Wiring two amps

[Lurius 10+ year member]

Alright, I am wiring up two amps in the next couple weeks but not being a professional, I have a question or two..

I have a couple kits here, an 8 gauge and a 4 gauge. Each with about 18' of power wire and 4 foot of ground..

The amps are an alpine t757 and a rockford fosgate 4.6X. The manual for the t757 reccomends 6-8 gauge power wire, and the RF amp says to use 10 gauge.

I was thinking I would run the 4 gauge power cable from the battery(GM sidemount battery, going to pick up an extended adapter) to a power distrobution block and then run two 8 gauges(6 gauge to the t757 if I can find the wire around here) from the block to each amp.. Hows this sound?

I am going to be installing a capacitor eventually too, but for now its just the two amps.. If I am doing anything wrong please let me know, im still learning and welcome all advice!

Thanks a lot,

Lurius

PS: This is being installed on a 2004 Silverado extended cab, the amp rack will be mounted to the rear cab behind the seat(modified to fold forward).

The Alpine is 750W(under rated a bit) and the RF amp is 300W, incase this helps.

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[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

I was thinking I would run the 4 gauge power cable from the battery(GM sidemount battery, going to pick up an extended adapter) to a power distrobution block and then run two 8 gauges(6 gauge to the t757 if I can find the wire around here) from the block to each amp.. Hows this sound?

This sounds just fine and pretty similar to what most people that have been into aftermarket audio for any length of time do in their setups as well. You might find that even if you are able to source out the 6awg cabling that it may not fit into a normal distribution block very well. Most (not all, mind you, but most) distribution blocks which accept 4awg cable on the input side will call for 8awg cable on the output side. 6awg might be a bit hard to shove into an opening meant for 8awg wire. If the run is going to be short, though, from the distro to the amp, 8awg should serve just fine.

I am going to be installing a capacitor eventually too, but for now its just the two amps.. If I am doing anything wrong please let me know, im still learning and welcome all advice!

I think you'll find that most regulars here on the forum would advise against the addition of a capacitor in hopes to stengthen a weak charging system. Without getting into all the pros and cons of capacitor usage I'll simply state that you'll get much more positive results from upgrading the "Big 3" of your underhood wiring. (see linked page for detailed explanation)
Hope this helps somewhat and good luck with your install! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsup.gif.3287b36ca96645a13a43aff531f37f02.gif

 

[Lurius 10+ year member]

Amazing! Those "big 3" seem almost obvious now that I think about it.. Thanks! Sounds like a much better idea than messing with a capacitor. Thank you for confirming my installation plan too, happy to see that researching the topic has paid off..

Thanks,

Lurius

 

[Saint211 10+ year member]

You do not need to buy anything over a dollar for extended adapters, unless you feel for paying 5 dollars for a gold plating....

Use small bolts with nuts.... Me and my father have been doing it for years..

 

[Lurius 10+ year member]

Well, I went ahead and replaced some of the "big 3" today.. Ends up that I only had to replace the alternator wire and battery to frame ground wire, the ground wire to my engine is already either a 4 or a 6 gauge so I left it alone.

only 2 weeks until I have the rest of my cables, my 2nd amp, and the carpet I ordered from ebay.. Ill post some pics when I have this all finished, should look pretty good..

-Lurius