Wire Gauge

[t.northwest]

I have a 2000 camry which was having headlight dimming problems when pushing 600 total watts. I just upgraded sub and amp and am now pushing 700 total watts RMS.

To fix my dimming problem, I bought a new 90 amp alternator (old one was 80 amps, and old), and upgraded my battery from 540 cold cranking amps to 700.

I'm assuming this will solve the problem. but my question is about wiring. When looking to buy a new distribution block at the car audio store by my house, I was told that the 4 gauge wire I was running to the block was not thick enough to supply max power to 700 watts. I had a feeling this might be the case, but would like confirmation that this is indeed the case. I know it is lazy, but I really dont want to tear up my interior again to re-wire. My buddy has a brand new dry cell battery however that he is willing to practically give me. its a Shuriken with 20 Amp Hours and 850 Cranking Amps. My question is this:

Would putting this in my trunk and running my two amps off this solve all my problems? and more specifically, would the 4 gauge wire i have running to my trunk now be thick enough to give the dry cell battery the power it demands? cause if not it, and i would still need to run a new power cable through the interior, which would defeat the purpose of putting in a dry cell. Unless, even after my recent battery and alternator upgrades, my amps would be wanting more power with an upgraded 2 gauge cable.

thoughts? What would you guys do?

Much appreciation to anyone with advice,

T

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[1rockford1 5,000+ posts]

i had 4 ga ran to a sundown1200d and audioque 1200d with no issue . then i got a back battery and that helped alot. u can do the big 3 in 1/0 under your hood. there is no need for 1/0 ga but u can do that for your power and go in to a block and have 4ga wire to your amp. knu makes good wire u can get your 1/0 wire kit for like 65.00 or so and get some 1/0 all said and done i would say like 90.00 for your new power and ground wire and big 3 wire.

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

4 gauge wire can easily handle 700 watts, the problem is that you just have a small alternator. I have a 160amp alt and can get slight dimming when really cranking my modest 1kw total system. Do the big 3 and see how much that helps. Grab that Shiruken from your buddy and put it in the back, in-line with the power wire, close to your amps.

 

[Burton6431 10+ year member]

The shops just trying to sell you wire, 4 guage is easily stable over 1000w. The alt upgrade probably wont be noticable but you really should run the big 3 itll be cheap and well worth it, you should also get your hands on that shuriken it will help later on if you choose to upgrade.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

to size wire you need to determine the current requirements (amps) of your system. wire size is also determined based on length.

good 4 awg should be enough for the amp (assuming the amp manufacturer doesn't recommend more than 4awg. what brand 4awg do you have? i've seen some cheap wire labeled 4awg but it's closer to 8awg. but if you want to add a battery in the rear as well, i recommend larger wire since the battery will be another load on the system as well as a power supply, and you want to minimize voltage drop.

with the rear battery you will need at least two more fuse holders - any wire connected to the positive terminal of the battery should be fused as close as possible to the battery. always size fuses for the wire. when you put two different batteries in parallel you can have shortened life spans since they want to float at different voltages. the stronger one will be made weaker.

 

[Vossy 10+ year member]

Big 3 should do it.