The "Big 3" Wire/Cable Upgrade

Ok how big are the wires running from the battery to the positive connection under the hood?

nebstewart07 wrote:

Ok how big are the wires running from the battery to the positive connection under the hood?

i am no expert but this much i can tell you. there is no such thing as too big a positive cable. o gauge wire(expensive) can ALLWAYS be used.
for the positive cable ,bigger is better.
p.s dont forget to weigh the seat
thanks R

You can't go too big, even if it makes no detectable difference. It's only money!

Even the wire running from the amp to the battery cant be too big?

no

nebstewart07 wrote:

Ok how big are the wires running from the battery to the positive connection under the hood?

Big enough to not worry about.

The so called "Big 3" doesn't really pertain to the Riv. We have a large enough cable for the Bat to the under hood aux connector.

are they 0 gauge? or 2 gauge. I just bought 50 foot of 0 gauge so now I have to use it lol. I got a good deal on it. So anyone know what size it is?

I think the OEM is 6 gauge. You bought about twice as much as needed!

Ya i know it was the same price for 20 foot as it was for 50 foot some speacial they were havin. So I ordered 50 foot.

2toneRivi wrote:

ok i had a question.... when u change the big 3 ground cables to thicker cables

1. Battery + to alternator
2. battery ground to chassis
3. Chassis to engine.
do u still keep the oem cables.. just add the new cable or do u throw away the oem and keep the new one???

You DON'T have to replace the stock wires, you can just piggy back them. Current will go through the wires with the lowest resistance and larger wire has less resistance than smaller wire.

If you plan on running a sizable car audio setup, I would definitely do this even though it is a lesser issue in the riv than other cars.

nebstewart07 wrote:

Ya i know it was the same price for 20 foot as it was for 50 foot some speacial they were havin. So I ordered 50 foot.

have you done your big 3 upgrade? any pics?

anyone have pics and/or mind doing a write up?

By that way the wiring is 2 gauge

hey I jus purchased and recieved my alternator power cable from zzperformance.com
But I.dont.know exactly where to connect the other end of.the cable. It says to place one end on.the alternator..and the other end to the power connector.on.the fuse box under hood??

Has.anybody else purchased and.installed this.cable..or.one.like.it???

To be effective, you'd need to route the cable direct to the battery.

Was the kit specific for Riviera? Most of ZZP product is aimed at W-Body, which has battery up front. If there's a G-Body option, the cable needs to be probably 12-15 ft long.

I didnt.notice one..buttt..that makes sense because I.purchased a part before that didnt fit..
But..this cord is short..so it probably doesnt fit..smh..im gonnela just start calling.n.ordering from now.on lol

From the description page:

"The stock wire goes from the alternator to the starter with a 10' 8 gauge wire and then from there to the battery through another 8 gauge wire, then from the battery to the top of the under hood fuse box. Our alternator rewire goes from the back of the alternator to the power connector on the under hood fuse box. It can safely be run with the OEM one still connected."

Smh...fuse.box under hood..we dont.even.have one.under the hood.do.we????? Lol

I ran a 6 gauge battery cable from my alternator to the positive post under the hood and it did help. It's the little black connector under the hood with the big "+" on it. There is a nut in there you can remove and if you get the right battery cable with a big ring terminal it slides right over the post. The feed from the battery to that post is massive, more than sufficient I think.

(Disconnect your negative from the battery when doing this of course)

I also ran a 6 gauge battery cable from one of the alternator retaining bolts down to a large body/ground point in the front near the radiator hoses.

So the 6 gauge cable u ran to the posotive post ..did.u.run.it frum the post on.the back of alternator????
and the other one..did u run.it.from.the same place on.the.alternator???

dboydakid wrote:

So the 6 gauge cable u ran to the posotive post ..did.u.run.it frum the post on.the back of alternator????
and the other one..did u run.it.from.the same place on.the.alternator???

Yes. I got a battery cable with two ring terminals, one I put right on the back of the alternator positive post to the underhood jump start positive, the other from the alternator retaining bolt to the corner of the body just forward of the front engine mount, near the radiator. I left the OEM cable also attached on the back of the alternator. I think I routed the positive cable back to the firewall and across, the negative cable under the supercharger snout, out the front next to the coil packs then over to the body.

Ok..im.not.the brightest bulb..lol..but i think i.get it.
Would.it.be toooo much for.you.to.take a pic?.i.plan on.doing this asap. Like tomorrow
I just wanna make sure im.doing it.the right way.

Noah what are you trying to connect?

I bought a alternator power cable..to.get.more power from.yhe alternator..trying.to.b cheap lol n.not have to get.more powerful alternator.just.yet

dboydakid wrote:

I bought a alternator power cable..to.get.more power from.yhe alternator..trying.to.b cheap lol n.not have to get.more powerful alternator.just.yet

if you are trying to handle power surge demands you're wasting your time probly on the alternator and you need to look at mounting a second battery in parallel to the one you have... have to put it in the trunk somewhere...

foreal??? i thought if i just get a higher amp'd alternator my problem would be solved.

see, i recently purchased a alternator from advanced auto and it failed., i had to get a new one fast.so i went to junkyard and got a cheap one..ever since my lights dim, flicker, when the heats on it goes in and out..so i got the power cable to hold me over until i got a new alternator. the suggestions above had me wanting to try them until i get a new/more powerful alternator since the cable is not compatible with my riviera