Quick Question Fuse Size

[hemi=22s 10+ year member]

def fuseif ur amps arent fused internally but something is wrong if ur melting fuse blocks its not the heat in ur trunk

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

lol...you have entered yet another debate topic, but whichever....it really doesn't matter if you have the line fused, and the amps fused(onboard)

 

[multimaster 10+ year member]

one Hifonics zues 440 and a 1600d Brutus both are fused I believe 40amp and 80amp

 

[hemi=22s 10+ year member]

then u really dont need a rear distro unless ur worried about a short in the trunk occuring and burning ur wire if the power touchs metal

 

[multimaster 10+ year member]

Ok.....then onto the melting block. What should I check for the cause? Loose connection at the distro block?

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

then u really dont need a rear distro unless ur worried about a short in the trunk occuring and burning ur wire if the power touchs metal

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two amps...he will need a distro

O.P. look at the brutus...what size wire fits the B+ terminal?

 

[multimaster 10+ year member]

It looks like 8guage Maybe my 4 gauge is too big and causing the problem?

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

It should be a 4awg on the 1600d.

most likely you don't have a good connection at the distro, or are getting corrosion over time(you said 3 in 2 years?)

Do you have a picture of the melted distro before being removed from the car?

 

[multimaster 10+ year member]

No, but it may be corrosion. yes this is the 3rd in two years and it only happens in the summertime. the plastic under the outgoing terminal begins to bubble and for weeks it won't be a problem but eventually it just melts until the point it won't work anymore.

I think it may be the connection it did seem a little loose....I'm abuot to run out to this audio store they just called me and said they have a 0gauge block in stock.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Only too small of wire would cause problems. Too large of wire will not cause any problems.

We are we not recommending a fused distro block? If someone distro's down to 8ga wire from a larger run, wouldn't it be prudent to fuse the run of smaller gauge wire? After all, the smaller wire's capacity is much less than that of the single run of larger gauge. If you have a massive dead short, the front fuse will likely blow before the rear wire does any real damage. But what happens if you get a partial/irratic short that exhibits bursts of current flow that exceed the 8ga wire capacity, but does not exceed the front fuse's rating? Fire, that's what will happen.

Dont skimp and save money on fusing.

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

Only too small of wire would cause problems. Too large of wire will not cause any problems.
We are we not recommending a fused distro block? If someone distro's down to 8ga wire from a larger run, wouldn't it be prudent to fuse the run of smaller gauge wire? After all, the smaller wire's capacity is much less than that of the single run of larger gauge. If you have a massive dead short, the front fuse will likely blow before the rear wire does any real damage. But what happens if you get a partial/irratic short that exhibits bursts of current flow that exceed the 8ga wire capacity, but does not exceed the front fuse's rating? Fire, that's what will happen.

Dont skimp and save money on fusing.

I guess the real question I should have asked was how far is it from the distro to your amps......I will not fuse mine because it is less than 3' from distro to both my amps, and the wire is attached to the enclosure.

also IIRC, even if you have a 4awg wire running only 3 feet, it can handle an instantaneous 300amps which will pop the fuse

 

[multimaster 10+ year member]

It's very close....an inch or two at most.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

I guess the real question I should have asked was how far is it from the distro to your amps......I will not fuse mine because it is less than 3' from distro to both my amps, and the wire is attached to the enclosure.
also IIRC, even if you have a 4awg wire running only 3 feet, it can handle an instantaneous 300amps which will pop the fuse

People confuse wire capacity with wire resistance. A long run of smaller gauge wire can display the same resistance/voltage drop as a shorter run of larger gauge wire would. BUT, the smaller gauge wire still has a certain capacity, and an acceptable fuse rating, which is less than the larger wire.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

It's very close....an inch or two at most.

Uhm... you'll find its impossible to have a wire run that short. lol

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

People confuse wire capacity with wire resistance. A long run of smaller gauge wire can display the same resistance/voltage drop as a shorter run of larger gauge wire would. BUT, the smaller gauge wire still has a certain capacity, and an acceptable fuse rating, which is less than the larger wire.

true.....

however, with 1-2inches of 4awg...it is not worth the effort:laugh: