LOL. Just a FYI, electricity doesn't move in only one direction in the event of a short circuit, so whether or not the short happens before or after the fuse is irrelevant. When the short happens, the whole line is hot, period. If that fuse isn't there and a short happens, not only can the wire catch fire but the battery can blow up too.

This is why you should fuse at the battery AND fuse at your distro block if running more than one component. You can do what you want, i'm not trying to change your mind on how you do your stuff cause I really don't care, I just hate it when guys give out bad info to impressionable noobs to car audio who are trying to learn something. The way you have your system wired is ABSOLUTELY not the way it should be done, is potentially hazardous and for what? To avoid spending $20 more to get a nice fuse holder and fuse for it? Are you kidding me? It makes no sense to me to spend upwards of $1000 on a stereo system and then decide the safety device intended to prevent a fire in case of a catastrophic short isn't worth it. But hey, different strokes for different folks, just don't go spreading that horrible info to guys who are trying to learn how to do it right. And if you continue to do so here, rest assured I'll chime in with the correct info.

Dude, you aren't reading my posts, let me make it clear for you.

THE PURPOSE OF THE MAIN POWER LEAD FUSE AT OR NEAR THE BATTERY IS TO PREVENT THE WIRE FROM CATCHING FIRE IN THE EVENT OF A CATASTROPHIC SHORT CIRCUIT, NOT TO PROTECT ANY OF THE COMPONENTS THE LEAD IS CONNECTED TO.

I gotta get going to work now, but rest assured I'll be back this evening with the proper guage wires and fuse size for both of your systems.

 

I understand all the stuff about the fussing at the battery. its just i will be pissed if i go and cut my wire there at the battery put in the fuse holder and then put in the fuse and it not work, i guess this is in my mind because i bought a Digital one that shows how many volts are going across it. i have had the fuse and the fuse holder for about 3 months i just never installed it. i just said what i said to backup why mine is not in yet to save my ***. and then i usually show people my fuse holder and say i just never installed it yet if they ask why i do not have one. I was not trying to say that you do not need one, like i said i was just explain why mine is not yet t save my *** lol.. for sure you need a fuse, i think it should be installed when you first put in the system, if you dont you will end up like me and not put it in. i am going to be puttin my power wire through the fire wall, and wrapping the wire in some of the black plastic insulation stuff and try to use a new battery post that is shorter so i can put the post cover on, when i do all this i am going to install the fuse.

 

hey zzapultimate have you looked at the problem yet and see what it might be me and 04monteLS kinda went off on a tangent sorry

 

For 12"s, you will need a 2000 watt amp. That 600watt is not powerful enough

 

I realize that I am not using the subs full potential, but it was just what was available at the time.

Oh, and the subs are rated at 600 watts MAX(250 RMS). A 2000 watt amp would blow them if it was turned all the way up.

 

Car Audio is a passion of mine and I take it very seriously especially when it comes to educating people about it so I just wanted to clear the air and get the right info out there because it seemed to me that you were trying to justify why a fuse at the battery wasn't needed when in fact it's one of the most important parts of a well built/installed system.

What I do when running the wire through the firewall is put in a rubber grommet and wrap the wire with wire loom and tape it in place with electrical tape. That way you have 4 layers of protection, the wire insulation, the grommet, the loom and the electrical tape. Maybe it's overkill but I haven't had an install come back due to the wire shorting out so like they say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Just an idea for you.

As for what amp fuse to run on his system, 60a is correct, not because that's the sum of the fuses on his amp but because he's running 10ga wire and that would be about the highest you should go for that size. He could be using the same amp but if he were running 4ga wire then I would say a 125a fuse. Again, the fuse rating of the amp has nothing to do with how to properly fuse the main power lead, it's dictated by the size of said lead.

For your system, you're running 4ga. wire so you should have a 125a fuse in there, anything higher than that wouldn't be advised.

 

Are you referring to the Type X in your sig? If so, they take 500 watts rms per coil, two coils per sub = 1000 watts rms. You could run them at 300 watts per coil but just be careful of distortion, that's what'll kill your subs, underpowering them is fine so long as you don't get crazy with the volume **** and have your gain set properly.

 

That was some one else that said that i am powering my type x with the alpine pdx1.1000 amp. if your calculations are correct, when i bought my cap off some guy he gave a fuse in a fuse holder that is 100amp and that is the biggest you can put in that fuse holder would that be ok or should i just put in the one i bought that i not sure will work and get a 125amp fuse.

thanks for clearing things up. about the fuse stuff and the amp rateing. how did you say you did that?

 

Whoops, I see now, I got mixed up there.

Well, at that point you're getting pretty close to your setups max current draw, but if you put that in there and it doesn't blow then you're good. You can use as low of a fuse rating in there as you want, but if it's too low then it'll continually blow. I calculated your amps max current draw at about 93a total (assuming you're getting 13.8 to your amp), so you should be ok with 100a.

To find amperage, divide the wattage by the voltage. And when I say wattage, I mean the wattage your amp is wired to put out. So if you have a 1000 watt amp but have it wired to only put out 500 watts, then the wattage of that amp will be 500 not 1000.

 

ok thanks