Stryker's 96 T-Bird 3k daily

Have a cool car stereo? Post your install pictures here! No PG? No problem! Competition grade or sub-in-box setups: ALL are welcome!
oldschoolfan
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Post by oldschoolfan »

Those flares are really sweet!
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kg1961
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Post by kg1961 »

OMG those subs are sick. they are by far the loudest 12 i have ever heard. also i was so surpised they sound great... i would love to see the numbers im sure your almost 150 for sure


you woke my kid up when she was in the master bedroom at the rear of the house
the walls were shaking...lol i loved it
wife not so much
most of my gear is gone :liar:
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

Okay homebrews i got some work done today.
-Installed mechman 270 amp Alternator. Was fairly easy until i came to the fusing end of things. I was not gonna use the factory maxi fuse and wanted to run directly to the battery but ford needs to have it hooked up for some reason or the other. when i had it hooked it the first time nothing had power apparently all electronics run around the maxi fuse. there is things like the fuel pump, elec. fan etc with those weird fuses that is interconnected to the maxi fuse. No biggie isay i'll use the fuse in there....say wonder whats it rated at? Dammit 175amp :roll: no worry's got an extra 300 in the tool box. not so quick the ford fuse is much shorter.
I had to grind and file the fuse very carefully so as not to break it and then needed to grind washers as well to have it sit better. nonetheless worked out but man it sidetracked me an 1 1/2 or so. voltage now sits steady at 14.1 at massive volume and really or drops .2 or .3 and jumps right back up to 14.1 almost in a flash. still want the extra battery but not at the moment prolly in a couple months.
Also foamed the gaps around the box and took the time to properly tape and mask and used proper gloves and glasses this big gap filler expanding foam is the baddest ass stuff to use but if ya get it on your skin it's over. safety is a must. i learned the hard way. so now that the trunk is sealed off i can honestly say it sounds much much better with no more rattlin trunk. I also used a spare water bottle to cover up the shock bolts, I did not do that last time and was diggin for a while to find them when i did my shoks. I'm gonna finish off the inside tomorrow and apply some deadner to make it look good.
I'll be postin again tomorrow after the days work, hopefully after the interior is done i can pretty up the trunk some.
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screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
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dwnrodeo
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Post by dwnrodeo »

Looking good. That setup has got to pound! Don't you love it when something small like a fuse not fitting right can set you back that long? It seems that everytime I turn around it's happening.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

dwnrodeo wrote:Looking good. That setup has got to pound! Don't you love it when something small like a fuse not fitting right can set you back that long? It seems that everytime I turn around it's happening.
thx bro,It's coming along slowly, the system definately has some volume for running that much RMS with just one battery and the bass is so dam aggressive it's ridiculous :D my ears have never popped this much the SPL is soooo much higher than the Xmax's or Clarions.... DD is in a totally different league. Made in the good ol USA goodness :clap: .
I was dam lucky I had an extra fuse layin around that was 300 amps, otherwise I was grounded and would have had to reinstall the old alt :doh: . I gotta clean up that engine bay it's a dam mess :oops: . almost embarassing putting a pic up like that :lol:
anyway out to the car I go.
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
ttocs
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Post by ttocs »

I don't understand why you upgraded the factory fuse from 175amps to 300?
what else can I say I am a grumpy asshole most of the time.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

My alternator is running right through it at 270 amps at 1800 rpm.the wire is 0 ga and you need an appropriate size fuse for that size. 0ga wire is rated at 300 amps, which you already know.
Tell me how a 175 amp fuse can handle over 250 amps? :? As I stated I wanted to completely bypass the factory fuse :whistle: but could not due to the idiots at Ford Mo Co.
Nonetheless it seems to work just fine so far, I'm gonna see if FOMOCO dealer has a 300 factory style fuse if not it stays as is. I would rather have more than less in most things as you can tell from my setup :lol:
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

So this morning I finished off sealing the front of the box from the trunk :) . I trimmed the foam and laided down some more fatmat to seal every nook and cranny. not a sniff of air is getting to trunk now. 8) Looks much more finished now.

As I've been selfish with my time and this install is occupying alot of it, I'm taking a break and going to the pool with my 2 girls for the afternoon. Possibly do some trunk work later tonight. have to see about that animal later, because there is alot of tweaking to be done back there.
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screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
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stipud
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Post by stipud »

I guess you'll be leaving us for the DD forums soon eh? So sad... :cry: :lol:
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Post by ttocs »

your factory accesories will never pull more then they were rated for, no matter what size power wire you run to it or what size fuse you run to it. By upgrading the factory fuse size I worry that you have made it possible for those circuits to be given much much more power if something does get shorted out or has a malfunction.
what else can I say I am a grumpy asshole most of the time.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

ttocs wrote:your factory accesories will never pull more then they were rated for, no matter what size power wire you run to it or what size fuse you run to it. By upgrading the factory fuse size I worry that you have made it possible for those circuits to be given much much more power if something does get shorted out or has a malfunction.
I'll take photo's a little later to show that each accessory that is fused under the hood has it's own fuse the only thing that is using the 300 amp fuse is the alt. It's hard to explain but I could probably just run a small wire to the spot at the fuse box that says Bat(from the battery of course). and run a wire directly to my alt. from Battery. Kinda like the fuse box needs a power source. I'm absolutely positive other things there are not receiving anymore amps than they are supposed to. they all have there different fuses ranging from 20-60 amps. like a said i'll get pic's a little later. i do appreciate your concern and it's something to be aware of 8)
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

stipud wrote:I guess you'll be leaving us for the DD forums soon eh? So sad... :cry: :lol:
You'd only be so lucky :lol: .
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

ok ttocs here's a few pic's of the underhood fuse box. i should note that on the bat. side of the small plastic cover there is a metal tab to make contact with the fuse sorta like a parallel connection to receive power from the battery. anyway hope this explains how it's wired and I feel confident that i'll be fine. even a 175amp factory fuse is huge for any accessory, hence the smaller one's in the plastic case.

does your stang have something similar? possible not as it's OBDI and mine is OBDII.
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smgreen20
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Post by smgreen20 »

Look at the 300 as the main breaker in your house and then all of the smaller fuses as the breaker box in the house controlling separate functions.

When the stereo needs the extra juice it's going to draw from the battery and alt, so at some point/s it very well might draw more then 175a of current. Considering I looked at the fusing right.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

smgreen20 wrote:Look at the 300 as the main breaker in your house and then all of the smaller fuses as the breaker box in the house controlling separate functions.

When the stereo needs the extra juice it's going to draw from the battery and alt, so at some point/s it very well might draw more then 175a of current. Considering I looked at the fusing right.
not too sure what your trying to say here :hmm:
i have been running the system at extreme volumes to of course see what it's capable of :lol: :whistle: . No problems whatsoever that i can tell.
I have considered just having one wire off the battery to that small fuse box where the battery connection spot is and run a separate power wire from the alt to the battery....of course fused with a 300 amp. I think that would work. who knows. does seem fine at the moment tho.
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

smgreen20 wrote:Look at the 300 as the main breaker in your house and then all of the smaller fuses as the breaker box in the house controlling separate functions.

When the stereo needs the extra juice it's going to draw from the battery and alt, so at some point/s it very well might draw more then 175a of current. Considering I looked at the fusing right.
ok, yes... yes... I think I see what your saying. It's fine to run it the way I have it, i really have to have the bigger fuse, at least I think so. Everything is protected by it's own independant fuse as is. I do need the bigger 300 amp instead of the factory 175 cause I'm drawing that much more. correct?
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
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Post by dedlyjedly »

Stryker wrote: Tell me how a 175 amp fuse can handle over 250 amps? :? As I stated I wanted to completely bypass the factory fuse :whistle: but could not due to the idiots at Ford Mo Co.
Nonetheless it seems to work just fine so far, I'm gonna see if FOMOCO dealer has a 300 factory style fuse if not it stays as is. I would rather have more than less in most things as you can tell from my setup :lol:
Don't EVER replace a fuse with another with greater current capacity!

A fuse like your ford oem 175A (which is a MEGA fuse and characterized as slow blow btw), CAN AND WILL pass over 250 amps without any problem! In fact, it falls within factory tolerance as long as it doesn't pass more than 350 amps for longer than 15 seconds!!

This picture gets even uglier when you start looking at the specs for an ANL type fuse, and as such I think the high amperage ANL fuses are pretty ridiculous to use in most car audio applications.

If you truly need more current for your audio application you should be able to run redundant circuits like you mentioned. This would allow the current necessary for your amplifiers while simultaneously maintaining the circuit protection that FOMOCO spent a fair amount of time designing.
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Post by gridracer »

Most fuses are rated at 200 % meaning they will take double their amperage for about 5 seconds before they blow. If you have a 300 amp fuse it will take 5 seconds of 600 amps of current to blow it.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

dedlyjedly wrote:
Stryker wrote: Tell me how a 175 amp fuse can handle over 250 amps? :? As I stated I wanted to completely bypass the factory fuse :whistle: but could not due to the idiots at Ford Mo Co.
Nonetheless it seems to work just fine so far, I'm gonna see if FOMOCO dealer has a 300 factory style fuse if not it stays as is. I would rather have more than less in most things as you can tell from my setup :lol:


A fuse like your ford oem 175A (which is a MEGA fuse and characterized as slow blow btw), CAN AND WILL pass over 250 amps without any problem! In fact, it falls within factory tolerance as long as it doesn't pass more than 350 amps for longer than 15 seconds!!

This picture gets even uglier when you start looking at the specs for an ANL type fuse, and as such I think the high amperage ANL fuses are pretty ridiculous to use in most car audio applications.

If you truly need more current for your audio application you should be able to run redundant circuits like you mentioned. This would allow the current necessary for your amplifiers while simultaneously maintaining the circuit protection that FOMOCO spent a fair amount of time designing.
I'm confused as to how I'm supposed to be able to have an adequate fuse for a hot rated 270 amp alternator??? Yes i truly run close to 300 amps of current in my system. what exactly are redundant circuits? isn't this what i'm doing? I guess i'm lost with some of your statements as well as others here. eveyone says "ya gots to have an adequate fuse for your alt". My factory alt was 130 amp. I ran a direct wire from the alt to the battery and the car had no power hence why i replaced the 175 with a 300 and ran it the alt through the fuse box. i have not tried having the 175 fuse in place and just the battery wire connected, this would also render the 175 amp fuse useless as there would be a break in the circuit. lilttle confused here, do i not need a fuse that is rated to handle the output of my alternator and the size of wire?
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
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Post by ttocs »

there are two reasons to fuse, to protect the wire, or to protect the device hooked up to the wire and I think you are confusing the two. The ford maxi fuse was to protect everthing inside the fuse box, not the wire. By putting this larger fuse over that area you have now given them the ability to set themselfs on fire before that fuse blows. Yes, the seperate fuses inside should be ok if they do their job but ya just never know.

Now your power wires comming straight off of the batts should be fused at the max they can safely handle, and this is probably where the 300 needs to go.

now the fuse box on my mustang just had a straight piece of wire going to the fuse box maybe 4 inches away and had no fuse. So you should be ok but but the general rule of NEVER(well almost never) upgrade the factory fuse rating was broken and if it were my car I would have kept the stock fuse in there but again you should be fine.
what else can I say I am a grumpy asshole most of the time.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

ttocs wrote:there are two reasons to fuse, to protect the wire, or to protect the device hooked up to the wire and I think you are confusing the two. The ford maxi fuse was to protect everthing inside the fuse box, not the wire. By putting this larger fuse over that area you have now given them the ability to set themselfs on fire before that fuse blows. Yes, the seperate fuses inside should be ok if they do their job but ya just never know.

Now your power wires comming straight off of the batts should be fused at the max they can safely handle, and this is probably where the 300 needs to go.

now the fuse box on my mustang just had a straight piece of wire going to the fuse box maybe 4 inches away and had no fuse. So you should be ok but but the general rule of NEVER(well almost never) upgrade the factory fuse rating was broken and if it were my car I would have kept the stock fuse in there but again you should be fine.
well i can put the factory mega fuse back in thats easy enough, but how will it handle the 250+amps running through it from the alt.? i understand protecting the Alternator just not how if it's wire has to be run through that small fuse box. i do have a fuse holder within 18 inches of the battery that houses the 300 amp anl fuse, this goes to the distro block in the trunk.
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

okay made a quick call to Mechman and Matthew "the guy" told me I should run a smaller wire to the factory mega fuse even hook up the factory one thats still there not being used and in addition of course run a separate 0ga straight from the alt. to the battery+ this wire will absorb the brunt of the current draw. I hope this is the solution as I honestly didn't feel too good about replacing that mega fuse at all. I drive a T-bird not a Firebird :lol:. it's raining right now sooo I'll get it done later tonight or tomorrow.
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
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Post by oldschoolfan »

Stryker wrote:okay made a quick call to Mechman and Matthew "the guy" told me I should run a smaller wire to the factory mega fuse even hook up the factory one thats still there not being used and in addition of course run a separate 0ga straight from the alt. to the battery+ this wire will absorb the brunt of the current draw. I hope this is the solution as I honestly didn't feel too good about replacing that mega fuse at all. I drive a T-bird not a Firebird :lol:. it's raining right now sooo I'll get it done later tonight or tomorrow.
Stryker, this and what ttocs stated are correct. You have a 0ga. going directly to the battery from the alternator. This is where the majority of the power will go. The battery is your buffer for the entire system. As long as the battery is connected directly to the alternator you are ok. If the output on the alternator went directly to that fuse box only you would have a problem. It sounds like you have it worked out.
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Stryker
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Post by Stryker »

yes exactly what I thought as you stated above. i need to run 2 wires. Just went and did the 2 wires....One from alt. directly to battery 0Ga, and one smaller 2ga(it's the smallest wire i have ATM :lol: gonna replace with 8Ga when I get a chance. ) from alt. to mega fuse and then mega fuse to battery. car started and so on. I guess should be fine. I'll find out after a good listen at volume but i have to beleive that most of the current will flow through the bigger wire. well thx for the help and sorting this out for me homies. :wink:
Last edited by Stryker on Thu Aug 12, 2010 5:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
ttocs
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Post by ttocs »

Stryker wrote:
ttocs wrote:there are two reasons to fuse, to protect the wire, or to protect the device hooked up to the wire and I think you are confusing the two. The ford maxi fuse was to protect everthing inside the fuse box, not the wire. By putting this larger fuse over that area you have now given them the ability to set themselfs on fire before that fuse blows. Yes, the seperate fuses inside should be ok if they do their job but ya just never know.

Now your power wires comming straight off of the batts should be fused at the max they can safely handle, and this is probably where the 300 needs to go.

now the fuse box on my mustang just had a straight piece of wire going to the fuse box maybe 4 inches away and had no fuse. So you should be ok but but the general rule of NEVER(well almost never) upgrade the factory fuse rating was broken and if it were my car I would have kept the stock fuse in there but again you should be fine.
well i can put the factory mega fuse back in thats easy enough, but how will it handle the 250+amps running through it from the alt.?quote]

that is just it, you will NEVER have a reason to have 250 amps go into that fuse box. But now if something gets shorted out in there, you might just feed it 250+ amps which might = smoke
what else can I say I am a grumpy asshole most of the time.
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