Ground distribution block...

[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

Here's the situation. I've got 0/1 gauge wire from the battery to my distro block in the trunk, then 4 awg to both of my amps. I was planning on making my ground 0/1 awg (since I have 3 feet of 0/1 awg wire and only a foot of 4 awg), then running that into a distro block, and running about 4 inches of 4 awg to both of my amps, since they only have 4 awg input. I've heard various things about this.....some people have said you should keep the ground wire the same size as the power wire, and other say that you should not use a distro block for the ground wire. Any suggestions?

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[Bumpin03 10+ year member]

Originally posted by Gauntlet Here's the situation. I've got 0/1 gauge wire from the battery to my distro block in the trunk, then 4 awg to both of my amps. I was planning on making my ground 0/1 awg (since I have 3 feet of 0/1 awg wire and only a foot of 4 awg), then running that into a distro block, and running about 4 inches of 4 awg to both of my amps, since they only have 4 awg input. I've heard various things about this.....some people have said you should keep the ground wire the same size as the power wire, and other say that you should not use a distro block for the ground wire. Any suggestions?

you should use the same size ground wire as power wire. not exactly sure about the ground wire through distro block though. im not the person to ask about that...ive never run more then 1 amp in my car at a time.

 

[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

Further proof that the local shop by my house is full of ****. They told me to NEVER, NEVER run ground through a distro block because the gold-plated metal will conduct too much power and could cause the wires too burn up. They said it doesnt happen in power wires because the power is going to a source, being the amp........I think they kind of missed the point of a ground wire. Fuc*ing idiots. I seriously don't understand it.

Anyways, thanks Jmac. A reply within 2 mins gets the thumbs up from me

 

[ChefJoe 10+ year member]

Lol. Remind them that voltages are all relative. if you're a +12 v piece of metal, that 0 volt looks equally as far away as a 24... sigh, they wouldn't get it.

 

[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

At the same shop one time, I was looking at a pair of Sony Xplod 12's they had on sale, both for 75. One of the salesmen comes up and we start talking, I told him about my setup. Hes like "Elemental Designs.......never heard of em.........trust me these are way better, you can easily hit 160dB with a pair of these". I was like uhh.........maybe if the mic is inside the freaking subwoofer. He tried to convince he won a lot of competitions with a pair of Sony 15's.....I just left the store in disgust.

 

[soundgy45 10+ year member]

Thats when i make a scene to make sure that eveyrone knows the salesman is full of shi*. Also, my number one pet peeve is people lying aobut their db level. Also, the db level is varying from car to car, so dont go by that most of the time.

 

[2theMaxx21 10+ year member]

Yes, your ground wires should be the same size as the power wires. For maximum protection, it doesn't hurt to fuse the ground wire connections. If you've studied much about DC electricity, then you know that amperage can be pulled through the ground first. It's hard to explain; lots of electron and ion type of lingo.

And distribution blocks are fine to use. Just try to keep your wires as short as possible.