Amp questions.

its about the size of my pinky bro...I'm running a 400HD and thats what was suggested I use by Carl himself and Rolling Radios..350/400 same difference whats 50 watts among freinds..


scroll down to the 400HD if you don't believe me and click on install kits..

http://www.xforceamps.com/category/Xforce-25

and yes I'm aware he is not running an X Force, again same difference..

 

I know how big 4 guage wire is. I use it for the Winches on my atvs which draw way more amperage then a 350, 400 or a 450 watt amp will draw.

The thing is that 4 gauge wire is not needed for these amps, they are not drawing anywere near enough amperage to need that size wire and you won't see a hill of beans difference between running these amps on 10 gauge wire compared to 4 gauge wire.

Another thing to take into account is if this is his own truck or a company truck, alot of companies don't want drivers doing much of anything to their trucks. One screw up and the truck ends up a molten pile along the side of the highway along with the freight it was carrying.

But on a positive note,a stainless dome style antenna stud fits inside the mirror of a 386 Pete. SWR dropped .3 points just by installing the Dome type mount. My setup is now complete and I am happy. Not putting in the 450 though, don't need it for the most part as my Connex 4600 turbo is more then enough locally.

 

Depends on how long a run he needs to get to the battery...Longer the run, the larger the wire needs to be.

You should see the cable I run in my Suburban to get power from my 3- 220 amp alternators to my battery bank in the back of the truck where my Amp's are at!

Have 4/0 AWG ran threw PVC pipe under the truck to the back....

 

I think 8 gauge is plenty for that amp. I used trolling motor wire for my 667V, it was 6 gauge I believe. I never ran it past the low setting so don't know if I really needed wire that thick. Bought me another one the other day (667V) so I guess I need to dig out the trolling motor wire and install it again. (oh yeah, since I live close to the factory I was able to retain RANGER BOAT trolling motor wire! Hard to beat a Ranger Boat!!!)

 

But then you are not running a small High drive 350 in your burb either. LOL

In the truck , and 04 379 Pete, I ran 10 gauge form my Palomar 450. I fed it from the battery box inside the drivers side step to the cubby in the roof of the cab with no issues. I ran both my Palomar and my connex off the same feed and ground lines and never had an issue. The amp still did everything it was supposed to do and so did my 4600 turbo. The wire did not even get slightly warm to the touch when pushing everything to the max.

The only problem I had with the setup was accidentally driving that Palomar with my connex turned up all the way. Not sure what went inside the amp but after that it would not work unless you put more then 50 watts into it. I plan on getting it fixed somewere so that it can be used with a regular 3.5 watt CB. Which by the way is what most CBs put out out of the box. I have yet to buy one that actually did 4 watts in stock form. That is Cobra, Uniden and Galaxy (CBs not the export DX series).

 

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

scroll down and you will find the chart. i installed a fridge in my volvo truck last year, and here is what i used. i had a cobra 800w 1600w peak 12v inverter. i ran a 3 cubic foot mini fridge, tv and playstation and cellphone charger on the inverter. my wire was copper strand oil and gas resistant 10 gauge. it was thermally protected by one of those expensive transistor type car audio fuses.

i never had an issue with the wires overheating. it was ran correctly, all protected in wire loom, zip tied up and taped very well where any point of friction might be. if you have any problems on picking wire, do what i did. i went to lowes, and there is a big chart on the wall for all kinds of wire size according to the amp load and current type. it took me about 5 minutes with the sales associate and the chart and i was out the door with all the wire and connectors to install the inverter. all my stuff cost me 35 bucks, and that was far cheaper than one of those BS inverter install kits you can get at the flying hook.