Stereo install woes

[jleger98]

Get to your owner's manual, and determine which wire is the remote turn on lead; really, you should have one and it is probably blue.

Then the one I'm thinking of is correct. Its blue with a white stripe.
Is there any issue with the HU switch wearing out? I think I read that could happen.

That is the wire which should be connected to the tiny lug between the power and ground connections on the amplifiers.
I am going to try to post a pic from the 650.4 owner's manual:

Where did you find that? as mine were factory refurbs they didn't come with a manual.

[philwsailz]

All this certainly could explain the issue.

Yeah, maybe so, the voltage is showing up, so the amps are not turning off, but you are severly curent limited in the relay.


As for the question re: buss bar vus. distribution block: I do not know the answer totally for sure, not without being able to take a look athe buss bar and it's capabilities, when compared with a distribution block.

The nice thing about distribution blocks is that when properly assembled and utilized, most are pretty insulated from short circuit possibilities; a lot of buss bars I have been around are not. that is fine really for the ground side, but definitely a no-no on the power side, (sorry Steven, you can't convince me otherwise).

How far is the battery from the amps? Wait, I remember, the batteries on a Tige are to port in the engine comnpartment. Hmmm... The wing nut at the battery is attached to a pretty good distribution lug; it is called the battery post. If you insist on using wire from your home supply center, it might be easier to find 4AWG than 0AWG there too... Despite the fact that the stuff you are buying there is not really what you ought to be using... If you wanted to completely remove the distribution block from the equation, just use option 1 above and pull unique power and gronds for both amplifiers back to the battery, each with its own fuse.

[philwsailz]

Where did you find that? as mine were factory refurbs they didn't come with a manual.

www.kicker.com

There is a good owner's manual section there:
go to SUPPORT
then TECHNICAL SUPPORT
then MANUALS
Pick your amp series, and then the language you prefer to read the manual in, then the specific amp you are curious about It will open as a .PDF file.

[philwsailz]

Then the one I'm thinking of is correct. Its blue with a white stripe.
Is there any issue with the HU switch wearing out? I think I read that could happen.

Not really; that is the correct way to do it, regardless...

[jleger98]

How far is the battery from the amps?

On my boat, the batteries are only about 4 or 5 feet from the amps on the port side in the storage compartment.

As far as where I get the wire, Lowes is close, and they have a huge variety. If its rubber coated, stranded, and big enough, I'm not sure its a big deal.

[philwsailz]

On my boat, the batteries are only about 4 or 5 feet from the amps on the port side in the storage compartment.

As far as where I get the wire, Lowes is close, and they have a huge variety. If its rubber coated, stranded, and big enough, I'm not sure its a big deal.

For that short a run, pull wire for each amp separate; less connections that way...


I hope we figured this one out!!!!!!

If not, you know how to get in touch...

[akdoc]

Wow, this is a long post. I will also say to not run anything to your ACC switch, you are going to get a ton of interference once you get the boat running. I made the mistake of doing that and had to rewire the amps. Use the remote turn on from the head unit. Also, as suggested somewhere in this post ground your head unit back to the battery, that is another source of interference. Good luck.

[jleger98]

Actually the 4g wire I have that I planned all along to use from the batt is actually from a pair of jumper cables that I found on sale. Very weatherproof, stranded cable. That should work nicely.

[spharis]

Looks like you are close to solving it, but I will interject a couple of points.

1. The West Marine relay you are using has a 30A rating on each circuit.
2. Buss-bars suck, go to the battery or add a distribution point. Even a lug would be better.
3. Never use the remote antenna (usually blue w/stripe) if you have a dedicated turn-on as it more than likely will turn off when you put a cd in.
4. Remote turn-on leads (usually blue, no stripe) are very low amperage. If driving more than 2 turn on circuits, use a relay.
5. Try to be sure if you have to cross your signal leads with power leads, you do so at 90's. This will prevent most interference.
6. On a run of 4-6 feet, you could ue 8AWG and be fine. 8AWG can carry 200A safely (~380MAX) at 5ft.
7. Use as short of wire as possible. Using 4AWG at a short run will cause more interference than using 8AWG for a similar length. The larger the cable, more resistance there is, and the more apt to absorb interference as well.
7. Run your battery turn on and main power lead on seperate wire entirely if possible. I have had issues with ground loop using the same wire.

[philwsailz]

Also, as suggested somewhere in this post ground your head unit back to the battery, that is another source of interference. Good luck.

Good suggestion, but I have a slightly better one. Ground the head unit literally right at the ground connection of the amp.

I know it makes no sense, as we can all seem to understand that ground is ground, and that it should not matter, as it is all connected/bonded together.

BUT with another marine manufacturer I work with, we have been fighting popping issues when accessory items were turned on and off. Grounding the head unit at the amp takes advantage of the huge power supply filtering that exists just inside the amp, and this solution provided the quietest isolation of the head unit's power from the rest of the boat's electrical system.

I know, it sounds goofy, but I would suggest that if anyone else has popping from courtesy lights, bilge pump / ballast pump switches, try it. It should provide a quieter system.

Any of you all, again, I know it sounds goofy, but before trying to justify or argue "ground is ground is ground" try it. I think more folks will be surprised than not.

[jleger98]

5. Try to be sure if you have to cross your signal leads with power leads, you do so at 90's. This will prevent most interference.

What if they run parallel to each other?

[chpthril]

What if they run parallel to each other?

"noise" will run in if bundled/run together.

[spharis]

You will pick up noise. It is a paramagnetic effect. All electrical current gives off a field or interference as current travels through it. You want to minimize the amount of interference in the line. Two things will help, keeping the point of x-over as small as possible, and making the x-over point so that a maximum amount of cancellation can occur. By hitting it at a 90, the x-over point is very small, and the possibility of cancellation is at its greatest.

[dogbert]

Some more suggestions:

1. Get a noise filter between your head unit and your amps, it will eliminate popping and whining (from your ignition).

2. Keep in mind that your ACC switch is also wired to the ignition and therefore will shut off while you're starting your boat. Again, the noise filter will fix any interference from this source.

3. You can't go wrong with heavier guage wire for power and ground. Better safe than sorry. Also, if you get braided wire, you get better shielding (yes, it affects power/ground and not just speaker wires).

[spharis]

Any of you all, again, I know it sounds goofy, but before trying to justify or argue "ground is ground is ground" try it.

Not in a boat!! Grounding at the amp makes perfect sense.