Amp fuse ratings and KLM

[unclesam099]

Hello all,

I have started down the road of car audio and have found a new hobby //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Anyways, I did do some research but cannot find a definitive answer on Knu's Copper clad aluminum KLM cable.

I got the 4awg kit from them for my two Cadence amps... I have a TXA-3002 for my CDT components (150 RMS x 2) and a TXA-750D (600 RMS x 1) for my 12" Type-R.

Will the 4awg KLM kit be enough for these two amps? I am going to try to run the shortest length of cable that I can for the power (~15' or so) to a fused dist block. I have measured it to be about 2.54awg. My boss is an electrical engineer and says that there should not be any problem with it, so I do believe him (40+ yrs in engineering), but he isn't in car audio.

Nothing is installed yet, but I want to make sure before I do it.

Thanks for the help.

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[Kriszilla 10+ year member]

For that length of run with that wattage you should be fine. But, if you plan on doing any upgrades at all in the future, do it right to begin with and bump up to 1/0 power wire.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

You'll be just fine with 4 gauge wire. It can handle twice what you're running

For that length of run with that wattage you should be fine. But, if you plan on doing any upgrades at all in the future, do it right to begin with and bump up to 1/0 power wire.

"doing it right" is a relative statement, and in this situation plain wrong. Using 10 gauge power wire is doing it right if all you need is 10awg.

All he "needs" is 6 gauge wire, so therefore he already has a 1-up install by using larger wire.

 

[unclesam099]

KnuKonceptz gives you an 80a fuse with the cable. This is why I ask, at full draw, my system will be drawing nearly 100A or so according to an online calculator (at "perfect" conditions).

I am confident that it will work just fine and I do not plan on upgrading because I just want a nice clean install and I'm going for SQ (prefer listening to techno/rock/classic rock). I did my research a bit before I bought everything, and based my purchases on reviews and what qualities I am looking for.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

If you pop the 80A fuse, then (And only in this case) it is OK to up the fuse to a max of 140 amps. That is the safe limit for 4 gauge wire.

 

[unclesam099]

If you pop the 80A fuse, then (And only in this case) it is OK to up the fuse to a max of 140 amps. That is the safe limit for 4 gauge wire.

This is for Copper Clad Aluminum cable, though. It was my understanding that this was rated at a lower current because of its construction.

As I said before, they gave me an 80amp fuse and I wanted to know if this is because they are trying to be overly safe? It is nearly 2awg and is such because it has a lower current rating, but does that mean that it really handle more like 125 amps like 4awg copper?

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

You are correct saying that copper clad aluminum is rated for lower current than just copper, but that is why the wire is larger than standard 4 ga. Cross sectional area makes up for the little difference in conductivity.

So you will be fine running that and if necessary you can step up to a little larger fuse.

 

[knukonceptz 10+ year member]

What is your total fuse rating? Over 100A use the Kolossus, 100A and lower the KLM will be fine. KLM would be ok for over 100A too, but your voltage loss would be greater then 10% on current draws over 100A. Also the front amp wont draw full potential, so unless your doing some crazy sweeps, most amps will not pull fmax current with music.....

 

[unclesam099]

The total fuse rating is 50a for the 150 x 2 (class AB) and 60 for the 600 x 1 (class D).

I am right on the edge, which is why I ask about it. But I don't plan on drawing more than 100a on a regular basis because my alternator is (I think) only 85a.

I just want the capability to have decent SQ that can play loud enough over my exhaust (WRX w/3", no cats anywhere). With more deadening to go in, I will reach that without a problem. My HU already does it pretty easily w/the CDTs in (which are awesome, BTW).