What happens when you run an amp on too small power wire?

[Lil_KB 10+ year member]

I was just wondering, what happens if you run an amp on too small of power wire?

Ex: My XX Herc is made to run on 0 gauge, and my buddy has 4 gauge power wire run in his vehicle. I was just gonna run it on his for maybe 5-10 minutes to see how it pushed his 2 12" L7s and to make sure it actually works....lol.

What would happen? Also would it be safe to run it on 4 gauge for an extended period of time? what are the downfalls?

PS: No, I'm not planning on doing this, I've got a Kicker 0 gauge kit on the way.

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[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

the wire can get hot and melt the sheathing

 

[Lil_KB 10+ year member]

OK, I was just wondering if the amp would get hot or if the wire would get hot, just confused. It should be safe for 5 minutes right?

 

[toop 10+ year member]

should be perfectly fine for 5-10 minutes....

i dont think it would even hurt if that was your actual setup with 4ga power wire....but then again ive never done it.

 

[Lil_KB 10+ year member]

alright thanks for the responses guys.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

it should work fine for testing....//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

It makes fire //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[dleccord 5,000+ posts]

it will try to pull more current, iirc.

 

[KaeZoo 10+ year member]

Provided the 4-gauge wire is fused correctly, it shouldn't be dangerous. Depending on the load you put on the amp, it may work perfectly well. If the wire is too small for the current draw, it will cause a voltage drop that may cause the amp to shut off, overheat or distort.

 

[Kenny Pollock 10+ year member]

I ran my 20.1 on 4 gauge for a week or two without problems, just wired it in series so that it only put out 900 watts instead of the 2500 or so it's putting out now with 1/0 in parallel.