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power wire size and fuze?


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rady449 
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Joined: January 30, 2011
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Posted: January 30, 2011 at 11:00 AM / IP Logged  
hi, i am currently putting together a system in my 96 ford explorer 5.0 and am planning on putting 2 12 alpine type x's with 2 ALPINE MRP-M2000 MONO 2000W RMS amplifiers (one for each sub)and i am wondering what u would recommend for wain power wire size and fuse from the 2 batteries under the hood to the 10 farad cap in the back.
the amplifiers both have 6 30amp fuses (180amps per 360amps for both) and your wiring guide says 1/0 is only good to 350amps. and what kinda fuse would i use, i cant find any bigger than 300.
there will also be an Alpine PDX-F4 4-Ch Class-D Amp 400 Watt Amplifier for the component speakers which has 2 30 amp fuses.
420 amp max draw. what u got fr me?
i am an idiot 
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Location: Louisiana, United States
Posted: January 30, 2011 at 6:02 PM / IP Logged  
The sole purpose of the fuse under the hood is to protect the power wire and the vehicle.  As long as you do not fuse it beyond it's capacity all will be fine.  I see no reason you would need more than the 300 amp fuse. 
rady449 
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Posted: January 30, 2011 at 7:16 PM / IP Logged  
well what im saying is that if my amplifiers are going to draw a max of 420 amps do u think 1/0 gauge being rated for 350 will be a safe, suitable cable for the main power and ground? and if not would 2/0 marine cable work/be efficient?
and would'nt a 300 amp fuse blow under a 420 amp load? if so would i use a buss fuse...but they are rated for 45 volts and up, would that be safe?
rady449 
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Joined: January 30, 2011
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Posted: February 04, 2011 at 7:22 PM / IP Logged  
new thoughts, what about running two power wires, one for each sub amp and putting the component amp on either circuit.
i wanna put 2 optima yellow tops under the hood, and a 250 amp alt. could i connect the batteries separately to the alt. and run a power off each one. and still ground them to the same point to prevent loops?
silverbullet555 
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Posted: February 04, 2011 at 8:21 PM / IP Logged  

You could run 2 0 gauge runs if you want, but both need to be fused. Or you could run 2/0. 3/0 or 4/0.  Considering how expense 1/0 is, you are getting up there and it's pretty pricey.

The real question is why are you running so many watts to speakers rated at 500-1000W RMS. You could wire both speakers to the same amp at a 1 ohm load, get 2000 watts out of the 1 amp and make your life a lot easier.

James
afdanw 
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Location: Oklahoma, United States
Posted: February 04, 2011 at 9:29 PM / IP Logged  

What i would do is run 2 sets of 1/0 into a distribution block.  then you can split off the distribution block into your 3 amps.  Fuse both lines coming off the battery to the Distribution block.  Also 400+ amps of current is a lot.  How many alternators are you running.  Even with the 250a alternator you mentitned, capacitors and yellow tops are not going to cut it, you need alternators for a set up like this (Alternators, as in probably 2 or 3 of them).  250a < 420a.  The problem is pretty obvious.  That set up will not work, and is pointless. 

silverbullet555 wrote:

The real question is why are you running so many watts to speakers rated at 500-1000W RMS. You could wire both speakers to the same amp at a 1 ohm load, get 2000 watts out of the 1 amp and make your life a lot easier.

I agree, that is a lot of power for the subs you are running. 

If your cousin is such a good installer, and he will install anything for a 6 pack; why are you talking to me?
KPierson 
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Posted: February 05, 2011 at 7:21 AM / IP Logged  
A general rule of thumb is for the device to operate at 75% of the current of the fuse.
If the amp has a 180A fuse is should pull around 135A max.
That would make 270A for the sub amps and 45A for the smaller amp. You're smaller amp, power components, will never come close to pulling 45A.
I'm with i am an idiot - 300A fuse should be sufficient. Before going that route though I would make sure you could find a 350A fuse. A fuse rated above 12 or 24vdc isn't going to hurt anything.
Kevin Pierson
rady449 
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Joined: January 30, 2011
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Posted: February 05, 2011 at 11:21 AM / IP Logged  
silverbullet555: The real question is why are you running so many watts to speakers rated at 500-1000W RMS. You could wire both speakers to the same amp at a 1 ohm load, get 2000 watts out of the 1 amp and make your life a lot easier.
i know a few people that suggested i up the power to 1500 watts at 4ohms cause they used to run a pair of x's at those levels and they took it all day like a champ and if i wanted i could wire them to 2ohms for a comp. and the amps i have (MRP-mp2000) are not 1 ohm stable.
also, afdanw< a 250 amp alt. is constantly putting out while running (i believe) and between the charge held in the battery and the cap. it should be able to keep up with the audio draw that comes in bursts. i think.
KP. thank you, i see what ur saying and i do have access to large amp fuses that are 45 volt to 450 volt ratings, i just was unsure if it would create extra resistance to a 12-16 volt system.
silverbullet555 
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Joined: January 22, 2011
Location: California, United States
Posted: February 05, 2011 at 2:41 PM / IP Logged  

Rady,

sorry about that, I mis-quoted the website. It's 2000 watts at 2ohms.

I'm not sure how much benefit you would get by powering them at that level. Might try it with 1 amp and then add a second if need be.

But, that is your choice and I have never been known for taking the simple way out so I can understand where you are going.

As previously recommended, you could run 2 1/0 cables from the battery to a distro block and then split from there. I would probably do that before I went to 2/0 or 3/0 just because 1/0 is easier to work with and to run.  Don't forget to ground the same.

For the fuses, I like to run ANL fuses for my larger lines and mini-anl for my smaller ones. The only thing I do is make sure my fuses are consistent by type so if I have a problem with a fuse I don't have to carry different types, just different ratings. You can find ANL ratings up to 400 amps plus. They are also used in forklifts which are battery powered so they come in larger sizes.

James
rady449 
Member - Posts: 15
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Joined: January 30, 2011
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Posted: February 05, 2011 at 4:19 PM / IP Logged  
well thank you much for the input, i will try one amp first but i have 2 already so more than likely i will end up with two cause i want to push some serious spl and i dont want to cause the amp to clip.
and ya i have all anl fuses, i just like them better than aug (more or less). on the subject of 2/0 cable, i have been unable to find any with a high count small strand construction of pure copper. do u have any sites, or recommendations?
also with 2 1/0 lines run to a dist. block, how would u wire in the cap? and would i use 2 1/0 grounds from the frame to the dist. block? i only ask cause it will be such a short piece of wire (under 1 foot)
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