Electrical help please

[Dax]

I am fairly new to car audio and have some questions.

firstly, can i put 2 batts in that different cranking amps?

secondly, could i use some aluminum wire i think its like 2 gauge or maybe 1/0 gauge I've never seen either so I can't be sure, but I know that it was left over from an underground power=line.

Thirdly, can I run power wire underneath my car cause I can't fit it under my carpet.

And Finally, If I can use the wire could someone explain to me how to do the big three, and how to run a second batt properly, so I can avoid destroying my electrical system.

[bassrace]

Yes to the battery. Knuconcepts uses aluminum based wire its not as efficient but i dont see y u couldnt use it. Be extremly careful if you run wire underneath but if its braced/held in Place real good it should be ok and the big 3 is simple

[illiniboy17]

yes to the batteries and yes to the wire, wont be as good as pure copper but it will work

running the wire under your car shouldn't be a problem either just make sure its up there nice and snug and isnt gonna fall

and as for the big three and wiring in another battery, it is fairly simple.

Big 3 upgrade consists of three steps, a positive run from your alternator charge pole to the positive battery post, a negative run from the engine block to the negative batter post and a negative run from the chassis of the car to the negative battery post.

and as for wiring in a second battery, just run positive to positive and negative to negative and you'll be fine, also make sure to use fuses on your positive runs so you dont fry all your shit

[Guest]

I am fairly new to car audio and have some questions.

firstly, can i put 2 batts in that different cranking amps?

secondly, could i use some aluminum wire i think its like 2 gauge or maybe 1/0 gauge I've never seen either so I can't be sure, but I know that it was left over from an underground power=line.

Thirdly, can I run power wire underneath my car cause I can't fit it under my carpet.

And Finally, If I can use the wire could someone explain to me how to do the big three, and how to run a second batt properly, so I can avoid destroying my electrical system.

1) yes its fine as long as you dont put a regular lead acid battery in the trunk or something as they release hydrogen gas which is extremely harmful to your body. find a good AGM style battery.

2) there is no 100% aluminum wire for car audio. the wire you are referring to is called CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) which is 90% aluminum and 10% copper. it is much cheaper than 100% copper wire yet it has a slightly higher resistance and a lower load capacity. is there a picture you can get of said "underground powerline" wire? for car audio purposes you need tons of wire strands (1/0 has about 5000 strands) and most household wire has nowhere near the same amount of wire strands.

3) yes you can run it under your car, the most favored way is using PVC piping and using the PVC endcaps as well (along with some silicon around where the wire will go through the endcaps, as to eliminate random particles from entering the tube). make sure to fuse at the beginning of the wire and the end of the wire as well. make sure you secure the pvc pipe VERY well against the frame rail of the car and try to tuck it out of the way so if you hit a speedbump or something it wont tear the shit out of it.

4) there is a great big 3 guide in the electrical section of the forum, its near the top you cant miss it.

5) for a second battery, take some 1/0 wire, attach it to the + terminal on the front battery and fuse the wire within 12" of the first battery. run the 1/0 wire to the back battery, fuse again within 12" of the rear battery. the positive side is done. for the negative side you have two choices. you can either A) do the same thing as you did with the + and do it with the - (you do not fuse though) or you can B ) take a piece of 1/0 that is ideally under around 6ft long and bolt it to an extremely solid piece of metal (a strut tower works great if you have a unibody car, or the frame rail if you have a car that has a frame). make sure you sand off ALL paint as so the metal that contacts the lug on the wire is super shiny

[Dax]

Thanks to those who replied, and to kranny the wire has like 12 or 13 solid aluminium strands, i dont have a pic on my computer and cant take one at teh moment i will try tommorow, but will that work or not.

[jizazz12]

You don't want to use that wire, get yourself some ofc 0/1 and call it done.

[Guest]

Thanks to those who replied, and to kranny the wire has like 12 or 13 solid aluminium strands, i dont have a pic on my computer and cant take one at teh moment i will try tommorow, but will that work or not.

i wouldnt use that wire whatsoever. get yourself some real wire as jizazz said.

[Dax]

Ok when i get some cash i will get some better wire and run my second bat and the big three, thanks for the help.