Fuse alt wire?

[buster 10+ year member]

I'm pretty sure the factory wire from the alt to the batt is fused. If I upgrade, should I fuse it too? If so, what size fuse should I use? I'm planning on leaving the factory fused wire on it and just adding another wire to it.

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[LoneRanger 10+ year member]

Originally posted by buster I'm pretty sure the factory wire from the alt to the batt is fused. If I upgrade, should I fuse it too? If so, what size fuse should I use? I'm planning on leaving the factory fused wire on it and just adding another wire to it.

no need for a fuse between the alt and the battery. the fuse should be in the line from the batt to your distro block (or amp if you don't have a block), no more than 6" from the battery. If you upgrade your alt wire, you should also upgrade the main chassis ground too, using the same size wire, which should be one size larger than the wire that goes from your battery to the block or amp. For example, if you use 4awg wire from the battery to the block, your alt and ground wires should be 2awg or 0/1AWG.

 

[buster 10+ year member]

Thanks for the help, but why does the factory fuse the alt>batt wire?

 

[LoneRanger 10+ year member]

no idea.....never seen it done before

 

[buster 10+ year member]

Does anyone know why the factory alt wire is fused?

 

[jeremythelen 10+ year member]

i dont even have a fuse at all on my battery main power wire, its a 4 gauge if that matters. are you supposed to have one>? because i never have and its always seemed to work fine

 

[LoneRanger 10+ year member]

Originally posted by jeremythelen i dont even have a fuse at all on my battery main power wire, its a 4 gauge if that matters. are you supposed to have one>? because i never have and its always seemed to work fine

the line that goes to your amps needs a fuse within 6" of the battery. ALWAYS. it works just fine until you ground out the power cable and it ruins your battery and/or equipment. do yourself a favor and install a fuse before you have to learn the hard way.

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

yea...worst case if u ground that wire out u could easily set your vehicle on fire....definatly ground it my friend....

 

[jeremythelen 10+ year member]

i see, but wouldnt you just blow your fuse on your amp anyway? cuz ive blown the fuse on my amp multiple times and i just replace it continue on as it was before. but you seriously reccomend haveing a fuse on your power cable then? and if so how do you put one on? i dont really understand how to do that, is it hard to do?

 

[evo2k3 10+ year member]

Originally posted by jeremythelen i see, but wouldnt you just blow your fuse on your amp anyway? cuz ive blown the fuse on my amp multiple times and i just replace it continue on as it was before. but you seriously reccomend haveing a fuse on your power cable then? and if so how do you put one on? i dont really understand how to do that, is it hard to do?

the fuse within 18" of you battery protects the wire from catching on fire and burning your car to ashes....if your blowing the fuse on the amp regularly you have probblems because that means your drawing more (possibly too much ) than the amp wants....so you need to go fix that wiring up a little.

 

[LoneRanger 10+ year member]

Originally posted by jeremythelen i see, but wouldnt you just blow your fuse on your amp anyway? cuz ive blown the fuse on my amp multiple times and i just replace it continue on as it was before. but you seriously reccomend haveing a fuse on your power cable then? and if so how do you put one on? i dont really understand how to do that, is it hard to do?

Blowing a fuse is never good for your equipment. The fuses don't always open up right when the overload happens, so there's maybe a half second that the amplifier sees WAAAAAYYYYYY too much power before it pops a fuse. This may not hurt it right away, but after several times, it's bound to have some negative effect on your equipment. I don't just recommend that people put fuses in their power lines, I demand it. If I'm doing an install for cash or just as a favor to a friend, I won't even begin until there's a fuse for the power line. It will keep you from screwing your amps up and might even save your vehicle from catching fire. I've seen more than one vehicle with singed plastic and burnt batteries because the owner didn't want to take the time to install a $10 fuse holder.

All you have to do is cut the wire six inches (NO MORE THAN A FOOT, EVER! THE SHORTER THIS WIRE IS, THE BETTER OFF YOU ARE!) from the battery (remove it from the battery before you cut it, for God's sake). Strip the wire and put the short piece into one end of the fuse holder. It screws down with a hex key or alen wrench. Then do the same to the other side and put a fuse in the holder. To find out what size fuse you need, add the combined fuse rating of all the fuses on the amps and accessories that you plan to run off the line, and get one that size. For instance, if you have an amp with 2 20 amp fuses and a crossover with a 10 amp fuse, you'll need a 50 amp fuse in the line.

If you're running multiple accessories off your power wire, you might consider a fused distrobution block as well. This will keep your main fuse from blowing as easily (mine has never blown....).