Wiring help. please help

[lreyesthe2nd]

i have a 1200 watt Sony amp powering 2 Sony 12" subs. I don't feel like it has the full power at all. When i take it to the auto zone they test the battery and it comes up bad. But when i pull the fuse off the wire going to the amp. Then the battery tests good. Why is that? I was also wondering if this makes a difference, the size of the wire from the battery going to the amp is 10 gauge.

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[trent42]

hi,

How long is the run from battery to amp? According to how far amp is from battery you may need bigger wire size.With 1200 watts i would go min. 4 gauge ,maybe 1/0.I think whats happening is if alternator is ok the amp is putting a big strain on the battery. Usually a battery shows bad when its being pulled down to its limit.Have u check alternator? 10 gauge is not enough for 1200.i wouldnt use 10 on 250watt

 

[lreyesthe2nd]

approx 10 feet

 

---------- Post added at 10:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 AM ----------

 

i checked alt comes back ok

 

[lreyesthe2nd]

the thing is that the car is off and the radio and amp is off. when they test the battery. then the battery shows bad battery, even though i just bought the battery 3 days ago. But if you pull the fuse from the wire going to amp then retest it shows battery good. Mind you that the car and radio is still off.

 

[C1500martin 10+ year member]

Is the amp hooked up to a remote wire or directly to battery and its just always on? Seems the amp is pulling current at all times

 

[Savackz]

Try a new fuse. THat's the only thing I could think of.

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

1) that amp is not pulling anywhere near 1200w

2) even if it pulls half that, it's still a good idea to run 4 gauge, not 10 gauge.

3) your wiring is definitely wrong, go back, and check everything to make sure it's wired properly. as martin said, focus on where your remote wire is hooked up to. YES your remote is 12v, NO it does not get connected to the battery!

4) if the battery is good when you unplug your amp, then the battery is fine.

5) you're doing the right thing by asking for help from people who know what they're doing, but try and help yourself too. one word - RESEARCH. I've spent hundreds of hours (many have spent thousands) to learn how to do this the right way.

 

[lreyesthe2nd]

Is the amp hooked up to a remote wire or directly to battery and its just always on? Seems the amp is pulling current at all times

The amp has a remote wire that goes straight to the deck, Where its supposed to be

 

[lreyesthe2nd]

I have The 4 gauge wire running from the battery to the amp, with a fuse approx 5" from battery. The remote running from the deck to the amp, then a ground. Ground is grounded directly to the chassis, and that wire is approx 1 foot long. I've connected a few systems before and never had any issues before. It just seems like this system is not thumping the way it should. There's hardly any bass and the louder it goes the more it sounds like ****. That's why i was wondering if the 10 gauge wire was big enough. But besides all of that, what is causing my battery to do what its doing?

 

[trent42]

by any chance how do you have your amp remote turn on. if that is on you are drawing current all the time. check to see when ur deck is off if amp turns off with it. Also how is ur subs wired..sounds like wiring problem somewhere

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

okay that makes more sense, 4 gauge to the amp power/gnd and 10 gauge to the subs? that should be fine then. you initially said the amp was using 10 gauge power/gnd which is not proper.

are you sure the amp is putting out as much power as you're expecting?

 

[lreyesthe2nd]

sorry mitchell0715 i messed up on that post. The wire from the battery is 10 gauge not 4 gauge. and the ground wire is also 10 gauge. Im thinking i need to upgrade to a 4

gauge.

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

start by wiring the amp the right way, using all 4 gauge OFC with the right fuse and holder.

why your battery tests bad, that I have no idea. if it cranks the car and works besides what the test said, i would assume its a good battery and your amp was throwing off the test.

 

[lreyesthe2nd]

i just ran out and bought 4 gauge wire and a new inline fuse holder for that size wire. So im about to go outside and replace the power wire and the ground and post my out come. Hopefully all will be well.

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

Remember to run the power/gnd AWAY from speaker and RCA cables. Make sure all crimps and connections are solid and that the fuse is within 18 inches of the battery.