I have a distribution block that has a 4 ohm wire input and one 4 ohm and one 8 ohm output.
It should be okay to send one 4 ohm wire to a jbl bp600.1 (going to 2 infinity perfect 10s [350wrms]) and an 8 ohm wire going to my 4 ch. avionixx 800.4 amp (going to 2 cdt 6.5s [rated at 90wrms] and only using 2 channels), right?
I looked for a dist. block that had a 4ohm input and 2 4ohm outs, but couldn't find one. I looked itup real quick and I think the 8 ohm wire should be good for the amp going to the CDTs, I just wanted to make sure before getting everything.
Thanks,
Alan
Replies (4)
UKinstaller on 10/26/2004 12:07:34
let's get your terminology straight just to end any confusion, but it's 4 gauge inputs and outputs in stuff, not 4 ohm. ohms are the resistance measurements for speakers and subs, gauge is the thickness of the wire. no big deal though.
as far as your situation goes, if you distribute a 4 gauge input into a 4 gauge and 8 gauge output, our good buddy mr. physics tells us that something isn't right. one of the wires is not truly going to give the power that it appears to be distributing. however, people do this all of the time, it all depends on the amps being used.
you can do two things here. because the JBL 600 will require a solid 4 gauge wire, you can:
1) run a 4 gauge power wire for the jbl, and a seperate 8 gauge power wire, also connected to the battery, for the other amp. this sounds kind of ridiculous but it works and works well. might wanna look into a battery upgrade, though.
2) you can run something bigger, like an ott, 1, or 2 gauge wire, and distribute it into a true 4 gauge and 8 gauge distribution. the downside here is that the wires in these cases are ridiculously huge, and hiding them under carpet can be very unsightly. for ott gauge, i always CAREFULLY run it under the car and protect it with a conduit-type pipe.
all things said, run two seperate power wires. you'll get the true current you need.
i could be wrong about some of this though, so others please comment,
-UK
alanjlamore on 10/26/2004 13:08:15
Okay, good points...I had a brain fart there on the GUAGE of wire. I was kicking myself as I read your post HAPPY
I could just imagine having a wire with 4 or 8 ohms of resistance! I'd have a lot of trouble getting enough power to the speakers GRIN
I see your point on running 2 wires. I'll see if I have enough 4 guage wire to run 2 from the battery, otherwise I'll run one 4 and one 8 from the battery.
I just might also buy another high CCA battery, but I'm not sure on how to wire it to the vehicle. So far my 1 farad cap has been working, but I understand that another battery would be a better choice.
If I do get another battery, would I need to get a larger wire for both batteries, ground and power?
Thanks,
Alan
UKinstaller on 10/26/2004 14:41:00
interesting....i know people that have used their capacitors as distribution blocks, with 4 gauge in and 4 and 8 gauge out. it seems to work very well, and you don't lose as much current because of the extra power that is stored.
if you do upgrade batteries, i recommend an optima yellow. in my opinion, it's one of the best batteries on the market, and you get i think 1000 CCA out of them. if you are talking about adding an additional battery to your car, then all you need to do is run a fused 4 gauge power wire from the battery to wherever you want the new battery and voila, you are good to go.
-UK
swez on 10/26/2004 15:45:25
Actually, The 600.1 will draw less than 60A at max power. The Avionixx amp is doing 180 watts RMS total or a net current draw ~15A. So, 60 + 15 = 75A total current.
Depending on the length of power wire used back to the d-block, I see no reason why you cannot use #4 from the BAT and split to a #4 & #8 respectively to each amp.
Hummm, small truck = short power lead run. A NO BRAINER here. It should work as noted , just fine.
UK,
"as far as your situation goes, if you distribute a 4 gauge input into a 4 gauge and 8 gauge output, our good buddy mr. physics tells us that something isn't right. one of the wires is not truly going to give the power that it appears to be distributing. however, people do this all of the time, it all depends on the amps being used.?
Uhmmm, errrrr, duhhhh... my dear friend Dr. Watts, seems to disagree with Mr. Physics here. Each load (amplifiers in this case) will only draw as much power (Watts) as needed per device. A #8 gage wire is commonly rated for 40-50A, depending on length. A #4 gage wire is commonly rated between 80-100A, depending on length.
So, if a #4 can carry 80-100A all by itself, it does not care which amps gets "X" (60A) and the other amp gets "X/4" (15A) of current right.?The net total power on the main line is still 80-100A. See what I am saying?
Example: Our house wiring operates on the same premise. Say we have a #12 wire line from the fuse box to a wall socket. That circuit will be fused at a maximum of 20A. The wall socket has 2 outlets. One outlet is connected to a 2000 watt heater. (16.6A draw) . The other outlet is connected to a 300 watt TV set. (2.5A draw)
Both will get adequate current out of the same wall socket and not blow a fuse either. The net amperage of both items is 19.1A. Pretty close to 20A max before the fuse blows... but the same socket will fill each need right? Both devices will operate normally as noted. Yes, a heater of that size will have a pretty heavy cord. (probably 12 gage wire) The TV set will need much smaller wire, (#18 gage lamp cord) to deliver enough power to the TV set.
See how that plays out? Same idea.... just a different way of looking at it. Hope that helps.
Swez
PS NOPE, I am not trying to step on your toes either. Just trying to clarify the application as viable and why. Hope it makes sense...
It should be okay to send one 4 ohm wire to a jbl bp600.1 (going to 2 infinity perfect 10s [350wrms]) and an 8 ohm wire going to my 4 ch. avionixx 800.4 amp (going to 2 cdt 6.5s [rated at 90wrms] and only using 2 channels), right?
I looked for a dist. block that had a 4ohm input and 2 4ohm outs, but couldn't find one. I looked itup real quick and I think the 8 ohm wire should be good for the amp going to the CDTs, I just wanted to make sure before getting everything.
Thanks,
Alan
Replies (4)
UKinstaller on 10/26/2004 12:07:34
let's get your terminology straight just to end any confusion, but it's 4 gauge inputs and outputs in stuff, not 4 ohm. ohms are the resistance measurements for speakers and subs, gauge is the thickness of the wire. no big deal though.
as far as your situation goes, if you distribute a 4 gauge input into a 4 gauge and 8 gauge output, our good buddy mr. physics tells us that something isn't right. one of the wires is not truly going to give the power that it appears to be distributing. however, people do this all of the time, it all depends on the amps being used.
you can do two things here. because the JBL 600 will require a solid 4 gauge wire, you can:
1) run a 4 gauge power wire for the jbl, and a seperate 8 gauge power wire, also connected to the battery, for the other amp. this sounds kind of ridiculous but it works and works well. might wanna look into a battery upgrade, though.
2) you can run something bigger, like an ott, 1, or 2 gauge wire, and distribute it into a true 4 gauge and 8 gauge distribution. the downside here is that the wires in these cases are ridiculously huge, and hiding them under carpet can be very unsightly. for ott gauge, i always CAREFULLY run it under the car and protect it with a conduit-type pipe.
all things said, run two seperate power wires. you'll get the true current you need.
i could be wrong about some of this though, so others please comment,
-UK
alanjlamore on 10/26/2004 13:08:15
Okay, good points...I had a brain fart there on the GUAGE of wire. I was kicking myself as I read your post HAPPY
I could just imagine having a wire with 4 or 8 ohms of resistance! I'd have a lot of trouble getting enough power to the speakers GRIN
I see your point on running 2 wires. I'll see if I have enough 4 guage wire to run 2 from the battery, otherwise I'll run one 4 and one 8 from the battery.
I just might also buy another high CCA battery, but I'm not sure on how to wire it to the vehicle. So far my 1 farad cap has been working, but I understand that another battery would be a better choice.
If I do get another battery, would I need to get a larger wire for both batteries, ground and power?
Thanks,
Alan
UKinstaller on 10/26/2004 14:41:00
interesting....i know people that have used their capacitors as distribution blocks, with 4 gauge in and 4 and 8 gauge out. it seems to work very well, and you don't lose as much current because of the extra power that is stored.
if you do upgrade batteries, i recommend an optima yellow. in my opinion, it's one of the best batteries on the market, and you get i think 1000 CCA out of them. if you are talking about adding an additional battery to your car, then all you need to do is run a fused 4 gauge power wire from the battery to wherever you want the new battery and voila, you are good to go.
-UK
swez on 10/26/2004 15:45:25
Actually, The 600.1 will draw less than 60A at max power. The Avionixx amp is doing 180 watts RMS total or a net current draw ~15A. So, 60 + 15 = 75A total current.
Depending on the length of power wire used back to the d-block, I see no reason why you cannot use #4 from the BAT and split to a #4 & #8 respectively to each amp.
Hummm, small truck = short power lead run. A NO BRAINER here. It should work as noted , just fine.
UK,
"as far as your situation goes, if you distribute a 4 gauge input into a 4 gauge and 8 gauge output, our good buddy mr. physics tells us that something isn't right. one of the wires is not truly going to give the power that it appears to be distributing. however, people do this all of the time, it all depends on the amps being used.?
Uhmmm, errrrr, duhhhh... my dear friend Dr. Watts, seems to disagree with Mr. Physics here. Each load (amplifiers in this case) will only draw as much power (Watts) as needed per device. A #8 gage wire is commonly rated for 40-50A, depending on length. A #4 gage wire is commonly rated between 80-100A, depending on length.
So, if a #4 can carry 80-100A all by itself, it does not care which amps gets "X" (60A) and the other amp gets "X/4" (15A) of current right.?The net total power on the main line is still 80-100A. See what I am saying?
Example: Our house wiring operates on the same premise. Say we have a #12 wire line from the fuse box to a wall socket. That circuit will be fused at a maximum of 20A. The wall socket has 2 outlets. One outlet is connected to a 2000 watt heater. (16.6A draw) . The other outlet is connected to a 300 watt TV set. (2.5A draw)
Both will get adequate current out of the same wall socket and not blow a fuse either. The net amperage of both items is 19.1A. Pretty close to 20A max before the fuse blows... but the same socket will fill each need right? Both devices will operate normally as noted. Yes, a heater of that size will have a pretty heavy cord. (probably 12 gage wire) The TV set will need much smaller wire, (#18 gage lamp cord) to deliver enough power to the TV set.
See how that plays out? Same idea.... just a different way of looking at it. Hope that helps.
Swez
PS NOPE, I am not trying to step on your toes either. Just trying to clarify the application as viable and why. Hope it makes sense...
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