very possible with it always moving on the alt end and ancd on the battery end). Where you've got yours running along the rad support, even a minor collision could pinch that wire and burn your car to the ground.I ran my wire along the top of the engine over to the solenoid, and loomed it with factory style loom. It's not particularly neat, but it's as neat as the factory would have done it (in other words, it's as messy as the rest of the wiring harness). I used a MAXI fuse holder with a 100 amp auto-reset, "slow blow" circuit breaker (of course, cop car parts :hick:) - not quite up to the 130 amp rating of the alt, but it's never tripped yet... Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #7 – March 20, 2007, 10:11:40 PM I used a 2nd generation (92-95) taurus harness taken complete from the alternator to the taurus underhood fuse box. All the plugs and fuse links are there. Plug and play (with the exception of needing to splice the green "s" wire) and it is the correct length when run along the core just as the old 2g power wire was run back to the solenoid. Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #8 – March 21, 2007, 02:01:31 AM Thanks guys.Does the fuse or circuit breaker need to be closer to the alternator or solenoid or does it matter? Joe Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #9 – March 21, 2007, 09:18:47 AM Closer to the solenoid, always. Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #10 – March 21, 2007, 09:39:31 AM Always always. In any electrical circuit the fuse should be as close to the battery as possible - this goes for fog lights, amplifiers, stereo systems, and anything else. Just remember that any wiring between the battery and the fuse is unprotected, so you want to make this length as short as possible Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #11 – March 21, 2007, 01:57:45 PM http://www.mustangmonthly.com/howto/26599/http://www.corral.net/tech/maintenance/130a-tech.htmlhttp://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2001/03/paperformance/http://www.mustangworld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=130046 Quote Selected
3G upgrade question Reply #12 – March 22, 2007, 06:06:26 AM Thanks everyone.Wiring is not my strong point,but y'all have been a big help.I'll be starting on it as soon as i get everything rounded up.I'll keep y'all posted. Thanks again, Joe Quote Selected