Bridging Issue with Sundown SA-12's

[2013Sonata]

Hi everyone. I'm new*ish* here. Long time reader, first time poster. I'll just get right to it. I have 2 Sundown Audio SA-12 D4's and an AudioQue AQ1200D. I've had my equipment for a few years, and neither have seen any power. I got a new car for myself and wanted to throw them into it. I've wired in my L.O.C. and I've run my 4 gauge power wire from end to end. Now my problem is with the subs. I've successfully bridged them down to 1 ohm but I'm worried. I have KnuKonceptz wires for everything. My amp kit came with 12 gauge speaker wire. I was trying to bridge them with it but when I twist two to insert into the terminals, they're too big. I tried banana plugs but the wire comes out. I tried trimming, but still no luck. I finally got frustrated that it was taking over an hour for something that should take less than 5 minutes that I went to best buy and bough some really bad 12 gauge wire from their "car audio" section. They give you two stranded wire. One side copper, the other side who knows. So I split the wire and take only the copper side. My worry is that the wire is too thin. I want to use the KnuKonceptz wire since it's thicker and carries more current. What should I do? I don't feel too comfortable using the best buy wire considering the quality of it. Is there a way I could use the KnuKonceptz? Am I doing something wrong? The KnuKonceptz goes in a little but leaves a lot of wire exposed. I'm not sure if that's alright or not so I worry about it. Any help would be amazing. Thank you. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif

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[NIHL8ION]

On the terminals you need jumpers running (2 wires) Instead of twisting them together, Put one wire in one side, and the other wire in the other side of the push terminal (The hole goes all the way through)

 

[2013Sonata]

On the terminals you need jumpers running (2 wires) Instead of twisting them together, Put one wire in one side, and the other wire in the other side of the push terminal (The hole goes all the way through)

Actually, I didn't even think of that! Would that work considering the wires are so thick? Thank you for the quick reply!

 

[NIHL8ION]

Actually, I didn't even think of that! Would that work considering the wires are so thick? Thank you for the quick reply!

Yes this should work, I've used the Knu 12g & it's pretty big 12g ! lol - But yeah that's how I've been doing it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[2013Sonata]

Yes this should work, I've used the Knu 12g & it's pretty big 12g ! lol - But yeah that's how I've been doing it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

I hope so. I was going nuts yesterday and I actually resorted to using that terrible wire. Thank God I didn't officially wire anything in. Phew! Haha. Thank you for the advice. I love Knu's wire. This will be my first install on a new car. I also haven't done a sub install in yearsssss. haha. I will post back later after work and see if it works. If not, any other suggestions by chance?

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Grab a soldering iron and solder the wires together outside the terminal, then just run one into the terminal itself...or just run dedicated wire straight from the amp for each coil (what I normally do)

 

[NIHL8ION]

This should work, but if it still won't fit just trim the wire down a little bit - ie: Cut off end & start fresh, then strip back desired length, then pull down / fold the outer most layer(s) of wire leaving the desired gauge / thickness standing straight up still in the center of where you folded down wire... Cut off the wire you folded down & you will be good. Either way always just use both sides of the push terminal as this will allow you to fit the biggest gauge of wire you can fit because you won't be doubling it up into one hole opening //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[2013Sonata]

Grab a soldering iron and solder the wires together outside the terminal, then just run one into the terminal itself...or just run dedicated wire straight from the amp for each coil (what I normally do)

I actually tried that last night. The solder kept balling up and falling off. It didn't make any sense to me at all. I was using a butane soldering torch and electrical solder *of course*. lol

This should work, but if it still won't fit just trim the wire down a little bit - ie: Cut off end & start fresh, then strip back desired length, then pull down / fold the outer most layer(s) of wire leaving the desired gauge / thickness standing straight up still in the center of where you folded down wire... Cut off the wire you folded down & you will be good. Either way always just use both sides of the push terminal as this will allow you to fit the biggest gauge of wire you can fit because you won't be doubling it up into one hole opening //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

I tried that too. UGH! This wire is giving me a ton of problems because it's so good. lmao. I hope I can get this to work with my Knu wires. I don't want to use some crappy wire from Best Buy. lol

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

I actually tried that last night. The solder kept balling up and falling off. It didn't make any sense to me at all. I was using a butane soldering torch and electrical solder *of course*. lol


I tried that too. UGH! This wire is giving me a ton of problems because it's so good. lmao. I hope I can get this to work with my Knu wires. I don't want to use some crappy wire from Best Buy. lol

The solder balled up because the wire wasn't hot enough

The bestbuy 12g is fine the knu is like 11gauge

I did my subs with 10gauge so you should be able to do it.

 

[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

I busted a terminal off on my SA-15 so that just ended up with direct leads. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fro.gif.c695f1f814b01c4ad99fe7f8cccadd29.gif

 

[2013Sonata]

The solder balled up because the wire wasn't hot enough
The bestbuy 12g is fine the knu is like 11gauge

I did my subs with 10gauge so you should be able to do it.

It was strange. The wire looked to be getting actually burnt when I heated it up. The best buy 12g is really thin and looks like 16g. That's why it scares me to use it. lol. I tried twisting the Knu wire as much as I can but it was still too thick to fit completely into the terminal. I got so frustrated with it that I went to go buy some wire that I didn't even trust. Stupid decision on my part.

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

Even if the best buy wire turns out to be 16g with the power u are running it won't hurt performance

 

[2013Sonata]

Even if the best buy wire turns out to be 16g with the power u are running it won't hurt performance

Really? I could've sworn I read somewhere that I needed 12 gauge to do so. Hmm. Perhaps I'm mistaken. lol

 

[Austin175 10+ year member]

hmmm you should be able to just trim the wire down an twist an fit them in. im running Shok 8g for my speaker wires an it worked just fine.

 

[Jerhemy 10+ year member]

get some heavy duty banana plugs..

got 4 gauge into these ones easily lol

or several of the above suggested ideas would work. Try using a little bit of soldering Flux next time you try and solder bigish wire like that 12 gauge knu. Use a high quality iron, or small torch for best results. Trimming the wire and twisting like you've tried to do is another easily done options as well.

good luck