TwentyTen

Hey CL,

Many of you know that I have been gradually upgrading my stereo and finally got my amp installed. I was so impressed with Kicker's new KX line that I got another one for the subs (KX400.1). The only problem is that the amp's documentation clearly states "Requires 4 Gauge Wire".

Dammit! I just had my amp installed with a 4AWG 12v and Ground!

Is it okay to get a distribution block and send 8AWG wire to both amps? What will happen? Will the amps not come on? Will I burn up the electrical system? Kill the battery? I don't want to have to start from scratch again just to power the new amp.

If I had known, I would have gone with 2 AWG wire to the trunk, then split it to 4AWG at the block.

Any and all feedback is appreciated.

ikankoi

darius:

it should be okay to use 8GA, the key here is the length. up to 100amp current draw, you can safely use 8GA up to 4 feet, so if you supply your dist. block with 4GA from the battery and then you have 8GA out to the amp, you should be fine. i assume you would put your dist.block pretty close to your amp.

look at this chart, it will give you better understanding
http://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp

hope it helps

TwentyTen

<sigh of relief>

Thanks ikankoi! That's just what I was looking for, I bookmarked that site!

So I should be okay. 8AWG for 600watts up to four feet. I'll have the distribution block no further that 3 feet away from both amps in the trunk. One Amp is 600w and the other is 400w. Thanks again.

Anybody know the worst that could happen from not using the right sized wire?

ikankoi

ive seen amp cutting off due to lack of current from too small cables..might destroy the power supply ..
but that was an extreme case when a dumb friend tried to hookup MTX500d from headunit positive...

and if its too big: youre just wasting your money on cables and big dist block

TwentyTen

Thanks Again Man!

jmecbr900

Nothing catastrophic will happen.

You MAY get overheating of the amps or slight distortion. Nothing major and this is a big MAYBE. Most likely you will not notice the difference most of the time.

TwentyTen

Thanks Jaime,

BTW, your trunk looks Hot! Did you ever that "D"/Cresent painted to stand out?

jmecbr900

Thanks bud.

No, I haven't got it done yet. It's going to have to be done with airbrush now since it's all installed in the car. I will probably have it done over the holidays. The shop is really backed up now with Christmas present stuff.

It's now got a couple of neon tubes to accent the whole trunk too and some slow strobes to attract a little attention. We redid the trunk and deck lids and now they're both on the money (no trash or rough spots which super stand out on black). I have the temporary plexi cover that has the big Lexus logo on it while we fine detail the etching on the final one. I have my extinguisher in, but I'm still waiting on Snap-on for my darn tools.

It's all coming together.