my amp requires 4 gauge wire by itself, but i have 2 amps and i already have a 4 gauge wire from the battery. so do i have to run another 4 gauge wire through the fire wall. also will this be safe with 2 4 gauge amp wires to the battery with seperate fuses

 

One 4 gage is fine for those specific amps. Just buy a fused distribution block to split the 4 gage between the two amps and fuse accordingly. You will be fine.

 

well i bought a rockford fosgate 1500bd and it say it needs 4 gauge :crazy:

 

that's the way to do it :thumbs:

 

:iagree:

its not hard either to run a distribution block. But i think from the 4 guage -after the distributor you have to jump to a thinner wire, maybe 8 guage, or 12 guage depending how many times you split... :smash: :smash: :smash:

 

Look like you definitely need a CAP for those 2 big amps or you will hurt you charging system.

 

4 gauge will more than likely be fine. If not instead of running two 4 gauge power cables run on 0 gauge from the battery back. The best thing would be to add a second battery and at least 1uF cap after the second battery. If you have those large of amps you definately aren't worried about weight. So another battery won't be that big of a deal. The best recomendation that I can make is to go to the shop you are buying from and they will be more than happy to help. If they give you the cold shoulder find another shop even if they aren't always the cheapest. They will be in the end.
Dave..

 

have you upgraded your alternator yet ?

 

ya... just split the 4 gauge and you will be fine.

also, get a 1 farad cap to keep the amps powered. they will require one during periods of high transients.

your altenator should be just fine.

 

:iagree:
I got total 2000 watts, Just upgrade to Optima yellow top, run new wire direct from alternator to the battery and still keep the existing wire like The^Nomad showed me and add 1 Farad CAP and everything is just fine.
:cheers:

 

im puttin the kicker kx800 in my vw jetta, so igot the rf 1500db instead to power the sub. so ill have that amp and the kx600 to power the front 2 and rear 2. so do i still need the 1 fared cap? if so how do i wire the cap? is there any web sites that show how to do it? i have the optima yellow top. and no i didnt upgrade the alternator. i was thinking off rippin out my power wire and puttin in a 0 gauge and disp block and runnin 4gauge to the amps :jester

 

i hate to leave the 4 gauge and split off it for the 2 amps, im afraid itll overheat :crazy:

 

switch out to 1/0 ga wire then you'll be fine with running 4 ga from the distribution block. Also I'd upgrade the alt as well, otherwise your car won't be to happy at idle... Seeing as how your just your amps alone will be drawing around 120 amps.

 

Your afraid what will overheat? Just as the others have said, keep the 4ga wire and add a distribution block that will split the power and a 1fd cap to keep things juiced. If you haven't upgraded the big three before adding the second amp, then you have more things to worry about than overheating.

 

what are the big three and how do i do it? :confused:

 

#1 Battery - which I noticed you already have (Optima YellowTop)
#2 Alternator (higher amp)
#3 Alternator to Battery Wiring (add bigger wire to existing connection)

So in your case, its the Big2.:lol: I really don't think you need to worry about upgrading the alternator, but it would be a plus to add a bigger wire from the alt. to the battery as Mike76002 said. I really think the 4ga wire is plenty to feed your new amps.


[Modified by MTWallet, 12:14 PM 2/16/2003]

 

the magic 3 are:

alt to batt
batt to ground
engine to ground

you should make them 1/0ga :thumbs:


[Modified by Metal_Wulf, 1:03 PM 2/16/2003]

 

the amps will only draw 120amps when they are at 100% duty cycle. I.E. during a sound off at full volume.

I will put it this way - you won't be able to stand it with the amps pulling that much current.

the wire will not over heat. I have worked with a lot of installs, and I have NEVER seen wire that large overheat. NEVER. Now, I have seen 8 guage and smaller nuke, but thats due to stupidity... but 4 gauge is just huge.

the modern 4gauge is good stuff... if it overheats, you will be watching the entire car go up in flames.

you really don't need to upgrade to 1/0 gauge. that is like running a garden hose... you may be running some power, but not THAT much. I have run 800+watts with 4 gauge, with NO problems.

There is a point of deminishing returns...

as for the altenator, I see no reason to replace it. Just don't use underdrive pulleys.

I agree with the idea of upgrading to a better battery and running better wire from the battery to the altenator. I would use 4 gauge.

if you want a capacator, look at the Alusonic CAP's. They are killer. 15 farad!!! about $500.00. a real bargin really.