If I replace my current amp with a new one, do i have to rewire?

[scx 10+ year member]

I want to get a new amp and I'm just wondering if I have to do any changes if the amp is still 2 channel.

I feel like this is a stupid question but i've searched and no one seems to have asked this before.

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[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Elaborate...

 

[scx 10+ year member]

I have a system already, hooked with subs. Currently i'm running about 250 RMS to a 500 RMS subwoofer. I want to get a 500 RMS amp so I can make the most out of my subwoofers.

Currently I have a crunch p500.2. Once i get a new amp, can i just unplug everything from my current amp and plug it to my new amp or are there certain things I have to replace too?

 

[Sleeklsc 5,000+ posts]

what guage wire are you running to the amp....also have to make sure your subs are wired correctly to get the most out of the amp ohm wise.

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

I have a system already, hooked with subs. Currently i'm running about 250 RMS to a 500 RMS subwoofer. I want to get a 500 RMS amp so I can make the most out of my subwoofers.
Currently I have a crunch p500.2. Once i get a new amp, can i just unplug everything from my current amp and plug it to my new amp or are there certain things I have to replace too?

Yes, you are fine. Just make sure that if you are adding enough power, that you have appropriately large wire. Don't go from 100W to 300W on the same 10 gauge power wire like me in the noob days //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[scx 10+ year member]

haha thanks for the reply guys

i'm pretty sure i've got a thin gauge wire right now.

But how do I know which one is the power wire and for 500W what gauge wire should I be running?

I figure I'll take it to the car audio shop and let them handle it but I don't want to get jipped so i wanna know my stuff.

The wire you guys are talking about is from the battery to the amp right? The one that has a fuse attached to it?

thanks again

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Run 8 gauge unless you plan on upgrading in the future. If you do plan on upgrading, 4 or 1/0.

Are your wires colored (lol, colored)? The red one should be the power and the black the ground. If not, you'll have to get a multimeter or test light and see which has a current and which does not.

Yes, the wire with the fuse is the power wire.

The other wire of the same size is the ground, this is connected to the chassis or frame.

And finally you have a small wire, which is normally blue; this is the remote wire. When your head unit is on, it tells your amp to turn on.

 

[scx 10+ year member]

awesome info, yeah I know which wires are which now. Just the other day, I dug around and found all those so I can try to help my friend wire his stuff up. Thanks 1000000x!

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

No problem man, let me know if you need any more help.

 

[scx 10+ year member]

i've run into some confusion, do i get 8 gauge wire for everything? I'm looking it up and there's 8 gauge wires for power.. ground and speaker wires?

Which ones am i supposed to get if I want to upgrade to the amp?

 

[mbrooky 10+ year member]

which amp are you planning to upgrade to? if you plan on getting something that's 500wrms i'm going to guess most of them require 4ga inputs...and if you are on a budget i would suggest looking for a 2-channel that bridges at 500rms rather than getting a mono amp that does 500rms at 4ohm...unless you plan on upgrading your sub stage in the future to utilize the mono amp at a lower ohm load.

and i'm guessing from you're earlier post that your sub is single 4ohm?

 

[scx 10+ year member]

I have a 2 x 12'' that requires 250wrms each at 4 ohms

so i was thinking of getting a Crunch GPV1000.4, 4 channels and then bridging them. it costs $90

I believe that gives 500wrms @ 4 ohms x 2 channels? So would I have to turn down the volts on it?

I was looking at it's manual tho and it never showed mono-bridging with two subwoofers, is this possible/recommended?

 

[scx 10+ year member]

bump

i went to a car audio place today

the rms im upgrading to would be from 65w x 2 chan @ 4 ohms to 225w x 2 chan @ 4 ohms.

and the sales rep just said that i dont have to get a new amp kit with 8 awg wires n stuff. He said all i would need to do is get better fuses

is this true?

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

Upgrade in amp power, but not an upgrade in power wire? What a jackass. Wire is only rated to handle so much. You dont just put an 80 amp fuse on 10g wire and think that is sufficient. I reccomend 4ga power and ground on anything over 3-400rms where the power wire is longer than 8-10 feet

 

[Fosgate 10+ year member]

Don't go to car audio shops, they rip your *** off and feed you lines if shit. The one near me told me kicker flat out sucked and that their products are crap and they never ever reccommend them. Told the guy thanks and left. Besides that, get 4 gauge wiring kit.

It's 60$ from crutchfield. It's a tad expensive, but Its got the fuse installed, all terminals soldered on, and ready to plug and go.

EFX 4-gauge Amplifier Wiring Kit Power and signal connections for your new amp at Crutchfield.com

Upgrade to 4 so you can be ready to upgrade again, because I'm almost positive you'll want more bass when you hear 500W. 500W through 8 gauge is pushing it.

Also finding the wires should be easy. Ground should only be about 3 foot long, and the power runs to your battery. The only ones that may throw you off is the rcas. Other than that color coding of wires should be easy to follow