only one run of 0 gauge??

[Justin braaapp]

I have an optima yellow top in the front and an xs d3400 in the rear. Going to be putting a crescendo bc3500 on the xs battery. Just was wondering if its alright to only run one run of 0 gauge from battery to battery? One from positive and one for negative. I have been told to run 2 runs from battery to battery but whats the difference? If i only run one will it hurt? Thanks for the help guys!

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[NASTY08IMPALA 5,000+ posts]

I have an optima yellow top in the front and an xs d3400 in the rear. Going to be putting a crescendo bc3500 on the xs battery. Just was wondering if its alright to only run one run of 0 gauge from battery to battery? One from positive and one for negative. I have been told to run 2 runs from battery to battery but whats the difference? If i only run one will it hurt? Thanks for the help guys!

Yea id advise 2 runs as well ..do you have a ho alt? Even if u do with only one extra 65ah battery i see voltage issues in ur future.

 

[tommydh 10+ year member]

you could do a single run of 2/0 or 4/0 but if using 1/0 you need minimum 2 runs just to cover the current draw for that amp alone. The specs call for a 300 Amp fuse so you need wire capable of at least that forget the rest of the issues you can face. That is what would be needed using a UL listed welding type cable I would either do that or a known quality audio manufacturer. Also that is in copper if you go cca 4/0 minimum or 3 to 4 runs of 1/0 since the aluminum is not rated as high

 

[CaptainMaximus 10+ year member]

Somebody needs some g31's..... And tons of wiring...

 

[argenis69 10+ year member]

I have only 1 complete run and it's not bad.

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

you could do a single run of 2/0 or 4/0 but if using 1/0 you need minimum 2 runs just to cover the current draw for that amp alone. The specs call for a 300 Amp fuse so you need wire capable of at least that forget the rest of the issues you can face. That is what would be needed using a UL listed welding type cable I would either do that or a known quality audio manufacturer. Also that is in copper if you go cca 4/0 minimum or 3 to 4 runs of 1/0 since the aluminum is not rated as high

So an amp that has the potential to draw 300a needs 750-1000a of wire capacity?

 

[tenbux1970 10+ year member]

Good 1/0 is rated around 300 to 325 amps over a 50 foot run.Shorten that to 15 foot or so,and the capacity goes up. The way I look at it... If your alt can only produce 250 amps +/- ,and your "single 1/0" can easily carry that amount of current...what good does it do to have that much excess capacity?

I run a 320 alt,and 6 batteries in back feeding 2 5k's,and a pair of 4 channels. For quite a while I ran one run of 1/0 with no issues.Then one day I had a bunch of extra 1/0 laying around ,and ran a second run.Did it out of curiosity,just to see if it would help anything.Nothing noticable came out of it,maybe .1 volt.MLSTRASS did the same thing a few years ago.If I remember correctly he went from one run of 1/0 to 4 runs of 1/0 and gained .1 volts as well .

Whether it is money,space,or plain do not care...try one run for yourself just to see.Extra battery in back would probably be a good idea though

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

I previously had the bc3500. My electrical was/is 220@ alt, 4 runs of 1/0 wire(2 power + 2 ground), i double up because it is cheaper wire and i got it for a REALLY CHEAP price so it gets the job done. I have a complete sh1t(lol its going to be changed soon) battery under the and 2 Deka agm's in the rear(1-105ah & 1-85ah).

With the bc3500 wired at 1 ohm playing full tilt while at idle RPM's i was only dropping to 13.5v or 13.6v at the lowest from 14.2-14.5(normal idle voltagedepending on the temperature). At 2kRPMS i dropped to 13.9-14.0v

And thats with CHEAP "INSTALL BAY POWER WIRE" LOL.. Im sure if you get a good 1/0 wire you will be fine.

 

[Justin braaapp]

I previously had the bc3500. My electrical was/is 220@ alt, 4 runs of 1/0 wire(2 power + 2 ground), i double up because it is cheaper wire and i got it for a REALLY CHEAP price so it gets the job done. I have a complete sh1t(lol its going to be changed soon) battery under the and 2 Deka agm's in the rear(1-105ah & 1-85ah).With the bc3500 wired at 1 ohm playing full tilt while at idle RPM's i was only dropping to 13.5v or 13.6v at the lowest from 14.2-14.5(normal idle voltagedepending on the temperature). At 2kRPMS i dropped to 13.9-14.0v

And thats with CHEAP "INSTALL BAY POWER WIRE" LOL.. Im sure if you get a good 1/0 wire you will be fine.

thanks for the help man I ended up just using one run of cadence 0 gauge from my front battery to my rear then another run of cadence to the amp. I have a stock 120 amp alt and big 3 done. I don't see very bad volt drop at all I was expecting worse but the gain is only at maybe 50%

 

[SounDrive Pro Seller]

If you don't see bad voltage drop you're not getting half of what you should be out of that amp

 

[tommydh 10+ year member]

Good 1/0 is rated around 300 to 325 amps over a 50 foot run.Shorten that to 15 foot or so,and the capacity goes up. The way I look at it... If your alt can only produce 250 amps +/- ,and your "single 1/0" can easily carry that amount of current...what good does it do to have that much excess capacity?
I run a 320 alt,and 6 batteries in back feeding 2 5k's,and a pair of 4 channels. For quite a while I ran one run of 1/0 with no issues.Then one day I had a bunch of extra 1/0 laying around ,and ran a second run.Did it out of curiosity,just to see if it would help anything.Nothing noticable came out of it,maybe .1 volt.MLSTRASS did the same thing a few years ago.If I remember correctly he went from one run of 1/0 to 4 runs of 1/0 and gained .1 volts as well .

Whether it is money,space,or plain do not care...try one run for yourself just to see.Extra battery in back would probably be a good idea though

I base my numbers off of a chart listed in the National Electrical Code aticle 310.16 Ampacities of wire. Its not about gaining voltage. Its about not catching your vehicle on fire due to insulation failure due to overheating. Unless you are generating electricity somewhere in the cable you can run 50 sets of 600 MCM cable and not gain a single volt but you wouldn't lose any in heat either.