does this sound right?

[wendall 10+ year member]

ok, here is what i am planning to do.

0 awg from battery to first cap.

4 awg from first cap to second cap.

4awg from second cap to sub amp and

another 4 awg to a fused block.

8 awg from fused block to interior amp.

At this time I will only be running my 81000D at 4 ohms. I have to decide if I want to lose my back seat and put in another sub, or if I want to get some new subs. My alternator is rated at 120 amps. This should be sufficient for this set up, correct? Is there anything that I am missing here? I want to make sure I have a safe and correct plan before I get into the wiring.

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[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Originally posted by wendall ok, here is what i am planning to do.

 

0 awg from battery to first cap.

4 awg from first cap to second cap.

4awg from second cap to sub amp and

another 4 awg to a fused block.

8 awg from fused block to interior amp.

 

 

At this time I will only be running my 81000D at 4 ohms. I have to decide if I want to lose my back seat and put in another sub, or if I want to get some new subs. My alternator is rated at 120 amps. This should be sufficient for this set up, correct? Is there anything that I am missing here? I want to make sure I have a safe and correct plan before I get into the wiring.

why on earth would u need 2 caps....and the caps should be right before the amps......that is assuming u need them even though i would recomend upgrading your electrical system before going w/ caps......

 

[wendall 10+ year member]

they are right before the amps. i bought them because i was led to believe that they would help with my last cars lights dimming. i remember reading a few things about people recomending 1 farad per 1000 watts. i dont have the cash to have my alternator beefed up right now. plus im sure that would void quite a few of my warranties, wouldn't it?

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Originally posted by wendall they are right before the amps. i bought them because i was led to believe that they would help with my last cars lights dimming. i remember reading a few things about people recomending 1 farad per 1000 watts. i dont have the cash to have my alternator beefed up right now. plus im sure that would void quite a few of my warranties, wouldn't it?

above u said they are before the distribution block.....well the only way they would do any good was if your current charging system was up to par....otherwise they would be adding strain to your already struggling charging sytem........how would upgrading your alt void warranties???? and if your charging system was up to par there would be no real need for an cap anyways......but since u already have them......might as well use them after u get your alt upgraded......i'd also suggest upping your alt power, ground and batt ground to the same if not larger wire than what your running to your amp....

 

[wendall 10+ year member]

i have to look at the alternator wires as well. is there a special type of wire i would need to use, or just the same as the power wire that goes to the amp? the distribution block is only to put a fuse for my smaller amp. can i eliminate this considering that i will have a 150 amp fuse by the battery? the smaller amp has fuses built in to it, the sub amp doesnt. i assumed that changing the alternators power would void all of my electrical systems. if something in my car shorted and fried wouldn't they be able to blame it on the alternator? what would be a sufficient sized alternator to power the mtx 81000D and an alpine mrv-f505? I'm not trying to get into a pissing match here, im just in the dark on all this.

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Originally posted by wendall i have to look at the alternator wires as well. is there a special type of wire i would need to use, or just the same as the power wire that goes to the amp? the distribution block is only to put a fuse for my smaller amp. can i eliminate this considering that i will have a 150 amp fuse by the battery? the smaller amp has fuses built in to it, the sub amp doesnt. i assumed that changing the alternators power would void all of my electrical systems. if something in my car shorted and fried wouldn't they be able to blame it on the alternator? what would be a sufficient sized alternator to power the mtx 81000D and an alpine mrv-f505? I'm not trying to get into a pissing match here, im just in the dark on all this.

so long as the wire is oxygen free copper and has a high strand count it doesnt matter......so the same wire u use as your power and ground will owrk........as for the distriobution block....if your only running one amp its not needed unless u plan on upgrading in the future.....well upgrading your alt shouldnt hurt anything in your system......so u shouldnt have to worry about that.......as for suffecient alt size....its all relative to how many ampers your amp will draw and how many your car uses while running......u say u have a 150amp alt....that should be suffecient.........but if your lights are still dimming then your alt might have some problems as well as your wiring...upgrading your alt power and ground and batt ground is definatly recomended....feel free to ask any more questions you have

 

[Savant 10+ year member]

Actually, he said 120 amp.. but that's not really the point..

As far as voiding warrenties.. you have to read your warrenty stuff to see.. and I'd suggest asking your dealership about it.. Even though a bigger alt shouldn't be an issue, it might require regulator upgrades, etc..

Caps are pretty pointless.. they act as little batteries that can provide juice for fractions of a second, they will NOT increase the power your system can produce.. A lot of places refer to caps as 'voltage stiffing capacitors'.. they fill in gaps when your amps **** really hard, but can only fill for a very short time.. then they have to be refilled from your charging system.. so if the charging system can't keep up with the normal volume you are running at, caps aren't gonna help much (if at all) and you will still burn out your alternator...

As far as fuses go.. fuses are there to protect wires (for the most part).. Just because your amp has one inside that will try to protect it doesn't mean a short before the amp won't burn your car down if there is no fuse.. The first stop for your wire should be a fuse close to the battery.. and you should consider a fused connection each time you drop the gauge of the wire .. no fuse + short = fire (or at least super hot wires/melting/stinking)...

Hope that helps..

 

[wendall 10+ year member]

lol, man this is alot of new stuff im learning. ok, i got a stinger 0 awg amp kit. is this wire going to be ok to use on the alternator as well? i will have a fuse close to the battery. my question is should i still have my 80 amp fuse in between the caps and my interior amp? do you guys think that i should just eliminate my caps all together? are they going to do more harm than good?

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Originally posted by wendall lol, man this is alot of new stuff im learning. ok, i got a stinger 0 awg amp kit. is this wire going to be ok to use on the alternator as well? i will have a fuse close to the battery. my question is should i still have my 80 amp fuse in between the caps and my interior amp? do you guys think that i should just eliminate my caps all together? are they going to do more harm than good?

the 0ga wire will work....i think its a bit of overkill...but that never hurt anything.......no real need to have a fuse between each cap....besides going to a lower fuse rating is going to limit how much current can get to the amp by the fuse blowing if the amp draws more than 80 amps.........i'd suggest eliminating the caps untill you are sure your charging system is up to par......they arent going to be much help unless your system can keep up to the load....kinda likd adding a bandaid to a 7" cut thats over 1" deep....not really going to do much ......

 

[wendall 10+ year member]

ok, another one for ya. by the way, thanks for the quick response time. if you had aol instant messanger that'd be great. lol, i could bug you all day then. anyways, consider the caps gone. how should i split the 0awg to go to both amps? i think my interior can only accept a 4awg, and the dist block i got can only send 4awg out as well. should i still use an 80 amp fuse for my smaller amp? should i run the 0 awg to my sub amp and then run a 4awg from there to my interior amp?

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Originally posted by wendall ok, another one for ya. by the way, thanks for the quick response time. if you had aol instant messanger that'd be great. lol, i could bug you all day then. anyways, consider the caps gone. how should i split the 0awg to go to both amps? i think my interior can only accept a 4awg, and the dist block i got can only send 4awg out as well. should i still use an 80 amp fuse for my smaller amp? should i run the 0 awg to my sub amp and then run a 4awg from there to my interior amp?

well i do have aol...but i only use it if i cant use my msn....msn - goddyd4me@hotmail.com..........im a little confused by what u mean my interior can only accept 4ga....do u mean the amps can only accept 4ga??? if thats the case then ust run a distribution block that accepts 0ga and splists to eitehr 4ga and 8ga or both.....some come w/ a fuse u can put in between....its really just personal preference....wouldnt really hurt to add anotehr fuse between the distribution block and smaller amp or use the fuse on the distribution block.......does your larger amp accept 0ga wire?????

check the following links out for some distribution blocks if the one u have doesnt work for u.......

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-r9gYyUYDeGL/ProdGroup.asp?s=0&g=715&a=0

http://www.thezeb.com/caraudio/lightningaudioblocks.html

http://www.thezeb.com/caraudio/audiobahn_distribution_blocks.html

 

[wendall 10+ year member]

yeah, my small amp excepts up to 4 and the big amp takes up to a 0. should i run 0 to the block, then a 4 with a fuse to the small amp, and two 4's to the big amp?

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Originally posted by wendall yeah, my small amp excepts up to 4 and the big amp takes up to a 0. should i run 0 to the block, then a 4 with a fuse to the small amp, and two 4's to the big amp?

ok...i see now....well.....2ga should be suffecient for a 1000w amp......so i'd get one w/ a 2ga and a 4ga.....thats jus me....

 

[Savant 10+ year member]

Originally posted by Goddyd4me ...besides going to a lower fuse rating is going to limit how much current can get to the amp by the fuse blowing if the amp draws more than 80 amps.....

But that's the point.. the fuse is there to protect the wire (mostly).. if the amp can draw 5000 amps and you have a 8 gauge wire, you should have an 80 amp fuse where you step down to the 8 gauge.. otherwise the amp will cause the wire to meltdown and maybe start a fire..

Normally you run wire a tiny bit bigger than max draw for the amp, and the fuse just a bit bigger than the amps max draw (but less than what the wire can handle)..

At least, that's my take on all that..

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Originally posted by Savant But that's the point.. the fuse is there to protect the wire (mostly).. if the amp can draw 5000 amps and you have a 8 gauge wire, you should have an 80 amp fuse where you step down to the 8 gauge.. otherwise the amp will cause the wire to meltdown and maybe start a fire..

 

Normally you run wire a tiny bit bigger than max draw for the amp, and the fuse just a bit bigger than the amps max draw (but less than what the wire can handle)..

 

At least, that's my take on all that..

i was thinking he was putting the 80amp fuse on the main power wire for the 1000w amp.....