Mike04Civic

iTrader: (1)

So before i had a little system going - nothing to extreme or anything. 350watt power amp - and 2, 300 watt (115rms) 12" subs.

but then I wanted something that would hit a bit harder.
So now I have a 580watt power amp and a 1012watt single 10" sub.
I just used my old wiring set-up, and all seemed ok. Recently however, I keep blowing the fuse between the power-amp and battery (on the power (+) cable) Right now its just an 8 gauge wire. Would the fuse repeatedly blowing be an indication that i need a bigger power cable?

oh, also - all my lights dim when my subwoofer is hitting pretty hard. a capacitor would help with that, no?

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

yes, buy the capacitor. I dunno why your fuse keeps blowing though- electrical stuff isnt my forte. GL

hwt101

iTrader: (12)

something is probably grounding out, double check ALL your systems wires, or your amp could be fried, and yes you need bigger wires with that amp, also a cap is a band aid but it will help.

4Saris

Yes, you need bigger wires, but I don't think that is the reason for your blowing of fuses. I too think that you have a grounding issue, but if you go with bigger wire, it should solve that problem anyhow.

From my experience, Caps suck. They are just hiding the fact that you need a bigger alternator.

hwt101

iTrader: (12)

(Alterstart Systems Inc - ) Alterstart Dallas Texas

thefever

iTrader: (1)

also had this problem. check your grounds.

Mike04Civic

iTrader: (1)

thanks guys - i may look into a new alternator.
ya'll have answered my question - but just incase anyone mis-understands----it doesnt immidietly blow. I can have the system going for a good 15-20 minutes before it finally pops. So i dont think its the poweramp itself, for whoever it was that suggested that.

hwt101

iTrader: (12)

what size fuse are you using?

christmaspie

Upgrade power wire to 4 AWG (power and ground) and fuse size to the same size (or just smaller) than the one on the amplifier. Get a cap. Save up for an alt.

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

Why not take it to the guys you bought the stuff from and ask them, or just take it to your local shop and let them know whats going on, they'll be more then glad to tell you whats wrong because then they can sell you the stuff to fix it.

Mike04Civic

iTrader: (1)

25....amp? fuse.
I'd take it to where I bought it, but I dont like Best Buy installers because they over-charge you. I installed everything myself. and thus-far has been the only "issue". As for the power-amp fuses, theres 3. ones a 40, ones a 25 i think, but i dont remember what the other one is.

Its kind of odd today though. It hasnt given me any problems. I even turned the bitch almost all the way up to try and blow it and it didnt.

yeah - ill be upgrading the power/ground cables asap....oh and also getting a capacitor.

4Saris

It should be 35 or 40 for that big of an amp.

christmaspie

Does your amplifier have three different value fuses?? What brand/model amp?

hwt101

iTrader: (12)

now this is kind of funny,, your getting free help from a bestbuy intstaller.

christmaspie

Somewhat ironic I guess. I'm just happy to be here.

4Saris

ChristmasPie is pretty knowledgeable. I consider myself someone who knows about this stuff, but he is on another level. Don't knock him too hard, he has helped a lot of us.

whilechukwuzout

Hey dont knock on the BBY mobile install, you do yo damn thang xmas pie.

Btw, go with 10 gage wire, 40 amp fuse, and a 1 farad capacitor. Unfortunately with these things, you do get what you pay for. Wire is not just wire, and a cap is not just a cap. Also, if you keep blowing fuses then stop, till you know what to fix. I woud rather see you go a few days without bass, then have your car bust into flames because of something dumb.

Start with a volt meter at the amp and work your way back toward the battery. Re route the power wire if you need to. Dont buy a new alternator for your sound system. That is stupid, and on a civic it will kill your mileage.

A second battery might do the trick. look for a thing called battcap. I don know if theyr still in business but my friend used to have one and he alwasy had good things to say about it

Mike04Civic

iTrader: (1)

yeah - i looked at it to double check the #'s - and i forgot again, but its like,....20|2|2. Its the Dual 580watt one. Oh, and I'm not knocking you man - just sayin that for what they charge you (here atleast) i could do it myself twice.

and I only blew 2 fuses. I'm on my third, but have been driving around all day with no issues - even with it blastin. dunno what i did...if anything.

christmaspie

Yeah 8AWG with 40A fuse will probably be just fine.

urwhat

iTrader: (1)

you do not need a capacitor..... run a larger power wire and you will be fine. do not use the cheap fake 4ga kits either.. those things are about the size of speaker wire.

what is the fuse rating on the amplifier? say if its just one 30A fuse, then you would match up the fuse on the front.. or if its two 15A fuses. you would add them together to get 30A which is the size you should put up front. if there is no fuse on the amp, see what the recommended spec is in the manual/manufacturer website. does your power wire get warm/hot at all?

check your ground first... maybe it just "fell off" be sure its on good solid metal directly to chassis with the paint sanded off around the hole. high resistance is the same thing that happens when you use a small power wire to run your setup.

i have never had issues running over 1000-1500w rms in my car using the appropriate sized power cable + good grounds. i had ZERO dimming. its just that now im eating into close to the 3kw mark.... and now im getting minor dimming after voltage drains down for a little bit under high load.

virtueoftresx

If your running good now, then don't worry about it. If the problem reoccurs you might switch up your cables, probably finding the problem in doing so, but I wouldn't put a cap on when your pushing 580 watts. Just me tho.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

8ga wire can handle a max of 73 amps. 4 ga will do 135 amps.

American Wire Gauge table and AWG Electrical Current Load Limits

by basic electrical laws, Power=V*I
580w=12v * I
I=48.333 amp

so theoretically, your amp is capable of pulling almost 50 amps. is it a wonder you keep blowing 25 amp fuses? the 8ga wire you have is enough, but upgrading to 4ga power and ground wouldn't hurt. do the "big 3" upgrade if you haven't already. save up for a bigger alternator rather than getting the cap as a band-aid first.

lil_brwn_guy

Here is another idea, now brace your self this is gonna be long but very informative. First off Chris you are on the right track but think outside the box. IF you are running an amp with this much power and you hit a huge bass not and "pow" out goes the fuse and your light dimm, your amp is not level matched. How did you adjust the gain on the amp, gain is not volume and is a direct relation between the input voltage of your headunit's output voltage. If you turn your volume up and it hitting hard at 1/4 volume its not set up right. Second, what is your x-over set at and is it variable or fixed control, if these are not set right you can put all the alternators you want and you will still blow fuses, upgrade all your factory powers and ground to make a more current compiant passage. Its a pain in the rear to diagnose a current issue but 99% of the time gain, x-overs are usually at fault. If you are gonna uprgade to 4AWG wire usa an ANL or Wafer fuse and holder they will limit the least amount of voltage to the amp and they can carry the hightest amount of amp for a fuse (over 250A) if needed but 60A you should be fine. I hope this helps