dave97LX

I am planning to add an infinity basslink sub (200W rms) to my system which currently consists of a 4-channel alpine amp (55x4 rms) hooked up to 4 speakers. The amp's been wired to my battery with an 8-gauge wiring kit, but I'm not sure if that's going to be safe to power the basslink as well. So...

When I install the basslink, whats the best/safest idea for getting power to it?
- Should I get another 8-gauge kit and solder on to the amp's power cable?
- Should I rewire the car with 4-gauge power wire and use a distro block?
- Should I even be worrying at all??
I dont think the block/4ga is necessary since it's only a 60-amp load (420W rms)but I also don't want to have a fire, either. Any and all help is appreciated.

Arfboy

You should be fine with 8 ga. wire on that light load. (You'll probably never go near the full current draw.) For a while, I had a 600W amp with just an 8 ga. power wire and it was fine. Just be sure to fuse the 8 ga. adequately near the battery. (Btw, how'd you get the 60 amps? Is that the sum of the fuses on the amps?) If you do decide to upgrade your wiring, a decent 4 ga. kit can be found at WalMart.

dave97LX

I got the 60 amps figure from a formula for calculating total draw on crutchfield.

So all I gotta do is replace the 30-amp fuse with a 60- or 80-amp fuse?
And after I run the rca's then just solder the basslink's 8-ga power wire onto the amp's power wire at any point? I'd rather do that then re-wire my car with 4-ga wire. Let me know.

Arfboy

That formula's funny. It puts my current draw at over 188 amps, but I only have a 100A fuse that's never blown. . It jumps to almost 290 amps with the new amps I'm planning on installing, according to the formula.

Your total amp draw really should not exceed 50 amps, unless you run both amps past their recommended limits. Your Basslink requires a 20 amp fuse and your Alpine amp requires a 30 amp fuse, so replace the 30A fuse with a 50A.

You could either splice another 8 ga. wire into your existing 8 ga. wire somewhere in the back, or you could use a distribution block. Both ways work and do the same thing. Rewiring shouldn't take too long though, if you really wanted to do it. I have a 97 Accord and running a 4 ga. wire to the trunk shouldn't take me anymore than an hour, if that.

rcurley55

use a fused distribution block to break that 8ga into two wires for each amplifier. Splicing, soldering, and etc are not the best of solutions IMO when you get wires to be that size. It's difficult to get a good connection other then a distro block.

Arfboy

When done RIGHT, a soldered connection should be superior to a distribution block, although not noticeably. In a distribution block, the wires are pressed down against metal, whereas a soldered connection has the wired melted through the strands, leaving for a slightly better connection. 8 ga. wire is NOT hard to get a good connection through soldering. I've soldered both 8 and 4 ga. together so strong that I couldn't separate them when my friend and I had a tug of war with them. But regardless of whether a fused distribution block is used, the main wire should still be fused near the battery.

rcurley55

you are right - when done correctly - it takes a lot of heat to avoid a cold solder joint on very large wires - at least that's my experience, but I don't claim to be the master solderer . that's why I think it's easier to use the distro block - plus it builds in the fusing that he should have before each amplifier

Arfboy

Yeah, soldering isn't for everyone. I avoid soldering whenever possible. I only use it currently on the wires for my head unit's harness. I used to like to splice wires with the twist and tape method or crimp connectors, before my friend showed me how to really solder. I still run a distro block for my 0 ga to 2-4 ga's. I use the distro mainly for looks though. It's a lot better looking install to have a distro block under acrylic than it is to have a taped up solder. Plus, soldering is a bit more painful to remove for non-permanent installs.

dave97LX

the only soldering I've done is when I replaced the factory speaker wire with 16ga wire, I cut some old aftermarket speaker harnesses in half and soldered them to the +/- speaker wire. That was fine for speaker wire but what I'm gathering from this discussion is that soldering power wire probably wouldn't be in my best interest.

My plan now is to get a distribution block, but am I supposed to split the current 8ga power input into 8ga power outputs, or am I required to rewire the car with 4ga wire and then split that? I'll rewire the car if necessary (always easier the second time around) because I want to do it right but I am making sure if it is indeed what I have to do.

dave97LX

is that the right way to go? anything else I need to be concerned about?