info about the fuse from this kit

Home / the12volt's Install Bay / Car Audio / info about the fuse from this kit (

Topic Closed)

Welcome Guest :)

Members

Next Page > < Prev Topic Next Topic >

/r7

Silver - Posts: 340

Joined: July 30, 2004

Location: Canada

Posted: August 02, 2004 at 5:01 AM / IP Logged

the past day or 2 i've been setting my car up to run my Soundstream 800TR/5. i went to a shop to buy a wiring kit, and they set me up with a stinger 4awg kit. now i probably could have gone with a cheap no name brand had i payed attention to this thread. but i got it now so w/e not taking it back. included was a 150amp fuse. when i asked the previous owner of this amp what kind of fuse this amp has on it, he said he'd never checked before, so that finally leads me to my question.

if, hypethically speaking, the amp has a 60amp fuse, would the 150amp fuse be effective in stopping surges before my amp gets affected? or would it passthrough and trip the amp's first.

and secondly, i drive a buick lesabre 91. and my dads been warnin me against the installation of this amp into the car cus he doesnt want the computer to fry down the road, cus if the computer goes he says noone will fix that sort of thing for cheap and parts wont be cheap for it period.

so should i be concerned of this, and can i prevent this from happening to the computer? i figured a fuse on the main line to the car before it goes to anything, but if the starter of the car uses alotta amps in the winter to turn over. it could trip the fuse prematurely just to start the engine. so im at a loss of ideas, on this, maybe its unnessesary, but if anyone can fill in the gaps or ease my mind it would make installing this much less stressful lol.

Thanks in advance for any help

customsuburb

Gold - Posts: 1,813

Joined: January 17, 2004

Location: United States

Posted: August 02, 2004 at 10:34 AM / IP Logged

The 150 amp fuse is to protect the wire, not the amp. The fuse in the amp is to protect the amp. An amp will not fry your computer in your car. Don't put a fuse on the main line from the alternator it is not needed. I'd consider replacing the 150 amp fuse in the mainline with an 80 amp fuse though.

tylertime

Member - Posts: 32

Joined: January 12, 2004

Location: Canada

Posted: August 02, 2004 at 1:47 PM / IP Logged

the 150 amp fuse is to protect you from a fire if there is a short betwen the battery and anywhere on that 4 guage wire

there should be zero worrying about the cars computer!!, simply make sure that your battery connection is tight and secure!! but that was obvious

do not fuse the main line from your battery... it is not nessesary just make sure to do a clean installation of the amp kit, don't short any wires together and everything will be fine!!

one last thing, make sure that the ground you use for the amp is a good one, clean off any paint from the area you intend to use, because if anything really causes problems when installing an amp its the ground. just make sure of that and it should be cool!

/r7

Silver - Posts: 340

Joined: July 30, 2004

Location: Canada

Posted: August 03, 2004 at 12:02 AM / IP Logged

thanks for the info guys, i took so long to reply cus i've spent the last 12hrs somewhere around my car routing wire somewhere or removing panels for the umpteenth time.

my friend and i, wired the power to the amp, and had the amp grounded to the body of the trunk, but because my dad was as concerned as he was, he suggested i find another wire to route back to the engine block instead of the body. he used to work on cars, but was no wiz in the audio end of it, he was a general mechanic, hence he was concerned about a 4awg wire with a 150amp fuse on it, souly for an amp.

anyways, so i took the ground off the body, and he came back later in the evening with a smaller gauge (all he could found was a 8-10gauge wire (not brand new, but the wires were in good condition. from there i routed it from the engine block through the firewall and the rest of the slack is sitting in my glovebox, the rest of the work will be tomorrow when i have some sunlight -_-.

now, he wanted me to do this because, he figures if the amp was to short, the ground from the battery, to the body would be so small that before the 4awg cable fuse blew, the wire would melt and continue on into the electronics.

now its my first install, and the way he explained it, it would be more logical to ground to the engine block, than the trunk body.

i may not be making total sense but im very tired right now and would just like to finish up searching for how many amps my amp does draw, and then head for bed ;p

but in closing, if anyone can contradict me and tell me grounding back to the engine is not nessesary, and explain to me why it isnt, or point me in the direction of a post, or an installation guide that goes over it with a detailed explination, that'd be most helpful.

i know im new and it is my first install, but i want to doit right, learn, and continue to have fun installing :-), part of that means not screwing something up in the first place setting me back quite a few 100$ ;p

Thanks again, and apologies for another long winded post.

PS. i will get a smaller fuse as you suggested custom', 150 did seem rediculously high, but as explained above, its not for the amp, its for the wire, makes sense now :-)

carguy411

Silver - Posts: 683

Joined: April 02, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: August 03, 2004 at 12:50 AM / IP Logged

first about your ground. itis better to keep the ground as close to the amp and as short because it keeps groundloops down to a min. second the ground should be the same gauge or lower than your power wire. so if u are using 4ga power then 4 ga ground sould be used or even a 2ga if u wanted to go crazy but using a 8-10 isnt so good and plus running it back to the hood is unneccessary and a waste of time

chevyman26

Copper - Posts: 227

Joined: April 14, 2004

Location: United States

Posted: August 03, 2004 at 1:19 AM / IP Logged

No No No No No No No

You want to make your ground wire as short as possible. Most manufacturers reccomend 3 ft. or shorter, and if you ask any installer they will always lean towards shorter. Using a longer ground will give you a better chance of getting some ground loop noise. Also keep your power and signal wires as seperated as possible. And always use at least the same guage or larger wire than the power wire. If you (or your dad) are that concerned about needing to ground to the block (which is completely unneccesary as there is a ground strap running between them) you could add another ground strap or 4 ga. wire from the body to engine, but as I said - not needed.

I have owned a 87 buick park ave. and a 94 buick regal, both of which had loud systems in them at one time or another, and never had any problems with the computer. There is no reason at all that an amplifier would harm one, unless you spliced directly into it's wire harness :0 lol. I would also like to add that, yes, computers are easy and cheap (comparitivly) to fix. Any decent salvage yard is usually littered with them, as there are a lot of early 90's lesabres out there. I'm not saying they're junk, just that there were millions of them made, and there are probably a couple of Olds and Ponitac models of computers that would work.

You'd better get me out of this lord... or else you'll have me to deal with. -- Hunter S. Thompson "F.A.L.I.L.V."

chevyman26

Copper - Posts: 227

Joined: April 14, 2004

Location: United States

Posted: August 03, 2004 at 1:39 AM / IP Logged

Been thinking about it, and seriously - don't run the smaller guage wire back to the engine! I remember my brother wiring up a long small ground in a Monte and it melted in like, 5 min. and started the carpet on fire. He might of had something else wrong, I don't know but don't risk it. Make sure your ground is at least 4 ga. and 3 ft. or shorter. then there should be no problems....

....well, ok. Maybe one. Once you figure out how many amps your amp will draw, then you need to figure out how many amps your alt. has to spare. I'm guessing you've got a 100 or 105 amp alt. figure that the car uses about 60% of this, which leaves you about 40 amps to spare for your amp (ampitty amp amp amp). If you've got a 60 amp fuse in your amp, then that's the absolut most that it will ever draw, so you'll probably be alright if you are able to keep the amp out of clipping so make sure you set the gain properly! If this is your first install, make sure that you understand the function of the gain control before you ever put a signal to the amp.

I think I'm rambling now. Must be time for bed huh?

You'd better get me out of this lord... or else you'll have me to deal with. -- Hunter S. Thompson "F.A.L.I.L.V."

/r7

Silver - Posts: 340

Joined: July 30, 2004

Location: Canada

Posted: August 03, 2004 at 8:11 AM / IP Logged

thanks for the ramble chevy, i think i'll run the small wire into the back anyways, get it over with, but not to my amp, i'll remount the new 4gauge wire and get to where i was last night lol.

I understand now that the trunk has a ground-loop

i checked the tarantula PDF file, and i dont know if it includes my TR800/5 but they said it has a 300amp fuse in the PDF, so i dont know if it draws nere-around there or just able to handle that power

I ran into another stupid first install mistake, i didnt label my RCAs, which i've already routed to the front, is it a problem putting them into my HU and AMP without knowing which goes where. essentially im only going to be using one right now for my rears, which means i have a few different possibilities to go through in testing, i just dont want to cross a left RCA into a right and have a signal from my HU or AMP damage the other.

Anyways, gonna go see if i can stick that ground on before i head for work

Thankyou for your input guys its been most helpful

forbidden

Platinum - Posts: 5,352

This member has made a donation to the12volt.com. Click here for more info.

This member has been recognized as an authority in Mobile Audio and Video. Click here for more info.

Joined: November 01, 2003

Location: Alberta, Canada

Posted: August 03, 2004 at 2:32 PM / IP Logged

Grrrr, you guys need to learn about how important a proper ground really is. Just because a manufacturer recommends less than 3' does not mean that it is a proper ground. Cheyman26, if your brother wired up a long small ground and it melted, then it is indicative of either a dead short in the amp or way too small of a wire used for the most important wire in a car audio system.

Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

customsuburb

Gold - Posts: 1,813

Joined: January 17, 2004

Location: United States

Posted: August 03, 2004 at 2:56 PM / IP Logged

Dont run an 8 to 10 gauge wire from the amp all the way to the engine block. If you really think you need to run a ground up front, you ground it to the battery using at least the same gauge or larger wire (and its really not needed). Tell your dad that you will be more likely to fry your amp if you run a small wire like that from your amp to the engine block. Stick to using a short ground wire, that is the same size as your power wire, and ground it to the chassis of the vehicle (not the rear deck, or a seat belt bolt, or a seat bolt, ground to the chassis of the vehicle). And to sum it all up, 3 feet or less for a ground wire isn't a set length, your are just suposed to keep your ground wire resistance .5 ohms or less.

Next Page >

Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Search the12volt.com

Follow the12volt.com

Disclaimer: *All information on this site ( the12volt.com ) is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular use. Any user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and use of this information. Please verify all wire colors and diagrams before applying any information.