power cable

[Blazer69]

what size power cable for 1 12" alumapro running about 600 watts? i think my sub is pulling to much power gonna upgrade cable...also been told to run power cable to alt instead of battery? i'm leary about that any input?

[loops120]

i would never run it to your alt just run a 4 gage power wire from your battery to your amp and about 4-8 inches from your battery put in one of those fuese conectors the closer to the baterry the safer and for your ground dont have it any longer then a foot for best current transfer and performance you could run a 8 gage wire its good up to 660 or 640 watts i belive. but 4 gage is mint and maybe look into a cap if you still have draning problems i know alot about audio stuff so just let me know if you need more help

[T Man]

run it to the battery. Running it to the alt makes it succetpable to any kind of voltage surges etc. The battery acts as sort of a filter for that

[Mikz86TA]

T-Man is right. The battery is the best filter of the dirty voltage from the alternator. The alt creates AC volts and converts it to DC volts. The battery helps filter the result from the alt. If youve ever experienced killing (deep cycleing) a battery a few times and had an audio system, you may have developed a noise or whine. When the battery was deep cycled you essentally killed some of the cells in it. And thus prevented it from being efficient and filtering out those alternator ripples. Change the battery and eliminate the noise. Happens all the time. If you went directly to the alt you eliminate your filter. You can upgrade the alt to batt cable to a 4ga. As far as the size needed for the amp, use the biggest allowable. The side terminal on the amp will accept 10ga 8ga or 4ga commonly. Fuse within 18inches of the battery. Use a fuse that reflects the total current draw of your amp/amps. If that cable is powering one amp, look to see how much current draw that amp is capable of. The fuse or fuses on the side of it will give you that figure. (if its 1 60A fuse then use a 60A at the battery / if its 2 40A fuses than you have 80A total and use an 80A at the battery). The one at the battery is there to protect the wire in case of a dead short. Also will protect your electrical system from feedback of a short should the amp malfunction. Use the same size ground as well. Post your amp model # if you need me to figure out what you need. Ill help however I can. Good luck =)

[Blazer69]

i will post model numbers tomorrow

[baggedandcaddied]

i am going to add some insight i have picked up in the compeition world, it will NOT hurt your performance to run the ground from the battery in the front to the amp. We run multiple grounds from the front battery to the back batteries, or amp in your case.

[Blazer69]

i'm gonna just upgrade all the cable and run it the same way it's run now...does the gague wire used to wire up the capacitor matter as well? pretty sure i have 10 gauge all around...i have a 1 farad cap which doesn't seem to help all that much

[Mikz86TA]

I got a 1Farad cap too. Doesnt do much. It was a freebie I had lying around, and I had found a pimp spot for it. Hidden. Got that model yet? =)

[White-V-6-S-Ten]

Yea run a 4 guage maybe 1 or 0 depeiding on what you have planned.
I have a 4 guage and have 3 amps running off it. I am sure they may be a lil under powered but it sounds great loud, clean and tight. just how i like it!
I had a hell of a time finding a place to get the wire into the cab so i ended up taking it to a shop and they got it in for 20 bucks!
it came in on the drivers side near my feet.
Dont hook it up to the alt! right to the battery is the place for it.
Make sure you get some sand paper and get a good proper ground!
I actually used the mounts for the spare for my grounds so i didnt have to drill holes in the cab, no possibility of rain or rust happening in the future!
good luck!

[White-V-6-S-Ten]

OH yea i didnt read everything! I have my 4 guage wire going to a distribution block and have 8 guage wire going to the amps and 8 guage going for the grounds!

[Blazer69]

here it is...i have a mtx thunder 421-d amp 8 gauge wire....alumapro alchemy series 12" subwoofer....also have a mtx thunder 342 amp..took it out though cuz the rca plug is loose and i need to retighten/replace it

[Mikz86TA]

First : are you running both amps? I assume the 421D is sub and the 342 is the mids/highs. Second : do you have 2 seperate power cables for each amp? From what I see on the amp, it has 2 yellow 20Amp fuses on the side meaning its capable of drawing up to 40A of current. Also it has large terminals for power and ground meaning it is 4Ga capable. That amp will run about 540W RMS true power with the vehicle running and voltage around 13.5V FYI. If you are running both amps, you can either run a single 2 or 1/0 GA wire from the Batt to a Dist Block. Then run the 4GA from the block to the 421D and the appropriate 4 or 8GA to the other amp. OR you can run a single 4GA to the 421D and a single 4 or 8GA to the other amp. Either way, this will ensure you are ONE: getting full power from the amp TWO: not starving it for power when it needs it and overheating it. Be sure to use a 4GA ground as well on the 421D, keep it short and chassis ground it cleaning paint off the metal. Also, try out the 'BIG 3' to help out your entire electrical system.

[Blazer69]

no just one...the 421-d is on it now i used to have the 342 but like i said one rca loosened up