sub plus speaker amps wiring help

[69420potsmoker 10+ year member]

I have been reading shit tons of threads and this is hard to figure out exactly what to do. Right now I have only a 4 gauge power wire running to my speaker amp. I could just add a 1/0 gauge power wire to go strait to the sub amp or run it to a distro block.

It seems simple to just add the wire but Id rather use a distroblock so there is one main wire however the fuse thing is getting complicated. Of course I have a fuse on the wire at my battery end now but not at the amp end. Why if I run a distroblock do I need the fuse? Or do people just mean the fuse in the distro block? One amp is 1300rms and the other is 300rms.

Shit tends to get more complicated in my head than it actually is because im afraid 1 wrong thing could completely **** shit up. What is the simplest best thing to do here?

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[69420potsmoker 10+ year member]

http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/1557796/vpcsid/0/SFV/30046

Is that the right way to do it? Put 1/0 in and have 1/0 out to big amp, and 4 out to small amp? And Simply fuse the power wire at the battery.

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

when you buy a distribution block, look for 1/0 in and you will be fine with 2 4 guage outs. but buy a fused d-block. you will fuse your main power wire (1/0) up by the battery. and that will run to a d-block (which is fused) and then there will be (2) 4 guage wires, and one goes to each amp.

 

[69420potsmoker 10+ year member]

when you buy a distribution block, look for 1/0 in and you will be fine with 2 4 guage outs.

I see alot of people doing that but wouldn't that completely waste the 1/0 wire? Would that not be the same as just running a 4 guage wire all the way?

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

no because the resistance with 1/0 all the way is less the a 4 guage run the whole.

 

[funkyab 10+ year member]

I see alot of people doing that but wouldn't that completely waste the 1/0 wire? Would that not be the same as just running a 4 guage wire all the way?

you said you have different amps. one is 300rms and the other 1300rms. You will have different rated fuses on the block going to each amp, one much smaller for the little amp. the fuse at battery is to protect total draw. If you didnt have different fuses up front,, you could blow the small amp and the larger one might be just fine.

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

also if you just ran 1/0 the whole way, not every amp accepts 1/0 guage, alot of lower end stuff doesnt. so then how would you fit your 1/0 wire in them? you could shave down the 1/0 until it fit, but then you creat heat issues. because when you shave down wires, all that current it drew then trys to push itself through the rest of the wire, which causes heat, and could melt wire.