Thread: Do i need the Big 3 upgrade, or alternator or red top deep cycle battery???

we have no idea what car you even have :-\
you could get away with just doing the big 3 or you may need to do the whole shabang. it's very car dependant and since it is you probably wont get a lot of responses here either unless you happen to luck out and have the same car as me, and then i could help you

In an Escape, your stock AMP is really more in the 90 Amp range (it's a real POS). What else do you have on the system? For just that AMP you *should* be ok, but if you have a couple other heavy hitters plus your carputer it might just as easily be under powered.

If you don't know about it, check out www.escape-central.com (specifically the modifications forum). There are some serious stereo mods there and some people that can go into the dirty details that will cover more than you want to know.

I can speak from painful experience, do anything and everything you can to avoid having to replace your Alt. Ford's designers really screwed every Escape owner in where they decided to put it. If you do decide/need to replace the Alt, go overboard and talk to Nathan at Excessive Amperage. He makes great Alts that are roughly drop-ins.

-dave

i would try the big three first. It's the cheapest thing to do and your system will benefit even if you have to change you alternator later

Originally Posted by iamgnat

I can speak from painful experience, do anything and everything you can to avoid having to replace your Alt. Ford's designers really screwed every Escape owner in where they decided to put it. If you do decide/need to replace the Alt, go overboard and talk to Nathan at Excessive Amperage. He makes great Alts that are roughly drop-ins.

-dave

God - I sure hope you don't have to remove the entire front clip and pull the radiator to replace the alternator like you do in a VW...

If the OP is EVER planning on anything more than just that amp, I would SERIOUSLY consider a new alternator...and something more than just a 105er.

Look into the aftermarket for one.

If the OP is just planning on sticking with the one amp and not going much more beyond that, the big 3 and a bigger battery should help out a good deal.

Originally Posted by RedGTiVR6

God - I sure hope you don't have to remove the entire front clip and pull the radiator to replace the alternator like you do in a VW...

No, it's nice and easy. You just have to unmount the engine, take of the right wheel and axle, remove a structural brace, then jack up the engine about 6 inches or so. Nice and simple.
Because the bottom rear of the engine is the ideal location on a 4WD vehicle. Alternators never go bad, so why make it easy to replace?

If the OP is EVER planning on anything more than just that amp, I would SERIOUSLY consider a new alternator...and something more than just a 105er.

Look into the aftermarket for one.

If you have to go through the pain, absolutely go after market for the new one. I think EA's smallest Alt is 200 and he goes up to 300 now (I put a 250 in). Given the pain, go overkill so you don't have to do it again.

-dave

Originally Posted by iamgnat

No, it's nice and easy. You just have to unmount the engine, take of the right wheel and axle, remove a structural brace, then jack up the engine about 6 inches or so. Nice and simple.
Because the bottom rear of the engine is the ideal location on a 4WD vehicle. Alternators never go bad, so why make it easy to replace?

Yeup - sounds like it's a similar process.

On the VWs there's two options, remove the front clip or unbolt the engine mount and jack up the motor to where you can work on it.

and I'll second the go overkill thing.

Are we talking about a 200amp alternator to power a 1000w amplifier for music use only???????

Look at my setup, 3 amps and a Carputer. Stock 90amp alt, a yellowtop, the big3 and good wiring and i have no voltage drop at all... My work is at less than 10min of my home (not the best to recharge a battery) and i never had any problemes...

In music use, a amp whit draw around 25% of is total power at very high level... So personnally, I would begin whit a good battery, good wiring, the big 3 and a voltage gauge.... After this, if you have a probleme whit voltage, change alt...

like the Proverb say : If its not broken, dont fix it...

My 2 cents...



*There is alway someone to say the opposite... hehe

And plz, forget about the capacitor...