Can I get away with 4 gauge power?

[bkstroop]

For a 10 ft run to the distro block.

Kicker 700.5 and a kicker 450.2.

I've seen some charts that say yes.....and some that say no.

[hyphen79]

I would spend the extra coin and do a 0 gauge run, but that's just me.

[laserfish]

Bigger is always better. Ask Chpthril, he can tell you.

[Robbie Mac.]

For a 10 ft run to the distro block.

Kicker 700.5 and a kicker 450.2.

I've seen some charts that say yes.....and some that say no.

I would run two sets of 4 gauge power and ground cables, a set for each amp and fuse them individually at the aux battery. I (IMO) don't like the use of distribution blocks in a boat.
I have two Kicker Amplifiers in our RZR, and they do draw a fair amount of current.

[philwsailz]

For a 10 ft run to the distro block.

Kicker 700.5 and a kicker 450.2.

I've seen some charts that say yes.....and some that say no.

The ZX700.5 wants 4 ga for itself, as does the ZX450.2, per the owners manuals.

Even for the short run you have to consider the total circuit length, which is actually more like 20 feet. Don't believe car stereo wiring charts, as they assume vehicle chassis for ground, FYI.

An anecdotal story: One boat builder did a lot of his own testing and concluded he could use smaller wire than we recommended. The same builder had a chronic problem with amps getting too hot. He complained and complained, but finally one day just prior to asking me to come to the plant to sort it out he thought he better test my wiring recommendations to "prove me wrong". He went and installed the recommended wiring. The overheating went away.

For your installation, either run two dedicated #4 runs from each amp to the battery, or use 1/0 to distribution blocks for both positive and ground wiring.

Your amps and your ears will appreciate it.

Phil
Kicker

[chpthril]

1/0ga trunk line all day long with those two amps. Then from the Distribution blocks, use 4ga to each amp. For circuit protection, I prefer to use a marine-rated manual-reset circuit breaker over the typical automotive amp install kit fuse holder. Especially on a boat like a Tige where the batteries are often located in the bilge area. Just my

[bkstroop]

K thanks everyone.

[bkstroop]

How do you guys usually run your grounds back to the battery? In my case...two independent or join them up for a 1/0 run? If you join them how do you do it?

Thanks

[chpthril]

How do you guys usually run your grounds back to the battery? In my case...two independent or join them up for a 1/0 run? If you join them how do you do it?

Thanks

The ground will run right along with the POS and both with terminate at the battery. For a multi-amp install, like you are doing, you will need 20Ft of 1/0ga, 10ft for the POS and 10Ft for the GND. The will be your trunk line that will run from the battery to the amp install area. From there, the 1/0 connects to a pair of distrobution block. Out of those, you will run a POS and GND of 4ga to each each amp. You need about 12ft of 4ga, 3 ft for each POS and GND for each amp.

I carry cabling in two different colors, mainly for esthetics, but it makes it easier to keep track of the POS and NEG once the cable is fished through the boat. If you use a single color, you can just make both ends of one cable to keep it straight.