Advice with amp wiring kit

[DanZ]

This is going to be a long one so bare with me...

Hi all, I just purchased a Lanzar Dual amp wiring kit and it states that it comes with 17ft of 0AWG power wire, 3ft of 0AWG ground wire, 8ft of 4AWG power wire and 8ft of 4AWG ground wire...however...upon opening the kit it has the 0AWG stuff but instead of the 4AWG wires they are 8AWG!
It also states that it comes with:

1 in 4AWG and 4 out 8AWG grounding distribution block

1 in 0AWG and 2 out 4AWG ANL fuse block with 2 chrome 80AMP ANL fuses

But the distribution block is 1 in 0AWG and 2 out 4AWG or 3 out 8AWG!
Also the fuse block is 1 in 0AWG and 2 out 8AWG!!! (Surely this isn't right?)

The kit comes with a diagram to show you how to wire your system up and it shows 0AWG going into the fuse block and two 8AWG wires coming out of it (going to each amp obviously) but then it shows the grounding block with two 8AWG wires in and one 4AWG wire coming out, this can't be right can it???

I need someone clued up on audio to give me some advice on what to do here!!! Sorry for the long post.

DanZ

 

[Paul R]

You need think cables to travel long distance, its all to do with resistance and resistance increases with distance...hence to run the length of the car! but once its in the boot you will be able to run quite small cable as its only over a short distance...

You will find you amps will only probably take 8gauge anyway! 4 at the most! i dont know an amp which takes 0gauge straight into it!

Paul R

 

[Tom]

Splitting 0 guage down to 2 8 guages is just a bit silly.

reaches for IASCA rulebook

According to the IASCA book (which has a very useful table of cable guage vs length vs max safe current) 0 guage is good for about 300A over 17ft and 8 guage should not be used over 75A.

So running 80A from the dizzy block to the amps is not outside the realms of reality. 4 guage is all very good IF your amp can take 4 guage.

Do you know what wire your amps will take? Also what fuse did they supply to go at the battery end of the 0 guage?

 

[DanZ]

One of the amps will take 4awg the other will only take 8awg. Supposedly its a 200AMP ANL fuse at the battery end (havent opened it up to have a look). Why would lanzar make a fuse block that splits from 0awg down to 8awg? I'm well confused

 

[Paul R]

Because if you was running 3 amps at 60amp each you will have enough split cable to power them.... image you had three amps,1 front, 1rear and one sub....makes sense to me!

Paul R

 

[Tom]

Not much use having 2x 4 guage if one amp will only take 8 guage.

What are the fuse ratings on the amps?

 

[DanZ]

I see what ur saying Paul that makes sense. I'm going to use the 3rd 8awg hole in the dizzy block to ground the capacitor but should I use 0awg coming out to ground the whole set up?
The fuse rating on the 4awg amp is 2x25A and I'm not sure about the other amp, it's a Vibe CBR12 Active so it's a built in amp (monoblock 1 i think), 300W RMS.

 

[Tom]

Use the 8 guage, it will be fine. 50A with 4 guage is chronic overkill

Try and keep the 8 guage as short as poss though, don't have 5ft runs of it

Run the 0 guage earth to a VERY solid point on the chassis. Sand down to bare metal and bolt it down with a dab of copper grease to stop rust.

 

[Paul R]

just to make sure ... thats grease AFTER you have bolted it down is that right tom?

Paul R

 

[Tom]

A light smear before helps, copper grease is conductive.

 

[DanZ]

Thanx guys, that's made me feel a whole lot better about this!
It comes with 0awg black chrome grounding terminals so I'll just use them.
One last thing, do you think the 200A ANL fuse at the battery is a bit large?! Should I get a smaller one?

 

[Paul R]

i would say just use that one... as long as it keeps the wire safe.. the dizy bloke will protect the 8gauge and the amp has its own fuse so you are safe!

Paul R

 

[Tom]

What paul said

 

[DanZ]

OK, sorry to be a pain...Tom's book says 8awg shouldn't be used over 75A, should I get a couple of 75A fuses to protect the 8awg or will the two 80A fuses be cool? THANX

 

[Paul R]

the cable will probably take more then 80 anyway, they have to goo ott for safty reasons, i have seen mates use speaker cable on amps and it work ok! you will be fine with that fuse!

Paul R

 

[Tom]

80A would be just fine. The IASCA ratings are very conservative and it gives the rating of 75A over 9ft of cable. Over 2ft you could safely get away with 100+A.

 

[DanZ]

Cheers guys, u've been a real help, much appreciated.

DanZ

I'll post pics up when its all in, mostly chrome