Big 3 kit is here!

[68whiskey]

I recently purchased a Stage 1 Big 3 kit from BamaToy1997 on the Taco forum. 4Running Daily pointed me in his direction. Received the kit today, couldn't be happier. The quality is great, and he included an install sheet should I have any questions. I purchased a kit for the sake of convenience. I needed to get the mod done, but I do not have the time to sit down and make it. Now the search is on for a battery! Alternator to come soon enough, I don't see the need just yet since mine is still working just fine. If anyone out there wants to do the Big 3 upgrade but doesn't have the time or technical prowess to get it done, I would definitely recommend getting ahold of this guy to get it done. I think 4Running Daily has a post about the kit. I attached a few pictures as well. Theres a small red 8 gauge wire hidden under a 2 gauge from the positive terminal, but its there.

The kit was $140. Well worth the cost in my opinion. I waited about 3 weeks, a timeline given to me before I made the purchase. Im sure some prefer to spend less and do it on their own, but I knew I wouldn't get it done that way. Hopefully I'll be able to get it on the truck sometime in the next week or so, definitely before the snow starts to fall.

 

[infantry503]

What exactly came with the kit?

 

[octanejunkie]

Looks clean!

I'd love to see complete pics (of the whole kit) and peek at the installation instructions

 

[68whiskey]

Looks clean!

I'd love to see complete pics (of the whole kit) and peek at the installation instructions

Heres a picture of the whole thing, positive and negative, as well as a PDF of the install instructions. Hope this helps! With the closeup pictures I originally had posted, as well as the whole view, it should give you a pretty good idea of the product.

 

[68whiskey]

What exactly came with the kit?

New terminals, positive terminal has a digital volt gauge built in, and all cables required to complete the Big 3 upgrade. Assembled and ready to go in. Quality stuff used, and the build quality itself is great. Along with the install sheet, all I have to do is put it in. This is the most basic kit, and they go up from here. High-output alternator can be added, dual battery setup, even a solar charging system. Since I only wish to do the cables, terminals, and a battery, I went with stage 1.

 

[MN4runnerman]

I bought 2 kits during the group buy he had. Honestly if you don’t have the time then this is the kit to get. I have no complaints and it’s all quality stuff. I’d much rather replace all of the wires with this kit than add wires like others have done. It’s got all you need from starter to alternator to fuse box. And engine ground to chassis ground to battery.

 

[68whiskey]

I bought 2 kits during the group buy he had. Honestly if you don’t have the time then this is the kit to get. I have no complaints and it’s all quality stuff. I’d much rather replace all of the wires with this kit than add wires like others have done. It’s got all you need from starter to alternator to fuse box. And engine ground to chassis ground to battery.

Completely agree. Pulling all the old stuff out and putting this in will be great. I was thoroughly impressed when it arrived today. Did you do an alternator or battery as well?

 

[MN4runnerman]

Completely agree. Pulling all the old stuff out and putting this in will be great. I was thoroughly impressed when it arrived today. Did you do an alternator or battery as well?

Yeah I put a cs144 alternator in and an Exide 24 series AGM battery. I don’t have a lot of aux stuff just one 10” light bar and a cb radio, maybe a winch down the road. So it’s more than enough. In my other truck(01) I kept everything stock except for this kit. I might take my stock alternator to a local rebuilder and see if they can do what Quality Power does and up the rated amps while keeping the stock case.

 

[octanejunkie]

Heres a picture of the whole thing, positive and negative, as well as a PDF of the install instructions. Hope this helps! With the closeup pictures I originally had posted, as well as the whole view, it should give you a pretty good idea of the product.

Awesome, thank you!

The instructions mention both 2 GA and 4 GA cables - the cables in your pics look to be the same gauge. Is that just an optical illusion?

Also, are you going to reuse the plastic wire loom from the factory or replace with new when you install?

 

[68whiskey]

Awesome, thank you!

The instructions mention both 2 GA and 4 GA cables - the cables in your pics look to be the same gauge. Is that just an optical illusion?

Also, are you going to reuse the plastic wire loom from the factory or replace with new when you install?

All of the wiring is 2 GA except for the 8 GA wire that runs to the fuse box. I think that at some point the kit may have changed a little. This is also for a stage 2 kit that has the alternator, maybe that changes things as well, I'm not sure. Either way, the instructions are the same minus the alternator. Ive seen a little variation as the kits have progressed.

I think I'm going to replace the plastic as well. Being an 2002, that plastic is almost 16 years old and has seen 276k miles. I feel as though reusing the old plastic is just asking for a headache. The plan is to wrap it again and run everything tight.

 

[68whiskey]

Yeah I put a cs144 alternator in and an Exide 24 series AGM battery. I don’t have a lot of aux stuff just one 10” light bar and a cb radio, maybe a winch down the road. So it’s more than enough. In my other truck(01) I kept everything stock except for this kit. I might take my stock alternator to a local rebuilder and see if they can do what Quality Power does and up the rated amps while keeping the stock case.

Yeah, thats kind of where I'm at at this point. The factory wiring looks tired and corroded. The alternator is fine for now, so I plan on just doing this kit and a new battery for the time being. Im not running anything that needs power at the moment, and for now only plan on doing a light bar once I get a rack on top. If/when I decide to add a winch, ill more than likely do that alternator as well. We'll see how things go.

 

[MattJakobs]

I'm running this kit and have been for about two years now and it's worked great. One thing to keep in mind though, I have had to replace the battery terminal clamps as have a few other members. The allen head bolts that tighten the clamps to the actual terminals have been known to strip out. Besides that, awesome kit and good luck with install.

 

[I_bRAD]

What does the printing on the wire say?

 

[68whiskey]

I'm running this kit and have been for about two years now and it's worked great. One thing to keep in mind though, I have had to replace the battery terminal clamps as have a few other members. The allen head bolts that tighten the clamps to the actual terminals have been known to strip out. Besides that, awesome kit and good luck with install.

What do you recommend doing, just riding it out until that happens? Also, did you do the install, and how did that go?

 

[68whiskey]

What does the printing on the wire say?

Which part of it? The bigger wires say #2 welding cable, 600V. The smaller 8GA just says 8 gauge power cable.

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

Looks neat..

I DIY'd my kit (Twin batteries on parallel) with three earths from each battery (frame, body, motor) I always have massive issues with earth points... scrape off more paint and risk corrosion, or keep as much as possible at the risk of increased resistance?

The voltmeter is interesting... and pics of it installed? I assume there is a switch for it? - or is it on 24/7?

 

[I_bRAD]

Which part of it? The bigger wires say #2 welding cable, 600V. The smaller 8GA just says 8 gauge power cable.

Are there any CSA or UL markings on it?

 

[MattJakobs]

What do you recommend doing, just riding it out until that happens? Also, did you do the install, and how did that go?

The install isn't bad at all. Just make sure you have nothing going on if worst comes to worst cause you're car won't start mid install haha.

Running the new wires is the easy part. Pulling and removing the old wires is a little tedious though. I actually left the factory wiring in for some time because it's such a tedious job and I hate wiring.

As long as you don't plan on disconnecting your battery a lot, you should be good with the clamps provided. After doing the wiring, I replaced my starter, added an auxiliary fuse box, and several more accessories so my terminal clamps were being connected and disconnected quite a few times.

After several times of my 4Runner not starting and having to move the clamp around, I decided to go with these because they're pretty much dummy proof.

I just used generic battery clamps from West Marine. Also got tin plated copper lugs since they fasten differently to my new clamps. Pictures of what I used Here. I kept all the wiring in the kit when I did this as well cause it is really nice wiring, I just added the new lugs to clean everything up and make good connection.

 

[68whiskey]

Are there any CSA or UL markings on it?

Not that I can see. Its TEMCo wiring. Heres the link:

https://temcoindustrial.com/temco-wc0145-welding-cable-4-awg-5-ft-red.html

 

[68whiskey]

Looks neat..

I DIY'd my kit (Twin batteries on parallel) with three earths from each battery (frame, body, motor) I always have massive issues with earth points... scrape off more paint and risk corrosion, or keep as much as possible at the risk of increased resistance?

The voltmeter is interesting... and pics of it installed? I assume there is a switch for it? - or is it on 24/7?

Haven't done the install yet. Hopefully within the next week or so. Voltmeter is constant from what I understand. I suppose its interesting to see what you're running in real-time.