4 gauge power, 8 gauge ground

[mathxew 10+ year member]

The amplifier i am using only needs 8 gauge wire, but i only have a long length of 4 gauge, so i want to use that for the power, can i use an 8 gauge wire for the ground?

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[geowick07 10+ year member]

You should use the same gauge wire for power and ground.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Same power as ground.

 

[Cmonster 10+ year member]

What they said

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

If the 8 ga is big enough for the demands of the amp, then running mixed size wire is fine. There is no reason that they have to match as long as the smallest wire is big enough. The larger is just overkill.

 

[mathxew 10+ year member]

8 gauge is enough for the power i think...200 watts?

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

Charger has 1/0 welding wire for power and 4gauge for ground from the factory, so yes it can work assuming your ground wire is only a few feet long...

 

[clouduz 10+ year member]

i thought i read somewhere that u can only use a larger ground than power not the other way around...could be wrong though

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

i thought i read somewhere that u can only use a larger ground than power not the other way around...could be wrong though

Just common practice. As others have said, as long as the amperage demand isn't that great, 8g can work, and the shorter the wire the better it'll work. But for how cheap you can get 4g wire, you're just better off going 4g.

If you start having any issues with static, fading, voltage dropping, excessive over heating of amp, or amp shutting off, consider the 8g ground as the reason first.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

HT couldn't have been clearer.

If the amp only requires 8 ga wire then using 4 ga for pwr, 8 ga for gnd isn't a problem. If the amp REQUIRED 4 ga - it would be a bad idea.