Is this wiring ok for amps?

[Dave K]

1. Is it ok to hook up all 3 amps to 2 distribution blocks and only run 1-4 ga cable to the batteries? (4 gauge used all around)

2. Is a 150 amp in-line fuse on the "+" ok or do I need 125? 200?

[kx250frider617]

I know alot about car audio and that setup is perfect. NO ONE runs 3 separate power/ ground wire for all the amps. Just make sure your main power cables are thick enough to hold the current draw of all the amps. If not then move a secondary battery up front next to the amps so you can run a higher guage wire. The farther away the battery the bigger the wire. Anything 1500rms and below you can get away with 4g. For the fuse, i would get the biggest one you can, its just for when you have a major short so you don't light the boat on fire or destroy your amps.

[chpthril]

I know alot about car audio and that setup is perfect. NO ONE runs 3 separate power/ ground wire for all the amps. Just make sure your main power cables are thick enough to hold the current draw of all the amps. If not then move a secondary battery up front next to the amps so you can run a higher guage wire. The farther away the battery the bigger the wire. Anything 1500rms and below you can get away with 4g. For the fuse, i would get the biggest one you can, its just for when you have a major short so you don't light the boat on fire or destroy your amps.

Just a word of caution. You never want to over-fuse your wire. The fuse needs to be the weakest link in the system and needs to blow before the wire's load capacity is reached.

Dave, you are still locating the batteries in the mid-ship locker near the amps, right? How long would the run be between the battery and the blocks? For my, the cost to run 1/0 V's 4ga is insignificant, so i would do 1/0 to the blocks, then 4ga to the amps.

[Dave K]

I know alot about car audio and that setup is perfect. NO ONE runs 3 separate power/ ground wire for all the amps. Just make sure your main power cables are thick enough to hold the current draw of all the amps. If not then move a secondary battery up front next to the amps so you can run a higher guage wire. The farther away the battery the bigger the wire. Anything 1500rms and below you can get away with 4g. For the fuse, i would get the biggest one you can, its just for when you have a major short so you don't light the boat on fire or destroy your amps.

Thanks for the solid info. On another forum I being told dont do it unless I use 0ga.

What do you mean by this?
Just make sure your main power cables are thick enough to hold the current draw of all the amps.

1 amp has 2-20 amp fuses, 2nd amp 2-20amp fuses, and 3rd amp has 2-30amp fuses. Does this mean there is a potential for a draw of 140 amps?? According to this chart could I go a run of 10-13 ft? I'm guessing this is max volume and max power correct?



Do you think I should run 1 fused 4 ga to the sony amp, and a second 4ga to both Kicker amps?

Thank You, I appreciate your help

[Wickedcummins]

yah you deff dont WANT THE BIGGEST FUSE YOU CAN GET.. You want the fuse to support just under the load the wire can carry..
Ive seen alot of systems Melt the wiring due to a faulty amp and never blow the fuse.

You want to use OFC which is short for Oxygen Free Copper which helps determine how well the copper conducts electricity.
This is of course especially important in car audio application to ensure the amplifier or speaker is receiving the absolute
maximum amount of energy transfer possible. Some wire manufacturers will also include a very small amount of tin in the wire
which helps reduce the chance of corrosion over a long period of time. This is important for applications where the wire may
be exposed to the elements such as inside an engine bay, or in a marine audio system.



The last term I will look at is Strand Count. This number will specify how many individual stands are braided together to
create a single conductor. There are several advantages to individual stands over a single solid wire. The first is flexibility,
it is much easier to install multiple strand wire since it can be bent and curved in any desired shape, whereas solid wire is
almost impossible to bend at any angle. The second advantage is durability. Since there are many multiple strands even if a
single strand were to break there is almost no loss in power transmission. In solid wire if a single strand is damaged power
handling can be greatly reduced
So how do u determine the amplifier current load if we only know the wattage rating? Well there is a simple formula that can
be used. If you have an amplifier that is rated at 1400 peak watts you would take that number and divide it by the voltage.
From experience we recommend taking the most common voltage a vehicle will be operating at when running with the alternator
turning which is about 14.4 volts. In other words this would be absolute best case scenario to allow the amp to draw maximum
amperage. So we take our 1400 watts and divide it by 14.4 volts which give us an amperage rating of 97.2 amps. Once you have
the number of total amperage between one or multiple amplifiers and the distance you anticipate the power wire will be (From
the battery to the amp(s)) lets say 20 feet, you can now determine which gauge wire suits you best. So using our example
(20 feet, 97.2 amps) we know by the wiring you would need to use 1/0 gauge wire

[Dave K]

Just a word of caution. You never want to over-fuse your wire. The fuse needs to be the weakest link in the system and needs to blow before the wire's load capacity is reached.

Dave, you are still locating the batteries in the mid-ship locker near the amps, right?YES How long would the run be between the battery and the blocks? Approx 2.5 to 3ft For my, the cost to run 1/0 V's 4ga is insignificant, so i would do 1/0 to the blocks, then 4ga to the amps.And the dist blocks are like 1 ft from the amps

I bought all the 4ga already ($4.75 per foot). Maybe I should just run 2 4ga, 1 to sony amp and 1 to both Kicker amps?

[Dave K]

yah you deff dont WANT THE BIGGEST FUSE YOU CAN GET.. You want the fuse to support just under the load the wire can carry..
Ive seen alot of systems Melt the wiring due to a faulty amp and never blow the fuse.

You want to use OFC which is short for Oxygen Free Copper which helps determine how well the copper conducts electricity.
This is of course especially important in car audio application to ensure the amplifier or speaker is receiving the absolute
maximum amount of energy transfer possible. Some wire manufacturers will also include a very small amount of tin in the wire
which helps reduce the chance of corrosion over a long period of time. This is important for applications where the wire may
be exposed to the elements such as inside an engine bay, or in a marine audio system.



The last term I will look at is Strand Count. This number will specify how many individual stands are braided together to
create a single conductor. There are several advantages to individual stands over a single solid wire. The first is flexibility,
it is much easier to install multiple strand wire since it can be bent and curved in any desired shape, whereas solid wire is
almost impossible to bend at any angle. The second advantage is durability. Since there are many multiple strands even if a
single strand were to break there is almost no loss in power transmission. In solid wire if a single strand is damaged power
handling can be greatly reduced
So how do u determine the amplifier current load if we only know the wattage rating? Well there is a simple formula that can
be used. If you have an amplifier that is rated at 1400 peak watts you would take that number and divide it by the voltage.
From experience we recommend taking the most common voltage a vehicle will be operating at when running with the alternator
turning which is about 14.4 volts. In other words this would be absolute best case scenario to allow the amp to draw maximum
amperage. So we take our 1400 watts and divide it by 14.4 volts which give us an amperage rating of 97.2 amps. Once you have
the number of total amperage between one or multiple amplifiers and the distance you anticipate the power wire will be (From
the battery to the amp(s)) lets say 20 feet, you can now determine which gauge wire suits you best. So using our example
(20 feet, 97.2 amps) we know by the wiring you would need to use 1/0 gauge wire

Kicker amp manuals do not show peak watts they just say 450 and 350

2 Kicker amps 350 + 450 watts, Sony amp says max is 600 so.... total is 1400 watts same as you example which = potentially 97amps? Charts says up to 22'. My batteries are like 3 ft away from dist blocks so, therefore it will be a safe setup?

[Dave K]

I really appreciate the help guys. This is great info. Peace of mind !!

[Wickedcummins]

Here is a chart I did up years ago

[philwsailz]

Gents-

We cannot use most car audio wiring charts for marine wiring. Car audio asumes an infinitely large ground plane in the chasis of the car. For a boat you have to run a ground wire back to the battery. As a result you need to go with AT LEAST what the manufacturer recommends for each amplifier, or use a single very large cable that is split to each of the amps.

For this installation, I am betting that the Sony amp want to see 8ga. wire. I know that the Kicker amps need 4ga, (450.2) and 8ga, (350.4). In this three amp system, I would likely run 1/0 for my primary run for both power and ground using distribution blocks. Then I sould use 8ga. and 4ga. from teh distribution blocks to run the amps.

If you have all 4ga, you can use two runs of 4ga. to the battery. Put one on the 450.2 and use a splitter on the other split to 8ga. for the Sony and the 350.4 That should provide enough copper to do the job.

As far as fusing goes, U.S. Coast Guard law , (CFR33, Subpart "I" Section 183.455(b)(1) )for the manufacturer of new boats says that you can use a primary fuse within 7 inches of the battery up to 1.5x the total fused load on the circuit. Adding up the value of the external fuses is the preferred method for calculatig primary overcurent protection. This is also codifiied in the ABYC Standards under E-11.10.1.1.1. The idea is that the fuse is small enough to protect the wiring and therefore the boat, but large enough not to create a resistive element when heated just under failure. For 1/0 cable, with all three amps on it, one could use a fuse up to 210A, but since 200A is common, it would be appropriate.

If one were using two runs of 4ga. back to the battery, one would want a 100A fuse as a primary fuse for the power wire going to the 450.2 and one would also a 100A fuse for the wire that was feeding both the Sony amp and the Kicker 350.4.

On a related note, know that I have documented one instance where one of our OEM boat manufacturers was using undersized wiring, (smaller than recommended by owners manual) and was experiencing over-heating problems, even with very short power wiring. When they finally acquiesced and followed out wiring recommendations, their over-heating issues went away. A boat is a very diffferent place from a car as noted above, so please use at least the recommended amplifier wiring size. If you cheat the small side, I know problems will come up as a result.


Hope that helps!

Phil
Kicker

[Wickedcummins]

Lol the frame of a cr don't mattery the battery is still the ground lol. My write up works the same car or boat. Your ground size is going to be the same as the power wire being neither wire can transer more energy than the other! Elctrons flow the same no matter if its positive or negative lol.

[Timmy!]

Mike, do you typically use fuses or breakers at the battery? I've always used fuses but I believe my factory install has a breaker.

[chpthril]

Mike, do you typically use fuses or breakers at the battery? I've always used fuses but I believe my factory install has a breaker.

If the batteries are in the bilge area, I always recommend and use a marine breaker. If the batteries are in the mid-ship storage locker, i will use a fuse or fused block for the bling factor. if the customer is getting standard installation, then I usually use a breaker.....even though they actually cost a bit more then a fuse holder or even a fused block.

[Dave K]

If the batteries are in the bilge area, I always recommend and use a marine breaker. If the batteries are in the mid-ship storage locker, i will use a fuse or fused block for the bling factor. if the customer is getting standard installation, then I usually use a breaker.....even though they actually cost a bit more then a fuse holder or even a fused block.

What kind of fuse holder would you use for a 125 amp fuse..an ANL or a mini ANL?

[chpthril]

What kind of fuse holder would you use for a 125 amp fuse..an ANL or a mini ANL?

Either, whichever accepts the size cable yur using. Personally, I try to stick with the ANL only because I like the ANL fused blocks from Tsunami.