hi guys got quick question i got a kenwood 600 watt amp drivin my 2 10 inch oz audio subs will 10 guage wire for the constant power off battery and the ground wire be enough wire? wel thick enough to handle the load?

i'm not worried if it will loose some volts or power from battery to the amp due to it bein only 10ga. my real only concern now is that it wont heat up or burnt metl fry anything like that mainly just if the 10ga will hold the power.
because i can buy a roll of 10ga primary wire and get a 10ga prewired fuse and holder. but havent found any 8 guage or higher anyweres except for house wire which isnt the same or the pre maid amp instal kits.
i would get the install kit and stil may because i can use the wire for remote turn on and can use the primary wire but no need for rcas and might could use the speaker wire.
so i may try that way but if not will the 10 ga work?

 

N()()()() ,You can use "house wire" The strands are thicker so its harder to bend but thats about the only diff.

Btw if you go to homedepot and buy whatever feet of wire you need its MUCH cheaper. The amp kits RAPE you!

Then buy a inline fuse holder and your set.

 

im about to replace the 8gauge wire in my car with 4 gauage, i could just give you that. Im not sure of the quality of the wire, since i havnt seen it yet; however, it shouldnt be to bad.

 

yes 10 gauge of wire is bad, 10 guage of house wire is really really bad. Just go to like a Hope Depot, or Lowes, and you can get like 4 Gauge real cheap, don't cut youself short, or else you could do somthing worse, like burn your car to the ground.

 

You would if you wanted the amp to live a long happy life. To small of a power wire will shorten the life of you amp.

 

hmm ok home wire work huh?
ones i seen lowes was rated in strands liek 12 strand braided or somethign so i go lowes what should i get?
and fuse holder have get it auto parts store right? what would i need to do w/ the lowes wire in a fuse holder?
and 8 guage wire would be what id need or 10? im normal auto wire?
or would scottys work aight for me lol.
i surely dont want any risks what so ever of car burnin down no way im scared of wiring due to it.
i can do wiring but it worrys me to death risk of heat of fire so any wire i do w/ power on it other then speaker wire has got a fuse in it if i put in a piece.

 

You want to be ultra-safe, go with 8 gauge. I think that Kenwood is 600 watts peak, anyway. What's the RMS on it? (I forget, it's been a while...) Crutchfield.com might still have their wiring chart up... let me check... Bingo!

Find out what size fuse the amp has (if two fuses, add the numbers together) and go here: http://www.crutchfield.com/installgu...ble_gauge.html

Remember when you run wire under carpet, it'll get hotter than if it was hanging in free air. Run something as thin as 12 gauge and you'll really be starting a fire!

 

well im goin to run my wire from battery under the fender lip then down kickpanel under that plastic door jamb trim then under the rear trim and back to my amp mounted in the spare tire well.
and its an older kenwood im nto sure if thats rms or max id say max so im not sure its a 2 channel and runs 2 30 or 40 fuses i think not sure can check tomorrow soemtime if i remember cuz il be painting tomorrow hopefully.

 

i added that up n by the distance and total power 300 a channel max by 2 then divided by 13.8 and got around 87 rounded number rounded up and then by feet im thinkin 19-22?
it said basically 4 gauage!!!!! im lik edman ok not sure tho may have get some numbers n try again.

 

Does the amp have a model number on it anywhere? Like KAC-859?

 

yea i got it posted here someweres have to find it but it takes 2 20 amp fuses least thats whats in it.

 

hey man its a kac-829 and has 2 20 amp fuses in it.
so what would the numbers be on cutchfeilds chart?
i aint sure how long it is fomr my battery to the hatch im thinkin2 ill need about 20 so i can do my hot and ground wire w/ same guage i heard u are always supposed have just as thick a ground wire as yur hot.

 

4 guage and 8 min for ground....

i'd run a 2 and 8 though just for sake....however assuming your battery is in stock location that may cost you a pretty penny. i got away with running 4 for many years with my 600 premier amp. i'm running 0 now however i'm running 3,000+.

 

i bet that was fun to run!

 

Kandied, are you saying to run a different gauge for ground?

According to the chart, benoit454, you're in the 8 gauge area. Use 8 for both power and ground. Your next step up would be 4 gauge- something you might want to think about if you plan on upgrading the system "soon". If you add another amp, you'll need to run 4 gauge- or run a separate power wire for the new amp.

And under the door sill panel, if you want to remove your seat (4 10mm nuts), there's a huge gap for running wire. Remove the sill cover and seat, and pull the carpet up a bit. You'll see a black wire conduit that holds a few wires. Reach further UNDER the black conduit and there's a huge gap for running huge power wires.

[edit] I dug up a spec sheet on that amp for you- here it is: http://www.1888camcorder.com/kenkaccdplay.html Looks like a sweet amp, with the crossover and high s/n ratio. And they even recommend 8 gauge wire!

 

hey tom thanks for all the info and help im goin to have try that space u was talkin bout oh yea my seat bolts are 13 mm man.
i know because i only got like 2 13 mm sockets and one wrench lol im always needin 13 on my car or the s10 and it used to be 10 now ive got a million 10s lol.

well im thinkin of gettin a smaller kenwood off same guy hes got one does around 150 rms or less something like that and using it fo rmids and highs and i am thinkin of seperate wires for em maybe. i was thinkin 8 guage would work and had friends tell me it would plus for 25 bucks i can get power wire, fuse holder pre wired,rca's which i dont need, speaker wire, and acc or remote turn on wire.

 

Oops, yeah, you're right, those are 13mm's, aren't they! My bad!

For my first system, I had two power wires running back to the hatch, for two amps. It wasn't until the 3rd system that I went to a single 4 ga cable with a distribution block!

 

why suffer running one huge wire when it's more efficent to run 2 smaller ones? so easy to work with 2-10s will carry more current than 1#8 any day.
pete

 

hmm so yur sayin run 2 pieces of 10 guage and twist the ends togther were they meet that battery and amp?
as for temp testing i have some speaker wire both sides split and twisted together doesnt get hot and sounds good.

i also found no good are for wire today i removed the kick panel and stuff and seen some black glue like under coat or tar that was it no were to really run accept under the plastic trim like i was goin to but thats a lil tougher as well sicne the screw are at an angle.

so which u guys thinks best 2 pieces 10 guage?
or 8 guage because ill either buy a roll of 75 feet or 10 guage for like 20 bucks and roll of 16 guage for around 5 or so i think? for my remote turn on and a pre wired fuse holder for about 5 bucks w/ 10 guage wire pre wired.
or buy an amp kit w/ 8 guage an eveyrhting for about 26 bucks?

 

the length your running also determines your size. luckily for i have my battery in the back which makes all of this that much easier..

 

yea i got a straight shot goes omr factory pass side fender moutn battery right the the pas side 1/4 in the spare tire well to run to. for my amp.

 

My vote is on the 4-Guage... OR bigger. (plan for the future)