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Lowkeyloki
New User
Oct 14, 2016, 7:31 AM
Post #1 of 5
(3296 views)
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Amp power wire melting?
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I recently installed a 2400 Watt, 4 channel x 450 RMS, bridged at 900 W RMS at 4 ohm amp to go with my 300-1300 w pioneer sub with a 4 ohm capacity. Everything worked fine for the several months, but in recent weeks things have gone wrong. The first fuse I installed was a 50 amp fuse and it worked fine, never blew, but I recently noticed that the holder was completely melted. At this time my sub wasn't getting power so I went ahead and got a new fuse. This fuse has worked fine for me, but the sub sometimes lost powet or wouldn't start. I went to check it out under the hood and found that the amp power wire from the postive battery output had completely broken off of its connector. The wires were still crimped inside the connector, but we're blackened and brittle. I can only assume that the fuse holder melying and this are caused by the same thing. I talked to one of my friends and he believes that I am running too many amps for amplifier. I'm wondering if its not because i am using 8 gauge wire instead of 4 gauge. Which would cause this? And if it's the amperage how would I fix it?
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 14, 2016, 8:50 AM
Post #2 of 5
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Re: Amp power wire melting?
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Yes, the car wiring wasn't designed for that kind of load. I'm surprised that is all you are burning out.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 14, 2016, 8:54 AM
Post #3 of 5
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Re: Amp power wire melting?
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How many feet of power wire are you using? 4 gauge wire and if it is over 13 feet you should use 2 gauge. Your fuse holder and connections also have to be sized accordingly to handle the amperage. The reason it is burning stuff is because the amount of current being used by your amp is causing the under sized wiring and connections to become hot and melt. Once the connections get hot and start melting, that creates more resistance to the point the amp cannot function correctly. If you have an amp clamp, measure the peak current the amp is using.
It is also important to be sure you have the same size ground. If your grounding your amp through the frame of the vehicle, the body ground wire has to be the same size or bigger to handle the amp and the vehicle's electronics that use that ground.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Oct 14, 2016, 9:06 AM)
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Lowkeyloki
New User
Oct 14, 2016, 9:42 PM
Post #4 of 5
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Re: Amp power wire melting?
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Its in a small SUV, so right around 12-13. So I'll should go down to 4 gauge or 2 gauge. I don't have an amp clamp, but could I use a multimeter to get a rough estimate of what it uses?
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 15, 2016, 10:12 AM
Post #5 of 5
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Re: Amp power wire melting?
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If you don't mind spending the money on 2 gauge, that's more than enough. It is really important that your connections and terminals are sized in accordance with the 2 or 4 gauge. The typical volt meter in amp mode probably won't be able to handle the amount of current that is operating your amp. Most volt meters have a 10 amp fuse to protect the meter if too much current is running through it. If you don't have an inductive ammeter, you could put a current shunt inline and then measure the voltage drop and convert that to the amount of current that is flowing in circuit also. You can buy current shunts cheap and even install analog or digital amp gauges that would look cool on your system.
It would be important to know how much peak current your system uses because if it uses a larger amount of current than the alternator can handle, you might run into electrical problems with light dimming, dead batteries, or even alternator failure from being overloaded. Installing more current sucking devices on a charging system that was rated and designed to provide power to the electrical devices that came with the vehicle from the factory can cause issues and you have to be aware of that. If you add more devices, you may have to upgrade or modify the charging system to keep up and to prevent overloads or undercharging conditions.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Oct 15, 2016, 10:30 AM)
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