4ga wire 2 small for 3 amps?

[SQ is the SQUAD 10+ year member]

i had brought this tsunimi 4ga amp kit from circuit city but now i have change what i am going to run for the system. since the kit has already been installed into my car, it cannot be returned.

i am going to be running 2 kicker 1200.1 and a kicker 350.4

the 1200.1 will be pushing o4s15l7 and the 350.4 will be pushing some boston componets.

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

I would upgrade...ASAP.

You could leave the 4awg in there and run the 350.4 off of it, but you'll need to run a 1/0 feed to the 1200.1's.

 

[SQ is the SQUAD 10+ year member]

even if i ran 0/1 from the battery to the rear and used a dist block and ran 4 ga to the amps will this still be bad, i just dont want to waste all this 4ga

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

That's what I was getting at - you don't need to waste the 4awg. Use that as the power for the smaller amp.

Power the big amps off a 1/0 gauge cable and a fused distro block.

 

[theCybe 5,000+ posts]

* That depends on how loud you're listening //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Nikuk 5,000+ posts]

* That depends on how loud you're listening //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

That's true.

Also, depends on the total length.

But, in general, You can run 1/Ott from the batt to a distro, then 4ga to the amps.

-Or-

You can run 4ga & 1/Ott back seperatly.

Assuming that You'll be giving the subbass amps some usage, run larger wire. It's safer and more efficient.

-Nick

 

[SQ is the SQUAD 10+ year member]

good looking out.

ill go pick up 17ft of zero guage and use the 4ga from the block to all the amps.

as for the grounds. should i ground each amp to the frame or is a dist block for ground good enough?

lastly, one of the less reputable 12v associates at my job told me to eliminate ground noise i should runn a ground wire from my raido to the negitive on my amp, is this truew? i never heard of this. and if it is true should i do this for all my amps.

i did buy a ground loop isolator but the quility looks crappy and i am afraid with all the money i spent on rca's i am going to loose out if i use it, pluse its only good for 1 channel

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Doesn't really matter if you use seperate grounds or a single one, as long as you don't have a noise problem...just make the grounds as short as possible.

 

[SQ is the SQUAD 10+ year member]

in that case ill prob use seperate grounds, do you know about that ground loop thing i was talking about with the small wire (renote size) going from the raido ground to the amp ground

 

[Nikuk 5,000+ posts]

I wouldnt advise running a ground from HU to AMP. that long of a run of smaller guage wire will be more likely build up resistance and cause noise.

Simply ground the HU to a metal part of the dash OR use the existing ground.

In short, dont go through any extra efforts unless You ACTUALLY have a noise problem,

-Nick

 

[SQ is the SQUAD 10+ year member]

ok

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

I am amazed at how little people understand wiring. There is small guage wiring running from tip to tail of ANY car on the road, and it does not "build up resistance & cause noise" If you choose to ground your reciever with all your amps, it is a sure way to help PREVENT possible ground loops i.e. amp grounds in your trunk at the frame and as current passes through the metal of the body on it's way to the battery it can cause noise when it passes the ground for the reciever. Any reciever out there will not use enough amperage to need anything larger than factory wiring for a ground run to your amps. Hell, you are already sending current through a wire that distance to turn the amps on- does it "build up resistance" and stop working-no it doesn't. The reason for different size wiring depends simply on current flow (amperage) over distance. The more current flow you need to feed your amps the bigger the wire needs to be. The farther away from the battery the amps are, the bigger the wire needs to be. Your 4 guage wire would be fine for both amps as long as the run is less than about 19', or you could drop to 2guage for up to 30' or run a supply of 0/1 to a distro block at the amps and have a short supply line to each of 4 guage. If I already gad the 4 guage, that's what I would use. Most people just aren't running enough wattage to need 0/1 wire to everything and it ends up being engine bling- not that there is anything wrong with that, I am just a function first kind of dude and don't like wasting money on rediculously large wiring for a 300w x1 amp and a 60w x4 amp. One rule of thumb is, if you are playing your stereo loud, and the power wire is hot, it is too small- also make sure you run ground wire the same guage as the power wire. What goes in must come out. Electricity isn't used up inside an amp like gas in a motor. Good luck. By the way, I am an ASE certified Master Auto Technician and a Platinum certifed Honda Technician, so I know a little bit about what I'm talking about, and am not trying to bust anyones balls. I am only running #8 wire to my 75w x2 front stage amp, and 200w sub amp and they are both fine, but the run is 4guage from the battery through the firewall to a distro block, and 8 guage from there, and the car is an '04 Civic Si Hatchback- not the biggest ride in the world. 0/1 is probably overkill IMHO.Though after re reading your origional post, I see you have 2 1200.1's so I would probably run0/1 and use a distro block, otherwise you are going to have to run 3 4guage wires from battery to amps.