Question about distribution blocks...

[Mills561 10+ year member]

I'm going to be running two amps, one for highs, one for lows. The high amp is already hooked up and I'm about to get started on hooking up the mono amp because I recently got a subwoofer. I have a question about the distro block... The one I have is from KnuKoncepts and one side has two 1/0 terminals and the other has three terminals- one 1/0 and two 4 awg. What would be the best way to go about running the wires? And would it matter if I have 8 awg power wire from the battery but used 1/0 from the distro block to the amp? 1/0 is the only thing I have laying around at the moment.

And just to make sure I'm right about this- I need to run two separate ground wires to each amp, correct?

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[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

What size are the amps? Is it a fused block or not?

 

[Mills561 10+ year member]

No it is not fused.

The high amp is Hifonics 4ch x 100 but only running to the front door speakers. The low is a Kicker 400 watts @ 2 ohm, but I'm going to be running a JL W1 at 4 ohms so ~200 watts.

 

[Mills561 10+ year member]

Any replies are appreciated. Does not having a fused distro block matter?

 

[Mills561 10+ year member]

Upon further research, it is a fused block. I did not know because I originally just bought an amp kit of someone on this forum years ago and was unaware of the pieces. I assume it has fuses in it but I'm not really able to take it apart to check. Here is a link to it: Fuse Block, Fuse Blocks

So with that out of the way, what is my next step? I do not want to fry my electrical system so I need help. Do I need a fuse holder on the wire from the battery to the distro block? Does it matter which side I use as the input? Any input and help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Falcons 5,000+ posts]

Id use 0 gauge to two 4 gauge but that's just me

 

[Mills561 10+ year member]

Yes that would be ideal but I'm just trying to use what I already have. It does appear that it would be difficult to feed the 8 awg into the 0/1 slots on the distro block though. Does it matter if the wire from the battery to the distro block was smaller than from the distro block to the amps? And what does the fuse holder do and would it be necessary for my set up? I'm only running ~300 watts total.

 

[matt_bennett05 10+ year member]

You NEED a minimum of 4 ga from batt to that distro man.

 

[matt_bennett05 10+ year member]

Well, seeing you're only running ~300w, you'd be ok w/ 8 ga. Yes, you could theoretically run 8 to that block then 1/0 to amps but that's really silly looking when you're buddies ask to see your setup. And I want to know how you plan on getting 1/0 into that sub amp too... IMO get ~40' of 4ga and run it because not only will you help the amps, but it will leave a little room for upgrading too.

 

[Doodaddy 10+ year member]

WIRE

4gauge will be needed. 8 was probably fine before you added the sub amp.

 

[Mills561 10+ year member]

Thanks for the replies. I still don't know what a fuse holder does from battery to distro block but I'm guessing I don't need one. And yeah I guess I will have to hold off on completing my set up until I get different wire. And the Kicker mono amp actually has 1/0 terminals! The Hifonics amp however, would be the problem. I'll have to do some thinking and see what I can do. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[matt_bennett05 10+ year member]

I've never seen a 400w Kicker w/ 1/0 inputs... enlighten me?

And no need for a fuse holder from front batt to disto block because the distro is fused already.

 

[Mills561 10+ year member]

It may be 4 awg inputs but I had 1/0 running to it in my old truck with no problems.

Alright so here's where I'm at now: I did not do my install for the highs amp and I just noticed the 8 guage power wire is connected to the fuse box under the hood. Is that a problem? Since I have to buy more wire anyway, I'm thinking about running two separate power wires and using the distro block for the ground wires. Right now I have 4 awg as the ground wire and I would keep the 8 awg running to the highs amp and use 4 awg from the battery to the amp. Would that work?

 

[Mills561 10+ year member]

After doing a little research I found you should NEVER tap into the fuse box for the power wire. I'm pissed the guy didn't let me know he did this. I'm running only ~100 watts to the high amp but should I go ahead and switch it to the battery?

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

I've never seen a 400w Kicker w/ 1/0 inputs... enlighten me?
And no need for a fuse holder from front batt to disto block because the distro is fused already.

Actually you would want a fuse about 18" from the front battery, even though the block is fused. The fuse is to protect the wire.