Wiring the System

[TheBaron929 10+ year member]

Alright, well i've gotten rid of some of my older stuff looking to pick up some newer stuff. I want to wire the whole thing correctly to get the best performance out of my equipment.

Here's what i'm going to be wiring.

Punch 250 x 2 Amplifier

Class AB amplifier, 30 A fuse, recommended (by crutchfield) 8 gauge power/ground

Punch 450.4 Amplifier

Class AB amplifier, 30 x 2 A fuses, recommended (by crutchfield) 8 gauge power/ground

The Wire Guide found on this board says that

Here's the problem.

If the 450 watt amp is taking 4 gauge wire, do i need a 2 gauge or 1/0 Gauge wire from battery? Or can i still feed a 4 gauge wire from batter & distribute it between the 8 & the 4 gauge amp power wires?

Should i not worry about the 4 gauge going to the 450 watt amp & instead just run 8 gauge to both amps?

Any help is much appreciated, including recommendations where i can find all the equipment necessary at reasonable prices & so forth.

Thanks

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[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

if you dont plan on upgrading use 2 if you think you might use 0

 

[TheBaron929 10+ year member]

always a chance of upgrading - but taht doesn't answer the question of what power to the larger amp? 4 gauge or 8 gauge?

 

[btlking 10+ year member]

run 0 all the way back to the distro run 4 to the big amp and 8 for the rest and make sure you run a fuse near the battery

 

[Boulderguy 10+ year member]

I'd just do a single 4g from the battery to the amps & use a distro block with very short runs of 8g to each amp. Those things don't need nearly enough juice to warrant 1/0. 2g would be nice if you plan to upgrade but not necessary - and tough to find anyway.

Just b/c an amp's terminals accept 4g/2g/0g doesn't mean you need that.

You didn't mention how long the wire run is - that's an important factor in the equation.

Oh, and for sources - Knukoncepts or partsexpress.com

 

[TheBaron929 10+ year member]

it's roughtly a 15 ft run from battery to trunk, then more more than 5 feet from distro to either amp (probably more like 3 feet give or take)

also, i read on Knu Koncepts that if i'm only running a 100A fuse on the 1/0 Gauge wire my system can't possibly pull more watts than supported by the 100A fuse, so even if the 1/0 gauge wire is overkill - it's not like i'm going to overdraw on the battery right?

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

draw is load dependant only way something will draw more than it needs is if there is a type of short somewhere

 

[Boulderguy 10+ year member]

^ +1.

But beware what some of these monkeys recommend - they'd have you using 1/0 on your radar detector.

 

[TheBaron929 10+ year member]

Alright so it's been decided i'm going with the 1/0 Gauge from Battery 15ft to distro block. 4 Gauge to 450x4 Amp, and 8 Gauge to 250x2 Amp. I'm actually planning to upgrade sometime soon, which would probably change the 250x2 amp to a 500x1 ish amp.

Anyway, question - if i'm running a 100 amp fuse off the battery. Do i need to upgrade my 90 Amp Alternator to a 120 amp? Or should it be able to handle it - considering i won't necessarily be pulling 100 amps constantly.

 

[TheBaron929 10+ year member]

bump for clarification

 

[TheBaron929 10+ year member]

i = retarded

someone needs to answer the question

por favor