old hcca 225 input voltage question

[mc01ta 10+ year member]

I have a hcca 225 that I will be using to power my subs with. I have a Kenwood deck with 4 or 5 volt preouts. Is this fine to use with this amp?

Also is it better to run this amp bridged mono or in stereo mode for a daily driver with stock electrical? It shold make same power 1 ohm mono or 1/2 ohm stereo. It will be running a pair old old Orion xtr 3's that are dual 4 ohm

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[PPI_GUY 10+ year member]

Those amps are a high current design so, you had better have the electrical to keep up. It kinda sounds like you have another amp running components (mids and highs) so, that amp will draw alittle current too. 1 ohm mono or .5 ohm stereo will both demand alot of current from your electrical system. "Big 3" is a must when using high current amps or just about anything over 2-300 watts. You didn't mention which generation HCCA 225 you have but, the very first series were extremely sensitive to voltage drops. Also, please be certain you have a heavy guage ground that is secured well.

As far as input voltages, I "think" the old HCCA's would accept upto 5 volts. You need to try to find someone with a manual to verify that though.

 

[mc01ta 10+ year member]

I will be running a small 2,channel amp for components. Stock electrical 2007 Nissan pathfinder. I will he using 4 gauge throughout.

Does anybody know if it is safe to use a 4 or 5 volt preout deck with this amp?

 

[05fronty 5,000+ posts]

should be fine. like said above that amps draws some current. i had one back in the day and went through some alts lol

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

That amp only does 600W or so. Stock electrical (with big 3) should be fine unles your battery or alt is very weak.

1/2 ohm stereo and 1 ohm mono would be all the same.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

yea, they pull more current the modern amps do(in most cases of similar size).

I had an install with severall pop tops in it. That was nice, but never truly could get the voltage drop under control like I wanted.

 

[akheathen Premium Member]

iirc, it's rated fro .2-8v input, but i'm sure you can line driver them up to 11.5v, as was done with many amps of that era, just don't start with the gain up. does it still have the fuse rating for 1/2-1ohm operation? it wouldn't pull more than that in current, which i'm assuming is 60a. what vehicle do you have?

 

[mc01ta 10+ year member]

It's a 2007 Nissan pathfinder. Fusing is 30 amp fuse if I recall. I'm getting ready for my install soon

 

[05fronty 5,000+ posts]

you should have at least a 110 amp alt in it. you need to do the big 3 and maybe a extra batt if you have voltage drop

 

[mc01ta 10+ year member]

Is it really necessary to do big 3? I just want to listen at moderate levels for daily driving, no comps or anything like that. I remembered friends in the 90s running these off stick alt/batt with no problems. I know around this forum it is all about doing it the right way but is this really that necessary. I'm sure other members run high current amps with much more current draw than this without upgrading their electrical system

 

[akheathen Premium Member]

you might pop that 30 at low impedance operation. it would be minimum 40a fuse, and most likely 60.... lemmie see if i can dig up an old manual, oh, you got a pic? not the 225r? not the first version? what does it say on the top? "digital reference" or "50watts handcrafted in usa" or "hcca225r"?

 

[akheathen Premium Member]

that nissan is going to have real crappy power wire in it from the factory, enough to run it and it's features in stock form, and that's about all you want to do. you should be fine with something like 30' (measure it yourself to be sure) of 4awg power wire and a handfull of good ring terminals. it's really not that big of a job. just need to add the additional wire in there and not worry about it. i would suggest fusing the alt at or just above it's rating. "back in the day" the cars had beefier wiring..

 

[05fronty 5,000+ posts]

Is it really necessary to do big 3? I just want to listen at moderate levels for daily driving, no comps or anything like that. I remembered friends in the 90s running these off stick alt/batt with no problems. I know around this forum it is all about doing it the right way but is this really that necessary. I'm sure other members run high current amps with much more current draw than this without upgrading their electrical system

prob man. your path is basically the same as my frontier. 4.0 v6 right?

 

[mc01ta 10+ year member]

Yes 4.0 v6. Amp is the 3rd gen pop too, came after the digital reference series. I have a digital copy if kid manual and says its fused for 30-35 amps

 

[tc300 10+ year member]

If i remeber these will do 700-800watts... Is this the 225r ??

I would beef up your electrical first.. Nothing xtreme but....