Plus if you have a alarm ,in the bed is no good,power supply is accessible!

 

futhermore . . .

. . . Very good point, but considering some ( more expensive ) alarms have a small reserve power for such loss, but considering this, if you mount the battery where it can be stolen that kinda defeats the purpose of actually having an alarm. Point would be to either mount it under the bed ( in a box or build one ) with an access panel in the bed with a ( fuel door lock " for access " ), or if you have a locking bed cover that would work too. Sometimes the most simple idea can be proven to be retarded if you dont think everything thru. Great points guys ! ! !

L o w N l o u d

 

Okay this is going to be a long one . . .

Okay folks, this is going to be a long one, so bare with me. Im going to help another member and perhaps some of you acomplish a H.O. upgrade with pictures, posts, links and comments accdordingly on how and what to do, the only thing that wont be included is the actual work being done, but, hopefully with step to step and some attentive reading and such, this could and can benefit alot of you ! This upgrade is being done on a 96 Toyota Tacoma, 2wd, I4 with stock engine compartment that is going to outfitted with a 160 amp H.O. alternator along with upgraded wiring cabling and connectors. This is being done so as to supply and store MORE power for ALL electronics, including, but, not limited to Air Bag compressors, etc. I will try and keep this step to step, this upgrade is UNIVERSAL and CAN be changed slightly to help everyone benefit. By the end this Tacoma will be rockN' a H.O. alt and have ample power for anything this member sees fit, he also is planning to move the Battery to the bed later on, BUT, this will NOT be done here, when its done, posts will follow . . . This is the original email . . . Followed by more posts and pictures & links . . . Read closely !

Uhm, I just received my 160 amp from ace alternators today, to replace my stock alternator on my 1996 toyota tacoma 2.4L, and that picture that was made by badlux of the upgrade, I was wondering if the layout of everything in that picture would be the same as my 96 yota (as far as where everything in the engine compartment is located), and pretty much if you could break it down in a more simple way to understand the whole process and what I have to get to do "the big three" upgrade on my truck as to this is my very first time doing something like this. don't get me wrong i've read that thread over and over and over, i just wanna make sure if im spending the money on the wiring and all that stuff, just what exactly i'll need and to do it right. I'm in no hurry to install everything I just wanna get absolutely everything I need and all the info to do it right with no flaws. I'm interested in moving my battery to the bed of my truck along with doing the "the big three" because my truck is on bags and I need as much room in the engine compartment as possible. I was just wondering if you could step me through it since you seem to have alot of knowledge about it.

 

HO ALT upgrade cont. . .

The very first thing Im going to do is Upgrade the GROUNDS first, I am going to upgrade them to 4 gauge for this application. First Neg Battery post to chassis, and the Chassis to engine block, Ill try not to post all the exact links to save on file size and # of posts, but I will include one link to site for every post, they can be found quite easily by description . . .

First thing I need parts . . .

* * * 8 feet 4 gauge cable ( your choice of color, I would use BLACK )

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stinger-Pro-Series-4-Gauge-Black-Power-Wire-SPW14TB-GA_W0QQitemZ200206702247QQihZ010QQcategoryZ32810QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

* * * Negative Battery post connector capable of of accepting 4 gauge wire ( the ultimate one you choose is up to you )

* * * 3 ring terminal ends ( be sure of ring size and wire handling )

Okay, Im going to loosen the stock Neg battery cable from battery for safety and to continue on. After that, I am now going to make a new, Neg Battery to firewall connector, take the 4 gauge cable and make a new link from the post to the fenderwell with one NEW ring terminal ( this should be roughly 12" long ), then make another cable setup to run from frame to engine block with the same cable and the other two ring terminals, the stock Toyota location is usually from the frame below the intake running to the engine block itself, most likely a 6 - 8 gauge wire & black ( stock bolts will be reused ), make sure to sand, grind, prepare surfaces so they are free of rust, corrosion, etc. Install the Engine block to frame cable, then install the fenderwell ring terminal end and leave the Neg Battery cable disconnected during the rest of this install . . .

continued . . .

 

HO ALT continued . . .

The next thing Im going to do is install the New H.O. Alternator. Disconnect the Postive side of the battery at this point and leave it unhooked along with the NEW Neg cable. Most all of these bad boy ALTS are outfitted with stock vehicle harnesses ( which hopefully you researched during purchasing ) but they will need added to ( as we will do next after we install it ), hook the stock charging wire up and plug in the stock connector, this will allow the alternator to receive a current from the ignition to excite the coil inside, and it will also, allow the ( charge light ) to still be functional. After this we need to ADD a New charging wire to be capable of handling the Alternators high output ( IN this case 160 amps FULL OUTPUT )

for this we need . . .

* * * 10 feet of ( 0 gauge wire, RED is what Ide use )

* * * Ring terminal sized for Alternator ring terminal ( easy measurements if collected before install of ALT ) sized for 0 gauge wire on the other end to connect to the NEW cabling

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stinger-Pro-Series-0-Gauge-Red-Power-Wire-SPW10TR-0-1_W0QQitemZ200206702234QQihZ010QQcategoryZ32810QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

* * * assorted zip ties & or connectors for you to install cable where you choose

* * * New 0 gauge applicable fuse box ( I use only ANL ) & in this case a 200 amp ANL fuse ( this is ample to protect this 0 gauge Cabling, which is at this point our weakest link, this cable is able to handle 245 amps full load )

* * * New Positive post terminal ( for this case, this one )

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stinger-0-4-8-Gauge-Platinum-Battery-Terminal-SPT53102_W0QQitemZ170200669063QQihZ007QQcategoryZ50549QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Okay, make up a ( 0 gauge cable ) that is going to run to the battery from the HO ALT, on on end, install the NEW ring terminal, on the other prepare and install the other side of the NEW wire to the Positive Battery terminal. At this point decide where you want you NEW ( 0 gauge fusebox ) to go. " I recommend within a foot of the battery ". Install the fuseblock and fuse and secure it where it will now exist. At this point we have our HO ALT installed plugged into the stock wiring harness and have a NEW cable with fuseblock/fuse able to handle the surge of new energy. We will be able to use stock DUMMY lights, we didnt eliminate the stock charging wire or mess anything up as it normally would work.

continued . . .

 

HO ALT continued . . .

At this point install everything back on the NEW Postive terminal that was eliminated by the STOCK terminal ( i.e. fusebox wire, acc. wires and whatever else you have added on to your system ) . . . Okay at this point we have everything essential to operate, charge and store the NEW current, we have all stock lights, wires and fuses intact and have cut NOTHING out ( and we wont have to, except of course the old Battery terminals which we will present to the garbage ). We now have both Negative terminal and Positive terminal disconnected and can go further at this time with upgrades to Fuseblock power supply, Starter, Acessories like Air compressors, Stereo and so on. But for essential connections we are done, all we have to do is connect the terminals and Test it out !

BUT, If you wanna go further . . .

*( Starter Wire Upgrade )* " Before you do this, double chaeck and make sure no connections are on or connected to the battery at all ! " The New Positive terminal we installed, can accept a new 4 gauge wire for our starter ( main supply voltage ), prepare ( cut to length ) " at addition cost " some NEW 4 gauge cable and connect it to the NEW terminal and run it to the starter with a new ring terminal for connection, The Ignition or Stock exciting wire to the solenoid to the fuseblock should and will be untouched as well as the fuse inside the stock fuseblock.

* At this point you have upgraded the main power wire to the starter with a Bigger 4 gauge wire that the stock solenoid wire from stock fuseblock and fuse activates . . . *

* Feel free to access AWG cable wire sizes and capacities below, Please take into consideration lengths of wire to be run " with consideration for " voltage loss, total MAXIMUM and MINIMUM AMPerage ratings accordingly. This site also has a voltage calculator just in case ( VERY Helpfull ! ) . . . *

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

* If and when you upgrade the ( battery to box ) or ( fuseblock relocation ) take into consideration that you " might " have to UPGRADE cables to ( Starter ) or even ( Alternator ) In our case here we should be fine both ways, except I would upgrade my grounds to 0 gauge. If You ever cannot decide on a fuse use the link above to " DOUBLE CHECK " the ratings and at minimum if not sure FUSE SMALLER then bigger, worst case scenario, you burn a fuse out and not your ride. " ALWAYS, ALWAYS fuse " - " Dont couple connections with electrical tape only, Solder and shrink tube ONLY " - " NEVER assume anything protected by the STOCK fusebox " - " Always dissconnect the battery when servicing ANY electrical connection in your ride, dont skip just because you dont wanna reset the clock or stereo settings " Sorry to be all mother like ! But, This is for your protection ( most importantly ) & your rides protection ( Lastly ) !

" Good luck to all ! "

L o w N l o u d

 

updates anyone . . .

Updates anyone, dying to see your pictures of your alternator upgrades and mods ? ? ?

 

update

sorry for the wait, heres some pics...

This is my ground from the frame to the engine block 0 gauge. It is bolted to engine block in the stock location. I couldnt get a good angle with the camera.

0 gauge to alternator

this is were it came into the cab

 

I ran mine inside. Dunno what I may be scrappin with it mounted under my cab. Next to the seat, there is a little channel that the wire was able to sit in so my carpet is still flat. It is also in an area that will not be stepped on.

Here it is at the battery. I kind of got out of hand with the 0 gauge wire.
I also ran 0 gauge to my distribution block.

 

Distribution block. Blue wire (4gauge) is going to the fuse box in the engine bay and gray (4 gauge) to the starter.

Fuse box

 

I'm missing a pic of my ground to the frame, but that also was 0 gauge.

Here she is ouside. This is how I test drove it around my neighborhood So far, the upgrade has been working great and I am ready for a larger amp alt if I ever need one!!!

Thanks everyone for all the help!

 

I mounted my battery where it will be under my bed. Made a box and welded it to the frame. Now I know someone will ask "What if your battery goes dead? How are you gonna jump it off?" Well I've already thought about that too. I'm gonna mount some jumper terminals like they use on drag cars under the truck out of sight. Another good thing about this is that when I shave my doors if the battery goes dead all I will have to do is hook up some jumper cables and voila, I have power. Can you imagine the looks I'll get if I ask someone to jump me off and then go hooking cables up under my truck?

 

kewlness. . .

Thats some kewl posts there Badlux & your welcome, Im glad to have contributed & am happy you are enjoying it . . .

Hey chopped, thats pretty sic, have some pictures for us to drool over . . ? I also like your ideals on the battery charge posts . . . Pics man, pics for the " verbally blind ! "

 

Dam this is a very informative thread!! I'm planning on relocating the battery as well, just don't know where yet, now I have alot of good ideas and the pics help out a great deal. If it all works out I'll do the alternator upgrade as well.

 

we try to be informative . . .

If you need help shoot me a line and Ill walk you thru it! So far the best ideal I like and plan on doing myself on my other project truck is hiding in a custom built box under the bed ( completely enclosed from the bottom side and then cutting an access hatch into the bed that is hinged like a gas door is and using a key also like the gas door does, that way in case of a dead battery I unlock her and juice er' up ! I also like chopped's ideal of using the charging posts . . . Holla if you need some help . . .

 

The wire I chose was kinda expensive at 5 bucks/ft. but it was really flexibe and easy to work with. This is not a cheap upgrade if you like good quality products. I spent $380 on wire, terminals, connectors, fuse holders and other parts. Alternator was $120 from ebay. My opinion, take a good look and compare when you buy wire. China stuff is cheaper but nothing compares to American made AWG. I used Kicker wire but JL Audio also makes a really nice wire.

 

I like that idea, can't wait to see some pics of it. Where under the bed are you planning on putting it?

 

most likely . . .

Although I havent mocked anything up yet . . . Im leaning towards putting it underneath the bed on either the drivers or passengers side toward the front of the bed, almost centered on the vehicle ( not in the middle where the driveshaft is, but about where the gas tank is currently located or the opposite side) ON this new truck I will most likely have the tank in the bed. I want to convert an old keg for the fuel tank ( old skool stuff )! Plans arent definite but, thats my thinkN' & that is sometimes DaNgErOuS . . .

 

I have a question about the drawing. The wire going from the battery to the Alternator is fused and 1gauge, but the other wire from the alternator is the stock wire and not fused, I'm a little confused on it.
Also, I'm not understanding that we have 2 wires from the battery, that seem too run into each other at the distribution block.
I'm sure it works, I'm just trying to understand it all with running a 160amp Alternator. Thanks

 

its not fused because its going into a fuse block... you could fuse it. I have some of the kicker wire he is talking about and its amazing. You can literally tie 0ga wire into knot(s). I would never put any kicker stereo equipment in my truck but that wire is amazing.