95RedRun

I did my big 3+ with 1/0 ga. all copper 5400 strand but I want to rewire the fuse box and also add another blue sea fuse box for more lighting and other accessories.. I have some 4 ga. Copper Clad Aluminum wire which I bought by mistake.. I know 4 ga. is a bit overkill for replacing the wire from the fuse box to the battery but I figure why not as long as I can fit it into the fuse box connection.. I'm going to run the alt cable to a fuse block with volt/amp display and split off to both fuse boxes from there..

I'm leaning against using CCA for anything other than a sound system.. My thinking is that aluminum wire does not conduct as well as copper and could cause some resistance or heating at the connections.. I have found various reports in my searches and just wanted to throw this out there for you Yota's..

Anyone used CCA for wiring other than the sound system?

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

As long as the aluminum wire is sized correct for your loads . I can`t remember if it was one or two sizes bigger.

Tight connections and never seize because of the different metals.

I have never used it myself if you don`t feel comfortable don`t use it .

Then I have a bunch of stuff sitting that was ordered by mistake or left over from jobs.

rowdyota

As far as using aluminum or copper clad aluminum wiring you would bump up two gauge sizes. In doing so the wire can handle the same load but I would not suggest it. Aluminum wire is stiffer and more brittle. The only advantage is weight saving which yes you want but at the expense of everything else. I would rather stick with good ol copper wire or silver if you want an even better conductor.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

It is only a few feet at most as long as it is cable tied and secured i don`t think vibration is going to be a major concern.

If it gives you problems just replace .

Then again if you really don`t want it you can donate it to me .

Just for the record I now have a 3.4 swap that has that very same wire running from the battery to the fuse block .from the left side battery to the right side fuse block.

The sad part the swapper just cut and butt spliced the connection going into the fuse block rather then crimping on a new lug fixing this is how I found out today.

It ran for about a year in that condition with no real problems but poor workmanship.

95RedRun

I went and got some good old copper 4 ga @1.55/ft.. The CCA 4ga was .95/ft.. I think I'll save the CCA for the sound system.. You don't have to call the guys in the red fire trucks when you blow a speaker or two but you might have to if the fuse box starts to fry..

I remember taking electronics courses a long time ago.. The theory of using Aluminum wire which is coated with copper is that the current will use only the outside of the wire and therefore will flow through the copper portion.. Saving weight and money.. I would think that if you put 80 - 100 amps though there, you will need a little more than just the outside part.. I feel that the pure copper has the beef to carry the current, if needed, without the worry..

Thanks for the comments..

I'm going to clip off the crimped and soldered connection to the fuse box and just attach this 4 ga wire on the same bolt as the other two red wires.. The other side has several white wires attached and they all meet on this small piece of metal just under the 80A fusible link.. I'm not putting any additional stress on the old box so not reason to bump up the 80A link.. Just replacing the wire with a much higher gauge should help big time.. Not sure why Toyota crimped and soldered this wire on there unless they had concern that it would have movement while connected to the battery.. I'm taking a 1/0 from the Alt to a fuse block and then a 4ga to the original box and another 4ga to the new blue sea fuse box and then run a 1/0 to the battery.. There will be no movement in this connection after it's in there..

I've got a new 170A alt but I'm going to get it running with the original first to work out any bugs, if there are any, before I put the big alt into service.. Right now, just upgrading the Big three power and grounds and doing the fuse box upgrades..

The old school copper makes me feel a lot better..

Hadmatt54

I can see why you did your starter cables and grounds with 1/0, but 1/0 is about
3/8" in diameter. Depending on the type of insulation 1/0 is good for 170a, but with that
170a alternator I would think that your fuse blocks would be the weak point.
When you consider that #6 is probably the largest alternator feed to a fuse box in most
12 volt systems if you ever get a failure the fuse box will be a clump of molten metal and plastic
before the 1/0 is ever damaged.

95RedRun

Hey Hadmatt,

I'm using KnuKonceptz Kolossus Flex Kable for all the upgrades.. It's some beefy stuff with great insulation.. On top of that, I am putting it inside some Thermoflex heat loom that will protect to 750 degrees.. No worries near the block or exhaust or even the plenum for that matter.. Sealing with silicone self sealing tape on the ends.. with some 3/8" gold terminals..

The stock fusible link @ 80A is still in place and I haven't added anything to the box.. So no worries.. As long as the demand on the stock box is less than 80A, no problems.. There will be a lot less resistance in the new wire so that the stock lights, injectors, etc. will get plenty of power without the dimming of dash lights or headlights when I'm sitting still with the blinkers on, etc.. No more than the normal amps will get into the circuits, just the correct voltage.. The 170A alt is not putting out 170 all the time, demand and engine speed will give me up to 170 when I need it.. You don't get more than you need and just have to make sure that the wiring can handle it, when you need to go up above the stock wiring and you have protection in there if something goes wrong..

I'm also putting in another Blue Sea box on the other side of the engine bay.. It's a 100A box with 12 circuits.. I have a 100A circuit breaker just before this box.. I'm splitting the box in half, load wise and adding a continuous duty relay(200A capacity), triggered off the ignition to light up 6 of the circuits when the ignition is on only.. The rest will be live all the time from the battery.. I can put my extra lights and heavy demand stuff on this box.. Adding a Hella relay box too to keep the relays in order for the new additions..

I have a degree in electronics from another life.. like 30 years ago.. I never worked in the field but there are some things that I won't ever forget.. After scanning various forums and watching youtube vids on the big three over the last six months, I noticed many people doing what is right and some wrong and some that might work.. The first thing I noticed was that are just not using the correct solder.. They even showed what they were using and it said on the package.. "not for electrical use".. they are using plumbing solder... You need a 60% lead, 40% tin mix with electrical flux.. Using the wrong solder will bump up resistance at the joints and could give you some trouble down the road.. The other thing is that most people will put a monster fuse on the line from the alt to the battery, right before the battery.. The idea of a fuse is to protect the wire from burning.. I'm putting a 200A fuse just out of the alt and this should keep my wire in safe territory.. Fuse near the source of power and not at the end where it is used.. DC fuses blow slowly.. So a 200A level may be there for a few seconds before the fuse goes.. AC fuses will go instantly.. I'm keeping this in mind too..

I haven't tested anything yet, but I think I'm doing it the right way.. We will see.. Like I said, I'm upgrading everything first and putting back the old alt to test it out.. I'll add the HO alt after any bugs are worked out..

95RedRun

This is a good site to check out if you want to do any wiring upgrades..

http://www.bcae1.com/wire.htm

Hadmatt54

Hey 95RedRun: I never once thought or suggested that you were not doing it right, nor was I questioning your abilities...I was wondering why you were going so big...1/0 170a alt etc.
I don't want to hi-jack your thread, but in regards to soldering I'd like to add some points.
Some background:-
Unlike you I don't have any degrees, but what I do have is 2 trades, Power Lineman or Power Line Technician (22 Years), Power Systems Technician or Electrical Mechanic (16 years) and I did work in the field for the last 38 years...recently retired, but I still work storms. I'm also a qualified High Voltage Cable Splicer and though I agree with much of what you say about soldering and soldering techniques I don't agree with everything that you said.
I do a lot of automotive wiring, my son and I are always doing engine swaps and building custom 4X4's. Some have been 1.9L IDI VW diesel, with Toyota Mini Truck powertrain in a Suzuki SJ 410, Tacoma 3RZ and complete Toyota powertrain in my 88 Suzuki Samurai, 5VZ 3.4 L V6 in my 86 Toy pickup, and when it comes to wiring I'm about as anal as you can get. I want it to look factory. I had in excess of 100 hours into the wiring harness of my Samurai and like you I use the proper fluxes and solders.
Though Rosin or Resin core solders and fluxes have been around a long time, the electronics industry has exclusively used these because they needed a flux that was not so corrosive to the delicate components that they were working with. Which is why acid based fluxes for this application are not used. Lead based solders are easy to work with, but solders containing silver are better conductors and have higher mechanical properties.
If you are not dealing with electronics it really doesn't matter. I've disassembled oil filled lead jacketed high voltage cables that were put in service 70-80 years ago and despite decades of thermal cycling the soldered connections were like the day they were installed. The fluxes that were used when soldering these were almost exclusively acid based, the solders were tin/lead 60/40, 50/50, 70/30, etc depending on the application and the manufacturers recommendations. We even used solders that had a letter stamped on them and we had no idea as to the chemical composition, because this was a closely guarded secret by the manufacturer. Like I said earlier a 60/40 solder is easy to work with and a novice could easily think that he knows what he is doing, but what will he do if and when the USA bans lead in solder like much of the world has already done?
At present one of the most popular lead-free alloys seems to be Tin 96.5% Silver 3.0% Copper .5%. It is harder to work with, but there three things you have to get right with any solder joint. It has to be as clean as you can possibily get it, you have to inhibit the oxidation process while you are soldering and you have to have it hot enough so the solders flow conpletly around and through the strands of the conductor.
The first two is where the flux comes in, it is almost impossible to remove all of the impurities from a stranded conductor. Flux lifts these impurities and prevents oxidation while the joint is being made and allows the molten solder to flow around the conductor. Proper heat prevents a cold (high resistance) joint.
So my point is excluding electronics, to produce a good solder joint it's not so much the solder and flux you use, but rather the preparation you undertake before you make the joint and the technique you use while you are soldering the joint.
One last thing; once you make a joint you need to clean away all of the excess flux, because even rosin flux is slightly corrosive and you want to keep moisture away from your joint so that oxidation never takes place, so heat shrink is your friend!
Sorry for the rant and Keep up the good work!

95RedRun

It's all good Hadmatt.. No problems.. I'll take all the advice I can get.. I've been out of wrenching for decades and only got back into this because I didn't like the service at my repair shop anymore.. They did some things to my transfer case that caused the speed gear to be stripped.. I had to pull the dash out and run a new cable and change out the gear.. big pita.. I have the time to do repairs myself now and lots of tools.. I couldn't do it without the net.. So easy to find info and parts.. Yotatech has been a great source of info but has also led me to make changes that I never even thought about doing.. I would read about the mods and think "hey, I should do that one too".. So, I'm taking a stock runner with 50k miles on it and taking it all apart, making all the mods in one shot.. What started as a valve cover leak has turned into a major project.. 6 months and $8k later, here I am.. I think the truck is only worth 5k.. I won't ever sell it and want it to last for another 20 years..

Anyway, a little background on me.. I started painting and body work with my brother when I was about 14.. Got into motorcycles and dirt racing.. Went heavy into Datsun Z cars there for years and built up one for racing, from the ground.. 12 years working on that thing.. Decided to be the first in my family to go to college and got away from working on cars, etc.. Now I'm an old geezer reliving the greasy life of my younger years.. I remember why I quit..

Thanks for the info and advise.. After soldering the 1/0 terminals on, I did end up with a lake of rosin flux on top.. Good idea to get that off before installation. I also had this giant roll of thin electrical solder.. Little too thin when using a torch.. I'm having to roll three or four layers together to get enough on the connector in the quickest amount of time so I don't over heat.. The first time was not so good but I'm getting better..

Hadmatt54

I use string solder for normal auto wiring, but when I get up into anything above #8 I'll switch to solder that is probably 1/8" or 3/32" in diameter. Believe it or not the last time I need to buy more of this solder my local electronics store that generally has everything didn't have any. However Radio Shack (The Source here in Canada) had all kinds!
The bigger gauge solder makes working with larger conductors so much easier.

I agree with you about Yotatech, there are some forums out there where the members would sooner flame someone trying to get information then help them out. I don't have the patience for that..life is too short. I have never seen that on this forum, the members on here are a great community and try to help each other as much as possible!

95RedRun

I have a 1# roll of this .031 in. solder and this stuff is like angel hair.. Takes about 5 ft. to do one 1/0 terminal.. I did find some .068 in. from the 70's but think I'll save that for a museum..

I finally finished the starter cable last night.. with all the heat proofing, clamps and clips replaced.. Then I had to figure out how it went back in.. I got it.. So now the rest should go in without too much difficulty.. I think anyway.. I expect to do a battery test in a couple of days..