Wieber

Hey guys!!
Pretty stoked to be part of this forum!

First off...
I have a question about my setup.

I have two amps that draw roughly 45A a piece bringing it up to 90A total.

Now, I realized the other day that I only have a 60A fuse at the battery, but I've had the system going full out at times and the fuse hasn't popped yet.

I have a slight lights-dimming problem as well, even after installing an alternator that can push up to 170A.
Not sure if that has anything to do with it..

But I'd appreciate any input.
Thanks!

Denonite

iTrader: (1)

That's typical for most systems playing music. They will rarely draw full power with music. Continuos tones, burps etc..will use much more power. Also, most fuses have to have the current exceed it's rating or at it's rating for a certain amount of time before they blow...which doesn't happen too often with dynamic music signals unless the fuse is too small. By the way the fuse is there to protect the wire, and can be rated at the wire's rating by the battery...you should fuse your amps at the distribution point to whatever they're rated at (in this case 45 amps each).

Wieber

Oh okay I see.

So would you recommend using a 90A fuse at the battery and then two 45A fuses at the distro?

Denonite

iTrader: (1)

No, not if you don't need it. Obviously you're listening to your system at high enough levels and haven't blown the 60 amp, so unless you want to listen at max power all the time and find you're blowing the fuse, then you can consider upping the value. What size power wire do you have from the battery? 4 awg can use up to 120-130 amp fuse, 0 awg up to 320-330 amp.

Wieber

It's a 4 AWG cable from the battery.

So then there is no possibility of choking the system with a smaller value fuse?

I think I'm finally understanding this.

nghtrdr

4ga has a fuse rating of 125amps so u should use a fuse in that general size but not over and you are good to go.
as stated the fuse is to protect the wire not the devices connected to it. u would fuse for devices at the distro block or the device has its own fuse built in

Dan

Wieber

Ahh okay I see.
Thanks for the replies guys!

So then is there anything I can do about the dimming of the lights?
If it's not the fuse, what could it be?

I did a Big 3 upgrade and got the alternator.
I thought for sure it could be the fuse, but I guess not.

nghtrdr

did u test ur system to see what its using and what the capabilities are?
what size alt did u get and what can it do? what it does at idle is the most important since our vehicles spend most of their time at idle rpms.
it could be as simple as the batt is dying and starting to show.
if ur in toronto i have a true rms clamp tester if u dont have the ability to test
testing with a meter is the best way to know whats going on in the system and where the weak link is.
your alt may put out 170 cold at full rpm but what can it do at idle?
mine does 210amps at idle all day 298amps full tilt. im running about 3500watts on two odyssey 1500 batts. my volts never drop more than 2 volts when the bass hits really hard.
im not sying this is what u need in order to stop ur dimming. my system is over built but thats just the way i am.
most lilky u have a failing batt if ur alt output is ok

gl
Dan

IT Hz

iTrader: (1)

What year and make of vehicle is this system in?

Wieber

Thanks so much for the in depth reply nghtrdr.

When you say test the systems capabilities, what exactly do you mean?

My alternator does 170A at 1800 RPM, and 70 at idle.
Automatic Integra's tend to run higher RPM's with their 4-speed tranny.
So I'm RARELY dipping down below 1000 RPM.
It runs at 2800 RPM with normal driving.

Could the battery really be having that big of an effect? I thought the alternator ran all the electrical while driving?

I'm curious because today I noticed while driving at night that when I revved the engine the lights got brighter, and then died down after the engine dropped its RPM again.
That's a battery issue, right?


This vehicle is a 1996 Acura Integra Special Edition 3-dr.


Thanks tons guys.