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Wire Size

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=22088
Printed Date: May 18, 2024 at 4:45 AM


Topic: Wire Size

Posted By: flashalexb
Subject: Wire Size
Date Posted: November 29, 2003 at 11:38 AM

Hey I was just wondering whats the point of all these thick 2 and 4 guage wiring. Im using 4 guage to run my amp but why is it necessary. (Car Battery jumpers are 4 guage). So whats the point of 2 guage?




Replies:

Posted By: mstrcrftr
Date Posted: November 29, 2003 at 12:42 PM
Totally depends on the current draw necessary and the length of the cable. Try breathing through a garden hose and you'll get the idea.

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Jade Ettel




Posted By: flatulatta
Date Posted: November 29, 2003 at 6:13 PM

umm yea but i can run a 1000w microwave on like a 12g wire so ive gotta go wit him wuts the point? i mean my house stereo is louder and doesnt use huge ass cable i personally think its a scam made by the speaker companys the only use i could see for 1/0g wire is if u have like 5 amps and u wanna puti t to a power block





Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: November 29, 2003 at 9:15 PM
Yea but in a car u only fun about 15 feet of cable so what is the point of these thick cables. Its all a scam cause why are the voice coils so thin if if it was so necessary to have thick power wires then why are the voice coils so thin.




Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: November 29, 2003 at 9:51 PM

In order to produce the large amount of power that amplifiers have they must be able to get current. If you take a big amp that has 150amps or more of draw, and there are amps this big and bigger, a lot of them have power / ground inputs for wire of this size. An amplifier needs to current to step up the voltage in it's power supply to provide amplification. The more current the amp requires to make this power, the larger the wire to carry that current needs to be. What you are comparing is apples and oranges. Generally speaking, If you increase voltage and the current stays the same, wattage rises. If current rises and voltage stays the same, wattage rises. Have you ever noticed that all amplifiers are different sizes and have different size fuses, yet, generally speaking, the battery voltage stays the same. For an experiment go hook your sub amp up with 18 gauge wire for the power and ground and see what happens, feel the wire after a couple of minutes, I'll bet you it's a little warm or already melted. Notice those battery cables you talked about that were 4 gauge. Imagine trying to jump start your car with 18 gauge speaker wire, the battery voltage is 14.4 volts isn't it, so why can't you use a speaker wire, because the answer my friend is current. You have an amplifier, not a wattlifier. Hope this helps in some way or another to your question.



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




Posted By: bberman1
Date Posted: November 29, 2003 at 9:54 PM
flatulatta wrote:

umm yea but i can run a 1000w microwave on like a 12g wire so ive gotta go wit him wuts the point? i mean my house stereo is louder and doesnt use huge ass cable i personally think its a scam made by the speaker companys the only use i could see for 1/0g wire is if u have like 5 amps and u wanna puti t to a power block


A 1000 watt microwave @ 115 volts AC uses about 8.5 amps, a 1000 watt car amp @ 12.8  volts DC   uses about 78 amps of current. If you use a 12 g on your 1000 watt car amp, it will be a fire waiting to happen






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