I'd plan on a weekend just to be safe, but it can be done in several hours.

The alt swap should take about 10 minutes unless your bolts are frozen, then add some time for beating, cursing & hitting with a hammer.

Cost really depends on the alternator you use, size & type of wire, connectors, fuse holders, etc.

My ranger 200a alt was about $250, about $100 for wire 1/0ga, probably another $30 for connectors. I already had some ANL wafer fuse holders & fuses so that saved about $40.

100% pure copper will have the most power transfer/less voltage drop but if you use CCA wire just make sure to get a good brand like knukonceptz because most of the other cheap brands will use minimal wire & super thick insulation to fool most people.
I got some cheap CCA 1/0ga wire that's smaller than my good 4ga wire.
My knukoncepts cca 1/0 wire is supposed to be equal in size to 2/0 but still just fits in 1/0 connectors.
My knuconcepts cca 4ga wire is larger than that cheap 1/0ga cca wire.

If you're gonna crimp terminals (cca wire does NOT like to be soldered) you'll want to invest in a good crimp tool like one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003X51S00/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They're a must have for larger terminals.

If you use 100% pure copper you can crimp & solder the terminals but most people don't have the proper tools to do the job so I don't recommend it for "noobs"

You'll need a fuse between the alternator & battery to protect against spikes too. Some people don't use them, but I'd rather be safe than have a burned up truck.

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Depends on how much stuff you want to add to your truck. I did the big 3 with a 250A alternator and Optima Yellowtop, but I have added NUMEROUS electronics and plan for more down the road.
Sub, amp, heated seats, 100W spotlights, 27W alley lights, 27W rear flood lights, 55W aux reverse lights, cap lighting, cap speakers, power inverters and extra 12V outlets..etc etc. Hell I even had a TV in the truck for a while there. I have 2 aux fuse panels in the truck and have plans for a third, as well as adding 2 (maybe 4) more 100W spotlights and a pair of Lightforce (I think 100W?) floodlights on the bumper. A winch and on board air compressor are also on the wish list, along with copying Mike's dual battery setup

It depends on your personal application if it will be worthwhile to perform the operation. Overall it was just time consuming to de-loom everything and then run the new wires. Once you get it all unplugged and removed its pretty straightforward. Alternator is cake; get the belt off and there are 2 wires and 3 mounting bolts.

Oh and Buggman is right about the crimping of 1/0 gauge wire. I used a bench vise and attached the terminals while the wires were still out of the truck. Unfortunately I missed one and had to do it in the engine bay and yea...that was fun with my me and my buddy trying to hold this big 4" shop vise in the engine bay to crimp a terminal!


The "spinal cord" lol

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Dennis Brady

Black 2001 4x2 XLT Supercab 3.0 "Shadow" - WIA

Black 2001 4x4 EDGE Supercab 4.0 ('Body donor' for Shadow lol)

Build thread:
http://www.fordrangerforum.com/proje...adow-redo.html

One more question: how much wire does it take to do the Big 3? How many feet?

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1995 Ford Ranger XL 3.0 Long bed
Gold color
matching Leer shell ♠ clear corners ♠ black tail lights ♠ Mustang dome ♠ Bugflector II ♠ throttle mod ♠ sound system:
Pioneer AVH-x5600BHS ✣ Diamond D672S ✣ Infinity Kappa 682.9cf ✣ Precision Power P900.4 ✣ Precision Power P1000.1 ✣ Massive CORE-1 ✣ Sundown SD-2 8" ✣
BUILD THREAD

I ordered 4 ft of red and 2 ft of black and a 30 in flat strap for the engine to ground

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Supercharged and DBR long travel 2003 FX4 on 305/70R16 MTRs, Torsen LS FR ECTED RR 4.56 Yukons with cobra brakes, lots of expo parts and other mods

Build thread http://www.fordrangerforum.com/proje...cue-truck.html

Support Search and Rescue ... GET LOST!

Hi, I'm reviving this thread because I'm about to do the upgrade. NVX makes a Big 3 Upgrade kit that sells at Sonicelectronix for just under $60, and it includes 100% OFC 1/0 wire. Pretty good deal. So I have a couple questions: 1) what type of fuse is best to use between the battery and alternator, i.e. ANL, wafer, or what? 2) I'm adding military battery terminals with 3/8" studs and need to add new connectors of that size to the OEM wiring. Where would I find the gauges of all the OEM wires? Thanks.

Attached Images

image-31178361.jpg (58.3 KB, 31 views)

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1995 Ford Ranger XL 3.0 Long bed
Gold color
matching Leer shell ♠ clear corners ♠ black tail lights ♠ Mustang dome ♠ Bugflector II ♠ throttle mod ♠ sound system:
Pioneer AVH-x5600BHS ✣ Diamond D672S ✣ Infinity Kappa 682.9cf ✣ Precision Power P900.4 ✣ Precision Power P1000.1 ✣ Massive CORE-1 ✣ Sundown SD-2 8" ✣
BUILD THREAD

Um...a listing of the wire sizes?

Most of us just use our eyes

Yeah, admittedly I don't have a lot of experience in wiring and couldn't tell a 4 awg from a 6 awg wire. Learning as I go fuckhead.

__________________
1995 Ford Ranger XL 3.0 Long bed
Gold color
matching Leer shell ♠ clear corners ♠ black tail lights ♠ Mustang dome ♠ Bugflector II ♠ throttle mod ♠ sound system:
Pioneer AVH-x5600BHS ✣ Diamond D672S ✣ Infinity Kappa 682.9cf ✣ Precision Power P900.4 ✣ Precision Power P1000.1 ✣ Massive CORE-1 ✣ Sundown SD-2 8" ✣
BUILD THREAD

You're average gauges in a car will be 4,8,10,12 & 16

The bigger the number, the smaller the wire

I have a 250A wafer fuse in mine. Not sure if its "the best" but the truck hasn't burst into flames yet so it must be working.

Wire gauges are USUALLY written right on the wire, otherwise you just have to measure by eye. As far as big 3 is concerned, the stock power cables were 4 awg, engine ground was 4 awg, frame ground was smaller..maybe 8 or 10 awg? Everything else I left alone..

__________________
Dennis Brady

Black 2001 4x2 XLT Supercab 3.0 "Shadow" - WIA

Black 2001 4x4 EDGE Supercab 4.0 ('Body donor' for Shadow lol)

Build thread:
http://www.fordrangerforum.com/proje...adow-redo.html

Has anyone done the big 3 on a newer 2.3L? I have to do mine badly but Im looking for a high output alternator first to knock it all out at once. Any help would be appreciated Thanks