Melted Fuse Holder, And Blew Amp

[baker11]

This is my first post here, and WOW, I thought my system was loud. Steve Meade is the man.

First off this is what im running on my 2004 Chevy Avalanche-

2-18 Elemental Design subs in a sealed custom mid-gate box powered by 1-1200 watt amp( a little underpowered but definitely get's the job done)

1-8 inch ED sub- powered by a 400 watt ED amp(there for looks not hooked up)

Alpine type r speakers in the rear- also powered by the 400 watt amp(usually not hooked up, like all my highs coming from the front)

Kicker components in the front with crossovers- powered by a 200 watt ED amp

ED tweeters

All doors deadened

Red top optima battery

Rampage fuse holder with 100 amp ANL fuse

2 gauge power wiring

Here's the problem-

I was bumping my system today and all of a sudden everything just stopped and i looked at my remote bass and the light was off. So I automatically assumed I blew in the inline fuse...so I pop the hood and the inline fuse isn't blown but one entire side of the battery terminal that holds the fuse in is somewhat melted(replaced this fuse holder with a rampage after the previous holder melted) and it also burnt a good 1.5 inch of my wire(running from the battery). So i go check the fuses on my amp and there not blown...Then I turn the truck back on and my amp gets power again then flickers and I hear the pop: the fuses on the amp were blown, and then replace fuses etc amp just kept blowing fuses. It's been sent off to be repaired....and so i've finally somewhat come to the conclusion that it was because my wire going from the battery to the inline wasnt "fully inside" the terminal....so like instead of having a 2 gauge wire from what i understand i pretty much had like an 8 gauge because I wasn't getting full contact. I actually bought this truck with the system already installed, so I really don't know ALL the details that went into building it. So if anyone has any ideas on what i can do to ensure it doesn't happen again, or if there were other problems that caused this. I would really appreciate it. Also, if you need anymore info just tell me.

Im including pics in case this helps someone figure out what else is wrong with this set up.

Current Amp setup

Current Sub setup

Burnt fuse holder(terminal was melted too but i had already taken it off)

Wiring on 1200 watt amp

Overview of fuse holder and battery

Head Unit

My truck(posting for the heck of it)

[Chode69]

gonna need larger wire ran...i had 2 ga in mine burnt it up and then swapped it out with 0/1 ga and never had a problem since

Now the new wire

[Derrick824]

So you have a 1200, 400, and a 200watt amp getting fed via 2awg wire and a 100a fuse. Those amplifiers should be capable of pulling 180a of current. You need larger wire and a proper fuse.

[ChampN252]

Same thing happened to me recently, but my amp didn't blow. I was not properly grounded. It melted my fuseholder and it caught on fire. Redo your grounding making sure they are clean and all connections are tight.

[dmanson]

yeh bro that 1/0 gauge should do it.

[Guest MegaloManiac]

Yea Chode was/is a newb j/p

He is correct you will need to step your game slightly up, and upgrade the power/ground wires with a thicker gauge.

edit: since you whole fuse block melted that also shows you put the wrong size fuse too! becareful! next time it could be your whole dam truck on fire !

Edited April 25, 2008 by MegaloManiac

[fourlug]

Same thing happened to me recently, but my amp didn't blow. I was not properly grounded. It melted my fuseholder and it caught on fire. Redo your grounding making sure they are clean and all connections are tight.

x2, just need to upgrade your wiring!

[pstone11]

That's a cool truck man, I'd hate to see it on fire.

New wire/fuse/block should set you right.

[baker11]

That's a cool truck man, I'd hate to see it on fire.

New wire/fuse/block should set you right.

Thanks for all the replies

1. Larger Wiring- Do i need to run larger wiring through the whole truck? ( may be a stupid question, because it doesnt really make sense to just run 0 gauge from the battery to the fuse..)

1200 watt amp: 4x30 amps. According to ED's website max current draw is 130 amps.

400 watt amp: 2x30. Max current draw 55 amps.

200 watt amp: 2x25. Max current draw 49 amps.

Total= 234 amps

So would a 250 amp ANL fuse work?

Chode69- My fuse holder and wire was burnt the same as yours and whats even funnier is i am now running the same fuse holder as you.

Edited April 25, 2008 by baker11

[Guest MegaloManiac]

for 1/0awg wire 250a fuse should be used for long runs, such as front battery to back of car. But a 300a fuse can be used on shorter runs, like 3ft runs.