amp wiring.. suggestions?
07-01-2005, 06:45 AM
#1
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hey guys, i'm not going to do this right now.. but when my system goes back in i am going to need some wire that will allow me to hook up 2 amps. right now i have a Kenwood eXcelon X810D (~800RMS @ 2ohm) running off of 4ga wire. i'm using a 1.2f cap as well.
i have an old Jensen (yes a jensen lol) under my bed, it's 75x2 RMS, i'd like to add this into my system for my mids/tweets. i know it's a jensen but it should put more power to my components than my head unit will.
so anyway, what i am wondering is.. how would i go about wiring this? my X810D will need at least 4ga, and i'd say probably 8ga to the jensen should be fine? so either way, what would i use for power wire for this, between the battery and the distro block? and also can you get a distro block that will run 4ga to one amp and 8ga to another, or would i have to use 4ga for both amps? 1 amp setups are so easy, i love them but i never did a 2 amp setup before. i love my Kenwood amp it's quite solid (for a Kenwood) but i'd like a bit more high-end in the front. any suggestions greatly appreciated!
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Kev-
i have an old Jensen (yes a jensen lol) under my bed, it's 75x2 RMS, i'd like to add this into my system for my mids/tweets. i know it's a jensen but it should put more power to my components than my head unit will.
so anyway, what i am wondering is.. how would i go about wiring this? my X810D will need at least 4ga, and i'd say probably 8ga to the jensen should be fine? so either way, what would i use for power wire for this, between the battery and the distro block? and also can you get a distro block that will run 4ga to one amp and 8ga to another, or would i have to use 4ga for both amps? 1 amp setups are so easy, i love them but i never did a 2 amp setup before. i love my Kenwood amp it's quite solid (for a Kenwood) but i'd like a bit more high-end in the front. any suggestions greatly appreciated!
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Kev-
07-01-2005, 07:59 PM
#2
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 77
you definately can get distro blocks with different gauge outputs, although i don't think there is much harm in putting 8g wire into a 4g hole, it's going the other way that starts causing real problems.
i actually run the same kenwood amp, along with a Directed 4 channel amp. i'm running 1/0g to the block, and 4 to each amp. the 4 to the directed is overkill, but i've just been stumbling across 30 dollar 4g install kits like no tomorrow lately so why not? also, i only needed about 5 ft of wire to reach the distro(rear engine, amps in trunk, 10-12ft total length maybe?) so i went 1/0g from somebody's leftovers for cheap. i would say 2g would be fine for you no problem. i think that kenwood pulls around 60amps? or 90, been a while since i got to play with mine, and i can't imagine the jensen pulling more than 20. 2g will handle over 200amps/1700+watts at about 15ft, so unless you are running really long lengths of wire you should be fine with 2 and be plenty safe. to be honest, you could "probably" get away with 4g if you aren't pushing it too hard. 2g is what i would do though
i actually run the same kenwood amp, along with a Directed 4 channel amp. i'm running 1/0g to the block, and 4 to each amp. the 4 to the directed is overkill, but i've just been stumbling across 30 dollar 4g install kits like no tomorrow lately so why not? also, i only needed about 5 ft of wire to reach the distro(rear engine, amps in trunk, 10-12ft total length maybe?) so i went 1/0g from somebody's leftovers for cheap. i would say 2g would be fine for you no problem. i think that kenwood pulls around 60amps? or 90, been a while since i got to play with mine, and i can't imagine the jensen pulling more than 20. 2g will handle over 200amps/1700+watts at about 15ft, so unless you are running really long lengths of wire you should be fine with 2 and be plenty safe. to be honest, you could "probably" get away with 4g if you aren't pushing it too hard. 2g is what i would do though
07-02-2005, 12:51 PM
#4
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cool. yeah i guess 2g should be fine. i'm running the kenwood at 2ohms, pushing ~800RMS.. i wanna keep the 4g on that, so yeah i guess 2g to the distro then 4g to the kenwood and 8ga to the jensen should suffice eh? or with the 2g should i say 4ga to each? thanks for the replies!
07-02-2005, 02:56 PM
#6
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cool. but would that underpower my kenwood? it's still 4ga wire i know, but wouldnt the fact that i'm splitting the 4ga wire mess with the voltage going to my amp? or is it ok? that suggestion would be awesome and save me alot of work, but would i lose power/spl by splitting the 4ga like that?
thanks! sounds like a good plan so far though
thanks! sounds like a good plan so far though
07-02-2005, 03:23 PM
#7
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do you have a voltmeter at all, try your system as it is right now, and see what kind of voltage drops, if any, you get at the amp. if you notice nothing, you can probably get away with leaving the 4g to the distro block. if you are already noticing a drop, i would upgrade because that 4g is then only the minimum for that kenwood alone.
also, if you do have to upgrade to 2g, you might as well salvage your old 4g and use it on the jensen as well instead of buying new 8g. there is NO advantage to running 4g to the jensen, but it won't hurt any either. it's kinda like buying a race car to drive around a parking lot, you don't NEED a powerful car to go 20km/h, but it doesn't hurt the car to only go 20 either. you'd just be wasting money IF you were buying new. since you already have excess 4g(if you upgrade) then just use it.
i've always been the kind of person that would error on overkill, i'd do the 2g myself
also, if you do have to upgrade to 2g, you might as well salvage your old 4g and use it on the jensen as well instead of buying new 8g. there is NO advantage to running 4g to the jensen, but it won't hurt any either. it's kinda like buying a race car to drive around a parking lot, you don't NEED a powerful car to go 20km/h, but it doesn't hurt the car to only go 20 either. you'd just be wasting money IF you were buying new. since you already have excess 4g(if you upgrade) then just use it.
i've always been the kind of person that would error on overkill, i'd do the 2g myself
07-02-2005, 07:05 PM
#8
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yeah that sounds good. i dont have a volt meter. my cap has a digital reading on it, seems fine with just the kenwood running on the 4ga. but liek you say, since i already have 4ga wire i might as well go with the 2ga to the distro block, then split up my 4ga and run a length to each amp... probably the safest way since you put it that way. and also if i ended up upgrading and switching out the jensen for a better or more efficient amp, the 4ga wire is right there ready to go right.. yeah that sounds like a good idea for the long run man
