Dual Amp Wiring Question

[daforce007]

Hey, y'all.

I'm putting in a Phoenix Gold Ti500.4 this week to power the speakers (all 4ohm) in my car and later on this summer, I plan on getting a PG Ti400.2 or a Ti600.2 for a sub (is that a good choice?). Anyways, I want to wire everything so I can just throw in the amp and sub when I get the equipment. Can I run a distribution block using only one output for the time being? and is this how it should be wired for power?

•0/1ga from battery, to a fuse or circuit breaker, then to a fused distribution block.

•4ga power from the distribution block output to the amps.

•4ga ground from each amp to a single grounding point/bolt (my battery is in my trunk, so can I use the same bolt my battery is grounded on?)

Should I use a fuse or a circuit breaker? Its been suggested that I use a breaker because of my future upgrades, so how do I go about choosing the circuit breaker? Do you just add up the current requirements? The Ti500.4 amp I'm going to put in now requires a 60A fuse.

My amp choices in the future are the:

• Ti400.2 - Bridged - requires a 60A fuse

• or Ti600.2 - Bridged - requires an 80A fuse

So with my amp possible combos:

• Ti500.4 (60A) + Ti400.2 (60A) = 120A

• or Ti500.4 (60A) + Ti600.2 (80A) = 140A

So do I simply find a breaker rated for 140A? or do you have to go by the wiring?

I found these two Phoenix Gold circuit breakers:

PG VB140

• 140A - use with 2 gauge cable (can i use 1/0 gauge cable instead?)

• Rated at 200 - 250% for 5 seconds

PG VB200

• 200A - use with 1/0 gauge cable (Do I have to get this since i'm running 0/1 from the batt to the fuse block?)

• Rated at 200 - 250% for 5 seconds

THANKS! sorry for the long post.

if anything is unclear let me know!

Click to read more...

 

[SoundsGood 10+ year member]

I recently added a dist block for a second amp and the info I always got was to fuse for the wire that you are using. The fuse is there to blow if too much power runs through the wire. If there is no fuse and there is a problem the wire will heat and cause fire. The 1/0 wire (I used the same thing) can handle 350 amps. Here is a good chart to give you some ideas http://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp I've seen some debate about circuit breakers vs. fuses. http://www.bace1.com is very informative if you've got some extra time. Personally I went with a fuse. You also need to fuse either in the dist. block or soon after because the four gauge wire has a different load compacity (150) amps. The amp will have its own fuse to protect it so you don't have to 'add up' fuses for multiple amps. I thought the same way as you did. I've also found that the best tool (when I have a question...and thats alot) is to use the 'search forum'. Most often somebody has had the same problem or same question that you've got. Hope this gave you a little insight with fuses and what they actually do.

 

[daforce007]

Thanks for that info. So I should get the 200A circuit breaker for the 0/1ga power wire right? so the setup is like:

• 0/1ga power from battery ==> 200A circuit breaker ===> fused distribution block

http://www.cardomain.com/item/PHOTXBBKF4 is the distribution block I want... the PG site says it has 2 outputs while car domain says it has 4 outputs... ?! anyways..

• 4ga power from the distribution block output to the amp.

60A fuse in the power distribution block (for now I'll just be using the single 500.4 amp which req's a 60A fuse according to the manual)

Does that sound good? Also http://www.bace1.com seems down.. was it mispelled?

THanks

 

[cjjackson85 5,000+ posts]

http://www.bcae1.com/

 

[daforce007]

WOW. that site is... is... how do you say.... ah yes. the BEST!

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

The TXBBK-F4 has four outputs, the TXBBK-F2 has two outputs. If you need all of that Phoenix Gold stuff at a cheaper price than sounddomain, shoot me a PM and I'll hook you up. I am a dealer of Phoenix Gold install supplies.