Amplifier Wiring

                                                                                             

                                                                                                    

Amplifier wiring kits are crucial when it comes to installing a "complete" sound system.  Choosing the right kit can make all the difference from having a great performing sound system or having an adequate performing system.  There are a lot of brands out there for consumers to pick from, I suggest sticking with brand names that have been in the game for a while and use high quality material (such as Stinger).  I prefer Stinger because they use high quality material and the wiring has a very high strand count.  Be careful when buying a "no name" brand because they may advertise the wiring being a certain gauge (AWG) but when you strip away the insulation the actual wire is thinner compared to other higher quality brands.   My goal here is to help explain what comes in a amp kit, what you should look for and give little tips to how it should be installed.

Before we start talking about what comes with the wiring in the kits let's discuss OHM's law very briefly.  Basically OHM's law can help you make some calculations when building your system if you need to figure out Amperage, Voltage and Wattage.  In a car application the voltage should lie somewhere between 12-14.5 volts, but the amperage and wattage you'll have to calculate yourself if you don't have the specifications of your equipment.  Here's a diagram to help you make your calculations.

 

                                                                                         

Power source-  I'll talk about this part very briefly.  You really want to have a good battery and a strong alternator.  Usually vehicles with air conditioning have a strong enough alternator for a mild system because the A/C draws more power so they upgrade the alternator right from the factory.  Also you'll want a high quality battery like an Optima deep cycle, so that it can recharge faster and if you do happen to fully discharge it you can recharge it again and it doesn't hurt it.

                                                            
 
Fuse-  This is your safety valve for electricity in the system.  Picking the right fuse can be a little tricky if you don't know what amperage rating you're suppose to buy.  In this case going too small is safer.  What I mean by this is, if you have 8 AWG power wire and it can only handle 60-80 amps, installing a fuse rated at 150 amps won't do you any good.  The power wire will light up and turn cherry red before a fuse that big ever blows, if there's a short somewhere in the system.  So you want to use a fuse that's rated a little lower than the capabilities of the power wire just to be safe.  Also the fuse should be mounted within 12 inches of your power source (usually the battery) to be most effective.

Power wire-  When it comes to all the wires a general rule of thumb is thicker is better.  You basically want a lot of amperage to flow to your    amplifier so it doesn't starve for power.  You don't always have to throw thick wire into your system if you amp doesn't really require it, but some amps are more power hungry than others, so knowing your amp specs is very important.  But let's say you're hooking up two amplifiers that are 300 watts RMS and have 30 amp fuses in them now.  How thick should the amp wire be now?  Two amps with those specs you would want wiring that can handle at least 60 amps.  Also keep in mind you want to buy a brand of wiring where it has a very high quality "jacket" or rubber surround because unless you own a vehicle where the battery is in the back like some Mercedes or Dodge cars that wire is going to be subjected to lots of heat, grease, dirt and moisture.  It's also a good idea to use the "loom" that's also provided to help further protect the wire (it's that black plastic stuff with a cut down the center to put the wire in.  Also please run the power wire THROUGH the firewall not around with a grommet or through an existing one!

Ground wire-  K this one is really simple.  Basically you want your ground wire to be as thick as your power wire and you want to run it as short as possible. So basically right from the ground connection on your amp run this wire straight to chassis/body and make a very secure connection.  Preferably use the ground mount if provided or an existing bolt (BUT NOT A SEATBELT BOLT if you can help it.  If you do use one re-torque it to spec and use lock tight).  Before you secure it though ensure it's bare metal to ensure good energy flow, paint acts like an insulator, so sand it down.  You can paint over it after to prevent corrosion but you want metal to metal contact.

RCA wires-  The RCA wires allow your head unit to communicate sound signals to your amplifier.  Preferably you want to run these on the opposite side of the vehicle from the power wire to reduce the chance of any signal interference like "alternator wine".  This is only really a concern if you're running a 4 channel amp which is powering your mid range speakers and your tweets.  An amp powering a sub is very unlikely to suffer from this problem so you can run the RCA's on the same side as the power wire if you want in this case.

Capacitor-  These can be used in a variety of applications but I'm talking about the larger style sound systems. These are installed in line of the power wire right before the amplifier.  Caps are energy storing devices but are very different from batteries.  They are measured in Farads and they are quick discharge devices which can also recharge very quickly.  Basically their purpose is when a really hard bass note hits the amp will draw more power for that split second, well instead of the battery taking that big energy discharge the capacitor will and then quickly recharge.  It's main purpose is to help give the amp all the power it needs allowing it to deliver hard hitting, clean, tight bass.   It also helps take away a lot of stress away from the vehicles charging system.  Again you'll want to give this device a nice thick short ground to body/chassis.

Note* This is not the best solution however for "dimming lights" when the bass notes hit hard.  If your vehicle suffers from the lights dimming invest in a good battery and high output alternator. 

Hopefully this helps give you some insight to choosing your amplifier wiring.  Good luck and be safe!