simple question: 4ga ground, 8ga power?

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

use the same guage all the time, or the amp could malfunction

Glad to see a 1st time poster. Don't know what we'd have done without your help

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You might want to read up and learn a few things before you stick your foot in your mouth again.

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[bigred78797 10+ year member]

use the same guage all the time, or the amp could malfunction

Like helotaxi said erase that conception. Using different guage wires is ok ESPECIALLY in the case of the ground being larger than the power wire. The amp cannot get rid of more power than it draws. The only way that you can cause damage to an amp is by using a smaller ground than power wire.. and that's only if the resistance is more than that of the total power wire. That situation, if a ground wire that is too small is used, may cause damage to your amp. Think of it as a traffic jam.. the Amp is drawing power and cant get rid of it as fast as it's drawing it.. that can cause heat and/or malfunction, low voltage problems, etc. But your fine if your using a larger ground than power.

 

[infinity1412 10+ year member]

Glad to see a 1st time poster. Don't know what we'd have done without your help
//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/handclap.gif.0c301076f534e244f0460706894f19e0.gif

You might want to read up and learn a few things before you stick your foot in your mouth again.

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ooooooooooo??

 

[infinity1412 10+ year member]

my bad, just trying to help someone with it, i heard from a stereo expert that it wasnt good but he could have been wrong.

 

[ecko3740 10+ year member]

bigger is better for wiring. I have 8ga power and 4ga ground for a 600watt amp. I figure the power will exit faster with a bigger ground cable. what ill effect could possibly arise

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

my bad, just trying to help someone with it, i heard from a stereo expert that it wasnt good but he could have been wrong.

Stop and think about it for a minute. What about using different wire gauge could possibly cause a problem?

As long as the wire is large enough to pass the current required it makes no difference at all.

You should reconsider who you think of as "expert".

The "expert" may in fact be right in some cases. Such as an amp that requres 4 ga and is used with 4 and 8, or worse 8 and 8. And even then - if the wire is properly fused the worst thing that would happen is a fuse would blow. Plus, if the amp was never pushed very hard it may in fact run fine.

But one thing is for sure --

use the same guage all the time, or the amp could malfunction

simply is not true.

Sorry I sounded like such a ])ick in my last post. We've probably all been misinformed or at least poorly informed at some point or another. But if you see 5 or 6 replies that contradict what you've been taught it might be a good idea to reconsider your beliefs than to reply as if everyone else is wrong and you are the one with the educated answer.