Few Electricals Q's...

[Acizzle423 10+ year member]

Ok, so I hooked my Kenwood amp up. Currently, I'm only running 8ga wire until my 4ga Stinger kit arrives. The fuse on the wiring is 30a, but the amp has 2x30a fuses. Should I be running about a 60a fuse on the wire? If I were to do that though, would that pull more power from my battery/alt., which brings me to my next question.

I have bad dimming when my lights are on at night/early in the morning for school. Everytime the subwoofer hits, my lights dimm. I'm also starting to get a dead battery most everyday, so I usually run it on a charger. I have gotten it tested, and the battery is fine. It is a Duralast redtop. But I am wondering, does this necessarily mean I will need to upgrade my alt. or battery possibly? I mean, I'm only running around 600w total on my setup. My vehicle is a 99 Ford Ranger if that matters, all stock electrics, so in ya'lls opinion, what should I do to correct these problems.

Also, whenever I got my H/U installed, around 5 mths. ago, the guy shorted something. Now my factory alarm doesn't work, my windows will open and shut without the ignition even on, and my H/U will power up even if the ignition isn't on. I know that's a big problem, and probably one of the main reasons my car is loosing it's charge, but is there a pretty inexpensive way to fix it rather than the dealership. I know a shop in town who can fix it but for around $75, which isn't bad, but if I could do it I would. I could even possibly try and see if my electrical teacher knew what would cause that, but just asking my CA forum first.

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[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Did a shop install your HU? If so, they should be fixing it or paying to get it fixed. Whatever is shorted is causing your battery drain and is going to kill your battery and maybe cause a fire.

If the 30A fuse isn't blowing then you don't need a bigger one. If you aren't blowing the 30A fuse, installing a 60A won't cause your amp to draw more current.

 

[KaeZoo 10+ year member]

Sounds like when they did the head unit install they connected the accessory and power wires together in the radio harness. That effectively makes the car think the key is in the accessory position all the time. Pull the head unit and make sure no two factory wires are connected to each other. The red and yellow wires from the head unit should be connected to separate wires in the dash, and should not be in contact with each other.

Whoever did the head unit install: don't let that person work on your car again.