Wicks
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Posts posted by Wicks
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Last xmas I bought an AC distribution block with a wireless remote. Used it to turn on xmas lights on my patio.
Got it at Target.
Its basically a power strip with a wireless remote.
Pretty handy. It was weather proof too (if that matters).
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No prob, glad I could help.
Post up some pics when its done, curious to see how the LEDs look.
Thinking about doing some similar myself shortly.
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I have to take a look and see if I have any extra slots and okay so from the relay to the junction there should be a 10a fuse and from the junction to the remote turn on's there should be 10a fuses as well for the amps? and I can throw on another 10a for all of the accessories? and yes I am running 14 gauge to the trunk as well
Whoa...only need a fuse at the source. If you find an open slot in your fusepanel, throw in the 10a fuse there. Then route the wire to the trunk.
If I understand your setup correctly:
Battery >> Main fuse >> fusepanel >> switched output >> 10A fuse >> relay >> junction box >> LEDs and amp turn-ons.
The 10A fuse is meant to break the connection if a wire down stream would come loose and short to ground causing a large current to flow which would burn up the wire.
These components that you're connecting themselves dont fail to a "short condition". Basically if your LED strip breaks or fails it stops drawing current, same with the amps. Therefore they don't need seperate fuses themselves.
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Gotcha.
So you're running the switched power wire from your headunit to a relay to turn on amps and power some LEDs.
The remote wire (from the headunit) should already have a fuse inline. Usually from the backpanel of the headunit.
If not, it wouldn't hurt.
That turn-on wire will only be powering the coil in the relay so a 1a fuse would be plenty.
The switched power wire that is running the headunit, relay and accessories should come from your car's fuse panel and already be fused.
It will probably be fused for the headunit only though, so more draw through the fuse might be an issue. You're only running amp turn-ons and a LEDs so I highly doubt it but I need to throw that out there.
Does your car's fusepanel have spare fuse outlets? Those should also be switched with the key and allow you to fuse that line seperately.
I still don't know what the LED current draw is but LEDs draw very little power. Amp turn ons will also be low power, depending on the amp.
To be safe and allow for enough expansion, a 10a fuse should be plenty.
What size wire are you running from said terminal block to the trunk? 14ga like you mentioned for the remote turn-on?
14ga is good for around 20A so fusing at 10A will be safe.
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Thanks for the explanation so that I understand you correctly I am running 14 gauge remote wire for the amp turn on's should I do my math using the MAX on the amp or the RMS if I use the max the would be 900w/13.8v = 65amps do I get a 60 or 70 amp fuse mids/highs. 1000w/13.8v = 73amps do I get a 70 or an 80 amp fuse. Did I do that correctly? As far as the lights go how do I determine the power rating the trunk lights were cheap led strips from ebay no info provided just says 12v led. I haven't gotten the ones for under the seat yet.
My final question is how large should the fuse be from the #87 relay to my 12v source?
Not sure I followed everything you wrote.
14ga is plenty for a remote turn-on (assuming that you're using it to only switch items on and not power anything).
Remote turn-on leads should already be fused from the Headunit.
Always use RMS ratings, max numbers can be highly exaggerated and lead to the wrong size fuse.
Do the amps already have fuses? If not, their manuals should state what to fuse them at.
Amps aren't 100% efficient so they will input more power then they output. Therefore you have to take that into consideration when fusing.
Do you have a multimeter that can measure current? You could use that to measure how much current the LED strips are pulling.
Depending on how many you're running, LEDs use very little current so without knowing what you have, a 5a fuse is probably fine.
Where is this relay sourcing its power from? A distribution block in the trunk or a seperate power wire from the battery?
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Actually I think I understand what you're saying I had a basic grasp of whats going on just wasn't completely sure my only question now is did you run fuses in between each accessory on the junction post and if so I know what size to get for the lights but how big should the fuse be for the amp turn ons?
i didnt run any fuses on the jumpers or the amp turn but for the lights i would fuse them... i know when i will buy my lights and install them i am going to run a fuse. if i am wrong about not fusing the amp turn on hope someone tunes in and corrects me.
edit: also you would need to fuse the relay #87 to 12volt source though
All wires should be fused at their source. This protects the source in case that wire comes loose and shorts to ground down along the cable run.
Power distribution wire should be fused to the gauge of the wire. It supplies many things and you want as much current through it as possible. If it shorts to ground though you want the fuse to blow before the wire heats up and causes damage.
Amplifier power inputs should be fused to the rated current draw of the amplifier. You allow it to draw its maximum rated current, but if the amp fails and draws more current then its fuse blows before doing more damage to the amp itself (and anything its powering).
What lights are we talking about? LEDs, light bulbs, etc.
Find the power rating of all the lights in the circuit and divide by the max voltage (12-14V). This will give you the total current draw that the lights require.
Match that with the corresponding fuse.
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Batteries should have an output current capacity rating.
If you want to run the system full tilt without the alternator running, then make sure you have enough batteries to supply the current required.
Batteries also have an Amp-Hour rating which tells you how much "power" the battery holds.
A battery with an Amp-Hour rating of 20AH will supply a current of 10 amps for 2 hours (10a * 2hr = 20AH).
So just use that formula with your batteries to see your capacity.
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Electrical current must flow in a path, to and from the battery/alternator.
Therefore it will always be choked down by your smallest wire gauge regardless where it is.
The official (wikipedia) copper resistance of 4ga is 0.25mOhms/ft.
You said the fuse rating is 160a. So at potentential max current draw you could get a 0.8V drop across your 20feet of 4ga wire.
0.25m * 20' = 5mOhms.
160a * 5mOhms = 0.8V drop.
160a*160a*5mOhms = 128W of power loss in the wire.
Given, 4ga wire is only rated for maybe 100a so it might be slightly stressed by that 160a.
0ga will only be better.
In general, always use the larger wire for long cable runs. Less resistance, less voltage drop.
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Wut up people,
Here is the deal I am doing my Civic's FLI Audio build and I have reached a point where I need to start adding the trimmings before I complete the main build. As far as trimmings go I am installing a volt meter, trunk lights, lights under each seat and lights on the mids/highs amp. So here are my questions:
Where do I wire the Volt Meter to get the best reading from my car when it's on with the engine running and when its on without the engine running?
What wire in the car should I hook the trunk lights up to so that they are on when the car is running and when I just have the key in the ignition listening to music?
Same question for the lights under the seat?
The lights for the mids and highs amps will be hooked up to the remote turn on at the amp so I have my answer for those.
All lights will have toggle switches on them just for my own craziness when ever I need to cut them off I like to know I can turn them off if need be.
What do you want the voltmeter to measure?
If you want to see alternator voltage, wire it to the front of your car (alternator or front battery).
If you want to see amplifier voltage, wire it to the amps (this will show you any voltage drop that occurs from the cable routing).
Trunk lights could also be hooked up to the remote turn on wire (with a relay). Or have a pin-switch conected to a relay that turns the lights on when the trunk is opened..?
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Good find man.
Thanks
It's amazing what kind of legislation goes through the system without people being better informed.
There are soo many more important issues out there than if a multi-platinum music artist gets mad because somebody sampled their song in a youtube video.
If anything its free advertisment because people will hear the song and want to legally download it so they can play it.
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http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s978/show
Check it out.
A lot of you post youtube videos showing your systems while using copyrighted songs (what else would we use?).
If this bill goes through, those that make money on those videos could get felonies.
This could be a major issue in the future for somebody
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Your amp does 800Wrms (rated). Its Class D so a ballpark 80% efficiency means it pulls around 1000W.
Given a 13.8V supply, you're looking at 72amps of draw (not counting other amps, etc).
That's maxing out your alternator. So you are using some reserve from your batteries a lot.
Your 4ga wire to the amp is also rated for only about 80amps so you're at the limit of the wire too.
Increasing to 0 gauge wire would help a lot, along with a bigger alternator (and the battery that you've mentioned).