Upgrading The Big Three (TB3)

This involves replacing the standard, OEM wires in the vehicle's electrical system with larger, more capable wires.

The three wires involved are:

Alternator > Battery Positive *

Chassis > Battery Negative

Engine Block > Battery Negative

* This wire must be fused at both ends, within 6" (ideally) of the battery and the alternator. The fuse should be the same amperage rating as your alternator.

These are usually shabby, thin wires that aren't that much use in carrying the large amount of current needed when the ICE is added into a car.

Often the OEM wires are less than 8AWG in size, and this soon becomes the weakest link in the electrical system.

If your lights are dimming with the bass, it is far better to upgrade TB3 than to purchase a capacitor in the first instance.

There are usually two options when upgrading TB3 - you can either replace the existing wires, or run additional wires next to them. Make sure that any additional wires are fastened with cable ties, and make sure that the alternator wire is fused at both the battery end and the alternator end. The fuse should be the same rating as the alternator's output rating (can be anything between 50A and 120A). Make sure all connections are clean - sand the paint back down to bare metal and remember to add vaseline/grease to prevent oxidation.

do you think its neccecary in a mk6? because the wires to earth and to the altenator are massive!! bigger than 4awg by quite alot, dno what they are. never notice my lgihts fading either, i have a 750watt rf amp. will i notice any difference?

sounds to me like the stock stuff is more than adequate :)

good news, cheers. also, i have 8awg street wires power wire, is this ok for my amp? becuase there was a misunderstanding at the shop when i bought them and they thought my amp was half the power it is!!

good news, cheers. also, i have 8awg street wires power wire, is this ok for my amp? becuase there was a misunderstanding at the shop when i bought them and they thought my amp was half the power it is!!

that would depend on the current draw of the amp(s).

look at the fuse(s) on the amp itself and add them together whats the number ??

doesnt have any fuses on the outside of the amp, only internally i think, i just got a 60amp fuse on the live power wire from the battery. its a rf punch 600a.....if that helps?

I have an MK1 Polo with 2 x 6x9 150W RMS in parcel shelf, 2 x 6.5" 180W SPL Dynamics in front doors and a Sony CDX-C5000R 50Wx4 Headunit, i've just fitted this headunit and got rid of a 15 year old Pioneer CD Player 4x30W due to not having skip protection and also the lights seemed to fade in the car when using it..

now i've read this thread i've just installed my new headunit today and the same thing is happening, the interior lights &/or headunit display is fading in and out slightly.. and when i put the volume over a certain amount it starts to skip cd's or miss parts of the track.... did this with both headunits

I presume from reading this, that it is because of these wires, how easy and costly would it be to replace these wires?

I'm running a Heavy Duty BMW 3 Series Bosche Battery inreplacement for my previous original 200mAh battery..

will be gettin my polo in a few days but wont be drivin so need something to play with,....what would the best size wire to go for on a mk3,..will be running new hunit,front compo's and sub/amp.???

will be gettin my polo in a few days but wont be drivin so need something to play with,....what would the best size wire to go for on a mk3,..will be running new hunit,front compo's and sub/amp.???

any pics of who has done this?

Here is a more in-depth look at it:

http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubb/ultimateb...=5;t=007801;p=1

I'm gonna do this soon as my lights dip with the bass hehe

job for the weekend now.

Why is there two fuses running between the battery and alternator when there are no components in between? would once fuse be sufficient? Or is there a logical reason for this?

It's also worth noting, that in some applications at least the manufacturer carefully choses those cable ratings to limit the currents from battery/alternator.

I'm not saying it's wrong to beef up the cable, but just understand what you're doing - and think it through. Make sure the battery and alternator are up to the job too.

CarAudioDirect Now sell VERY Reasonably prices TB3 Kits!

4awg - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/dynamics-4awg-p-6067.html

0awg - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/dynamics-0awg-p-6066.html

I have an MK1 Polo with 2 x 6x9 150W RMS in parcel shelf, 2 x 6.5" 180W SPL Dynamics in front doors and a Sony CDX-C5000R 50Wx4 Headunit, i've just fitted this headunit and got rid of a 15 year old Pioneer CD Player 4x30W due to not having skip protection and also the lights seemed to fade in the car when using it..

now i've read this thread i've just installed my new headunit today and the same thing is happening, the interior lights &/or headunit display is fading in and out slightly.. and when i put the volume over a certain amount it starts to skip cd's or miss parts of the track.... did this with both headunits

I presume from reading this, that it is because of these wires, how easy and costly would it be to replace these wires?

I'm running a Heavy Duty BMW 3 Series Bosche Battery inreplacement for my previous original 200mAh battery..

Wheres the power for the headunit coming from? Standard cables? These sometimes are no-where near upto the job (like mine) so i upgraded the power supply to the h/u and it seemed to help abit.

Here is a more in-depth look at it:

http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubb/ultimateb...=5;t=007801;p=1

I'm gonna do this soon as my lights dip with the bass hehe

At least your lights dip! Mine nearly go off!

i dont understand, my friend runs a 1500w sub, 6x9's, headunit with a screen, all on his 1.0 6n and he has no problems.

shall i warn him lol?

its obviously not 1500 'real' watts then

has anyone done this then?

any pics?

need to get mine done asap boy !!

hopefully if i dont get too high this weekend il go and buy my kit.....

il def put pics up once i get mine done

Here is a more in-depth look at it:

http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubb/ultimateb...=5;t=007801;p=1

I'm gonna do this soon as my lights dip with the bass hehe

the link isnt working! :S

Common guys take some pictures of the big 3 pls. I want to se how it looks!