should i fuse?

[Mat Dope 10+ year member]

iv heard of alot of people not fusing the power wire when they run 1\0 guage wire.

i dont know why you wouldnt fuse it maybe there is a good reason?

anyway what size fuse should i use for knu's 1/0klm wire 250 or 300 or does it matter. im running 1500rms with a 180a alt.

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[Rich B 5,000+ posts]

Yes you should fuse.

Within 18" of the positive battery post according to most competition rule books.

As far as the size of the fuse, my recommendation would be to look up what size fuse Knu is using with your wire in their wiring kit and use that size since they know what amperage their own wire can handle.

 

[Mat Dope 10+ year member]

really what i ment was why wouldnt you fuse it seems dangerus with a long run of wire like that.

any good idea at looking at their kit. the max you can choose from if you get the kit is 250 so i guess 250a it is

 

[wcarson8911 10+ year member]

doesnt the fuse size on the power cable need to be less than the fuse on your amp? so wouldnt you need to look at your amp to tell you the fuse size?

 

[BoomBoomBoy 10+ year member]

really what i ment was why wouldnt you fuse it seems dangerus with a long run of wire like that.

Think of a power wire like the red hot element in a toaster. That's what will happen to your power wire unless you fuse it. Guaranteed to start a fire.

 

[kballa422 10+ year member]

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?TID=86435&PN=1

Fuses are meant to protect wires, and wires only. Amps have fuses to protect themselves, the length and the size of the wire determines how much current a wire can hold. For 1/0 gauge, I would use 300amp.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Think of a power wire like the red hot element in a toaster. That's what will happen to your power wire unless you fuse it. Guaranteed to start a fire.

Fusing power cable(s) is a good idea and a preventative against possible problems.

Failing to do so absolutely will not guarantee a fire.

There are those of us who (a) are lazy and (b) take enough care in our installations to make power cable fusing not completely necessary.

Please remain aware that I previously stated it IS a good idea and a great preventative measure that could potentially stop bigtime damage from happening in a bad situation. So having said that I am in no shape, fashion, or form suggesting that anyone should follow my example of being lazy.

At the backside of that statement, however, is my irrefutable personal experience which shows me that you can have a perfectly solid install that doesn't include inline fusing for the power leads and still somehow manage to avoid anything going up in smoke. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[wcarson8911 10+ year member]

so for an amplifier with a 160 amp fuse rating, the inline fuse needs to be smaller than the amp's fuse rating or needs to coordinate with the wire size?

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

so for an amplifier with a 160 amp fuse rating, the inline fuse needs to be smaller than the amp's fuse rating or needs to coordinate with the wire size?

Fusing for the power cabling should always be in accordance to the ampacity of the cable itself and not the equipment it is feeding power to.

The fusing on your amp(s) is completely incidental and shouldn't be used as a guide for this.

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

doesnt the fuse size on the power cable need to be less than the fuse on your amp? so wouldnt you need to look at your amp to tell you the fuse size?

amps have their own fuses, fuse on wire protects wire from catching fire

 

[wilzyx 5,000+ posts]

doesnt the fuse size on the power cable need to be less than the fuse on your amp? so wouldnt you need to look at your amp to tell you the fuse size?

no, it should never be less than what is on your amps.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Fuse it.

I think you're confusing this and the big3 alterntor to positive battery lead.

nG

 

[Mat Dope 10+ year member]

ok im going to fuse it but heres a interesting question.

say the 1/0 is 5/8 thick or 3/8 or whatever it is the point is the wire is really thick. now when you fuse the line the fuse is alot smaller then the wire.(thickness) so would not fusing the wire actually flow current better then if you did fuse it.

so pretty much what im saying is will a fuse add resistance to the wire, or well im sure it will but is it a significant amount or what?

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

ok im going to fuse it but heres a interesting question.
say the 1/0 is 5/8 thick or 3/8 or whatever it is the point is the wire is really thick. now when you fuse the line the fuse is alot smaller then the wire.(thickness) so would not fusing the wire actually flow current better then if you did fuse it.

so pretty much what im saying is will a fuse add resistance to the wire, or well im sure it will but is it a significant amount or what?

fuses are designed not to run into that problem.

theres a huge portion of physics behind it, all i got to say is FUSE it and dont sweat it

fuse holder

fuse

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

will a fuse add resistance to the wire, or well im sure it will but is it a significant amount or what?

Hundredths, maybe thousanths of an ohm.

Shouldn't even be discussing this.

If you're too stupid to fuse your power wire you DESERVE to have your car totaled by fire.