Active Tuning Ground Kit

[smoketitan]

Hey all just wanted to give a little THANKS to the company ActiveTuning
I did this upgrade this weekend and IMO its awesome

I used 1/0 ga wire instead (since I run large amoutns of power for my car stereo--Most dont need this large of wire

my truck noticeably shift faster/smoother in gears 1-3
and my noise floor has dropped dramatically, now alternator whining, and no dimming

so yes you can cut the lengths and make the crimps, but for the non do it yourself-er

this pack is very nice

by the way the instructions are GREAT

and I have the 4x4 off road, so getting to the alternator is possible with a little ingenuity up under

[bestatchess]

When I was installing the Active Tuning ground upgrade kit, I was wondering about running 0 gage from battery + to alternator +, but maybe that would bypass OEM fusible link and not be a good idea?

[Nestor]

Active Tuning Ground Kit?

[smoketitan]

yeah you can do that (as I woudl have done it too-but I ran out of wire)

if you used the stock active tuning 4ga, Id upgrade at least the altenator negative to 1/0 wire before you do it though

I dont think youd want the ground wire to be larger than the charging "+" line (off the alternator)

and make sure you ADD to the stock line, dont disconnect the stock "+"

and lastly if you are using 1/0 main power wire for you amps and whatnot

id highly recommend you do this mod with 1/0 wire

while although you are helping the OVERALL ground return, having the same resistance lever across all upgraded grounds just seems to make better "electrical " sense


all I know is that this system really works IMO, if you have ticking, alternator whining, slow ignition startup this really helps

[smoketitan]

Originally Posted by Nestor

Active Tuning Ground Kit?

http://www.activetuning.com/products...04GRNDKT-TNAR/

this unit they sell direct of the site uses 4ga wire

I modeled mine using 1/0 wire

I have the tools, various crimps, larger wire, and tape to mimic what they did (so yes you can do it yourself)

but for the price , it far easier to just buy it at the price they have used

unless you want to use larger wire , then this mod is considerbly more expensive lol

[grunge311]

What is it exactly? How involved is the installation?

It looks like some precut wires and some instructions where to put them?

If that is the case couldn't you just give us some "tips" on what to connect where?

[bestatchess]

Originally Posted by grunge311

What is it exactly? How involved is the installation?

It looks like some precut wires and some instructions where to put them?

If that is the case couldn't you just give us some "tips" on what to connect where?

By your command:

http://www.activetuning.com/products...stallation.php

[smoketitan]

exactly!! those instruction are perfect and extremely detailed

the only thing Id add is that for those with the offroad skid plate, connect the wire upt top first them drop the wire down in between the open space

you have to attach the alternator ground (and power if you so choose as the positive is right next to the negative) from up under the passenger side--behind the wheel--you dont need a jack,

just slide under the truck on your back, and a ratchet no extension needed

squeeze your arm into the area where the skidplate seperates from the chasis

and its a easy reach--took awhile to figure that one out

there may be other better ways, but thats the best I could figure out

[Justintoxicated]

I dunno about this, seems like they are grouding too many things. I have been told you want a single good ground to avoid ground loops. How many freakin thigns are they grounding! Does not seem correct to me.

So far I have replaced the Stock grounds from the battery with 1/0 Battery to chasis Chasis to motor.

I'd like to ground the alternator with 1/0 but I'm not clear from the instructions wth it is grounding to. (Is it grounding to the Chasis next to where the battery is grounding?) Woulden't this create a ground loop?

Wouldnet this be enough is using 1/0 ga?

1) Replace Factory Ground Wire (Battery to Chahsis)(Chasis to Motor)
2) Add Ground wire from Chasis to alternator (next to the where the battery grounds)
3) Add a new Transmitiion ground (not sure if the location they choose would create a ground loops or not?

Also I have the Knu Battery terminals, so coulden't I just ground the alternator to the battery since that ultimately grounds to the chasis right next to where it would be grounded anyways (avoids removing paint)?

Finaly, How do you upgrade the Power wire from the alternator to the battery? I was going to leave the stock wire in place, but add a second 1/0 ga to the battery? (Maybe add an inline fuse (140 amp?)) Where do you attach a second power wire from the alternator?

Thanks, I have about 8 feet of 1/0 ga left over that would be great to put to use.

P.S. Oh yea what size is the bolt that fits into Pre-threaded hole secondary ground hole in the alternator?

[smoketitan]

the alternator (according to the AT directions) grounds on that little chasis mount right where the stock battery line goes (which it then connects to the engine block)

the bolt size is M6 (lowes or homedepot have them readily available, Im pretty sure it was a 1", youll need another M6 bolt plus a NUT to connect to the chasis mount 1" or 2" doesnt really matter

its very clear on the provided pictures in the link bestatchess provided


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if you replace the power (+) for the alternator follow the same path and use a 250A fuse at least, depending on wire size of course (assuming 1/0--for 4ga wire use a smaller fuse)

you want the max current the wire cant take so theoretically, that much current can retun to the battery to keep it charged sufficiently

where to attach it is up to your ingenuity, other have done it various ways. easiest it to find a postive terminal with two or three post that you screw down terminal leads (nothe kind where you insert the wire into the hole)

but hey thats up to yo how you want to do it
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and if you are really worried about the paint issue, just use some liquid electrical tape to cover the terminals or some sort of grease like the directions state

and a dremel really makes removing the paint easy takes all of 1 minute

[baseballfanz]

I don't know all the technical stuffs but it sure shift smoother for me, also crank up is smoother and idle seems smoother also.

[Justintoxicated]

No what I ment was, why not just ground the alternator to the same bolt? Or back tot he Neg on teh battery terminal (if you have an aftermarket terminal) I mean it does not appear that it would do anything different than grounding to the same little metal tab that ground the battery terminals anyways? (seems like it creates a ground loop no matter how I am invision this)

Also how do you hook up a secondary Power wire to the Alternator? I'd like to run 1/0 from alternator power to battery terminal.

Just replacing the factory ground wire from battery to chasis from chasis to engine, make my truck idle quieter. But I would like to upgrade the Alternators ground also, I just don't see the point in removing paint to simply ground it right next to where the battery ground? Why not use the same hole or jsut ground it to the battery terminal since it is inevitably grounding to the same location anyways?

[Flight Test]

I did the grounding kit, but I found some Mil-Spec M22759/46-2 aircraft wire. I followed the instructions on the Active Tuning website. I can only say I THINK the truck shifts better. I don't feel or see any improvement with any of the electrical equipment, such as the radio, windows etc. Right now, I'm chalking it up to the power of suggestion, based on members reaction to their own situations. I will give it more time, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

[bestatchess]

I have a question about using 0 gage wire for the alternator + to battery + connection. I think the factory connection includes a fusible link. The alternator is rated at something like 130 amps (right?). Now if you put in a 0 gage wire with no fuse, or even use a 250 amp fuse, is there a potential for damaging the alternator by attempting to draw more than 130 amps (in the factory arrangement, the fusible link would melt if that happened)? And yes, I know about V=IR, and that by reducing resistance by using bigger wire you should reduce the load on the alternator somewhat. My concern is whether using bigger wire & fuse would allow you to damage the alternator by exceeding its rating, or if it just makes all the power it can up to the rated limit, w/o damage.

[grunge311]

Has this fixed anyones engine whine? I need to set my amp gains at 17.3v for proper setup, but if I go above 16 I introduce engine noise to the system.