Power & speaker wire Q

MORTIS · Post by **MORTIS** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:01 pm

Ok so I've only been on this site for a short while now and I can already see that there's a lot of people on here that know a shit-load more about this stuff than I do.
So I apologize for my noobness and I appreciate your help.

I asked these 2 question in my thread in 'Installs' but i'm in a bit of a hurry to get things hooked up right.

I'm looking through the Ti500.4 manual and it says a minimum 4 gauge power/ground wire is required or the warranty is void.
I obviously don't have a warranty but they must be saying that for a reason.
I don't know if my wire is that heavy but it was provided by a fairly reputable shop in my area. I will be running only 4 ohm on all 4 channels so I'm wondering if what they say is all that critical.

They also say to use minimum 16 gauge speaker wire. Again I don't know the gauge of what I have but I am using 2 sets on each duel vc driver so I'm hoping that will be enough.
I'm not too worried about having to replace the speaker wire but it will be more trouble if I have to get new power wire and snake it through from the battery to the back.

By the way, what's this the manual says about output being 18 x 4 @4ohms with 12 volts - and 75 x 4 @ 4ohms with 14.4 volts. That's a hella difference!
I take it the 14.4 is when my engine is running, and I suppose the 12 volts might sometimes occur when listening for a while with the engine off.

I thank you for any info on ALL these Q's so I get this sucka installed.

HoseHead · Post by **HoseHead** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:22 pm

Noobness understood. We was all one once, some of us a lot longer ago than others, right C?

AWG = American Wire Gauge

4AWG will fill the hole where you connect to your amp. The wire's sheath will butt up nice an tight to the connector. And yes, they're saying it for a reason. You need this size of wire to properly feed the amp when it asks for current. You will never see the specified power ratings with anything smaller. Invest the $300 or so dollars for quality power distribution. It will save you headaches in the future.

- Battery connectors
- Main fuse
- Power & ground cable
- Distribution blocks

16AWG is standard and probably what the factory put in your car. If I had to pull wire, I'd go 12AWG for the few extra bucks. The larger the gauge, the larger the cross sectional area of the wire and therefore less current loss with more power to the speaker.

P = E x I. Power = Voltage x Current.
If you increase the current (meaning less loss with larger wire), the power MUST increase if voltage (volume) remains constant. A more efficient system overall plus your amp doesn't work as hard for the same listening level.

You're correct about the voltage - 13.8 - 14.4 VDC with the car running and 12 VDC with it off after listening for some time. Take those power settings seriously. In other words, ensure you have an adequate power source if you listen for long periods with the engine off. Any performance amp, like a Ti500.4, will drain your battery quickly.

As mentioned several times of late, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

HH

Irongoats · Post by **Irongoats** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 6:18 pm

Great post.

I'll be running 0 gauge to the distro block then running 4 gauge out to amps. You should at least run that 4 gauge especially since they tell to you too. It's not that expensive but mostly needed.

MORTIS · Post by **MORTIS** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:24 am

wOw, you da' man HoseHead!
That's the most comprehensive answers to a series of questions in a single post I've ever received. Props to you dude!

Thank you too Irongoats. I'm definitely going to get the 4 gauge power/ground wire.

Well I was hoping I could just hook up the Ti where my existing amp is without further upgrades, but that's not to be.
I now wonder if even my old milder Clarion APA4162 amp was getting AND giving enough juice with my current wires.

I must say, not only am I very glad I found this site with so many knowledgeable members but it's a pleasure to read post where I'm not struggling to comprehend poor writing skills.

Thanks again!

HoseHead · Post by **HoseHead** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:12 pm

You're welcome. I was wrecked and couldn't stop typing.......

HH

MORTIS · Post by **MORTIS** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:30 pm

Wrecked huh? hmmm... on what?

I do find the power/ground wire requirement rather curious though.
Why is it that an amp being fed from a max of 14.4 volts requires such a massive wire when nothing in my home other than the drier seems to need that sort of gauge, including my high-end home audio being fed by 110 volts ac and enough amperage to kill ya?

MORTIS · Post by **MORTIS** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:42 pm

Also, I found some spare speaker wire that I'm going to try.
It's Interlinks 12awg Audiophile Reference Series; or so it says on the wire.
That aught a do it!

Post by **Bfowler** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:44 pm

the reason for that is currant.

go back to: P = E x I. Power = Voltage x Current. (copied from above)

your home draws minimal currant because it runs on 110 volts.

so to make the same power in a car, you need much more amperage to account for you only running on a 14.4 volt system

that is why the breakers in your house are rated for ~15, 30, 40 amps
while those in cars are rated from 30 (small amp) to 125, or even more for extremely large systems

the volts are what are dangerous. noise the warning signs you see warn you of the "high voltage"

and the reason home builders/contractors must be "high voltage" certified

MORTIS · Post by **MORTIS** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:58 pm

Thanks Bfowler!

OK, I suppose that makes sense.
That's odd because I've always heard that it's not the volts that can kill you but the amps.

Tcguy85 · Post by **Tcguy85** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:07 pm

MORTIS wrote:Thanks Bfowler!

OK, I suppose that makes sense.
That's odd because I've always heard that it's not the volts that can kill you but the amps.

thats what i thought too. you can get hit with the power from a cars ignition coil and you sure feel it but it doesn't hurt you. and they put out a LOT of volts.

MORTIS · Post by **MORTIS** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:14 pm

^ yeah, when I was about 4 years old I stuck a bobbi-pin in a wall socket and it burnt my hand all to shit and threw me across the room. I'm lucky to have survived it. lol

No wait... that was 2 weeks ago!

dedlyjedly · Post by **dedlyjedly** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:36 pm

It is actually the current that you're ticker can't handle, but the higher the voltage the more likely it is you'll be electrocuted as opposed to taking a surprising shock.