thicker wire on starter or alt?

[faeezhio]

Hey, so I took a look at my alt connections(the previous owners connections)....I got like 8awg from my live on alt running to my starter, and from my starter I got 4awg running to the battery, and I got 4awg running from the engine block to my battery for ground....if I replace all my connections with 4awg cables, will it take the strain off my alternator? And will my battery be much better off? Aswell as my amp, will it make a major difference compared to this ****** 10awg wire running to my amp? Lol or should I just use 8awg to my amp? I only need like 400rms or so from the amp....btw I got a kicker cvr, will it be a lot louder in a ported box? I drive a mk1 vw golf

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[SamIam71]

I would think that with that small of an amp, you wouldn't need to upgrade your electrical. If you just want to though, just get plenty of 4 gauge and run it from your alternator to battery positive, engine to chassis ground, and battery negative to chassis ground. Then run it to your amp and use some to make your ground for the amp. Put an inline fuse of around 80 amps on the run going from your battery to your amp within 18" of the battery connection. Also, you can add this on top of the existing factory wiring. There is no reason to discard the factory harnesses and connections. As for the starter wire, it does not come into play in this upgrade.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

4 g upgrades for a big 3 will not give you any better than stock in most cars 0 g will. Battery to alt pos battery to block and battery to frame. Do not remove any wire period. Must add to existing. Also with that amp 4 g ofc wire is needed won't be louder but the amp should run cooler. And be less stressed out from lack if current and get good wire. Not a cheap $20 kit

 

[SamIam71]

4 g upgrades for a big 3 will not give you any better than stock in most cars 0 g will. Battery to alt pos battery to block and battery to frame. Do not remove any wire period. Must add to existing. Also with that amp 4 g ofc wire is needed won't be louder but the amp should run cooler. And be less stressed out from lack if current and get good wire. Not a cheap $20 kit

Just asking, but how would adding 4 gauge to the existing electrical not help? That would more than double the the total amount of wire currently on the car. I understand that 0 gauge is the default answer here whether wiring a 4K amp or 400 watt amp, but I would think adding a good 4 gauge on top of an existing and currently sufficing 10 gauge would help.

 

[faeezhio]

Btw my Amp is a blackmaxx blx1000d....its overrated I suppose....n it came with 2x 60amp fuses

 

[faeezhio]

This amp kills my battery within 30mins of playing music

 

[bbeljefe]

Wire upgrades won't help much if you have a small battery and you play the system with the vehicle not running for long periods of time.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

Wire upgrades won't help much if you have a small battery and you play the system with the vehicle not running for long periods of time.

^^^^this^^^^^

 

[faeezhio]

Ok thanks guys....and my battery, do u guys think it can be saved?

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

Just asking, but how would adding 4 gauge to the existing electrical not help? That would more than double the the total amount of wire currently on the car. I understand that 0 gauge is the default answer here whether wiring a 4K amp or 400 watt amp, but I would think adding a good 4 gauge on top of an existing and currently sufficing 10 gauge would help.

Because most cars are at least 8g wires now. Also the copper content is usually better than most car audio wire. Meaning better grade some are even house hold grade In other words the stock battery wires are very thick,wire itself, not flexible. So adding 4 gauge car audio wire which is extremely thinner wire , the actual wire, you need to be thicker to carry the same current This is how it's explained to me by an electrician

 

[bbeljefe]

Ok thanks guys....and my battery, do u guys think it can be saved?

Why do you think it's bad?

How old is it?

Have you tried trickle charging it overnight?

Does the starter seem to "drag" when you crank the vehicle, even if you haven't been playing the audio system?

 

[faeezhio]

And my lights dims when I listen to music

 

[bbeljefe]

I don't doubt that but that doesn't mean the battery is bad. Those cars come with small batteries and to run anything 1kW and up in them you should add a second battery. Or at the very least, upgrade the front battery.

 

[faeezhio]

According to my dad, the battery is almost a year old, nope it doesn't drag.....but its voltage dropped to 6.5volts when it got drained....now if I leave the car over night, then the bat is dead...although the ignition lights still goes on prior to when it was completely flat...my dad says I must just drive a full day with the battery in

 

[faeezhio]

And it is a bigger battery in size