4 runs?

[garretttt4 10+ year member]

yea thats how im doin mine buss bars..works fine ..just make sure you do good frame grounds in back and good big 3 grou.ds up front

Ya when I ground it to the frame do I need to seal around the outside so it don't get one and water and shi_t on it or rust and make a bad connection? Like with great stuff or something?

 

[NASTY08IMPALA 5,000+ posts]

no just buy some 1/0 waterproof grommets then sand all connections down to metal and after u secure it get a can of cheap spray undercoat from walmart and spray the end so it seals it from the elements

 

[garretttt4 10+ year member]

no just buy some 1/0 waterproof grommets then sand all connections down to metal and after u secure it get a can of cheap spray undercoat from walmart and spray the end so it seals it from the elements

Ok cool. I have some of that actually. Never thought of it though....

 

[djjdnap 10+ year member]

2 of whatever gauge wire = the 2gauge below it.

so 2 runs of 4AWG= 2AWG

so 2 runs 2AWG = 1/0AWG

Same thing, but it would be easier to run the bigger wires to a bus bar/Distro to amp.

FYI

Edit...

After doing it by strands however it is a significant difference..

2052 strands for 2 runs of 1/0awg

and

1568 strands for 4 runs of 4awg

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

You WANT full ground runs. A cars frame is equivant to 4awg.

 

[garretttt4 10+ year member]

2 of whatever gauge wire = the 2gauge below it.
so 2 runs of 4AWG= 2AWG

so 2 runs 2AWG = 1/0AWG

Same thing, but it would be easier to run the bigger wires to a bus bar/Distro to amp.

FYI

Edit...

After doing it by strands however it is a significant difference..

2052 strands for 2 runs of 1/0awg

and

1568 strands for 4 runs of 4awg

Thx never thought to add up the strand count.... Lol I feel sorta stupid. If I do like 4k watts should I use like 10 gauge speaker wire? Overkill wouldn't hurt on that would it? It'd be cheap to do like 8 gauge too but I think that's too much maybe......?

 

[NASTY08IMPALA 5,000+ posts]

Thx never thought to add up the strand count.... Lol I feel sorta stupid. If I do like 4k watts should I use like 10 gauge speaker wire? Overkill wouldn't hurt on that would it? It'd be cheap to do like 8 gauge too but I think that's too much maybe......?

i run all 8ga speaker wire not overkill...and im not sure about the cars frame being equovilant to 4ga??

 

[NASTY08IMPALA 5,000+ posts]

2 of whatever gauge wire = the 2gauge below it.
so 2 runs of 4AWG= 2AWG

so 2 runs 2AWG = 1/0AWG

Same thing, but it would be easier to run the bigger wires to a bus bar/Distro to amp.

FYI

Edit...

After doing it by strands however it is a significant difference..

2052 strands for 2 runs of 1/0awg

and

1568 strands for 4 runs of 4awg

i dont think this is correct because each run of at or knu 1/0 is 5000 strands or so

 

[garretttt4 10+ year member]

You WANT full ground runs. A cars frame is equivant to 4awg.

Isn't the front battery grounded to the frame tho? So wouldn't it be kinda the same? Sorry not doubting you or anything. Just wondering. Not very good with electrical stuff.. lol

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Isn't the front battery grounded to the frame tho? So wouldn't it be kinda the same? Sorry not doubting you or anything. Just wondering. Not very good with electrical stuff.. lol

JL did a test on it. Where is all the current getting pulled from? The alternator. The alternator is grounded under the hood. That's why you do the big 3.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Honestly that kind of stuff is basic when running that kind of power. I see burned up equipment in your future

 

[garretttt4 10+ year member]

JL did a test on it. Where is all the current getting pulled from? The alternator. The alternator is grounded under the hood. That's why you do the big 3.

Weird. I always thought the frame would be best cuz its closest to being grounded. Idk in still a newb with electrical this is my first big build. So Im trying to figure this all out now so I don't screw anything up. If I did 2 runs of 1/0 + and1 run of 1/0 - and two - gnds in the back would that be good? Just trying to save some wire but I fess wouldnt save much in the end really if I already was doing 1 run of - to front......

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Weird. I always thought the frame would be best cuz its closest to being grounded. Idk in still a newb with electrical this is my first big build. So Im trying to figure this all out now so I don't screw anything up. If I did 2 runs of 1/0 + and1 run of 1/0 - and two - gnds in the back would that be good? Just trying to save some wire but I fess wouldnt save much in the end really if I already was doing 1 run of - to front......

The power supply is the most important part of the build. Should not be skimped on. Power is going to flow over the path of least resistance. How much resistance does a frame have. Welds?

 

[djjdnap 10+ year member]

Interesting guess strands dont matter, lol, scratch the editted part above.

and refer to the 2 runs of a certain gauge is 2 gauges below the beginning gauge number.

Wire gauge is a measurement of how large a wire is, either in diameter or cross sectional area.

Edit:

1 last thing lol, catching up on some reading.

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=44574.0

Basiclly

With DC, the electrons spread out throughout the entire conductor or conductors so that the current density is the same everywhere. Of course, this only applies if the conductors are all made of the same material.

he main reason why you would want to make wires multi-stranded for use at DC (or low frequencies) is to make them flexible.

- One thick conductor is harder to bend around corners, and so is harder to install

 

[garretttt4 10+ year member]

JL did a test on it. Where is all the current getting pulled from? The alternator. The alternator is grounded under the hood. That's why you do the big 3.

Weird. I always thought the frame would be best cuz its closest to being grounded. Idk in still a newb with electrical this is my first big build. So Im trying to figure this all out now so I don't screw anything up. If I did 2 runs of 1/0 + and1 run of 1/0 - and two - gnds in the back would that be good? Just trying to save some wire but I fess wouldnt save much in the end really if I already was doing 1 run of - to front......