Fusing Size?

[Maxipads 10+ year member]

So i just recently learned that having too big of a fuse is not a good thing //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif Guess i got to read on Bcae1.com some more... So my question is i got a 0 gauge fuse holder with a 300a fuse but its on my 4 gauge right now as a temp.. I'll be recieving my amp hopefully this week and i was told that since that wire can't even run that much power through it would act as if the line was unfused as its so big.. It would the same as running straight wire.. So im going to put my 60a fuse back on i guess.. But why would it make a difference if i put the 300a on 0 gauge if im only running around 1500 watts or so... Just a little lost

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[chardy85 10+ year member]

You could possibly run a 300A fuse with 4ga wire and be fine forever........"Possibly" is the key word.

The fuse is there to protect things IF something does go wrong. So lets say you have a short or for some reason your amp draws more amperage than the wire can handle.....you could be melting things.

The fuse protects the wire......

So lets say you have 4ga wire and a 150A fuse on it. Then you hook up a amp that draws 160-180A. It may work OK for a while because music is dynamic. BUT if it draws more than 150A for a few seconds it will pop the fuse instead of melting the power wire.

I hope this makes sense......I'm sure someone can elaborate better than I.

 

[Maxipads 10+ year member]

It makes sense i just dont understand how it would be any different if i used it on 0 gauge with the same amount of power?? Im not sure how Amps 1500 watts does just a little lost lol.

 

[chardy85 10+ year member]

It makes sense i just dont understand how it would be any different if i used it on 0 gauge with the same amount of power?? Im not sure how Amps 1500 watts does just a little lost lol.

hmm.......

I will summarize it. The fuse can handle 300A and the wire CANNOT. So if something were to happen to cause a spike in the Draw that your amp is "asking" for it is going to toast the amp or the wire before it pops the fuse.

 

[Maxipads 10+ year member]

Ok that makes sense.. So what size should i be looking at for around 1500 watts? 150a? and if so do they make ANL 150a fuses that fit in my 0 gauge fuse holder?

 

[aeroportspwn 10+ year member]

Ok that makes sense.. So what size should i be looking at for around 1500 watts? 150a? and if so do they make ANL 150a fuses that fit in my 0 gauge fuse holder?

no a 150a fuse could possibly pop, do 50a above that which is the best you can do and that is perfect. A 200A would be the best.

 

[chardy85 10+ year member]

knukonceptz probably has whatever you need.

I have always heard to fuse the wire based on what it can handle. So if you are running 4ga then you would want 100-150 and if you are running 1/0 you would want 250-300.

I have always fused based on the amps current though......just as long as the wire can handle it. I figure if they have 150A of fusing on the amp then I use 150A under the hood.

 

[Maxipads 10+ year member]

no a 150a fuse could possibly pop, do 50a above that which is the best you can do and that is perfect. A 200A would be the best.

I ran a 60A fuse on my BXi 2010d at like 1200 watts and it never popped? I just want to make sure my fuse will pop so i melt some shit.

Edit: So if i ran 0 gauge the 300a fuse would be fine because the wire can handle 300a and if it went over the fuse would pop stopping the power flow?? Am i heading on the right track here?

 

[chardy85 10+ year member]

Don't you WANT it to pop if it is drawing too much current.....why would you fuse 50A above what the amp is rated at? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the fuse?

 

[aeroportspwn 10+ year member]

You will get many answers from different people. Just get what you are comfortable with then. For example the higher end Memphis 4 ga kits come with a 200amp fuse so you are perfectly fine with a 200amp. A 300a on a 4 ga wire is to high though lol.

 

[aeroportspwn 10+ year member]

Don't you WANT it to pop if it is drawing too much current.....why would you fuse 50A above what the amp is rated at? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the fuse?

This is one of those topics that will go on forever.

Its like those threads that say which sub is the BEST EVAR!!? JL VS FI which one is better? LOL

Its perfectly fine to slightly exceed the total amps of your amplifier(s). You do know that a lot of the spl competition guys don't even use fuses when they have tons of batteries and bussbars.

Looks like this guy isn't too worried about fuses lol.

 

[chardy85 10+ year member]

This is one of those topics that will go on forever.
Its like those threads that say which sub is the BEST EVAR!!? JL VS FI which one is better? LOL

lol. Right on man.

Yeah I am not hear to argue. I try to contribute when I think I can help.

Have a good one

 

[aeroportspwn 10+ year member]

lol. Right on man.
Yeah I am not hear to argue. I try to contribute when I think I can help.

Have a good one

Yeah I know, look at that vid I posted above. He isn't too worried about fuses.

 

[chardy85 10+ year member]

Yeah I know, look at that vid I posted above. He isn't too worried about fuses.

haha. I guess not. But if he draws enough current to melt all of that wire then that is just insane.