on my amp im using a 8awg for power and for the ground 12awg wire, is this okay??? iheard somewhere that the ground has to be a bigger size than ground?? it that true or not? some one please clairify this for me? oh yah im running a 300w 2 channel MTX amp.


[Modified by thaiphob, 10:17 PM 10/31/2002]

 

NO...... since in 12 volts electronics...power sources (comes through) the ground line first...not power....you will cause the amp to work harder and eventally fail...both lines should be even ( or at least make the ground larger)

 

Thanx

 

i ALWAYS use 4g for both. just to be safe.

 

your guages should match.. so if your 8 guage power wire is sufficient for your equipment.. you should have an 8 guage ground also..

what you need depends on how much power your pushing as well as distance from power source/batt to amp...

Recommended Cable Size by Power and Distance
Total RMS
Power (watts) Distance
4 feet 8 feet 12 feet 16 feet 20 feet
100 10 gauge 10 gauge 8 gauge 8 gauge 4 gauge
200 10 gauge 8 gauge 8 gauge 4 gauge 4 gauge
400 8 gauge 8 gauge 4 gauge 4 gauge 4 gauge
600 8 gauge 4 gauge 4 gauge 4 gauge 4 gauge
800 4 gauge 4 gauge 4 gauge 2 gauge 2 gauge
1000 4 gauge 4 gauge 2 gauge 2 gauge 2 gauge
1400 4 gauge 2 gauge 2 gauge 2 gauge 2 gauge

 

I used to work doing installs for over 5 years, and I saw people do a lot of crazy stuff. One guy bought an amp from our store and didn't want to pay $50 we charged for install, he took it somewhere that charged $25. He came back the next day and said he saw smoke come from under his seat and the amp quit working. I charged him $35 to check it out. The guys that installed it used 10 ga power wire and 16 ga ground wire. The ground wire caught on fire, the copper burned and melted, and the insulation was black and brittle. I ran 8 ga to both and cleaned it up. I told him he was lucky that his car didn't catch on fire, and showed him where the wire was touching te carpet and charred the carpet. So he almost burned his car up and ended up spending more money because he wanted to save a few dollars.

 

the largest gauge that can fit is usually the better choice, (fire hose theory- more water can come out of a fire hose or a garden hose?, the amp has to work really hard to get power with thinner wire)

 

hahah I was w/ my friend picking up his B16 Swap when some other guy pulled in and we started chatting about cars and I asked him to pop his hood... he had probably 12 guage wire running from his battery to his amp...

 

a penny saved but a dollar short
LOL