power wire size?

happy thanksgiving to all!! I was just wanting to ask a question about wire size for a 500 watt amp. would 4 gauge or bigger be to much for the amp and would it cause it to get more current than it should? thanks for any help guys! Davidbassss!

Excess battery and wire size does not push current into load, only voltage can do that. The bigger the better.

ok. thanks a lot! how about fuse size? this amp doesn't have any external fuses and draws about 100 amps. what size inline fuse would be good for it?bassss!

The amp should have its own fuse(s). The fuse for the wire (4G etc) as close as practical to the supply (battery) end is to protect the wire in case of a short. It must be rated no greater than the wire rating (else it's the wire that can fuse and cause fire) but can be smaller provided it handles the load. For a 500W amp I'd expect a max of ~50A, hence say a 60A fuse or larger. (General rule is to size wires & fuses at least 20-30% above load rating - ie, wires ^& fuses should not (generally) be run at more than ~70% of their rating,) Post edit: I just reread your OP. If the amp draws 100A, then IMO a 130A fuse tho 120A should be ok (especially considering it probably rarely runs at full power). But maybe 150A is a more common fuse, hence 150A with wiring of at least 150A. (I think 4G covers that, but check with others. There are current versus wiring size charts & info on the12volt & elsewhere.)

yeah, it's the 2nd edition of the orion 225 hcca digital reference amp and doesn't have external fuses. thanks for the info though!!bassss!

If it needs you to supply its protection fuses (unbelievably [IMO] some do that) fuses the manufacturer should advise the size & type (unbelievably [IMO] some don't do that), but they are placed close to the amp and are different to the wire protection fusing - or rather, usually are, especially if that wire supplies other loads. However some move the "electronic" (amp) protection fuse(s) to the supply end to reduce voltage drops or to only need the one size & type of fuse as spare.

so if I put an inline fuse next to the battery, that would help voltage drops?bassss!

You already have a fuse near the battery. (Or you should. If you don't, I'm leaving this thread.)

lol...yes I do. but I also have a distribution block near the amp.bassss!

Does the amp have its own fuse (even if internal)? And is the wiring from the DB also 4G - &/or are powering other things from it?