Amp linking

[matt69]

i started a thread on this a while ago, but now i have the amp and sub to fit, i just want to know the following:

when linking the 2 amps can i just run two 8 gauge power cables from the battery, or do i need a 4 gauge cable into a distribution block and then two 8 gauge wires coming out ??

how do i link the second amp to the headunit ?? Is it through the 1st amp, or do i need to run a wire to the back of the headunit ??

Any help appreciated
Matt.

[Saxo-Slag]

Use one 4 gauge cable to a fused distribution. Then run to 8 gauge like u said to each amp. Then do the same with the remote wire. Depends why you are running to amps for the rca's.

[matt69]

what does Rca mean ??

[KAMENi]

signal cable

[Saxo-Slag]

Your rca lead plugs into your headunit and into you amp.
http://img345.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image00163oz8.jpg
Only pic i could find

[matt69]

So will i need to run another Rca lead from my second sub top the headunit ??

Matt.

[Robbo]

best way to do it, wire up one amp normally then go from amp 1 to amp 2 linking power - power, gnd - gnd and rem - rem... makes it easier than running two cables or using a J.B

[matt69]

How would i link them together though ?? Cheers Matt.

[Robbo]

2 cables under each terminal at amp one and only one cable at each terminal at amp 2. (by terminal i mean the connection for Power, Gnd and Rem.)

[Robbo]

im going to try explain it better anyway...... basically the power lead comes from your battery to the power connection on amp one, then another cable comes from power on amp one to power on amp two.

remote comes from headunit to amp one then again from amp one to amp two

ground from something metal on your car to amp one and a seperate cable from gnd on amp one to gnd on amp 2

[matt69]

Ar right ive got you.... n then all i would need to do would be to run another lead from the back of my headunit to my amp powering the sub ?? MAtt.

[Robbo]

no lol when youve got them sorted then your amp has power to it.... you need to run phono leads (red and white plugs on the end) from your headunit to you amp (they just plug in, no wire cutting nessaccery) so now it should be powered up and that.

you now need to wire speaker cable from your sub to the connetions on you amp saying something like "speakers + and speakers -" and obviously the negative side of the sub is wired to the negative side "speaker negative"

[matt69]

Ive got you mate, so the only thing on amp 2 that need to link to the headunit is the phono leads ? Cheers Matt.

[Robbo]

no, lol, you will need to link to amp 2:

power from amp 1
GND from amp 1
REM from amp 1

you will also need a splitter thing for the phono leads(halfrauds/motorworld about 2 quid) unless the back of your head unit has 2 sets of phono lead sockets

[matt69]

Lol thats what i ment. Cheers man ive finally understood, thanks for the help !! Repped !

[Saxo-Slag]

I tend to run one big power cable to a distribution block then run to wires from that. This way you are getting the same amount of power to each amp. Each to ther own i guess.

[Robbo]

I tend to run one big power cable to a distribution block then run to wires from that. This way you are getting the same amount of power to each amp. Each to ther own i guess.

yeah mate it works out the same but depends what way you thinks easiest, i prefer my way 'cause then you dont have to buy a Junction box

[Saxo-Slag]

yeah mate it works out the same but depends what way you thinks easiest, i prefer my way 'cause then you dont have to buy a Junction box

Yes but yours is the lazy way around it. Plus mine is alot safer. You have three fuses my way.

[Robbo]

lmao yeh i know but im an electrician so i can tell you honestly there both the same more or less :P

[matt69]

Easy lads.... both ways work, i cant afford 3 or 4 distribution blocks. Think im going to do it robbos way and just buy one block for the phono leads. Matt

[Robbo]

lmao ;)
wasnt startin an argument or anything :)

[matt69]

http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/2759.html

Would that work for the phone leads ??

[Robbo]

you meen to split the phono leads up?

you get them from halfrauds for like 2.50 or something and you plug one phonolead in and it splits it into two. no need to cut wires or anything ;)

[matt69]

ar ryte ill go there tommorow then, Cheers boss :D:

[Robbo]

ask at the counter mate and theyll sort you out. as soon as you say you have 2 amps and you need to split your phono leads up they will sort you out!

[Saxo-Slag]

Or do it my way haha

[DaveWard]

If you can not afford a few quid for a distribution block can you afford your insurance excess if your car sets on fire?

The main thing with ice is a good safe install. A power terminal on a amp is designed to take one cable not have one in and one out of it. The size of the terminal is also normally in relation to the size of power cable that that amp needs.

Why risk it for the sake of £10?

Fuses play a very important role.

What size are the fuses in your amps? Have you checked that 8 gauge cable can handle the amount of current thats going to be pulled down it?

[Robbo]

If you can not afford a few quid for a distribution block can you afford your insurance excess if your car sets on fire?

The main thing with ice is a good safe install. A power terminal on a amp is designed to take one cable not have one in and one out of it. The size of the terminal is also normally in relation to the size of power cable that that amp needs.

Why risk it for the sake of £10?

Fuses play a very important role.

What size are the fuses in your amps? Have you checked that 8 gauge cable can handle the amount of current thats going to be pulled down it?



its safe when youve got 1 cable in and another out on one amp. at the end of the day the amps have fuses on em, the cable itself has a fuse on it. it works exactly the same because even if you put a junction box on its still splitting the same amount of power to the same amount of cables etc.

ive ran 2 15" subs and 4 6x9's from 2 amps with an 8 guage cable and im still alive. (and the amps were linked with 2.5mm flex) an 8 guage power cable can take well in excess of 30 amps, maybe up to 40. as long as the fuses are the correct size then theres no problem

[Saxo-Slag]

They never listen do they Dave

[batzy]

Matt were do u live, its a lot easier to showen

[Robbo]

They never listen do they Dave

im just saying what i know, thats the way ive always done it and it works and ive never had a fire or even blown an amp.

[Saxo-Slag]

im just saying what i know, thats the way ive always done it and it works and ive never had a fire or even blown an amp.

yet:clapping:

[DaveWard]

This threads got me really annoyed. The advise that Robbo87 has given is lousy and IMO dangerous.

1. He never asked how much current the 2 amps would be pulling
2. He advised making bad conections. A good ICE install needs a good installation.
3. He claims to be an electrition so should know better as he should know about amps/distance/cable thickness formula. Would you wire a cooker up with bell wire?
4. ive ran 2 15" subs and 4 6x9's from 2 amps with an 8 guage cable and im still alive. (and the amps were linked with 2.5mm flex) an 8 guage power cable can take well in excess of 30 amps, maybe up to 40. as long as the fuses are the correct size then theres no problem Having a system like that his ICE knowledge must be terrible. 15s and 6x9s are crap for a start and a couple of amps using just 40 amps between them I am betting will have been under powering them!

Matt69 my suggestion to you is either buy another 8 gauge wiring kit or a run of 4 gauge power cable and a distirbution block and re use your 8 gauge wire from that to the amps.

[Scott]

preach it sister!

[Robbo]

This threads got me really annoyed. The advise that Robbo87 has given is lousy and IMO dangerous.

1. He never asked how much current the 2 amps would be pulling
2. He advised making bad conections. A good ICE install needs a good installation.
3. He claims to be an electrition so should know better as he should know about amps/distance/cable thickness formula. Would you wire a cooker up with bell wire?
4. ive ran 2 15" subs and 4 6x9's from 2 amps with an 8 guage cable and im still alive. (and the amps were linked with 2.5mm flex) an 8 guage power cable can take well in excess of 30 amps, maybe up to 40. as long as the fuses are the correct size then theres no problem Having a system like that his ICE knowledge must be terrible. 15s and 6x9s are crap for a start and a couple of amps using just 40 amps between them I am betting will have been under powering them!

Matt69 my suggestion to you is either buy another 8 gauge wiring kit or a run of 4 gauge power cable and a distirbution block and re use your 8 gauge wire from that to the amps.

end of the day, i do know how much current cable takes thats why i said its a perfectly good way of wiring it up. if you want to do it your way then thats fine but itll cost you more. im happy to do it my way and save myself a few quid which can go towards a night out.
i cant be bothered to keep arguing with you because i like the way i do it, and im going to keep doing it this way until someone proves to me thats its a bad way of doing it.

[DaveWard]

Yeah but you did not know how much current he would be pulling!

[Robbo]

ill do it my way and you can do it your way then, yeh?

[matt69]

o dearrrrr, i live in Bedfordshire. Well ill take advice from both of u and try not to die. Cheers peoples :Y:

[DaveWard]

Think about it this way. DO you take advise from the fool who ran 6x9s and 15s or a lad with 10 years experance of installing ICE and ran a SQ competition car? See A Proper Install thread for more on that!

[Baz]

4 guage from battery into distribution block then 2 8 guage cables into each amp is how i have my install set up. well did. much better than doing the 'daisy chain' effect on them. blew an amp up doing it that way, so went for the safer and the better looking way to set it up.

personally i think its much easier to set up that way aswell.

[argylefan1985]

yeah, well im with dave ward on this one,

I am an electrician, and can tell you that his way is the best/safest way of doing things, its the same principle as wiring a radial socket circuit, You take a large cable to a joint box, then come away with smaller cables to each socket, I.e 6mm to a j.b then 2.5mm to each socket,

If you are genuinly an electrician robbo87 like you claim to be, you will know that the way you have just described to wire it is esentially a spur of a spur of a spur etc, which in fact weakens the strength of the cable,
If your an electrician like you claim to be, you will know that the first thing you get taught at college is never spur off a spur as it weakens the cable.

:)

[Robbo]

Think about it this way. DO you take advise from the fool who ran 6x9s and 15s or a lad with 10 years experance of installing ICE and ran a SQ competition car? See A Proper Install thread for more on that!

theres no need to be like that though to be fair. it worked and it sounded great so dont start mouthing off before youve seen/heard my sound system. just because you dont like 6x9's and 15" subs doesnt mean you know more or are better than me

[Robbo]

yeah, well im with dave ward on this one,

I am an electrician, and can tell you that his way is the best/safest way of doing things, its the same principle as wiring a radial socket circuit, You take a large cable to a joint box, then come away with smaller cables to each socket, I.e 6mm to a j.b then 2.5mm to each socket,

If you are genuinly an electrician robbo87 like you claim to be, you will know that the way you have just described to wire it is esentially a spur of a spur of a spur etc, which in fact weakens the strength of the cable,
If your an electrician like you claim to be, you will know that the first thing you get taught at college is never spur off a spur as it weakens the cable.

:)


i am a sparky, and i can tell you for a FACT that you cant spur more than one socket from each. i.e. you cant spur from a spur from a socket.
EDIT: just realised what you said lol but like i say you are allowed 1 spur from each socket so youve got 1 amp and are spur'ing another off it

[DaveWard]

just because you dont like 6x9's and 15" subs doesnt mean you know more or are better than me

but I do know more about ICE and am better then you when it comes to ICE.

I have heard hundreds of systems over the years and plenty of great and bad ones in that. None of the good ones contained 15s or 6x9s.

I will set down the same challange I always do. In next years IASCA sound offs every car that you find me that comes in the top 5 in its class running 6x9s. I will pay £50 to the registered charity of your choise.

[Robbo]

thats not the point though. the point is that my way of wiring amps is just as safe as your way

[DaveWard]

No its not!

[Robbo]

OMG yes it is! im not just saying it but it seriosuly is just as safe. if you dont mind me asking, where did you get your information from to say its not safe? have you done cable calcs to work out current flowing through the cables etc? or are you just saying its not safe because its a different way of wiring them up?

[DaveWard]

Still aint been given the specs of the amps to work out the amount of current flow and the legnth of the cable run.

Am saying its not safe as an amps terminals are designed to take one input of the correct size cable that the amp needs. Not to have two cables forced in/on to that terminal!

[matt69]

Fair enoughs lads, any one want to come and fit it for me :Y:.

[hesslevtr]

if your going todo it

DO IT DAVES WAY THIS LAD KNOWS HIS SHIT

[YM03]

mat 69
if your doing it do it proply, as dave has said, why risk fu***ng your system for the sake of a tenner, as stated by dave the terminals on an amp are made for one wire and one wire only

[matt69]

Yer guess your right. Well ill buy myself a couple of distribution blocks and get it done. Cheers Matt.

[matt69]

So this means i also need a 4 gauge power lead. Where can i buy one from cheepish ?? Cheers .

[D_Man]

halfords sell 4 guage off a reel so you get how much you need!

I would use a distribution block for power and ground, i would imagine it would be safe to spur the sensor cable however.

I didnt have this problem as the car already had an 8awg cable in, i just added a 4awg to run my sub amp, so the 2 amps have there own power, ground and rca lead, the sensor i just joined to amp1, they are low current so i couldn't see the harm. am i right??? lol

[YM03]

link for a kit, bit more shopping about you might be able to get it cheaper but it's not a bad price
amp kit (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-AWG-1200w-Red-and-Black-Complete-Car-Amp-Wiring-Kit_W0QQitemZ9718100480QQihZ008QQcategoryZ14932QQs sPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

[DaveWard]

Linking the remote cable aint a problem as its a tiny cable and carrys virtully no current.

You can either buy a another 8 gauge kit and run that or a 4 gauge cable and run it to a distrubution block and then use the cable from your original 8 gauge kit from that.

Theres no need for a earth distribution block just run 8 gauge from both amps to the same point on the car.