big 3 charging wire problem

[juanmgarza26 10+ year member]

Well i am stumped, yesterday on my way to work, i noticed my voltage was dropping a little too much, as soon as i got to work i popped my hood and my alt to batt wires were fried? both wires were hot as hell, so i disconnected them and wrapped them up with tape til i can work on them today, what can cause this? i backtracked all wiring, no shorts, no blown fuses etc.?

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[bradl79 10+ year member]

Are they near anything that pits out a lot of heat, and by both do u mean the stock and the big 3 cable

 

[juanmgarza26 10+ year member]

Are they near anything that pits out a lot of heat, and by both do u mean the stock and the big 3 cable

the stock one is not connected, by both i mean both 1/0 cables that come of the charging post of my alt

 

---------- Post added at 07:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:41 AM ----------

 

as far as heat, no... wires are lined up against the fire wall

 

[dbeez 5,000+ posts]

lose connections can cause heat to build up causing this also your factory wire should still be hooked up as well doesnt hurt to leave it connected

 

[juanmgarza26 10+ year member]

i disconnected the factory simple because 3 terminals were not going to fit on my mechman charging post :/ thats why i went with 2 1/0 positives and grounds

 

[boxpunch]

You need to replace the wire (or replace your high output alt back to stock) before you fry the alt.

Check all connections to be sure that they are all tight and corrosion free.

Have the battery load tested to be sure it's good, a bad battery will pull excess current.

 

[juanmgarza26 10+ year member]

You need to replace the wire (or replace your high output alt back to stock) before you fry the alt.
Check all connections to be sure that they are all tight and corrosion free.

Have the battery load tested to be sure it's good, a bad battery will pull excess current.

i thought about that also, i will need to have that checked this week as well, i just finished new pair of lines, hopefully at the end of this week ill get some 2/0 ofc cable for my charging lines

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

Your using cca wire on a 3500+ watt rms system is also not a good idea But check for loose fittings at the terminals

 

[juanmgarza26 10+ year member]

Your using cca wire on a 3500+ watt rms system is also not a good idea But check for loose fittings at the terminals

potential 3500+ im currently running my 3500 at 2200 for that same reason, im still stumped though, pm me price for 2/0 big three please, i get paid friday

 

[CrossoverOre 10+ year member]

grab dmm and check resistance along the lines. Might have a bad connection.

 

[juanmgarza26 10+ year member]

i just got back from autozone, advance auto parts, and oreillys , optima tested good 9/9 times, and crescendo 1/9 times, soooo turns out my crescendo battery is no good :/

 

[juanmgarza26 10+ year member]

grab dmm and check resistance along the lines. Might have a bad connection.

never done that, that ohm am i looking for here? i like this idea

 

[CrossoverOre 10+ year member]

never done that, that ohm am i looking for here? i like this idea

yep test on ohms setting. the bigger the number the worse it is.

 

[boxpunch]

Your using cca wire on a 3500+ watt rms system is also not a good idea But check for loose fittings at the terminals

That's got nothing to do with it. I've built many vehicles 3500+ with Cca, with batteries in the rear it decreases the current draw through the front-back run. Not to mention 250a current rating on CCA is at 20ft lengths. As that length decreases the current capacity increases.

If the rear battery is below 12.4v (when all wires are disconnected) be sure to put it on a 2-4a trickle charge and see if that helps the tests.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

I know it really doesn't have that much effect. But I don't recommend running cca wire with a system over 2500 rms. n the cca wire can get hot on longer runs