mattkilla97 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 (edited) hey everyone, my first post! just got a 97 contour v6 sport two weeks ago. started today to put in a little audio system and wanted to know if anyone here has done the big 3 and if so how did you run the wires, and also where did you find or cut a hole through the firewall for the power wire (i think i might have found an ok spot) and finally whats up with the negative and positive battery wires having all sorts of other positive/negative wires connected (excluding alternator)? never seen that before but then again havent been around too many cars. i dont know how im going to connect the aftermarket battery terminal/s finding out that taking out the side trim is a major pain in the ass and the alternator is going to be just a lot worse if i decide to do the big 3. hopefully i will make a lot more progress tomorrow than i did today. thanks guys for your input. Edited December 30, 2009 by mattkilla97 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFDisturbance Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Hey!! Never did the big 3 conversion myself, but I did notice the extra cables on the batt, so I went with the batt swap to allow for side posts as well as tops. This was easy fix to that issue, cause then I could use the original wires from the car to one set, and allow my audio to have it's own set of posts. Just a suggestion to clear up the area for a more clean install, and to prevent any issues between OEM equipment and the aftermarket audio system. Of course, I also installed an additional batt in the trunk and an isolator to monitor any issues, but that is just me. Good luck!! - J.D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattkilla97 Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 Hey!! Never did the big 3 conversion myself, but I did notice the extra cables on the batt, so I went with the batt swap to allow for side posts as well as tops. This was easy fix to that issue, cause then I could use the original wires from the car to one set, and allow my audio to have it's own set of posts. Just a suggestion to clear up the area for a more clean install, and to prevent any issues between OEM equipment and the aftermarket audio system. Of course, I also installed an additional batt in the trunk and an isolator to monitor any issues, but that is just me. Good luck!! - J.D. what battery did you get that had side posts, I whent to autozone and they didn't have any. I have a redtop that I was hoping to fit but doesn't and I don't know how well it would be having the wires come from the side posts bending over the top of the battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTDEMON Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattkilla97 Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFDisturbance Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 what battery did you get that had side posts, I whent to autozone and they didn't have any. I have a redtop that I was hoping to fit but doesn't and I don't know how well it would be having the wires come from the side posts bending over the top of the battery I used a Rockford Fosgate battery. It has been not that bad over the years, but I would have rather had the red top. Unfortunately like you said, it doesn't fit right, and I am not into modding that area just to get the batt to fit correctly. Not sure what the other Optimas have for dimensions, but I was going with the red top since it was matching the ride. In the end, I decided to go with RF simply due to all the stereo equip being RF. Check my gallery and you will see what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTDEMON Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 thanks for the info, though i know what the big three is and am pretty sure i got my info from the same site that you posted, im just seeing how people do it on the contour since the alternator is a pain to get to and there is some extra positive and negative wires already going to the battery that im not used too. I did mine,,my buddy owns an exhaust shop.Once it was on the lift it is easy.Are you sure they are going to the battery and not grounded right below it?Chances are it is the ground for the alt and other things.A pic would be helpful.I also ran the power cables through the same hole as the Brake lines and Trans Cables into the dash area.I hope this helps,I mainly posted all the info for the Big 3 because FCO was lacking in the info dept. I have done a little stereo work to my car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTDEMON Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 I used a Rockford Fosgate battery. It has been not that bad over the years, but I would have rather had the red top. Unfortunately like you said, it doesn't fit right, and I am not into modding that area just to get the batt to fit correctly. Not sure what the other Optimas have for dimensions, but I was going with the red top since it was matching the ride. In the end, I decided to go with RF simply due to all the stereo equip being RF. Check my gallery and you will see what I mean. Optima Red Top fit in my SVT,it pushed my hood up half a millimeter.Barely noticeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattkilla97 Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 Optima Red Top fit in my SVT,it pushed my hood up half a millimeter.Barely noticeable. i will see if any store in my town has something that will fit but dont know if i can afford another battery right now, been sick for the last couple days and hopefully can work on it tomorrow since the person thats helping me has the car in his garage and also sick. ill try to take some pics of the battery cables/wires when i get to my car next but it will be on a crappy camera phone since i dont have a real one. thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. if anyone else has some general tips for putting a system in a contour that would be great, it is my first time doing any kind of audio work besides changing out a cd player. also where do people find a good spot for putting in the ground wire for an amp in the trunk, is there any good bolts already in place that i can just sand off the paint and screw in? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTDEMON Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 i will see if any store in my town has something that will fit but dont know if i can afford another battery right now, been sick for the last couple days and hopefully can work on it tomorrow since the person thats helping me has the car in his garage and also sick. ill try to take some pics of the battery cables/wires when i get to my car next but it will be on a crappy camera phone since i dont have a real one. thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. if anyone else has some general tips for putting a system in a contour that would be great, it is my first time doing any kind of audio work besides changing out a cd player. also where do people find a good spot for putting in the ground wire for an amp in the trunk, is there any good bolts already in place that i can just sand off the paint and screw in? thanks The trunk has several good grounds in it.Get those pics up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattkilla97 Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 The trunk has several good grounds in it.Get those pics up. ok so we worked on my audio system for a couple hours last night and got to take pics with my crap cell phone camera at just of the battery wires, i finally got the drivers seat out to be able to get to the screws for the side trim. the power seat did not move forward and back/up and down, found out it was just a connecter. (as it was, the seat was too low to get the socket wrench to remove the seat)we got the wires all hooked up for the cd player and hd radio to the factory wire harness and got the speaker wires hooked up to the harness as well and ran them with the rca's down the center console to the trunk where the wires will go to the amp, plus got the main power wire run on the side of the car, thats about all we got done. though i was not a part of it i could tell it was a pain in the ass to get the auto shift knob off the shifter and remove the center console. i dont think i will be doing the big 3 for now, but still a lot more to do such as finding a place for the crossovers and tweeters, grounding it, figuring how im going to power this thing to the battery, testing it, and then putting all the trim back together. i have a plan: i want to see if i can get the red top to mount on the side so i would i could use the side posts that it came with the redtop for the top and have it for the factory wires and use the top posts for the power. make sense? but i dont know if it will fit sideways. sorry bout the pics i thought i would be able to draw arrows to the wires so it would be more clear. to give you guys an idea, there is one wire thats connected to the clamp that goes to the battery post but there is also a metal bracket with a couple wires attached that also hook up to the main wire connecter. (this goes for both positive and negative wires) its not as simple as taking off just the main connecter and attaching it to my aftermarket battery terminal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTDEMON Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 ok so we worked on my audio system for a couple hours last night and got to take pics with my crap cell phone camera at just of the battery wires, i finally got the drivers seat out to be able to get to the screws for the side trim. the power seat did not move forward and back/up and down, found out it was just a connecter. (as it was, the seat was too low to get the socket wrench to remove the seat)we got the wires all hooked up for the cd player and hd radio to the factory wire harness and got the speaker wires hooked up to the harness as well and ran them with the rca's down the center console to the trunk where the wires will go to the amp, plus got the main power wire run on the side of the car, thats about all we got done. though i was not a part of it i could tell it was a pain in the ass to get the auto shift knob off the shifter and remove the center console. i dont think i will be doing the big 3 for now, but still a lot more to do such as finding a place for the crossovers and tweeters, grounding it, figuring how im going to power this thing to the battery, testing it, and then putting all the trim back together. i have a plan: i want to see if i can get the red top to mount on the side so i would i could use the side posts that it came with the redtop for the top and have it for the factory wires and use the top posts for the power. make sense? but i dont know if it will fit sideways. sorry bout the pics i thought i would be able to draw arrows to the wires so it would be more clear. to give you guys an idea, there is one wire thats connected to the clamp that goes to the battery post but there is also a metal bracket with a couple wires attached that also hook up to the main wire connecter. (this goes for both positive and negative wires) its not as simple as taking off just the main connecter and attaching it to my aftermarket battery terminal. Is there enough room to follow the ground to the source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattkilla97 Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 Is there enough room to follow the ground to the source? are you talking about the oem ground wires from the battery to the cars body? no i dont know where the wires lead to, everything under the hood is pretty damn tight as it is and i dont have enough experience to start taking apart things to get to the wires, i really wish i did because i was hoping for a clean install. well the redtop fits sideways so im just going to have the gm posts facing up and connect the oem wires to that along with the power wire since it would have been hell to get the aftermarket battery terminal on the side with somehow finding a place to place the fuse safely. i wish optima made batteries with the reverse posts along with the side posts that would make it easier, but nothing ever seems to be when it comes to me working on cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spridget Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I'm scrapping my '97 Contour. I replaced all the major power and ground wires in the engine bay, and wired it for a sub. I also rebuilt/replaced the leads from the battery to the power distribution box. I won't have any use for this stuff. If you are interested in any of it, I can post some pics. There should also be pics in my gallery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTDEMON Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I'm scrapping my '97 Contour. I replaced all the major power and ground wires in the engine bay, and wired it for a sub. I also rebuilt/replaced the leads from the battery to the power distribution box. I won't have any use for this stuff. If you are interested in any of it, I can post some pics. There should also be pics in my gallery. What gauge wire is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spridget Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 power and grounds are 4g. Amp wiring is only 8g, but it was for a small amp. The amp and sub are going into my Cougar though. The wires to the power distribution box are 10g IIRC. I replaced the wiring from the starter->Mega Fuse->alternator and installed a 150A relay switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattkilla97 Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 power and grounds are 4g. Amp wiring is only 8g, but it was for a small amp. The amp and sub are going into my Cougar though. The wires to the power distribution box are 10g IIRC. I replaced the wiring from the starter->Mega Fuse->alternator and installed a 150A relay switch. looks nice, my car has the fuse box on the opposite side of yours as well as the battery posts being toward the firewall as opposed to the front bumper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spridget Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 looks nice, my car has the fuse box on the opposite side of yours as well as the battery posts being toward the firewall as opposed to the front bumper. I guess the picture is deceiving. The top of the picture is the front of the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattkilla97 Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 I see now, lol my mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTDEMON Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 ok so we worked on my audio system for a couple hours last night and got to take pics with my crap cell phone camera at just of the battery wires, i finally got the drivers seat out to be able to get to the screws for the side trim. the power seat did not move forward and back/up and down, found out it was just a connecter. (as it was, the seat was too low to get the socket wrench to remove the seat)we got the wires all hooked up for the cd player and hd radio to the factory wire harness and got the speaker wires hooked up to the harness as well and ran them with the rca's down the center console to the trunk where the wires will go to the amp, plus got the main power wire run on the side of the car, thats about all we got done. though i was not a part of it i could tell it was a pain in the ass to get the auto shift knob off the shifter and remove the center console. i dont think i will be doing the big 3 for now, but still a lot more to do such as finding a place for the crossovers and tweeters, grounding it, figuring how im going to power this thing to the battery, testing it, and then putting all the trim back together. i have a plan: i want to see if i can get the red top to mount on the side so i would i could use the side posts that it came with the redtop for the top and have it for the factory wires and use the top posts for the power. make sense? but i dont know if it will fit sideways. sorry bout the pics i thought i would be able to draw arrows to the wires so it would be more clear. to give you guys an idea, there is one wire thats connected to the clamp that goes to the battery post but there is also a metal bracket with a couple wires attached that also hook up to the main wire connecter. (this goes for both positive and negative wires) its not as simple as taking off just the main connecter and attaching it to my aftermarket battery terminal. The pics are of the battery negative ground and starter ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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