Couple questions about running wires

[MrBen]

Alright I recently bought a sub. I ran the RCAs on the right side (passenger) of the center console, and rang it under the back seat and into the trunk. I ran the power on the left side of it in the same way. The wires are about 6 inches apart, maybe 5. How far away should they be?

I ran the remote with the RCAs. Is this alright?

Where the hell do I go through the firewall? I looked around and (granted I didn't spend much time out there because it is 15 degrees) found little opportunity. I know the 3g is supposed to be easy, but I'm stupid :)

[cdscowboy]

If you have enough wire, run RCAs on the opposite side (of the whole car) from the power wires (including the remote wire).

I went through the firewall just a bit above where the pedals are, though you might be able to get in where the heater is. I know there's a rubber cover there.

[shepherd79]

i always run my wires as far a part as i can.
i don't think 5-6 inches apart will prevent noise interference.

[MrBen]

Alright so I guess tomorrow I will re run the RCAs by the door jambs.

[my86dx4dr]

i ran my power cable and remote wire along the door jamb area and then the rca's threw the center consol, and i ran the power cable threw the firewall right about 5" below where the clock is, thats where i was told to!! works great, wasnt able to test it though till about 3 days ago, since i had to wait to get a agu style fuse for my power cable, but sounds decent, costed me 34 bucks for all the wire, freaken outrageos

[MrBen]

Where should I put this?

http://www.3geez.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1101&stc=1


(Not my car, and I heard that's not a good place to put it)

[shepherd79]

i have this type of fuse setup on mine and i mounted exactly at that spot.
i never had any problems.

[NXRacer]

i ran my power, rca and changer wires right next to eachother and i never had any noise problems. I didnt run very big wire for the amp, but there wasnt a problem with my system....and i'm pretty picky about SQ.

[zero.counter]

i ran my power, rca and changer wires right next to eachother and i never had any noise problems. I didnt run very big wire for the amp, but there wasnt a problem with my system....and i'm pretty picky about SQ.
Your RCAs were prolly high quality quad shielded of sorts....

[MrBen]

Well I just found out my amp is stable at 4ohms and the sub is stable at 6ohms.

Thanks a lot A Dawg Jr.

Guess I'll find another amp.

[Immeraufdemhund]

For those of you who want a cheap good wire go to Lowes and get some thick ol' wire from their. I think it cost me 15 or 20 cents per foot. I got 25' of white and 5' of green. I then got a battery with both top and side post and put my pos to the side post. I found a place threw my firewall to the left of my Master Cylinder and ran all my wires threw the middle consol.. (didn't know you could get noise from running them too close i still can't hear any noise though). The wire i got was rated for 600v and some ungodly amount of amps and could handel a bunch of degrees of temp in oil... (if that makes sense)... that's just what i did. works good for me. Oh yah i have a MTX 275 thunder with a 8" tube in my hatch... i dont hear any wine.

[mykwikcoupe]

well that amp sounds like a kmart special. Id shitcan it. Unless it puts out megawatts. The fuse shouldnt be any more than 18" from the battery connection. I rum my wires on oppposite sides of the car. Id also eother wrap the wires in loom or a small strip of dynamat if they need to be run close together

[my86dx4dr]

well my fuse is right behind the carberater before it goes threw the firewall, should i be alright?/

[mykwikcoupe]

probably yes. The 18 is a never to exceed rule thats never inforced. The thoery is that if there is a short of some sort. If the wire is too long or the fuse is too far from the source, the resistance of the wire may actually subside the surge thus making it continue not blowing the fuse. In reality, as surge power goes up, the current in the wire also goes up. Since current is inversly proportional to resistance as current goes up the resistance goes down thus making the wire more conductive.

This thoery is based on wire lengths alot longer than what you could possibly run in your car. I have mine mounted there also. Its the most convient out of the way location. I measured mine once and it was like 24 inches from the terminal of the battery. I run a 2 gauge wire with 100 amp circuit breaker in one car and a 150 amp breaker in another car.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the fuse of circuit breaker installed on the load side of the amp is for the protection of the conductor. The amp itself should have its own overcurrent protective device.

[catalin]

probably yes. The 18 is a never to exceed rule thats never inforced. The thoery is that if there is a short of some sort. If the wire is too long or the fuse is too far from the source, the resistance of the wire may actually subside the surge thus making it continue not blowing the fuse. In reality, as surge power goes up, the current in the wire also goes up. Since current is inversly proportional to resistance as current goes up the resistance goes down thus making the wire more conductive.


Sounds cool, but the reality of the whole situation is quite alot simpler....
What happens if a short from the positive cable to ground occurs between the battery and the fuse?? Current flow will take the path of least resistance. Meaning current flow will be so great that the wire will heat up to the point of catching fire. The reason why 18" is a good number is because if the vehicle is ever in a crash the body buckles it can break the wire and cause a short.
I would say fuse as close to the battery as possible to prevent this.

[catalin]

Well I just found out my amp is stable at 4ohms and the sub is stable at 6ohms.

Thanks a lot A Dawg Jr.

Guess I'll find another amp.


What brand/model are they???
Is the sub a dual voice coil sub? Either way you CAN run this sub of this amp safely. If the numbers were the other way around then you would damage the amplifier.

[POS carb]

I ran the power the same, only closer to the edge of the fender. The power should be on 1 side and the signal on the other sidew of the car.
also a 6 ohm sub won't screw up a 4 ohm amp

[Bloodlust]

Ill have to take a picture of where the firewall was drilled for my car. Managed to get 2 guage all the way back from the battery to a fuseblock in my trunk. I dont know if you can see by the pic of where the hole was drilled thru the firewall:
http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/405000-405999/405160_43_full.jpg

Then back to the distribution block:
http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/405000-405999/405160_42_full.jpg

NOTE im not trying to floss my system, i know its not the best. Im just trying to put some insight on how you can do multiple amp systems without making it look like shit.