easy way to look for shorts?

[yota.coma 10+ year member]

Alright so there's nothin bypassed and can't find any shorts. Altho it doesn't do it irregularly anymore only when I put it in drive

 

[standbackimapro 10+ year member]

Correct me if I am wrong and I could be wrong but I thought the point of a Big3 was to replace the main power wires responsible for providing the charge to the battery?
OK generally a short is caused by a faulty ground some where with in your wiring. So you need to look from the point of the fuse to the main source. So what ever Addition you made make sure its not grounding some where it is not supposed to.

Also can be caused by a big jump in amp so also make sure you did not by pass any fuses or relays that control the amount of power the that fuse box gets.

Mean while I am going back to the article about the B3 and make sure I understand it right. =)

big 3 is the alternator positive to battery positive, battery negative to chassis, engine ground to chassis

 

[ahillworks 10+ year member]

Ok makes sense re read the the whole thing. So are you replacing just those wires or is that a add on. Because when you read the Big 3 it seems as either!?!?!?!

Only happens when you place it in drive? Now that is strange. I will ask a few buddies of mine at the shop and see what they say for you.

 

[yota.coma 10+ year member]

Yah id appreciate that ahillworks. Ok so after some more messin around mabye like 85% of the time when I put it in drive. Also when I put it in drive the light that highlights the "D" doesn't light up

 

[truckramrod 10+ year member]

Your new alt may be drawing more current off of that fuse, than the OE alt did.

Replace the 10 amp fuse with a 15 amp fuse and if your problem doesn't reoccur than you know what the problem was.

A 15 amp fuse should be fine for all of the wiring in that circuit.

You could get a DMM and pull the fuse and use the ammeter mode to see how much current is flowing through the circuit at all times

I noticed you said it only seems to happen when you put it in drive.

For example:

If it is pulling 8 amps continuously and when you put it in drive the it goes up to 13 amps continuously, then the fuse is too small, however it if spikes to 20+ amps then you probably do have a short.

 

[x2o 10+ year member]

Ok makes sense re read the the whole thing. So are you replacing just those wires or is that a add on. Because when you read the Big 3 it seems as either!?!?!?!



Only happens when you place it in drive? Now that is strange. I will ask a few buddies of mine at the shop and see what they say for you.

You should only add on to the wiring. Electricity will always flow through the least resisting wire, so it won't use the stock wiring unless it needs to anyways. But if something does go wrong and one of the big 3 wires fails, you can always fall back onto the stock one.

If you replace it and something fails, your screwed.

 

[Horsemanwill 10+ year member]

you need to see if maybe you have a wire somewehre getting pinched or if a bulb went bad

 

[ahillworks 10+ year member]

You should only add on to the wiring. Electricity will always flow through the least resisting wire, so it won't use the stock wiring unless it needs to anyways. But if something does go wrong and one of the big 3 wires fails, you can always fall back onto the stock one.
If you replace it and something fails, your screwed.

Now that made all the sense in the world. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif I never looked at that way. And it makes it easier so in about a month or so I will get a new battery and do the Big 3 and Build the new box.

No luck on other advise but from what I have read so far I would follow what has been given. Worse case is you have a pinched wire some where.

 

[yota.coma 10+ year member]

Im gonna try that 15a fuse trick that was said previously and see if that works and ill get back and share my results

 

[sexiewasd 10+ year member]

Didn't happen to install your head unit recently? If I remember (I probably don't) the gauge fuse also supplys power to the dash lights threw the dimmer switch, which connects to your headunit. It could be wired wrong at the headunit, or just drawing more power than the fuse can handle.

 

[yota.coma 10+ year member]

Nah my HU's been in for quiet some time. But that 15a fuse seems to be working fine.