I am going to run a JBL BP 330.1 sub amp(150W RMS @ 4 ohm) and an Alpine
MRV-F307 sattelite amp(50W x 4).

I plan on an inline fuse, on an 8 gauge power lead, near the battery, of
60A. Inside the car I will use an insulated splitter box to run a power
lead to each unit.

Is that a correct layout and fuse size?

On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 19:13:10 -0800, SHRED wrote:

I am going to run a JBL BP 330.1 sub amp(150W RMS @ 4 ohm) and an Alpine
MRV-F307 sattelite amp(50W x 4).

I plan on an inline fuse, on an 8 gauge power lead, near the battery, of
60A. Inside the car I will use an insulated splitter box to run a power
lead to each unit.

Is that a correct layout and fuse size?

You didn't say how long the wiring run from the battery to the
distribution block will be, but with a 150WRMS amp and a 200WRMS amp,
I'd go with 4-gauge from the battery rather than 8-gauge.

Good idea putting the main fuse as close to the battery as you can.
Since the fuse near the battery will have to pass the total current
for both amps, I'd go larger than 60A. Maybe 100A. Don't worry about
using too big of a fuse - the fuse near the battery isn't supposed to
protect the amps. It's just there to protect the wiring, so as long as
it blows before the 4GA wire overheats, you're fine.

I'm assuming your distribution block has 8-GA outputs. If that's the
case, get a distro block that has fused outputs, and put a fuse on
each output wire. Any time you step down in wire size, you should put
a fuse as soon as possible after the step-down. In this case, if you
have 4 GA going into the distro block, and 8 GA coming out, you need
to fuse the outputs. A 60A fuse for each 8 GA output should be fine.
Again, these fuses are just to protect the wiring, not the amps. The
amps will be protected by their own internal fuses.

Scott Gardner

Scott Gardner wrote:
On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 19:13:10 -0800, SHRED wrote:


I am going to run a JBL BP 330.1 sub amp(150W RMS @ 4 ohm) and an Alpine
MRV-F307 sattelite amp(50W x 4).

I plan on an inline fuse, on an 8 gauge power lead, near the battery, of
60A. Inside the car I will use an insulated splitter box to run a power
lead to each unit.

Is that a correct layout and fuse size?


You didn't say how long the wiring run from the battery to the
distribution block will be, but with a 150WRMS amp and a 200WRMS amp,
I'd go with 4-gauge from the battery rather than 8-gauge.

Good idea putting the main fuse as close to the battery as you can.
Since the fuse near the battery will have to pass the total current
for both amps, I'd go larger than 60A. Maybe 100A. Don't worry about
using too big of a fuse - the fuse near the battery isn't supposed to
protect the amps. It's just there to protect the wiring, so as long as
it blows before the 4GA wire overheats, you're fine.

I'm assuming your distribution block has 8-GA outputs. If that's the
case, get a distro block that has fused outputs, and put a fuse on
each output wire. Any time you step down in wire size, you should put
a fuse as soon as possible after the step-down. In this case, if you
have 4 GA going into the distro block, and 8 GA coming out, you need
to fuse the outputs. A 60A fuse for each 8 GA output should be fine.
Again, these fuses are just to protect the wiring, not the amps. The
amps will be protected by their own internal fuses.

Scott Gardner




Thanks Scott!

Scott Gardner wrote:
On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 19:13:10 -0800, SHRED wrote:


I am going to run a JBL BP 330.1 sub amp(150W RMS @ 4 ohm) and an Alpine
MRV-F307 sattelite amp(50W x 4).

I plan on an inline fuse, on an 8 gauge power lead, near the battery, of
60A. Inside the car I will use an insulated splitter box to run a power
lead to each unit.

Is that a correct layout and fuse size?


You didn't say how long the wiring run from the battery to the
distribution block will be, but with a 150WRMS amp and a 200WRMS amp,
I'd go with 4-gauge from the battery rather than 8-gauge.

From the battery to underneath the passenger seat of an Acura Integra.
So about 10 feet.
I think I will just run the 4-ga to a dist/block and the 8-ga from there
like you suggest and be done with it. Thanks again.


Good idea putting the main fuse as close to the battery as you can.
Since the fuse near the battery will have to pass the total current
for both amps, I'd go larger than 60A. Maybe 100A. Don't worry about
using too big of a fuse - the fuse near the battery isn't supposed to
protect the amps. It's just there to protect the wiring, so as long as
it blows before the 4GA wire overheats, you're fine.

I'm assuming your distribution block has 8-GA outputs. If that's the
case, get a distro block that has fused outputs, and put a fuse on
each output wire. Any time you step down in wire size, you should put
a fuse as soon as possible after the step-down. In this case, if you
have 4 GA going into the distro block, and 8 GA coming out, you need
to fuse the outputs. A 60A fuse for each 8 GA output should be fine.
Again, these fuses are just to protect the wiring, not the amps. The
amps will be protected by their own internal fuses.

Scott Gardner

I plan on an inline fuse, on an 8 gauge power lead, near the battery, of
60A. Inside the car I will use an insulated splitter box to run a power
lead to each unit.

Is that a correct layout and fuse size?

I would echo what Scott said. I would go with 4 gauge wire to your
distribution block and go with a larger fuse at the battery (80 or 100
amps). The purpose of the fuse at the battery is often misunderstood. As
Scott said, it's purpose is to prevent a fire in case of a direct short, not
amp protection. Using too small of a fuse at the battery can be frustrating
if you want to upgrade your amps in the future. My system can draw about 80
amps (and that's if I'm totally blasting it), yet I have a 200 amp circuit
breaker next to the battery.

MOSFET

I'm gonna disagree with the others and say just go with an 8 ga. Since the
amps are going under the seat, I can't imagine you'll have much room to
upgrade in the future without moving the whole setup to the trunk. And 8
ga. is perfectly fine for those amps at that length, and you'd be left only
having to use one fuse (near the battery). Either option will work. You'll
save yourself a couple bucks sticking with the 8 ga though.


"SHRED" wrote in message
news:BjVOd.58827$bu.31292@fed1read06...
I am going to run a JBL BP 330.1 sub amp(150W RMS @ 4 ohm) and an Alpine
MRV-F307 sattelite amp(50W x 4).

I plan on an inline fuse, on an 8 gauge power lead, near the battery, of
60A. Inside the car I will use an insulated splitter box to run a power
lead to each unit.

Is that a correct layout and fuse size?