snafu

Lovin' that pedal!

I guess nobody reads anymore.

That's kind of like saying 12" woofers are not good for car audio because they keep blowing. The trick is to choose the correctly sized breaker for the application. A breaker has a simple task - prevent a fire without becoming a bottlekneck. Choose the incorrect sized breaker and you will trip it often. Choose the correct sized breaker and it will trip when the cable connected to it becomes shorted. We offer both high quality ANL Fuse Holders and Fuses (up to 500 amps) and Manual Resetting Circuit Breakers (up to 200 Amps). It all depends on your application. I'm not a fan of "bargain" stuff here because they will be a bottleneck.

Guys, this is simple math. We're all over the map here. I'll answer the question for 14.4 volts with Class D amplifiers, assuming: - the alternator mentioned can indeed make its rated output at 14.4 Volts - the vehicle requires 50 amps to run all stock accessories - the batteries require between 7 and 10 amps each to maintain a surface charge - the audio system is played at clipping (as loud as it'll play cleanly) 250 Amps - 50 Amps - 30 Amps (batteries, worse case scenario) = 170 Amps left for amplifiers 170 Amps x 14.4 Volts = 2,448 Watts 2,448 Watts x 75% Amplifier Efficiency = 1,836 Watts of amplifier power when reproducing sine waves With music, even bass discs, duty cycle is about 50% 1,836 Watts / 50% duty cycle = 3,672 Watts of amplifier power when playing music This number will indeed increase at 12.6 Volts (nominal voltage of the batteries) but too many variables are missing from the OPs question to make a SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess). Having said that, I have approximately 3,000 Watts RMS in my daily driver and a DC Power 250 Amp alternator with a single Red Top. And guess what . . . I can JUST pull voltage into the 12s with it all full tilt on Bass Mekanik. This is indeed a case where the math simply doesn't lie.

Good Call! I ran a pair of them in my Mustang - one bridged to each of a Kicker C-18. I also had a slew of other Autotek amps in it. I ran the ones with the blue labels though. That was in the days when a BIG amp had an 8 AWG power wire. LOL . . .

OK, I'll bite . . . and trust me, I spent MANY hours drooling over audio brochures in the '80s. 1. The Orion 425 HCCA - Put 'em Away with HCCA was their ad in the mags. Wayne Harris' hearse was in the background with a bunch of surly lookin' dudes throwing the other brands amps in a hole they dug in front of it. I also coveted their 2350GX and of course the gold version - the 2350GS. This was an era when different was totally cool! 2. The HiFonics Colossus vi. Although the picture is of a vii (can't find any vi pics online), I became aware of this amp in about 1988 or so. 1,200 watts RMS - that was UNHEARD OF in a car amplifier back then. Let alone 1,800 watts RMS when you ran it at 2 ohms per channel (900 per channel). At the time, this was the king of the hill, with nearly double the rated power of the RF Power 1000. I did eventually settle on an Isis, Europa, and Pegasus from them but always lusted after the Colossus. 3. The PPI 2350DM. In about 1990 I heard a Kicker demo vehicle with (4) of their C18s, each driven by one of these amplifiers. Man, the bottom end was CLEAN. I'm sure TomTom has one of each of them . . .

Of course not. Your thread just happened to be about the umpteenth one I've seen in the last couple of weeks with the same basic question. I didn't really look too closely at your amplifiers, just what you were asking for. Unfortunately in this category, there is a bunch of mis-information so it's incredibly difficult to make an informed purchase based on the products currently in the marketplace. It's really more the fault of marketing departments and NOT the shopper. I stand by what I said with Welding Cable, because it's absolutely true.

Actually, I'm providing an option. There is a reason that I don't sell the products you've recommended. To each their own.

Man, those look SOLID! You should be able to crimp them with your teeth.

Our 3 foot side post 1/0 AWG Charging System Upgrade Kit is $153.95 - that covers your Big 3, only our kit will offer better performance than connecting the battery (-) to the engine block. LINK It includes EVERYTHING you need to install it. We sell 1/0 AWG for $6/foot in that length. You do not need a length of ground cable to run front to rear. 4-5 foot of 1/0 AWG ground cable would be plenty to go the frame on the same side that you ground your battery and alt via our Charging System Upgrade Kit. LINK Our 1/0 AWG Lugs run $3.75 each and they are super thick stock which is tinned. LINK I'll terminate the cables for you and heat shrink them with SUPER THICK adhesive lined heat shrink for $1 each termination. Then, you need to consider: 1. Fuse for the charge lead? 2. Fuse for the lead going to the rear? We're a one-stop shop. We sell it all and I have been involved in car audio since 1984. We offer the cable and parts we do because we have hand selected them. I'm obviously not the cheapest . . . but we do give a 10% discount to all SMD Members. Be sure you're comparing Apples to Apples in your search. The cable we offer is tinned OFC that meets the AWG specification for all of our kits and custom cables. Welding cable is great for . . . well, welding. The jacket has no immunity to petroleum based products nor does it offer good insulation from heat.

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/wire_calculator.asp

Unlikely. I just sold a friend much the same, a LA 1F cap I hadn't used since 2003. I charged it up via a few resistors wired in series and it worked like always.

Well, you didn't give us a whole lot of info to go off of. Did you drill any holes in the frame, chassis, or body? If so, did you possibly damage a wiring harness in the process? Many late model vehicles have harnesses tucked in all sorts of crannies. Did you run any self-tapping screws into the frame, chassis, or body? If so, is it possible that one has come in contact with a harness on the other side? Did you mount anything? Did you accidentally pinch or crimp a harness in the process? Keep in mind that every time you connect the battery, you are supplying whatever problem that you are looking for with a seemingly unlimited amount of current. If you have a short, at some point in time you will have a much larger problem than you have presently. If you have access to a clamp type DC ammeter, this would be an excellent time to put it to work. Place it around the positive cable and temporarily re-connect the negative. Any reading in excess of one amp is cause for concern. From the sounds of things, you have a significantly larger problem. As for the gauge and fans, I would agree that those problems would seem to be inter-related. Without having access to a schematic of your vehicle's wiring harness, about the only thing they could have in common would be a ground connection. The gauge is likely fine, so I'm speaking of the sending unit. If it has a single wire, then it is sourcing ground through the block or intake manifold, depending on it's location. Sending unit connected to block, block to battery (-), etc. If it has two wires, then one of them is likely connected to ground and the other to the gauge (whether directly or through the vehicle ECU). If that is the case, it is possible that the sending unit and fan relays share a common ground. If they were tied together, but not grounded, each would attempt to source ground through the other. You say you moved and changed stuff. Could you have accidentally disconnected their ground and forgot to re-connect it? Depending on the wiring of the fan relays, having them not grounded, could cause the fans to operate in one speed but not the other. Whatever you do, don't assume the problem will fix itself. Good luck, and report back.

Update. The system has remain unchanged. I just can't bear to part with these subs - I just love the way they sound. I'll likely keep this car indefinitely. After dozens of systems, I can say that I'm just incredibly happy with how it sounds after all these years. I mean, why screw with perfection? I just drive it and enjoy it. What else does a guy need?

Mine makes more powa!

In my latest book, Automotive Electrical Performance Projects, I illustrate step-by-step how to install a complete Painless 18 circuit universal wiring harness in a '41 Willys pro-street vehicle. When I turned the vehicle back over to the owner, he was undecided on what engine to put in it - all he knew was that it was going to be roots blown. He ordered a Smeding 383 Blower motor for it and has had it in the vehicle for a while just looking at him . . . begging him to start it. I finished the wiring in the engine compartment so it was time to fire it up! Enjoy!

Cool! Back in "the day", we did TONS of (4) 8" set-ups. This was a time when a 12" woofer needed 2 cubic foot sealed and 2.5 ported. The 8s only required .75 each sealed. Four behind the seat of a pickup truck was THE HOT ticket. Later, in '92, I put (4) 8s in a single reflex band-pass cabinet in the hatch of my wife's 86 Mustang GT. Nobody could believe 8s could get that loud. Man, if we just had the woofers available today back then!

LMFAO! If only he painted the sub gold first . . .

I disagree.

Wow! Just goes to show you that there are a BUNCH of companies out there offering products that just don't perform. In the two and a half years that Second Skin has been an SMD Partner, all I've seen is praise. Keep up the great work SS!

Attended the show last night in Phoenix. My fiance' got me some BAD-ASS tix where we were like 10 feet from the band. These guys put on a hell of a show. I've probably been to 50 plus concerts and a few of them are stand-outs. I attended the Metallica concert with Meade a few years back (thanks bro!) and I was really impressed at how crowd friendly Metallica is. I had never seen a band that was so appreciative of their fans, this was what impressed me most about Metallica - until last night. You just have to see the Foo Fighters in person to see what I'm talkin' about. I felt like we were all invited to hang out with them after the show was over. Their performance was stellar. They just flat out rocked for in excess of 3 hours - nobody does that but Rush and Pink Floyd. Not only did they nail all their best tunes, but they hit the ball out of the park with a cover of a Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh" - I'm not sure I've EVER heard this song played better or harder! They also covered some Tom Petty and that was nearly as awesome. The sounded GREAT, the light show was AWESOME and really fit their style - my hat's off to them for coming up with something really original in this regards. Here's where they rank in my all time favorite shows: #1 - Pink Floyd, Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour, Dortmund, West Germany, 1988 #2 - Lenny Kravitz, in the House of Blues at the Mandalay, Las Vegas, 2001 (nobody plays louder or cleaner than Lenny - easily 10 dB louder than any show I've attended! This was SO loud it was scary at times.) #3 - Foo Fighters, US Airways in Phoenix, AZ - October, 2011 #4 - Pink Floyd, The Division Bell Tour, Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, TN - 1994 I'd go see them again in a second! If they're coming to your town - you'd be well advised to buy tix! Thanks Julie! You're the BEST!

If you're talking some bad-ass component speakers, I always recommend using the included passive crossover networks - mainly because of all the money put into their design. The chance of you (or I) being able to pull off what they've spent months designing with a twist of the crossover control on your amplifier is like zero. Sound deadening is key - not only will it improve the sound of your speakers and eliminate rattles, it will improve the overall efficiency of the midbass drivers. I built many a system over the years with RF component speakers. Looks like the T3 and T5 are some serious contenders.

Our partners Darvex, Audio Savings, XS Power, and Mechman all offer OFC cable that meets the AWG specification. I stand by my earlier post.

Keep in mind that the jacket on welding cable is: - Not designed to resist petroleum based products such as oil and gasoline - Not designed to offer any insulation to the heat generated in the engine compartment (and heating the copper increases its resistance) You'd be well advised to buy cable suited to automotive use.

At the other end of the spectrum, I should mention that I use MB Quart QSD-216s in my personal vehicle - not an inexpensive pair of speakers. I got them while employed at Rockford, who at the time owned MB Quart. Most who have listened to my vehicle are blown away by their performance. My recipe: - Midbass drivers mounted to 1" thick Baltic Birch baffle - Midbass driver sealed to baffle with 1/8" weatherstripping tape - Baffle secured to door with 1/4-20 hardware and sealed to door with silicone - Sound deadener on exterior door skin - between 1/2" and 3/4" thick - Sound deadener on interior door skin - between 1/4" and 3/8' thick This allows me to cross the speakers over at about 75 Hz (24 dB / oct) with over 400 watts RMS per channel on them. This provides excellent midbass response (like - you can nearly feel it in your chest) and excellent integration with the woofers. The icing on the cake was allowing Rockford's OEM department to tune the car for me. Coupled with a pair of 18" HX2 woofers that play flat to 20 Hz with ease, it's the best "SQ" system I've ever owned. Before the MBQs, I used Lightning Audio Storm 6.5" Components. In comparison to the MB Quarts, I would say they lacked the nth bit of detail, and had a slight bump in the midbass/midrange area that I couldn't tune completely out. From a practical standpoint, the midbass speakers simply would not handle the same kind of power. But, SQ was still good nonetheless. You certainly get what you pay for in regards - and the QSDs deliver the SQ I'm looking for and handle the abuse of triple their rated power on stuff like Benny Benassi without failure . . .