I bought a system a while back and have not installed it yet but am getting ready to now. Since I have my interior partly removed for a tranny swap I thought now would be a good time to at least install the power wire and RCA cables from the front to the back where I plan to mount my amp.

I have a Jensen 5-channel 600Watt amp. I see all these different ads for power cables of different gauge, and they really don't seem to have the same consistency. So, do I really need a "4 gauge" for an amp over 250W? I was thinking also about getting one of the pre-packaged "kits" that come with various stuff. Is that a good idea, or a rip off? Should I just buy stuff seperate?

Now, I know most of you will tell me to dump the cheap amp. Nah, I'm not interested in competition sound systems, etc. I just want to play it a bit louder, etc.

I'm just concerned that the combination of a huge power wire and all the RCA cables etc will have a bunch of lumps underneath my carpets.

One more thing: does the ground cable have to be the same gauge as the power wire, and does it have to run all the way back to the battery?

Thanks for any info!

 

the power cable ang ground cable gotta be the same guage. The ground cable doesnt have -to go all the way back to the battery, you just have to find anything thats metal (some say preferably the chassis of the car), drill a hole through the metal, use sandpaper to get through paint so you get to the actual metal. The Remote cable's guage doesnt matter

-whatever u do, dont run the RCA cables right next to the Power cable. run them on opposite sides of the car if possible.

-for the Remote cable, i hooked it into the Ignition fuse in the fuse panel. This way the amp turns on and off with the ignition. Im getting ready to run a toggle switch so i have control of the amp though, lol.

-The "pre-packaged" cables will work fine and it shouldnt matter anyway since you stated your not concerned with "competition" but better cables are better,pheonix gold is what i use. (monster cable, stinger, etc, etc)

--what i would do is just go to a local car audio shop, tell them what you have and they will hook you up with all the appropriate cables. The price could be steep but atleast you'll know for sure

hope this helps

 

The easiest way to tell what your power requirements are is by the fuse rating of the amp. What size is it?

Another question you must ask yourself is if you ever plan on installing a bigger amp or multiple amps. If so, i would sugest a bigger wire since you dont want the added cost of redoing it later down the road. I always by wire seperate because alot of the cheap kits have low grade wire in them. Dont forget to put an inline fuse right next to the battery. As far as your ground wire, same guage and run it as short as possible.


------------------
-Justin-
T-Top '86 5.0L LG4 700R4 WS6
T-Top '92 5.0L TBI 700R4
My '86 Firebird Homepage
The F-body Model Kit Pictoral Archive (updated 9/18/00)

There can be only one!!

 

I would definately go with 4 gauge wire. Think about it, what if sometime down the road you want to get another bigger amp. You don't want to take your interior apart again. Do it one time, do it right.

------------------
yellow 86 Camaro
LG4 700R4
Pioneer head unit
Kenwood speakers
Infinity Beta Digital 300 amp
2 Infinity Perfect 12s

 

Justin is right. It depends on the current draw of the amp, which can be determined by looking at the fuse size on the amp. The Jensen amps tend to rate their power output much more liberally than many other brands, so it's tough to just rely on their power ratings when determining wire gauge. I'm guessing that the unit will have a pair of 30 amp fuses, and since you didn't mention anything about running subs, I'm going to assume that you're using it to power the 4 interior speakers. If that's the case, 8 gauge will be perfectly adequate, and your best bet will be to get one of those kits. It'll have everything you need right down to the crimp on connectors.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

Thanks guys. This prompted me to dig the thing out and read the included book. It has 25 amp fuses and it says to use 4-6 gauge power wire.

I have a pair of subs, and the booklet says this amp can play the 4 radio speakers at 75WRMS each, plus the subs at 150WRMS each. That should be enough power for my needs.

Is it better to use the radios amp for the front speakers and use the amp for the rear and subs?

------------------
FORMULA 350 TK
Southern California 3rd Generation F-Body Organization©

 

you said you have a 600 watt amp which would be about a 50 amp fuse, i would say go with the 4 gauge (it could carry up to 85 amps) and don't go with the kits customize the wiring setup yourself, don't run the rca and power cables side by side and the negative has to be 4 gauge also run it to a chassis ground as short as possible

 

If you're running subs, 4 gauge is the way to go, especially if that's what the manufacturer reccomends.

As for what to amp, I would amp the front speakers and the subs. After all, this is where most of your music is going to be coming from. I have a 4 channel amp in my 86 powering the front speakers and the sub, and the rear speakers are powered by the deck. Most of your music should come from up front, so that's where you want to focus your power. The rear speakers are there primarily just for fill, and when you remove them from full-range duty, they don't require much power.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

Hey Tom,

Just go down to L.A. That's where I get all of my stuff. If say Al and Ed's sold something for $220, I can get it for $140. An amp kit, with quality parts, wouldn't cost more than $15-$20. Check it out.

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'82 Firebird, dead stock, 9 bolt disc rear, over 200,000 miles and still going strong, more to come...
http://www.spinfrenzy.com/stingerssx...easures.html#4

 

Where in LA?

 

(grabbed from RAC site)
(That's amperage of the fuse(s) and length in feet)
<table COLS=9 WIDTH="100%">
<tr>
<td><font color="#FF0000"><-Amps | Length-></font></td>

<td><font color="#FF0000">0-4</font></td>

<td><font color="#FF0000">4-7</font></td>

<td><font color="#FF0000">7-10</font></td>

<td><font color="#FF0000">10-13</font></td>

<td><font color="#FF0000">13-16</font></td>

<td><font color="#FF0000">16-19</font></td>

<td><font color="#FF0000">19-22</font></td>

<td><font color="#FF0000">22-28</font></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td><font color="#FF0000">0-20A</font></td>

<td>14</td>

<td>12</td>

<td>12</td>

<td>10</td>

<td>10</td>

<td>8</td>

<td>8</td>

<td>8</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td><font color="#FF0000">20-35A</font></td>

<td>12</td>

<td>10</td>

<td>8</td>

<td>8</td>

<td>6</td>

<td>6</td>

<td>6</td>

<td>4</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td><font color="#FF0000">35-50A</font></td>

<td>10</td>

<td>8</td>

<td>8</td>

<td>6</td>

<td>6</td>

<td>4</td>

<td>4</td>

<td>4</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td><font color="#FF0000">50-65A</font></td>

<td>6</td>

<td>6</td>

<td>4</td>

<td>2</td>

<td>2</td>

<td>2</td>

<td>2</td>

<td>0</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td><font color="#FF0000">65-85A</font></td>

<td>6</td>

<td>6</td>

<td>4</td>

<td>4</td>

<td>2</td>

<td>2</td>

<td>2</td>

<td>0</td>
</tr>
</table>

[This message has been edited by Jza (edited January 16, 2001).]

 

To expand on the chart Jza found, which I think is the official IASCA chart, that amp rating is NOT what fuses are on your amplifier, but how much power it actually draws. There's a rough formula to figure that out, I just can't remember it right now.

The general idea is usually 10-gauge for little crappy amplifiers, 8-gauge for medium-duty amplifiers, and 4-gauge for heavy-duty amplifiers, or more than one amplifier.

You should at least be using 8-gauge, and 4-gauge sure wouldn't hurt, especially if you might add a second amplifier later on.

Your ground wire should be at least as thick as your power wire, and it should also be as short as possible, securely grounded to the car body close to the amplifier.

Although all car stereo wiring is grossly overpriced in my opinion, the complete kits nearly always offer a much better deal than buying the parts separately.

You should run your power and remote turn-on wire down one side of the car; usually the same side as the battery is easiest. On the other side, run your RCA cords, and any speaker wire you may use. (When doing a 4-channel amp, I just re-use the factory speaker wires.)

 

Thanks guys! This is great info. I think I will run 4 gauge just to be on the safe side, and I will be sure to run the various cables on opposite sides of the interior.

 

Hey Tom, one thing I ran into is the cost of 4 gage wire from a stereo shop is usualy $1.99/foot!! I went to a welding supply company and got 4 gauge wire for $.89/foot! and in all honesty it's better insulated wire,actualy better wire all together.It's usualy black so it won't stick out under the hood, another plus.

 

Welding cable is inferior. Audio cable is multiple bundles of finely stranded cable, which provides better flexability and better current handling capability.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

I'm sorry to say this but your amp dosen't truly put out 600 watts i'd say with only a 25 amp fuse it puts out 300 max. You could use a 8 guage wire and be fine that's what I use for my 400 watt amp and I have no problem.

 

Plural. The 5 channel Jensen should have at least a pair of 25 amp fuses. My old 4x50 had a pair of 25 amp fuses.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

Why bother screwing around if you are going to put a system in and your interior is out grab your self a big fuse box and run a 0 gauge wire no more fcking around. You run it to a spliter box in the back and then down to 4 gauge to your amp. Then you have no more worries about power. Do it right.

 

Putting a transmission that can withstand 1000 horsepower behind a 135 horsepower V6 is a blatant waste of money and is silly. Using 0 AWG wire for a Jensen amp is pretty much the same.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah