[smith21]

Ok, just wanted to make sure of this issue. Why is it that i keep frying fuses? I've been told my wiring is too small (8 gauge for a 700w amp) and i've also been told it's becuase my sub is trying to push my amp too much and it's not liking that. Which is it? I figured i'd ask only cuase you guys have either been there, or done it already.

[focusonthis88]

What fuse are you blowing?? Your amp fuses or your inline fuse??

If it's your amp, check if there's a short somewhere with your cables and maybe it's because your sub is trying to hard. And if it's your inline fuse, that's probably a short.

If you put bigger cable that mean more power...so it wouldn't really be a reason why your fuse would blow. Check your connect and cable.

[smith21]

i'm blowing the inline fuse..sorry i forgot to mention that...oh, and if this makes any difference, with my other sub, i never blew a fuse...ever

[focusonthis88]

smith21,Nov 20 2005, 09:10 PM Wrote:i'm blowing the inline fuse..sorry i forgot to mention that...oh, and if this makes any difference, with my other sub, i never blew a fuse...ever
[right][snapback]156890[/snapback][/right]

I would say get some bigger fuses.

[habmann]

Bigger fuse are one way to go, but only to a point. The fuse is there to protect the amp, I'd be more inclined to say that its cuz your trying to use an amp thats too small to power the sub. A sub will only take as much power as it needs, so if you have a little amp and its needs to try and pull 60 amps say to power the sub and you've got a 50 amp fuse the fuse blows. Now if you put a better amp in and it only takes 40 amps to power the sub you shouldn't be blowing fuses. Hope that helps.

What size fuse are you using now? I think the biggest i've ever run using 1 amp is a 50 amp fuse.

[smith21]

using a 30 amp fuse, but also using 8G wiring

[habmann]

I've got 8g wiring and i use a 50 amp fuse, do you have sub control on the deck you're using, maybe try turning it down.

Way back when i got my first pioneer subs and amp, if i turned the amp up and put on certain cd's i'd burn fuses like crazy.

But looking at your first post, 8g is prolly a lil too small for 700w.

Try this link
http://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp

It'll give you an idea of what size wire you should use.

Also for refernce RMS is max power times .707

[smith21]

hey hab..thanx, that was really informative

[MAlby7]

When I had my system I had a 125amp ANL fuse off of the battery and a fused distribution block to split power to my amps. The two guage wire supplied power to the distribution block which split into two 4 gauge wires to my amps. the JL 500/1 (500-700 watts RMS) had a 60 amp fuse and the JL 300/4 (300-400 watts RMS) had a 40 amp fuse. I never had any problems except for that one time were I grounded out the 2 gauge wire by accident which blew my 125amp fuse.

I think the 8 gauge wire is a little thin, but the reason you put a fuse on a wire is to protect the wire from starting a fire or frying your amps. s**t I had 8 gauge wire going from my mono amp to my sub.

I still have most of the wiring from my system if you want it. Let me know if your interested or if you have any more questions about systems in general.

[skifreak69]

Quick thing to check, what size is the fuse(s) in your amp? If the 1 (or combined total of multiples) fuses on your amp are bigger than your inline fuse, your amp could very well be tyring to draw too much power and blowing the inline fuse.

[smith21]

skifreak69,Nov 21 2005, 01:25 PM Wrote:Quick thing to check, what size is the fuse(s) in your amp?  If the 1 (or combined total of multiples) fuses on your amp are bigger than your inline fuse, your amp could very well be tyring to draw too much power and blowing the inline fuse.
[right][snapback]156985[/snapback][/right]

well it has 2 20amp fuses...and i'm using a 30amp inline fuse...if that's the case, how big of an inline fuse should i use?

[MAlby7]

hmm I would go bigger say 50 amps.

[skifreak69]

smith21,Nov 21 2005, 03:26 PM Wrote:

skifreak69,Nov 21 2005, 01:25 PM Wrote:Quick thing to check, what size is the fuse(s) in your amp?  If the 1 (or combined total of multiples) fuses on your amp are bigger than your inline fuse, your amp could very well be tyring to draw too much power and blowing the inline fuse.
[right][snapback]156985[/snapback][/right]

well it has 2 20amp fuses...and i'm using a 30amp inline fuse...if that's the case, how big of an inline fuse should i use?
[right][snapback]157050[/snapback][/right]

Well two 20 amps fuses would lead to a 40 amp draw, so you would want about that, so a 40 or 50 amp fuse should do the trick.

[euro_zx5]

If I were you i'd run 4awg. I used to hgave 8awg in my Ranger, but I only had one small amp and short wire runs. The Focus needs a little more. Just a thought. :)

[NOS2Go4Me]

If your amp seems sufficiently "protected" with 2 or more fuses... I'd say your inline fuse should exceed your amp's total fuse amperage. Just to echo what's already been said, that is :)

So yeah, 50-60 amps on the inline fuse is plenty. I think I'm running a 60-amp fuse right now on mine... and I believe it's 8-ga wire.

Then again my amp's overall output is suspect <_<

[DevilDriver]

smith21,Nov 20 2005, 05:42 PM Wrote:Ok, just wanted to make sure of this issue. Why is it that i keep frying fuses? I've been told my wiring is too small (8 gauge for a 700w amp) and i've also been told it's becuase my sub is trying to push my amp too much and it's not liking that. Which is it? I figured i'd ask only cuase you guys have either been there, or done it already.
[right][snapback]156884[/snapback][/right]

i know i'm late to the party, i just wanted to add my two cents if that's ok with you ;)

assuming 700 watts rms, you should be using 4 gauge. a few people here said that the inline fuse is there to protect your amplifer; it's not. it's there to protect the power wire. this is why the amp has it's own fuses. the size of the fuse should be greater than the amperage draw of the amplifier but less than the current carrying capacity of your power wire you're using.

700 watts is equivalent to ~55 amps so i personally would use a 60 amp fuse.

of course, you should upgrade your grounds to 4 gauge as well.

[Drivesthebeast]

Keep the 8 guage and move up to a 50 amp fuse, or Use a 50 amp, and move up to 4 guage. Or, you could always buy a more efficient amp. What kind of sub are you running again? Mine are DVC, so I have them wired to 2ohms stereo. I'm running my amp at 2ohms stereo, and the subs were noticeably louder with this setup. That, and my amp doesn't need much effort to pump them either. It's only putting 180w rms into each of them (they are rated for 250 max rms, 500 peak), and I don't feel I need to go any larger than that.

If you are planning on using 2 amps, then go to min 4 guage...

[smith21]

well just a lil update on the situation, i upped my fuse to a 60 amp (No more blowing issues :D) and i'm getting a 2 gauge wiring kit and also picking up a second amp, and amping my speakers (yah!!) That should all hopefully be done before the end of the month, at the latest, end of january, so i'll let you guys know how that goes..and just outa curiosity, seeing as i'll be changing my amp, would anyone be interested in a Alpine MRP-M350 amp? It's a D class Mono which shoots out 700w or 350RMS x1...oh and mods, this isn't me selling anything, just curious for when i do..so plz don't delete thanks