power wire turns black

In my main power wire setup, the 6 inch peice before the 200a fuse, turns black every few months, and i start loosing connectivity, and end up replacing it.
This happens about every three months.
I am running 2 Orion 12's powered by a DLS A3 True Twin Mono, bridged down to 1/2 ohm, which pumps out the maximum of 1200 watts. Also I have a kicker zx 280 ( I think, or something around that power rating, only using 1 set of channels, as the other set has noise) to power the rear 6x9's, and a Lanzar Vibe 800w powering the front 6.5's, 4x7's, and 1" tweets. I also have an upgraded alternator 190 amp, and have ugraded the big 3. The head unit is a Soundstream VIR-8004 (something like that), and the signals pass througha Kicker 7 EQ.
I am taking a wild guess that my 2ga main power wire might bee to small, but I have never encountered this problem before. This only happens to the 6" long peice, right at the connection to the 200a main fuse, is it the wire? do i need to add anothe run of 2 ga? or do I need a higher fuse? Or am i just starving for power, and need to hook up a 2nd battery? Would a capacitor help, I have never had any good results from a 1 farad cap, and the voltage on the dash tends to drop down to around 11v at maximum bump (I listen to rap) As far as the battery goes, it is not a red or yellow top or anything, but I did get the biggest normal battery that Autozone had. I still have the original battery that was in it, just sitting in the shed, it is still good and holds a charge, would I need to hook it up with an Isolator to solve the problem? please explain my options as detailed as possible, with wiring diagrams or descriprtion / pathways as best as possible please

-------------
Brain

Overheating, maybe due to too much current draw by the amp but could be due to a poor quality connection at the battery terminal.  How is it connected (what are you using for a terminal lug?)

-------------
Support the12volt.com

Change out the connection if possible a new post and/or top mount, refuse with a new power wire 12-18" inbetween, this will also allow flexibility in wire if location you were using is hotter than others, hope this helps.

-------------
Chadillac

uprade to 0/1g wire and call it a day

My guess would also be the kwality and not quality of the wire. Solder the end of the connections as well.

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

topinstaller200 wrote:

---

uprade to 0/1g wire and call it a day

---

Except he means 1/0 (or 0g) power cable. There is no such thing as 0/1 cable.

This may or may NOT be your answer, though.

-------------
It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

its more than likely a loose connection at the battery side of the fuse block thats causing current to bottle-neck and make heat. solution, get a better fuse holder maybe one that takes a different type of fuse like an ANL or MAXI

-------------

He has a 200 amp fuse, I would have to guess it is an ANL fuse.  There is a bad connection at that fuse holder.  Resistance = heat.  If it is only getting hot there, and not the entire length of the wire, there is a bad connection at the point of the heat. 

well, the main power for the engine / starter / vehicle electronics, comes from the side post, I am using the top post solely to power the ANL 200 amp fuse, i replaced the 6 inches of wire with 2 peices of 6 inch wire, all I had on hand is 2 ga at the moment, so i put each peice to its own hole from the battery top, and both into the 0ga hole for th fuse holder. Tossing around the idea of going 0ga or just doubling the 2 ga run. any thoughts on a cap, or 2nd battery, and how hey might help.

-------------
Brain

Have you or are you going to upgrade the big 3? Any cap really just remember 1 farad for every 1000watts, the Tsunami 5 farad are really nice w digital read out and blue Tsunami LED, a little pricey but nice, as for as a battery Optima yellow top/red tops are nice as well as Kenetic

-------------
Chadillac

yea, the big 3 are done, I have had caps before, always the 1 farad, and honestly, i never noticed that it helped with the vehicles electricity loss (dimming lights), maybe the trick is a nice big 5F one. I do currently have a new top line, biggest autozone battery, the yellow / red tops were not in my budget, when i started this project, and i still have the original battery sitting in the shed, and it was not that old when i bought the truck, so pending if i could find a place to mount it (not inside the cab), obviously), i was debating hooking up with an isolator, if it would even be worth it, but the cap, if big enough, might take care of what I am thinking the 2nd battery would do huh?

-------------
Brain

Caps are a complete waste of money..... and it wont fix your problem,niether will a bigger battery, check your connections and the other suggestions offered by the PRO's on this site.

-------------
-A vision without a plan is just a hallucination-

i am an idiot wrote:

---

---

Dang it you beat me to it.lol




-------------
-A vision without a plan is just a hallucination-