amp draw

[LoganSF 10+ year member]

If an amp draws 160 amps, would just having a 100 amp fuse on the power wire cause it the amp to basically not work at all?

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[Wingman0121 10+ year member]

No it'll still work just fine until you crank it up to where it starts to pull more current than the fuse can handle and all the sudden the amp will go quiet.

I think most automotive fuses are rated to pop at 150% of their rated current, so an 10a fuse should pop when you try to run 15a through it.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

maybe, maybe not, what amp do you have that draws 160amp?

 

[LoganSF 10+ year member]

eclipse za1200, when i bought it they said it will draw 160... i don't know i'm just trying to figure out why this amp isn't pushing my subwoofers at all

 

[LoganSF 10+ year member]

how can you tell how much it draws?

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

If the amp has fuses on it, look at them....

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

at minimum impedance (2 ohms) the amp is capable of 1200w rms. If it is nearly as efficient as it claims to be I see no reason why it would ever approach 160A, even dynamically. Plus - in order to draw maximum current for an extended period of time you would have to be playing full volume test tones. Playing music it is highly unlikely it would require more than 50A or so (average) at full volume.

One thing that's unusual about that amp that may cause it to appear low powered is that its input sensitivity only goes down to 1.2v. That is about 1/5 as sensitive as most amps (typically 0.25v). If you have a low voltage (2v) HU it may have trouble driving the inputs of that amp to a point that would get full output from the amp.

 

[LoganSF 10+ year member]

at minimum impedance (2 ohms) the amp is capable of 1200w rms. If it is nearly as efficient as it claims to be I see no reason why it would ever approach 160A, even dynamically. Plus - in order to draw maximum current for an extended period of time you would have to be playing full volume test tones. Playing music it is highly unlikely it would require more than 50A or so (average) at full volume.
One thing that's unusual about that amp that may cause it to appear low powered is that its input sensitivity only goes down to 1.2v. That is about 1/5 as sensitive as most amps (typically 0.25v). If you have a low voltage (2v) HU it may have trouble driving the inputs of that amp to a point that would get full output from the amp.

What if i am getting absolutely no output, with all connections checked (including grounds and RCA) all settings are correct on the head unit, the subs are wired correctly, and the amp i previously had worked just fine? and yes, the outputs on my head unit are only 2v, but that wouldnt result in no output right?

 

[themgators511 10+ year member]

at minimum impedance (2 ohms) the amp is capable of 1200w rms. If it is nearly as efficient as it claims to be I see no reason why it would ever approach 160A, even dynamically. Plus - in order to draw maximum current for an extended period of time you would have to be playing full volume test tones. Playing music it is highly unlikely it would require more than 50A or so (average) at full volume.
One thing that's unusual about that amp that may cause it to appear low powered is that its input sensitivity only goes down to 1.2v. That is about 1/5 as sensitive as most amps (typically 0.25v). If you have a low voltage (2v) HU it may have trouble driving the inputs of that amp to a point that would get full output from the amp.

What he said....

 

[LoganSF 10+ year member]

I have subwoofer output now, but the gain is **** near close to the 1.2v to really get them moving like they were before, even with the 2v preouts is this safe?