Big 3 Upgrade Question

[andy32844 10+ year member]

Upon looking at my wiring coming from my alternator to my battery i thought the wire was a direct 4awg to the battery. However after removing the plastic wrapping and tape i noticed the wire did not go directly to the battery but to the fuse box. Prior to connecting to the post on the fuse box the wire was connected to a fused link that reduced the wire to 8awg! Then another wire from the fuse box post finally connects to the battery. So there is no direct link from the battery to alternator. i cant believe i overlooked this and that my amp didnt melt or burn the fuse up. No wonder my lights dimmed so badly.

So i guess my questions are,

1. How do i or can i upgrade the wire size with the fuse.

2. Can i run a larger wire from the alternator directly to the battery but leave the same wire going to the fuse box?

3. if i just run a larger wire to the fuse box and then to the battery but remove the fused link will it melt everything in my fuse box?

4. Can i run a wire going from the alternator directly to the battery and remove the wire feeding the fuse box from the alternator so the fuse box is just linked to the battery and not the alternator?

Thanks Guys!

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[kirby mane 10+ year member]

Just run a wire from alt to batt shocked nobody jumped on this one to get their post up or talk about sundown

 

[09civic 5,000+ posts]

Leave all the factory wiring. Just add to it.

 

[BoomBoxStereo 10+ year member]

Leave all the factory wiring. Just add to it.

agreed. don't remove any wiring.

 

[andy32844 10+ year member]

so having power going to the fuse box via factory wiring and adding an another larger wire directly to the battery isnt going to fry my fuse box. I should be able to just unscrew the bolt on my alternator and put the new wire right on top?

Thanks,

 

[joom 10+ year member]

Leave the factory wiring in place and fuse the new wire from alt to bat.

 

[krisfnbz 10+ year member]

Fuse the new wire for sure.

 

[andy32844 10+ year member]

What size fuse would be the best?

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

the fuse size should be the wire ampacity. so if you use 4 awg use a 120 amp fuse, if you use 1/0 use a 200A fuse. the reason is to protect the battery. always fuse wires coming of the positive terminal of the battery.