Adding 1000 rms. What gauge wire?

[Linkz 10+ year member]

I heard mixing drycell and lead acid was bad. Dont know why though.

Just do 2 runs of 1/0 one for + and other for -. put the yellow top in the back next to the subwoofer box and wire the amp to the batt

 

[I Like Waffle]

I have room for 4 batteries under the hood (yes, i have 4 battery trays) because my car shared parts with other cars that had batts in diff areas i think, so what i was asking is if adding one under the hood would be the same as one in the trunk, if not, what would be the diff? Plus under the hood would be neater and safer IMO.

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

I have room for 4 batteries under the hood (yes, i have 4 battery trays) because my car shared parts with other cars that had batts in diff areas i think, so what i was asking is if adding one under the hood would be the same as one in the trunk, if not, what would be the diff? Plus under the hood would be neater and safer IMO.

no differences in where you add them, but i say add it to the front since it'll be more convenient and save you on some wires.

As far as mixing lead-acid and drycell goes, i did that and nothing happened to my car //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[Linkz 10+ year member]

I have room for 4 batteries under the hood (yes, i have 4 battery trays) because my car shared parts with other cars that had batts in diff areas i think, so what i was asking is if adding one under the hood would be the same as one in the trunk, if not, what would be the diff? Plus under the hood would be neater and safer IMO.

In that case I would just put it under the hood. Sounds way easier. There isn't much difference either way.

 

[I Like Waffle]

I think ill get the 1/0 for going to the trunk, and chop up my existing 4 gauge to power my extra batt. Just gonna do like 2 runs of it from the alt, and 2 runs for the ground. Should i ground the 2nd batt to the engine too?

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

I think ill get the 1/0 for going to the trunk, and chop up my existing 4 gauge to power my extra batt. Just gonna do like 2 runs of it from the alt, and 2 runs for the ground. Should i ground the 2nd batt to the engine too?

no, if you're going to be powering the batt then do 1/0, not 4awg.

 

[I Like Waffle]

You dont think 2 runs of 4 gauge from the alt to the batt would do the job?

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

You dont think 2 runs of 4 gauge from the alt to the batt would do the job?

it probably would, but i just prefer to do 1/0. To each their own though //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[I Like Waffle]

Im on a little bit of a budget. Id prefer 1/0 too but might as well use my old scrap wire if i can. Ill see if i can find 5 ft or so of 1/0 to do the power and grounds of the batt for cheap though. Dont wanna spend 80 bucks on another 20 ft of it

 

[kovemaster559 5,000+ posts]

it probably would, but i just prefer to do 1/0. To each their own though //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

especially if your batts are all up front

 

[SPLEclipse 10+ year member]

two runs of 4ga is equal to one 1ga. you will be fine with double runs of 4ga between the batt(s) and alt., especially at such short lengths. make sure to keep those wires neat and away from moving parts/hot areas. when you start adding batteries and more and more wire things can get risky under the hood.

 

[I Like Waffle]

yea i might just get some 1 gauge for the sake of having it though, however adding 4g would be the cheaper route. Ill just use it for another car later on. I need about 25ft of 1g for the new install. What do you guys think about the DB link 1g wire on ebay?

 

[chunky cumz 10+ year member]

you take in to concideration of resistance. bigger wire will be better, it will simply come down to if your amp only accepts 4 guage wire then would it be better to just trim some off of the power wire or to get a fuse block and run 0 gauge up to it and a small length of 4 guage to the amp.

 

[I Like Waffle]

yea ill just trim some of the wire. thatd be easier than doing 2 runs of 4g too. What would you reccomend for some 1g? I might just try to get some used wire off here

 

[Mexar 10+ year member]

Don't use 1 gauge, use 1 ought ... 1awg and 1/0 is a bit (big) of a difference.

If you were to use the scrap 4awg to power up your 2nd battery, what you have to keep in mind, is that when you parrallel runs of power / ground to ANYTHING, they have to be EXACTLY the same length (And I'm talking to the 1/4 inch or less) otherwise, electricity will follow the path of least resistance, and just blow up the shortest run of 4awg, then start to use the longer one as it's only path (If your car hasn't burnt to a crisp).

I'd suggest using 3 runs of + and 3 runs of - all EXACTLY the same length of the 4awg if your set on going that route, but a single run of 1/0 is much better idea