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my kickers keep blowin fuses


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motocrossrider 
Member - Posts: 10
Member spacespace
Joined: January 05, 2008
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: January 05, 2008 at 7:45 PM / IP Logged  
i am an idiot wrote:

Does the fuse actually blow, or does it just melt the solder off the ends of it and not make a connection anymore?

Now that you mention it, the first one went that way. Blew the fuse as well tho. That was a 30A fuse the guy put in it, and I assume he didn't connect it too well, for that to have happened. It's connected more ruggedly now that I redid it.
KPierson 
Platinum - Posts: 3,527
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Joined: April 14, 2005
Location: Ohio, United States
Posted: January 05, 2008 at 7:49 PM / IP Logged  

I disagree about the short.

Fuses arn't created equal.  A 25 amp fuse doesn't necesarrily blow at 25A.  Fuses actually have datasheets that tell you when they will blow.

I would imagine you have to blade type 25A fuses in the amp.

Here is a data sheet for it:

http://production.littelfuse.com/data/en/Data_Sheets/257.pdf

It says that the 25A  fuse will operate at 27.5A for 100 hours before blowing.  That means, together, you have roughly 55A capacity for 100 hours.  If you are pulling 60A you will be at 120% of the load - from the datasheet all you can really tell is that the fuse will blow somewhere between 100 hours and 500mS (they only give values for 10% and 35%, not 20% like we need).

Your glass fuse (I assume that is what you have up front) may be designed to blow right at 60A, with no delay.

So, it is possible to blow a 60A glass fuse before you blow a 50A blade type fuse.

If you had a classic 'short' the fuse would blow right when you installed the new fuse, before you ever installed the fuse.  What happens if you install the fuse and then don't turn the amp on?  Does the fuse still blow?  I'm guessing it doesn't.

The cap also becomes an extra load on the battery, meaning that the front fuse is now feeding the capacitor AND the amp, which would cause the front fuse to have a higher load then the back two fuses.  Again, remove the cap and see if the fuses quit blowing.  It may not help, but it might 'fix' the problem.

The reason I say the cap isn't doing anything for you is because, if anything, it is a band-aid on a bigger problem.  It sounds like your electrical system simply doesn't produce enough power for your added gear, so fix the electrical system.  Beyond that, there are tons of threads on here talking about why caps don't help fix anything. 

Kevin Pierson
audioman2007 
Copper - Posts: 580
Copper spacespace
Joined: February 20, 2007
Location: United States
Posted: January 05, 2008 at 9:02 PM / IP Logged  
But if he has a short, wouldnt it blow the fuse right away? I mean it would be sending 12V through it right away. I am thinking that maybe he doesnt have the subs wired up correctly. Having them at too low of a load causing the amp to draw too much current thus blowing the fuse.
speakermakers 
Copper - Posts: 231
Copper spacespace
Joined: January 02, 2003
Location: United States
Posted: January 05, 2008 at 9:10 PM / IP Logged  
As usual this can be debated to death. The fact of the matter is that until a visual inspection in done on the entire power cable including pulling it out of the fire wall or any other grommet that it goes through, this is all a lot of wasted time for everyone.
Theorize after you have observed the obvious.
audioman2007 
Copper - Posts: 580
Copper spacespace
Joined: February 20, 2007
Location: United States
Posted: January 05, 2008 at 9:12 PM / IP Logged  
totally agree speakermakers
KPierson 
Platinum - Posts: 3,527
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Posted: January 05, 2008 at 9:31 PM / IP Logged  

But if it doesn't blow the 150A fuse I would say its safe to assume there are no wiring issues.

I can think of only one situation that would cause a 60A to blow but not a 150A fuse - there is more then 60A, but less then 150A on the power line.  If anyone else has a scenario that would cause this let me know, I would like to hear about it.

It, of course, wouldn't hurt to pull the power wire out and inspect it, but I think it would be a waste of time.

Kevin Pierson
DYohn 
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Joined: April 22, 2003
Location: Arizona, United States
Posted: January 06, 2008 at 10:48 AM / IP Logged  
Using a meter properly takes seconds.  Hardly a waste of time.
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KPierson 
Platinum - Posts: 3,527
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Posted: January 06, 2008 at 1:59 PM / IP Logged  

Using a meter to measure resistance to ground is one thing, but pulling the entire wire out of the car to visually inspect it is pointless.

If you had some sort of current limited short to ground (which would be impossible) that was causing the front fuse to blow but not the back, that condition would be present at all times.  That means, whatever extra current draw that is cusing his fuse to blow would be present when the car is off.  If that was the case he would be on here asking us why his battery is dead 2 hours after he shuts the car off.

Kevin Pierson
motocrossrider 
Member - Posts: 10
Member spacespace
Joined: January 05, 2008
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: January 06, 2008 at 8:48 PM / IP Logged  
Yeah I'm very confused about this setup... I know there's no shorts... I'm fixing to just pull all the wires out and re-wire them.... I'm having doubts about cheverolet... sounds stupid but friend drives a 1997 chevy silverado and almost same senario... 12" solobaric L7 with a rockford fosgate amp 1000 watts peak... idk wat kind but he just blew a 60A fuse today
KPierson 
Platinum - Posts: 3,527
Platinum spaceThis member consistently provides reliable informationspace
Joined: April 14, 2005
Location: Ohio, United States
Posted: January 06, 2008 at 9:20 PM / IP Logged  

What kind of fuse holder do you have in your car (glass, wafer, etc)?  Try to find a fuse the next size above 60A.  As long as you stay with a 150A fuse or smaller you shouldn't have any major issues, as the 4ga cable you have is rated to carry 150A.

You only have major issues if your fuse is larger then the wire it is protecting is rated at.

I'm sure many, many people on here can tell you it has nothing to do with Chevrolet.  I had a big system in my Chevy and never once blew a fuse.

Kevin Pierson
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