Amp wire not enough?

[Mitch86 5,000+ posts]

If he ever plans on running the amp at 1 ohm he's better off going ahead and upgrading to wire that will handle it. 2 gauge or even 1/0.

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

also if he does choose to run that amp at 1 ohm a 1/0 main power run the 1/0 big three will be a must. as well as possibly a second battery back by the amp to keep it getting the power its going to want. and depending on what his factory alt puts out a H/O alt could be a good idea.

and dragonrage... if you dont know what your talking about please do not post.

running too small of a power wire will cause the voltage the amp is getting to drop. which will cause it to draw more amperage which causes heat. heat which will cook the amp long with the power wire. i take it you have never been at a show where someone tried to get that last burp out of their batts and the amps went up in smoke? that is from voltage drop.

 

[dragonrage 10+ year member]

and dragonrage... if you dont know what your talking about please do not post.
running too small of a power wire will cause the voltage the amp is getting to drop. which will cause it to draw more amperage which causes heat. heat which will cook the amp long with the power wire. i take it you have never been at a show where someone tried to get that last burp out of their batts and the amps went up in smoke? that is from voltage drop.

I do know what I'm talking about and no, that's not from voltage drop. It's from ripple. Also, a voltage drop generally does not cause more current draw. It causes a power drop. Yes, it is technically possible to put in circuitry to try and compensate for a voltage drop by raising the current, but you must understand all of the reasons that voltage drop happens. A stock alternator is going to run out of current to supply before the 4 gauge wire is saturated. And a lead acid battery doesn't react to load changes instantaneously and also, the internal resistance of a lead acid battery gets to be significant with significant loads. What you get as a result is a voltage drop. Yes, the wire is also going to drop some voltage, but you're not looking at the big picture here.

P.S. I recommended 2 gauge wire. I simply said that 4 gauge won't burn. And it won't. Including at 1 ohm.

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

I do know what I'm talking about and no, that's not from voltage drop. It's from ripple.

so your saying when their volt meter is reading 11v before they burp it and it drops to 8.9 when he hits it and the amps go up in smoke thats from voltage ripple?

i await you tying to explain this one.

 

[dragonrage 10+ year member]

so your saying when their volt meter is reading 11v before they burp it and it drops to 8.9 when he hits it and the amps go up in smoke thats from voltage ripple?
i await you tying to explain this one.

First of all, I don't owe you any kind of explanation, so don't get cocky. I'll give you a very basic one anyway even though you're not going to appreciate the effort.

The voltage may drop to 8.9, but it is not going to be DC power supplied. Even if we're talking about test tones here - which I believe are completely useless for any purpose other than measuring your system to tune your equalizer/crossover - the ability of the car to supply power is going to vary. Alternators do not make DC power. They make AC power which is then rectified. The car battery and any capacitors - including those in the amp - are left to smooth out the waveform. (Also, the nature of the switching power supply in most amps can help with this.) The higher the load, the harder the job on those components is. Both capacitors and batteries can blow from excessive ripple current.

P.S. English - learn it.

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

First of all, I don't owe you any kind of explanation, so don't get cocky. I'll give you a very basic one anyway even though you're not going to appreciate the effort.
The voltage may drop to 8.9, but it is not going to be DC power supplied. Even if we're talking about test tones here - which I believe are completely useless for any purpose other than measuring your system to tune your equalizer/crossover - the ability of the car to supply power is going to vary. Alternators do not make DC power. They make AC power which is then rectified. The car battery and any capacitors - including those in the amp - are left to smooth out the waveform. (Also, the nature of the switching power supply in most amps can help with this.) The higher the load, the harder the job on those components is. Both capacitors and batteries can blow from excessive ripple current.

P.S. English - learn it.

test tones are not useless. there is a reason they are used in competition vehicles. and the example i was talking about had no source of ac power. it was in the competition lanes with the vehicle off. so thats not ripple. the amps were being supplied with dc voltage from the battery bank.

and long story short. voltage drops, amperage rises, and amps go up in smoke.

regardless none of this really has to do with the OP's question. you stated running too small of a power wire will not lead to the failure of an amp. that is false, if an amp is not supplied with proper power for long enough it will fail.

 

[dragonrage 10+ year member]

I stated that a 4ga wire will not burn at 1800w. Nothing more. And I still suggested 2ga over it. You're the one who decided to call me out based on... well, I'm not really sure.

Reading: learn it.

About the test tones comment, perhaps you haven't noticed, but I'm purely interested in SQ. You SPL-types can take your childish competitions and, well, do them somewhere that isn't near me. And yes, your car is louder than mine, so don't bother trying that one on me, because I don't really care. NOBODY needs 5kW of bass in a car.

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

I stated that a 4ga wire will not burn at 1800w. Nothing more. And I still suggested 2ga over it. You're the one who decided to call me out based on... well, I'm not really sure.
Reading: learn it.

No, it won't damage the amp's power supply, but it could burn that wire up. Could even start a fire. Not SUPER likely, but possible. My recommendation is 2 gauge.
A power supply won't be damaged by too high a source resistance.

so you never said what i just quoted?

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

About the test tones comment, perhaps you haven't noticed, but I'm purely interested in SQ. You SPL-types can take your childish competitions and, well, do them somewhere that isn't near me. And yes, your car is louder than mine, so don't bother trying that one on me, because I don't really care. NOBODY needs 5kW of bass in a car.

who said anything about being louder. not really sure why or getting your feathers ruffled over people who do spl. this has nothing to do with that. its simply about the basics of car audio and the electrical systems needed to back them.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

have you friend get some 0g, OFC knu 4g and a reducer. thats my current setup right now for my 1500d, the distro block is about 8 inches from the amp

 

[akheathen Premium Member]

no offense dude, but you are full of ish.......

*note i said "no offense", so that makes it ok, right?

you are over-complicating simple ampacity........ first off, i didn't say it will burn, i said it will cook.... and yes there is a difference. by "cooking" the wire, it is still perfectly in tact, along with the shielding, however, the current does cause some heat where the electrons are flowing the most.... on the surface..... in turn, the surface is slow roasting to a nice blackish finish that insulates flow, and forces the electrons to the inside of each strand where resistance is higher..... still with me? simply put, 4awg is ok for up to 100a on short runs for a short time, and it doesn't matter how big your alternator, or battery is that is supplying it up front is, there will be votage drop regardless....