Re-Doing Custom Setup

[3340TH]

Hi,

currently have re-made the boxes for my r33 skyline. I have gone from a 4 channel amp to a mono amp. I believe i have 4 gauge cabling.

Im guessing i have only a single coil sub (x2)...alpine R 12" about 5+ years old as there is only one spot for cables

so i wire from the positive of the amp to positive of the sub, go from negative of that sub to the positive of the next sub, then from the negative of that sub to the negative of the amplifier? correct??

Now i have inline fuses b4 the amps, im guessing these are to protect the cable? and not the amp (as the amp has it's own)? I only ask cuz my mate got his professionally done, and they threw a circuit breaker in b4 the inline fuses (may have been even b4 the capacitor, then out of the capacitor to the fuses, to the amp :S i'd have to re-check). Is this needed? what sort of damage can be done. I have a 2 farad capacitor to go in aswell.

thnx in advance.

[BundyBear]

  On 22/01/2011 at 1:45 PM, 3340TH said:

Hi,

currently have re-made the boxes for my r33 skyline. I have gone from a 4 channel amp to a mono amp. I believe i have 4 gauge cabling.

Im guessing i have only a single coil sub (x2)...alpine R 12" about 5+ years old as there is only one spot for cables

so i wire from the positive of the amp to positive of the sub, go from negative of that sub to the positive of the next sub, then from the negative of that sub to the negative of the amplifier? correct??

Yep, this is series wiring, depending on the capabilities of your amp you may be able to wire in paralled instead 4 more power(what model amp?)

Now i have inline fuses b4 the amps, im guessing these are to protect the cable? and not the amp (as the amp has it's own)? I only ask cuz my mate got his professionally done, and they threw a circuit breaker in b4 the inline fuses (may have been even b4 the capacitor, then out of the capacitor to the fuses, to the amp :S i'd have to re-check). Is this needed? what sort of damage can be done. I have a 2 farad capacitor to go in aswell.

Definatly needed, and should be as close to the battery as practicle/possible. If that 4guage cable shorts out youll get lots of sparks, stuff gets real hot real fast and car batterys can be a crude chemical bomb

thnx in advance.

[3340TH]

Its an alpine mrp-m1000...when i bought it, it sounded like they said i could just parallel them, have both go back to the same terminals.

So how do you find/decide what size circuit breaker you need?

so from battery to c/b, then would you put the inline fuse b4 or after the capacitor?

So a C/B should be in every installation? or only if it's wired a specific way? Cuz atm i have 2 400w 4-channels coming straight off the battery with only inline fuses on the active 4 gauge cable...the bloke i bought it off wired it up himself apparently and did custom installs for autobarn part-time :S

[blk94r33]

  On 22/01/2011 at 1:45 PM, 3340TH said:

Hi,

currently have re-made the boxes for my r33 skyline. I have gone from a 4 channel amp to a mono amp. I believe i have 4 gauge cabling.

Im guessing i have only a single coil sub (x2)...alpine R 12" about 5+ years old as there is only one spot for cables

so i wire from the positive of the amp to positive of the sub, go from negative of that sub to the positive of the next sub, then from the negative of that sub to the negative of the amplifier? correct??

Now i have inline fuses b4 the amps, im guessing these are to protect the cable? and not the amp (as the amp has it's own)? I only ask cuz my mate got his professionally done, and they threw a circuit breaker in b4 the inline fuses (may have been even b4 the capacitor, then out of the capacitor to the fuses, to the amp :S i'd have to re-check). Is this needed? what sort of damage can be done. I have a 2 farad capacitor to go in aswell.

thnx in advance.

1. More info needed on the amp sub combo. If you have single 4 ohm voice coil subs wired this way, it'll give you a 8 ohm load at the amp, you need to check the amp can handle this and what output it will provide with this configuration, as you may be able to get more power from the amp wiring it differently.

2. YES, a circuit breaker/fuse is needed in the system to avoid a catastrophic melt down if something goes wrong. As Bundy Bear said, as close to the battery as possible whilst still practical.

[BundyBear]

  On 22/01/2011 at 11:03 PM, 3340TH said:

Its an alpine mrp-m1000...when i bought it, it sounded like they said i could just parallel them, have both go back to the same terminals.

Yep the amp will run 2ohm Parallel,

thats the positive from the amp to the positive of one sub to the positive of the other sub

and the negative of the amp to the neg. of one sub to the neg. of the other sub

(ie join all the positives together then all the negatives together

So how do you find/decide what size circuit breaker you need?

add up all the fuses in all the amps (maker sure there the sandard ones and havn't been replaced with larger ones) and add 10%

the m1000 runs x4 25A fuses (100A) plus any other amp (say 50A)

gives 150A + 10% =165A

so look for a 170-200A, depends on what value a retailer stocks

remember this fuse/CB is for the protection of the battery and the power cable

so from battery to c/b, then would you put the inline fuse b4 or after the capacitor?

kinda, have the main fuse OR CircuitBreaker (either is fine but you don't need both) as close to the Battery as you can get it (within 6 inches), then the long cable run to the Amps and Caps

Note, Caps should be wired as close to the amps as possible to get the most out of them

So a C/B should be in every installation? or only if it's wired a specific way? Cuz atm i have 2 400w 4-channels coming straight off the battery with only inline fuses on the active 4 gauge cable...the bloke i bought it off wired it up himself apparently and did custom installs for autobarn part-time :S

Definatly, ANY wire you run from the Positive Battery Terminal should have a fuse of CB close to the Battery, wether is a 10,000W amp or a 5W Neon

as far as the guy that installed it, he SHOULD have got it right, but then fuses are often mis-understood

If you still not sure, take the fire off the battery and secure it n take it to a proper Car Audio shop for a once over

Electrical fires are nasty, Fire Extinguishers are Cheaper than a new car

[3340TH]

Well there are fuses in line with the cabling. It's currently got 2 sets of 4 gauge coming off the battery and going straight into the cartridge looking fuses. Then goes to the 12v+ on the amp , and there is the wedge fuses in the amps.

If this is ok, then should i still have a c/b inline - as i know my mate had to reset his as it tripped the breaker when it was turned up too loud. (if it can go in, since there are two power feeds do they go through the one c/b or two or just do the subs?) should i even worry about putting the speakers amp through the capacitor (there are 4x 6.5" on HPF)

I've installed 3 sound systems into my older car and mates cars, and just use the kit that was bought to setup. just never done anything to do with 2 ohm or capacitor, and just want to have it safe without blowing anything up

And the mrp m-1000 can have two subs going straight out of the + - side of speaker outlet? (ie doubled up on the terminal block) This creates 2 ohms for 2 subs? and it's 4 ohms if it's for 1 sub?

I also have a fire extinguisher to go into the car...prob not the most convenient spot if i had a fire but is it safe in there with the subs/wiring?

sorry bout all the questions

[BundyBear]

  On 23/01/2011 at 11:36 AM, 3340TH said:

Well there are fuses in line with the cabling. It's currently got 2 sets of 4 gauge coming off the battery and going straight into the cartridge looking fuses. Then goes to the 12v+ on the amp , and there is the wedge fuses in the amps. Assuming both 4 guages come of the positive (not one +'ve and one -'ve) that'l be sweet

If this is ok, then should i still have a c/b inline CB'z not realy needed with the fuse inplace (like hav'n 2 handbreaks), you could however replace the 2 fuses with 2 CB'z (Circuit Breakers are simply a "resetable" fuse) - as i know my mate had to reset his as it tripped the breaker when it was turned up too loud circuit breaker's not big enough. (if it can go in, since there are two power feeds do they go through the one c/b or two or just do the subs?) should i even worry about putting the speakers amp through the capacitor (there are 4x 6.5" on HPF)

I've installed 3 sound systems into my older car and mates cars, and just use the kit that was bought to setup. just never done anything to do with 2 ohm or capacitor, and just want to have it safe without blowing anything up

with 2 power runs and one cap, I'd run the cap on the subs amp, as close as possible to the AMP and don't skimp on cables between the 2, but

WARNING

Capasitors can store large amounts of power and release it almost instantanious. Mis-handling can cause burns, explosions and/or electrocution

given your experience level and required precautions I'd strongly sujjest you get someone experienced to install the cap after you finish

I've had MUCH smaller caps blow up in my face and it aint fun

And the mrp m-1000 can have two subs going straight out of the + - side of speaker outlet? (ie doubled up on the terminal block) This creates 2 ohms for 2 subs? and it's 4 ohms if it's for 1 sub?

1000 Words

I also have a fire extinguisher to go into the car...prob not the most convenient spot if i had a fire but is it safe in there with the subs/wiring?

as long as its firmly mounted and not flappn round its fine

sorry bout all the questions Thats cool, we've all asked em at some stage. Betta 2 ask than f&*k it up

[Carbon 34]

bundy has ya covered it looks like,

don't forget to pre charge the capacitor with a resistor or test light or it can pop it and spark a lot. not a good thing

a resistor inline with the power when you apply power(and gets extemely hot so be warned) , slowly charges it up, rather then a fast dump of current into it. a 99cent old fashion test light in series works too, placed inline it will glow when completely charged use the cheap ass incadecent one. but do not use for testing in a computer controlled car

and ground the amps well, with bolts and lock washers. same gauge as amps use

place the cap very near the bass amp. both if possible and keep the wire run short and secure well