Weird grounding issues/power draw problems

[bds0688 10+ year member]

My system consists of what's in the signature. For those of you without sigs. Phoenix Gold ZX350, Diamond Audio D661 and an Alpine CDA-9807 for the source. The Alpine is wired only using the power, ground, and ignition power, plus the remote turn on for the amps. All connections were soldered and heatshrunk then zip tied for organization.

The power wire to the amp is KnuKonceptz 0 gauge going to a D-block, then going to the amp via 4 gauge. This set up used to have a Phoenix Gold X1200.1 as well. The ground is 0 gauge with the same size wires going and coming from the d-block.

I went to check something in the set up and noticed the positive d-block had pretty much melted on the output for the X1200.1. The plastic underneath had bubbled out, and the finish on the block and fuse had discolored and began to bubble. I do not fault the product for this, but am wondering if there's something else going on. The amps never had any performance issues, and I never smelled anything. Everything is fused properly and very secure.

The reason I am wondering about grounding is my ground strap and starter recently went out, and the damage on them showed signs of grounding/shorting issues elsewhere in the car. Given the d-block and this news, I am thinking something may be overlooked.

No mounting screws are touching the car's chassis, as I am using a false floor.

I am pulling everything and reinstalling. I'm just basically wondering what to look for, test for to identify problems. Thanks,

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[kross 10+ year member]

1200 watts is getting close to the limits for 4 gauge wire. 4 gauge wire can handle it okay, using the entire cross section of the cable to carry the power. However, at the point where it makes contact in the distribution block, is a weak link in the chain, as well as the fuse holders themselves. These connection points are bottlenecks, and will heat up under high current loads.

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

A wire doesn't care how much wattage or voltage is flowing through it so much as it does amperage. That's what can burn/melt a wire.

The conservative AWG standard for 4 guage is 135 amps. If you're alt is putting out 13.8 volts, thats 1863 watts. 4 guage should be fine. And you're running on a very short run of 4 guage so it could handle more.

To be safe you could always place a 150 amp fuse at the block to the amp.

A quick reference from Crutchfield

 

[bds0688 10+ year member]

The thing is, the amp only has inputs for four gauge. The amp in question, the X1200.1, isn't even installed, but grounding is still happening somewhere. The remaining amp, the ZX350 for the highs, is not turned on when the ignition is off. That doesn't mean the wire isn't grounding somewhere though. Hmm. Thanks for the suggestions on the fuse sizing though. My next install will need a new d-block anyway, so we'll see then.

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

The thing is, the amp only has inputs for four gauge.

Because 4 guage is more than plenty for it coming off a short run from a distro block //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif It's rare an amp has a 0 guage input. I think they typically go to the dual 4 guage input before a single 0 guage input.