Rockford Fosgate's got me second-guessing the fuse.

[aitchtee]

Hello all. Long-time browser and first-time poster.

I've got a Kicker 15" L7 Solo-Baric that runs off of 1000 W RMS wired to 1 Ohm. I had it hooked up to a JBL P1200.1, but I fried that when I put a 120A circuit breaker in lieu of replacing the 80A fuse. The problems began when I tried to find a 1000 W 1 Ohm Amp. I found a Rockford Fosgate P1000XBD with those power specs. Lucky me! Right? WRONG!

I mean, I've heard it's a great amp, but everything about it has me second guessing the wiring. It IS rated at 1000 W RMS on Amazon, but apparently RF underrates their amps. And it's Certificate of Performance Verification has it's total power at 1417 Watts! Not to mention the instructions suggest using a 140 A fuse (which seems ridiculously high and I'd get a circuit breaker at that point).

So, here I am, I am rewiring everything with a 2 gauge wire, which should be able to handle whatever ridiculous power requirements and I hope will at least fit under the panels. So basically, I haven't the slightest idea of what to use for a fuse. I (think I) know the whole Wattage/Voltage=Fuse size, but what measurements do I base it off of? Basically, I'm scared to DEATH of frying an amp again, especially for the pretty penny I paid for this.

I should've just overhauled the exhaust system. Would've been cheaper including installation than this fiasco...

Tl;dr: I have a Rockford Fosgate P1000xbd online-rated at 1000 W, tested at 1417 W. Is 2g wire sufficient? What size of a fuse do I use? I am scared. I wanted to get an exhaust system.

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[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Relax, this is not so difficult. 2 AWG wire is sufficient, and it's best to choose the main power fuse based on the continuous current capacity of the wire. For 2 AWG wire you can use a 150 amp fuse, all the way up to 200 amps, without worry. FUSES

I believe RF's birth sheet ratings are not realistic for what you would "see" in the real world. You're never going to run the amplifier 100% all the time. What should be more of a concern is making every power and ground connection optimized. Don't connect the ground on top of paint, scrape it down to bare shiny metal. Stay away from flimsy brackets and factory grounds. It's best to go to the main part of the body where you can safely drill a hole for a bolt and get to the other side to attach a lock washer and a nut.

 

[aitchtee]

Deep breath.

Okay, that fuse link was really helpful and reconfirmed everything I did. I'm not smarter than an engineer! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif This is why I don't want to be an electrical engineer! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif I'll take the link's and RF's words for it and run the 2 gauge but run a 140 amp fuse (read the bcae1 page on circuit breakers). More to follow when I actually wire everything up.

 

[poolman966554]

i agree with trumpet 100%, although i would use a 150 amp fuse, even though your wire is capable of carrying more current. the amplifier you posted recommends a 140A fuse.

Also, i would not use a circuit breaker.. i prefer ANL fuses.

 

[michaellane 5,000+ posts]

You do not need a circuit breaker. Let me guess youre a mechanic? I use a 300amp fuse. Its very common 140a is fine

Hello all. Long-time browser and first-time poster.
I've got a Kicker 15" L7 Solo-Baric that runs off of 1000 W RMS wired to 1 Ohm. I had it hooked up to a JBL P1200.1, but I fried that when I put a 120A circuit breaker in lieu of replacing the 80A fuse. The problems began when I tried to find a 1000 W 1 Ohm Amp. I found a Rockford Fosgate P1000XBD with those power specs. Lucky me! Right? WRONG!

I mean, I've heard it's a great amp, but everything about it has me second guessing the wiring. It IS rated at 1000 W RMS on Amazon, but apparently RF underrates their amps. And it's Certificate of Performance Verification has it's total power at 1417 Watts! Not to mention the instructions suggest using a 140 A fuse (which seems ridiculously high and I'd get a circuit breaker at that point).

So, here I am, I am rewiring everything with a 2 gauge wire, which should be able to handle whatever ridiculous power requirements and I hope will at least fit under the panels. So basically, I haven't the slightest idea of what to use for a fuse. I (think I) know the whole Wattage/Voltage=Fuse size, but what measurements do I base it off of? Basically, I'm scared to DEATH of frying an amp again, especially for the pretty penny I paid for this.

I should've just overhauled the exhaust system. Would've been cheaper including installation than this fiasco...

Tl;dr: I have a Rockford Fosgate P1000xbd online-rated at 1000 W, tested at 1417 W. Is 2g wire sufficient? What size of a fuse do I use? I am scared. I wanted to get an exhaust system.

 

[michaellane 5,000+ posts]

2 gauge is fine tho I would have used 0. But here we all use 0 gauhe or bigger

 

[aitchtee]

Thank you all. You have no idea how much better I feel. Of course, post-installation is what matters.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Thank you all. You have no idea how much better I feel. Of course, post-installation is what matters.

Just so you know, 140A fuse will never protect that amp from damaging itself if something goes wrong. RF prints 140A fuse in the manual because clever ***** online think you can multiply that by 10 and know how much power an amp will make.... even the junk brands use that trick.

I run legit 1200W amps and I can tell you that 60A fuses are difficult to open when pushing things and I have yet to open an 80A fuse even when competing.

 

[aitchtee]

I hooked up the amp today and it worked! And did not fry!

I tried to do the whole tuning thing for the amp but I couldn't get the input clip light to light up. I think I have to adjust the LOC first? Anyways, I tried hooking up the sub, but it didn't work. I would get this soft timed click noise. D: I hope it's not fried... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif Or perhaps I reversed the polarity on the LOC wires?

Edit: I think it's effed... I can push on it a lot and when I do, then it works... so close...

 

[aitchtee]

I'm not even (super) mad. I'm proud of myself for getting this far and I know I'll get it the next time ($350 later...). And I got that sub for free anyways.