Amp Power Question

[sarah.shepherd]

We are replacing the PDX5 in our Tige with a Kicker 700.5 and when we pulled out the PDX5 we noticed that the power and ground for the 2 amps (Kicker 450.2 is the other amp) is 4ga from the battery but then splits down to 8ga going into the amps. The manual for the 700.5 says that power and ground need to be 4ga and I'm guessing the 450.2 has the same requirement.

My question is do we need to pull new power and ground wire so that we have 4ga going into each amp? I'm guessing the answer is yes but I thought I'd check (just in case) before we went ahead and did it.

Thanks in advance for your help!!

[chpthril]

The Kicker zxm700.5 is one of my favorite amps. It will be much happier (will run cooler) with 4ga wire feeding it. It has the potential of a 90A current draw. Whats the distance from the batteries to the distrobution blocks, and from the blocks to the amp?

[sarah.shepherd]

The Kicker zxm700.5 is one of my favorite amps. It will be much happier (will run cooler) with 4ga wire feeding it. It has the potential of a 90A current draw. Whats the distance from the batteries to the distrobution blocks, and from the blocks to the amp?

We are excited about the 700.5 amp! Our boat will be all Kicker after it's installed. We also have the RLC to install

From the battery to the distribution block is 3-4ft and from the distribution block to the amps is less than 1ft

[sarah.shepherd]

Hey chpthril we are going to run and addition 4ga power and ground and eliminate the splitter so that both amps have 4ga power and ground but I have a question about the inline fuses. We currently have a 60amp AGU inline fuse that will go to the 450.2 and are adding a 100amp inline for the 700.5 but it looks like kicker uses ANL fuses not AGU. Does it matter which we use?

[chpthril]

Hey chpthril we are going to run and addition 4ga power and ground and eliminate the splitter so that both amps have 4ga power and ground but I have a question about the inline fuses. We currently have a 60amp AGU inline fuse that will go to the 450.2 and are adding a 100amp inline for the 700.5 but it looks like kicker uses ANL fuses not AGU. Does it matter which we use?

Good move. Yur fine with the 100A AGU.

[sarah.shepherd]

Sweet thanks! We're hoping to get it installed tonight. Any suggestions for the settings on the 700.5? It's running 4 in boat kicker coaxials and a JL audio sub. We listen to primarily country and rock/alternative and we are using the bass nob in addition to the RLC.

[chpthril]

Sweet thanks! We're hoping to get it installed tonight. Any suggestions for the settings on the 700.5? It's running 4 in boat kicker coaxials and a JL audio sub. We listen to primarily country and rock/alternative and we are using the bass nob in addition to the RLC.

Amp-1/Amp-2
Cross-over filter: Hi-Pass
Gains: 'bout the 9 oclock position
X-over Freq: 100Hz
Bass-Boost: 0

Sub
Gain: 'bout the 9 oclock position

Need more info about which sub, the enclosure and where its located. a safe starting point would be 80Hz and 0 bass-boost.

Since you are using the ZXM-RLC, keep in mind its a line driver. Set the head-unit at .75 volume and then turn the knobs up to full before setting the gains.

[sarah.shepherd]

Sub info is kind of limited - it was in the boat when we bought it so we don't know the exact specs. It is in a power wedge sealed box under the drivers side dash. I believe it is a 10in sub but other than that we don't know much else.

When you say turn the volume up to 3/4 do you mean 3/4 of total or 3/4 of the max volume we use?

[chpthril]

Sub info is kind of limited - it was in the boat when we bought it so we don't know the exact specs. It is in a power wedge sealed box under the drivers side dash. I believe it is a 10in sub but other than that we don't know much else.

When you say turn the volume up to 3/4 do you mean 3/4 of total or 3/4 of the max volume we use?

For setting the gains and normal listening, the head-unit volume will need to be set and left at it's 3/4 volume level. Once every thing is set, the ZXM-RLC controllers will be used as the main volume controls

[sarah.shepherd]

Perfect! Thank you! We have the amp in but have to pull new speaker wire to one side of the boat due to the lines that are currently there being too short Tonight we plan on getting the install all wrapped up ... it might be a late night

[sarah.shepherd]

We got everything installed last night and working We didn't adjust the gain yet since it was after 11pm when we finished we didn't want to piss of the neighbors.

Thank you for all your help!! There is a huge difference in the sound already. We never realized how much we weren't hearing the in boat speakers.

We plan on doing some major de-cluttering of all of the electrical in the boat this winter so I'll post pics when its pretty b/c right now it's functional but not pretty

Thanks again for everything you were a huge help chpthril!!

[sarah.shepherd]

Hey chpthril - any reason why one house battery wouldn't be enough to support the kicker 450.2 and 700.5? We have a dual battery set up with a perko and have the amps wired directly to the "house" battery. Last weekend we had (what appeared to be) the amps shutting down due to lack of power while the boat was running and the perko was on both.

We know that it is possible that it's time for new batteries as it has been 3 summers now but prior to the swapping of the alpine amp for the kicker 700.5 we didn't have any power problems.

-Thanks!

[chpthril]

Hey chpthril - any reason why one house battery wouldn't be enough to support the kicker 450.2 and 700.5? We have a dual battery set up with a perko and have the amps wired directly to the "house" battery. Last weekend we had (what appeared to be) the amps shutting down due to lack of power while the boat was running and the perko was on both.

We know that it is possible that it's time for new batteries as it has been 3 summers now but prior to the swapping of the alpine amp for the kicker 700.5 we didn't have any power problems.

-Thanks!

Yes. Those two amps together have the capacity to draw more current then what the engines alternator is capable of putting out.

[sarah.shepherd]

Yes. Those two amps together have the capacity to draw more current then what the engines alternator is capable of putting out.

So what is your suggestion for the simplest way to fix this problem?

[chpthril]

So what is your suggestion for the simplest way to fix this problem?

My gut feels that the alternator is a 55A or 60A amp. I would confirm this, then look into upgrading to something in the 90 - 120A range. Also, its important to know that the house battery is fully charged after each trip out. This improves the life span of the battery as well as insures the longest play time. An on-board charger may also be needed.