Switch out Stinger 4 gauge OFC to SHCA 1/0 CCA? Yes Or No?

[Papermaker85 5,000+ posts]

Houston Wire & Cable Company - NEC Table 310.17

this is for single conductors free air. again multiply ampacity by .8 for 12 volt dc. for every 5 feet over 20 feet Id step up a wire size.

 

[los33 10+ year member]

http://www.usawire-cable.com/pdfs/nec%20ampacities.pdffor 12 volt DC multiply the ampacity by .8

Houston Wire & Cable Company - NEC Table 310.17this is for single conductors free air. again multiply ampacity by .8 for 12 volt dc. for every 5 feet over 20 feet Id step up a wire size.

All wire is rated via awg standards, but do not all hold the same ampacity.

I have access to houwire and it holds less heat then wire from royal cci

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

 

[Papermaker85 5,000+ posts]

4ga OFC has an ampacity of 150A (@20'), 1/0ga CCA has an ampacity of 250A (@20') (Knukoncept's site)
According to Crutchfield, based on the current draw of the stuff in your sig you'd be better off with a at least 1/0ga CCA: How to determine the best wire gauge

i dont know who told you that but your going to get some SERIOUS voltage drop useing 4ga for 150 or aluminum 1/0 for 250. in fact Id say its border line dangerous. the highest Id fuse 4ga is 100 amps. thats with about a 5% voltage loss across the conductor.

Id never suggest using aluminum when copper isn't much more. and you also need to make **** sure you are using connector rated for aluminum conductors.

 

[Papermaker85 5,000+ posts]

All wire is rated via awg standards, but do not all hold the same ampacity.
I have access to houwire and it holds less heat then wire from royal cci

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

trust me i know a thing or two about wire. its actually rated on the insulation the actual circular mills of the wire and the type of wire. any more questions?

 

[los33 10+ year member]

trust me i know a thing or two about wire. its actually rated on the insulation the actual circular mills of the wire and the type of wire. any more questions?

I wasn't asking you, i was telling you.

But if you want to get technical you are correct, but everything you defined in the end discerns how much heat the wore will hold.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

 

[Papermaker85 5,000+ posts]

I wasn't asking you, i was telling you.
But if you want to get technical you are correct, but everything you defined in the end discerns how much heat the wore will hold.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

what im trying to explain is that most charts are for NEC standards which car audio wire doesn't meet(not technically certified)

you can have 2 wires whit 4ga circular mill rating exactly the same both use OFC but has different insulators. this could make as much as a 20 amp difference in fusing and the difference between a fire..

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Ok, and 350amp fuse would work with the 2/0? I was thinking about using two, one at the battery like usual, and one near the amp. Would I need two 350a? Would it even make sense to do, or is it a waste of $ in my case?

Just need to have one in line no need for two causing even more resistance.

 

[Umbra]

Ok, and 350amp fuse would work with the 2/0? I was thinking about using two, one at the battery like usual, and one near the amp. Would I need two 350a? Would it even make sense to do, or is it a waste of $ in my case?

350 is good. You shouldn't draw anywhere near that right now. 250 would even work.

Fuses are to protect the wire. Just fuse it once within 18" of the battery. If you have a distro block each extension should be fused with the proper rating for the extending wire.

 

[Ace87]

So I just ordered 1/0 to 4 gauge shca reducers, 10 pack of shca 1/0 terminal lugs/shrink, and shca fuse and fuse holder from droppinhzcaraudio.com, and I ended up getting 30 feet of 2/0 welding cable off of wireandsupply.com for $84 with shipping, little over $140 total. I'm gonna do 1 run of 2/0 to the amp and I'm redoing my big 3 with the rest of the 2/0 and getting rid of my xs power cca big 3 kit. Hoping this will all make some bit of improvement. Thanks for the input! Happy New Year from PA!

 

[Ace87]

Thanks, I am getting pretty good voltage drops, and I figured bigger or better wire would be a start and then I'd go from there if I don't see alot of improvement. The car rests at 14.8 at idle with stock alt and 1 group 34/78 agm, and at full tilt driving or sitting still parked it drops to 12-12.2 with the 4 gauge Stinger I have hooked up to the amp right now. The wire is fused at 175a and the amp is fused at 140a. The 4 gauge wire gets extremely hot also after an hour ..

i dont know who told you that but your going to get some SERIOUS voltage drop useing 4ga for 150 or aluminum 1/0 for 250. in fact Id say its border line dangerous. the highest Id fuse 4ga is 100 amps. thats with about a 5% voltage loss across the conductor.
Id never suggest using aluminum when copper isn't much more. and you also need to make **** sure you are using connector rated for aluminum conductors.

 

[Papermaker85 5,000+ posts]

****..

weldingsupply.com i usually use them. they have good wire built for low voltage high amperage with high strain count and its a hell of alot cheaper than most car audio wire.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Thanks, I am getting pretty good voltage drops, and I figured bigger or better wire would be a start and then I'd go from there if I don't see alot of improvement. The car rests at 14.8 at idle with stock alt and 1 group 34/78 agm, and at full tilt driving or sitting still parked it drops to 12-12.2 with the 4 gauge Stinger I have hooked up to the amp right now. The wire is fused at 175a and the amp is fused at 140a. The 4 gauge wire gets extremely hot also after an hour ..

Larger wire isn't going to help your alternator make more current nor give your battery more reserve energy to feed your amps. Also 140A fuse likely will not protect that amp in the event of a problem. IMO you might as well just jam a penny in there if you're not going to fuse properly. I run legit 1200W amps and rarely open a 60A fuse playing music and have yet to open an 80A fuse even in SPL competition.

Welding cable is a fine investment though, you can always bring it along to your next car... I'm still using some that I bought well over 10 years ago.

 

[Ace87]

Ok, but I always thought you fused for the capacity of the wire? What would you do in a situation like mine where I already ordered the 350a fuse with weld cable? Is it even ok to use a smaller fuse like you talked about with the larger wire like that? Would it be better to use the 175a I already have instead?

Larger wire isn't going to help your alternator make more current nor give your battery more reserve energy to feed your amps. Also 140A fuse likely will not protect that amp in the event of a problem. IMO you might as well just jam a penny in there if you're not going to fuse properly. I run legit 1200W amps and rarely open a 60A fuse playing music and have yet to open an 80A fuse even in SPL competition.
Welding cable is a fine investment though, you can always bring it along to your next car... I'm still using some that I bought well over 10 years ago.

 

[tc300 10+ year member]

Most menards has Royal excellene 2/0 and 4/0 welding wire. But can be purchased cheaper off eBay. Not sure why you're so opposed buying from there but to each their own

 

[Papermaker85 5,000+ posts]

Ok, but I always thought you fused for the capacity of the wire? What would you do in a situation like mine where I already ordered the 350a fuse with weld cable? Is it even ok to use a smaller fuse like you talked about with the larger wire like that? Would it be better to use the 175a I already have instead?

Exactly what and how are you going to wire you battery/amps?

Your voltage sensor that regulates voltage is usually tied in somewhere under the hood.. Sometimes it's at the battery sometimes it's in the distribution block/fuse box. You need to find out where it is and wire it to the furthest distribution point and test voltage at the alternator. It will give you a slightly higher voltage. As long as its not over 15.5 at the alt your fine. Your going to loose about a volt to your lights/radio and amps through resistance.

Next as for the fusing. On music the load is generally so dynamic the fuse doesn't have time to open. Ive seen inductive loads sag voltage 30volts and pull nearly 2x the amperage on start up(from the start coil/windings) without blowing. For 2/0 I'd fee safe with a 175amp fuse.

Unless your drawing 180 amps for 30 seconds you won't pop that 175