Yeah I couldn't agree more this guy has helped me through a more complex install then I'm used to every thing I had to look up this guy/company has popped up in the search with the best most in-depth information out there.
I have been a mechanic for 25 years, I just watched your video and you cover this so well. You are one of the best on UA-cam for car audio, I just discovered you a month ago, and have already learned a ton. Thanks for what you do, you make this even more enjoyable
Mark, your videos are on point! I became a fan while watching videos relevant to projects I needed help with and now regularly find myself watching videos on subjects I feel I know pretty well and videos which are completely irrelevant to anything I’m working on. Point is, your delivery offers something for both the novice and the expert, and you’re producing the most compelling car audio content on the web by far. Strong work, thank you. God Bless, Jay
Brother of mine... I have to give you what you definitely deserve... A WHOLE LOTTA PROPS! You are the Master of car audio and, I think, video! I am a commercial electrician with 31 years in the trade! I say this cause I see you touching on a lot of basics that many DIYs do not pay attention to and end up getting themselves into trouble down the line. Thanks for all your hard work and patience!
Great video Mark! I'd also add that fuses can carry 2-3x their rated current for short bursts, so in many cases slightly underfusing is ok. I get the question all the time how an amp with a 100A fuse can pull 150A or more with my Dyno tests. Fact is, it can't for very long! But for short periods it can which is good. As you mentioned, music playback in most cases draws far less current than test tones or music with long bass notes. I also agree it's *BAD* to be on *#TEAMNOFUSE* and there's NO reason to go this route. Use quality components, good wiring and the fuse will never be a bottleneck in your system.
Most fuses are specified to survive a certain over current like 50% for a certain certain time delay like 5 seconds sometimes longer in a larger fuse. You have to pull the datasheet to know the time failure curve.
Off topic but. if someone has a 12' dvc sub and 2 300w amps .could someone wire 1 amp to 1 coil and the 2nd amp to the other coil ? Should someone get a class b fire extinguisher for the ensuing fire someone would need to put out auickly due to filling ur fuel tank while on the phone smoking a cigarette at the pump ? Or no ? ?maybe?
@@SbassLaser i dont understand ur answer considering its a multi-coarse question-soup that should have either 1 multiple answers 2 multiple insults or 3 multiple insulting answers. ......... huh?
This comment is for all of your videos all together. I started watching your channel video's 2 months ago and I learnt so much from you and I purchased everything online from amazon and so. And installed it all by myself and I'm so happy how it turned out. I'm so glad I found your channel and you're amazing. Thanks for all the video and you helped me save couple hunder bucks and a awesome built (if I go to a car audio place and tell them to do what I did, they'll just say oh no it's not necessary, you don't need fast rings, you don't need 4 gauge wire, 10 gauge is enough to power 2 amplifiers, you don't need spacers, we can screw our speakers on bare metal, you don't need to scratch paint for body earth) not every professional place does this but I see so many places do this and I'm so glad I did my car audio all by myself and it sounds so good. Lots of love from India 🇮🇳 ❤️ stay safe and make more videos about car audio improvement
I just ran across this channel yesterday, and really like the content. This particular video however, is in my opinion, the best, most important, and extremely useful video I have run across in a long time. Extremely important content that is delivered in a clear concise manner. Great job, and thanks so much for sharing!
I just spent the entire day diving into the mysteries of Ohm's Law, all while trying to plan out my very first electrically charged adventure! And let me tell you, this guy making the video is so intelligent and handsome that I almost forgot I was learning physics! I wish I had stumbled upon this video sooner because it's been a real game-changer. It's like finding out there's a shortcut to the treasure chest at the end of the rainbow! Thanks to this, I can finally confirm that I've spent my day doing things right, and now I'm feeling more confident than ever about my grand master electrical setup plan. So, wish me luck, it's all about the small details in audio physics!
Hey whatup Mark! Anthony here - I just wanted to say, that all of your fabrication designs are simply to perfection, you're the man! Wish you well bro!! and thank you so much
I been trying to get my music system to work for around a week and watching these and a couple of your videos made me understand everything more and I ended up getting it working, that been said…… I love you!
CarAudioFabrication hello, I have a question. I have new 12” subs with 4 connectors on one coil and 2 on the other coil. How is this easier to run series or parallel? So is the side with the 4 connectors that has the 2 positives and 2 negatives, the same positive and negative for that side? Is it making it easier to connect that side to the other side? Please explain. Thanks
@@jefftuttlejr Have you figured this out yet? What exact Brand and Model # subwoofers do you have??? You can use a DMM/Volt-Ohm Meter set to Ohms/Resistance and check for continuity between any two terminals on the subwoofer. For example, if One of the Positive (+) Terminals on the far side that has just the 2 terminals has continuity or "directly connects" to one of the (+) terminals on the side with the 4 connections, you can confirm that they duplicate terminals, but just placed on the other side for wiring convenience. When you check for continuity, if they are connected through the same voice coil, the DMM should display an Ohm rating close to or just under the Nominal Impedance rating of each coil. But this type of terminal arrangement is very unusual. I would think that you actually have "SERVO" subwoofers with a separate SERVO control/feedback circuit??? SERVO subwoofers will have a separate set of terminals for the Servo Feedback Loop which connect to a special amplifier that has a Servo Control Circuit. Look up the specs and user manual for your subwoofers Online for these details!
Wow man I know absolutely NOTHING about car audio, I repair other electronics such as laptops and iphones but after watching this video I'm totally subbed! Thank you. 😇
Hey friend.. If I had found you online a few years ago , my install would not have turned out the way it is now, but with your videos I managed to track many issues I was having....thanks for sharing your knowledge,
All of your videos are absolutely excellent. Thanks for all the effort you put into them. Whenever I need to brush up on some car audio stuff I haven’t messed with in a while, this is the only place I go. 🍻🍻
Mark, To get the proper fuse size in the equation, do we use the amp's max power, or the power I'm using via the ohm rating for my subwoofer? So, I have a 600watt 1-ohm subwoofer connected to a 600watt @ 1ohm class D amp (which the specs say is 2000w max power). Would I just do 600/.8/13.8? Also, my amp has no fuses, so would you recommend using a distribution block? I'm also installing a LOC with a smaller guage power wire than my main power wire 4 awg, so a block should be used, right?
So would have been cool if you explained best was to step down to 16g 1A fuse for your dsp they don't make a 1A anl fuse, and there are no videos out there explaining this
I like knukoncptz products but make sure to check the screws in the distribution blocks every once in a while or add lock washers. Had the the dual 1/0 fuse block start melting on me once because the screw holding the fuse down came loose. Was installed for about 7 months then one day started smelling something burn, thought it was the subs but they were cold. Then found the fuse block plastic melted
@john d This is common due to the many hot/cold cycles of your vehicle on a daily basis, and all of the engine and road vibration, etc. Use a bit of the *LocTite Threadlocker Blue 242* adhesive on your terminal block's set screw threads.
Thank you for doing this amazing page! Your videos are great and super helpful. I had a couple systems in 93-95 (PPI, MB Quart, Phoenix Gold, Red Line G&S subs....) and its cool to see what has changed and evolved since then!
10:55 and 11:05 Mark says a "sine wave", not a sound wave like I originally thought. (Per YT Auto Captions) DEFINED: A sine wave is a continuous wave. It is named after the function sine, of which it is the graph. It occurs often in pure and applied mathematics, as well as physics, engineering, signal processing and many other fields.
This video is exactly what I was looking for on UA-cam. Very informative and easy to follow. Thanks for explaining in detail what fuses to be used in distribution blocks. All your videos are very well made. Thanks again Mark!
Very good video! I'm already a pretty experienced installer, but every now and then I peruse UA-cam to see what people are doing. Personally I shoot for a wire and fuse that can handle at least 125% of whatever it needs to power. For example, if I have a system that pulls 100amps, I'll wire and fuse it for 125 amps. Also, I prefer circuit breakers because of easy reset as opposed to having to unscrew an ANL fuse in the field. Personal preference though.
Hey why do you aim for the 125%. Kinda confused because he stepped down to a 120amp. I can kind of see why you would want to go up in amps for the extra headroom and I can understand stepping down is safer. But by stepping down like that doesnt it now have a higher chance of the fuse blowing?
You answered a huge question for me on fuse and wire size. Now I know how to calculate both sizes. Glad I found your channel because I was going to run my system (1200w sub amp and 400w high end amp) with regular distribution blocks. Now I know the proper way! Thanks!! Subscriber!
I want to say congratulations for your channel, I admire you and I like your perfectionism in everything you do! I just have to comment there is a mistake in this video. When you want to calculate the overall current draw of an amp you don't have to deduct the efficiency and this is because if an amp has efficiency for example 80% the rest 20% converts to heat and this energy comes also from the same source which is car's battery. So to finalize if an amp is 1000W that means 1000W / 13.8V = 72.5A (We don't care at this point if 80% of the energy will convert to music and the rest 20% will convert to heat) We just want to calculate the current draw in order to be able to pick up the right fuse. Sorry for my English hope you understand me :)
Glad you like the channel, thanks for watching. Your understanding here is incorrect though. There are plenty of amplifier test videos on UA-cam. Watch and see how much current they pull. The amps must pull more current to create the rated power because of losses in efficiency. You must take a rough efficiency value into account.
@@CarAudioFabrication Hey Marc sorry its my mistake I've watched your video again and I saw that you wrote P/0.8 I thought it was Px0.8 that's why I thought it's wrong my apologies.
@@CarAudioFabrication, please help. I'm running 8k, 2k and 400 watts amps. With two zero gauge lines from the super cap under the hood to the Lithium in the trunk, I should be using two 500amp fuses? My number by your math is 942. One amp calls for a 60 amp, another 120amp the last 8k calls for 800amp fuse. I have 6 positive runs to the 8k that calls for 800amp fuse. Is that 800 split across the 6 lines or 800amp fuse on each? All zero gauge to everything from a 10 slot SMD fuse distribution block. Thank you for your reply.
It’s not like car people have a code for them like electricians do. We have NFPA 70, 70A and 70E. Your calculations are correct based on your math and I see you are correct in being on the safe side in your choice of fuses. Burning up your investment is never a good thing. Protect that investment and your hard work and size that wire and those fuses to give yourself that protection that will keep that equipment on the safe side of things. You won’t burn up and you won’t lose your money from stupidity! Good video Mark!
@Car Audio Fabrication Excellent video, Mark, and one of the most thorough discussions on the topic that I've seen. 👍 FINALLY, now I can refer the hundreds of questions I see about this to your video instead of having to type it all out again each time! So that's for that! I think that Big D and Curt Chase in the comments addressed my other thoughts on this topic eextremely well, too. Thanks again for the concise video. 👍
Really well done video! I’ve always installed a circuit breaker at the battery vs a high rated fuse. It’s convenient to throw the trip/reset lever if I’m working down the line.
I generally just fuse to a little under what the max amperage of what the wire itself can handle. I try to stick to one amp for the whole system though to make it easier. Just use the recommended wire size from the manufacturer on a 5 or 6 channel amp. Good info as always.
thank you thank you thank you. i don't speak english, i use app to translate this message. In Spanish I struggle to find videos with the information you share. I thank you and I would like to make videos in Spanish with the information that you share for people like me, who do not speak English. My wife translates some things for me and the rest is easy for you to understand. thank you.
Wow. Someone who actually makes senses and you can understand. Great video I actually learned something. Made me subscribe. I work on my car electrical system all the time bit don't know much about electricity besides ther basics and common sense. I installed a 2 inverters a pure sine and a modified sine, auxiliary battery new head unit ,amplifier, subwoofer, 6.5 and some tweets. Also put in ther 24 inch tv ,microwave, coffee maker and a solar battery charger/maintainer and a DC to DC charger/maintainer. I have room for all that I drive a 2019 mercedes sprinter.
Currently watching trying to figure out if my inline fuse under the hood is affecting the kenwood head unit. I love car audio but I don't have any training just my own UA-cam knowledge. Thanks for the video!!
Hi Mark, don't know if you reply to comments but I can only hope lol. My question is, when calculating the Watts of the amp. Is the Watts of the amp RMS or PEAK that we are calculating? Thanks
I watch this video 4 time 1 week.😂for me to get more detail understanding.thanks Mark for the video. -subscriber&follower from Malaysia.- ❤ from Malaysia❤
I too rather do the math to double check! Also good for when the manual doesn't give you a fuse size or for more complex system designs. Thanks for watching!
hi caraudiofabrication, look at the minute 10.06, why the power (1400 watt) of the amplifier must divide by the 80% efficiency. it supposed the value watt to be more less if the working efficiency is 80%. if im not mistaken, 1400 watt must multiply with 80% and the result is 1120. i'm enjoy your video. keep up the good work. thanks...
Great video and explanation Mark! I was just wondering why are fuses used instead of circuit breakers, since there are many made specifically for cars.
I watch this video often to reinforce my “expertise”, as my system is always evolving. Just wanted to point out that you cannot put too many fuses… (well technically you could get stupid with them) but better safe than sorry if your not sure. As Mark hilariously and dramatically states here: 14:09 , an inline fuse does not put a bottleneck in your system, but fuses everywhere they’re not really needed can potentially lol.
My sub amp is 500.1 and has 4 15 watt fuses. I recently blowup all those fuses replaced them with the same fuses and now it's running great like it used to. I also replaced my 100 amp fuse also.
Excellent video. In the past builds I used to do we would use the glass type, but that was a long time ago. Mark, I do want to ask you about the use of breakers. I used a circuit breaker in one of my past installs and wanted to get your take/opinion on those. Are they less safe (more prone to failure)? Or still another option? This would only be installed immediately after the battery. Thank you!
One thing you did not point out is that IF you blow a fuse not to keep putting them in there and blowing them. Fuses (especially 200A ones) blow for good reason and you absolutely have to figure out what is causing them to blow.
If you place a fuse adapter into lets say a 10 ampfuse then took out the 10amp fuse and addes tw0 amp fuses and plug the adapter in that fuse spot with led wires the adapter has ledlight should you go up on amp and by how much radio takes a 10 amp fuse im adding led lights to that fuse should i go up im ampage becuae with the 10 amp fuse it powers my radio and led lights fine ????
such a very great and informative video! Especially really enjoyed how to determine if amplifier companies are really distributing enough power they claim to their amps by solving for the fuses they should be using! Thank you so much Mark for this awesome and insightful video that was much needed by car audio newcomers like myself!
Very informative video currently I'm working on my motorcycle system and needed to figure out how to wire up everything as my motorcycle wasn't factory installed with nothing! So 2 6.5" and 1" components with xovers for upper fairing 2 8" woofers and super horns in my lower fairings 2 6.5" sub woofers and 2 8" sub woofers in the saddlebags 2 6.5" and 1" components with xovers in touring pack and a 12 inch sub in the touring pack itself, ok there's 1 4 channel 1600 watt amp for front side a 2400 watt amp for back side and a 1500 watt mono amp for my 12 incher. Now I had to run the amps 1 in fairing 2 in bags inline fuse, power distribution, a 2.0 farad capacitor in the opposite bag, all the wires to my 7" Android head unit (so in that mess was power aux gnd all speaker wires remote turn ons as well as how ant radio ant and a 2 camera dvr setup for insurance reasons) to add to it I also went LEDs all around for ruining trail head lights and a 24pc LED rgb lighting kit with music processor to make a light show with music.! Wow anyways using what I've been learning of your videos it's coming together nicely! So well thanks
Love your vids man. I've learned more installation tricks & technical things like in this video from you than from any other source. I know my way around basic installs, but I've never really gotten too far into the numbers like this. Very educational, entertaining & you keep it interesting without droning on. My only complaint is that I always come away from your videos wanting to spend money lol!
I usually "under" fuse my stuff. Figure out the actual capacities of the wire and all, then de-rate by 20% or so. I do that with just about all my electronics that have user replaceable fuses. I worked as a A/V service tech for many years and learned that a lot of equipment "blows up" but does NOT burn the fuse! The old joke was that the $250.00 picture tube in the TV set will burnout to protect the 30 cent fuse! So, unless you're in a SPL comp event and would rather risk smoking the amp to get that 1st place award, I'd put lower amp fuses in the equipment. If you de-rate the fuse in your amp and it does not pop during power up, you're fine.
Seems like you know you stuff, I'm trying to run a 0guage to the bank with an online fuse in the hood, but how would I still feed my smart 3 it's 0 guage and give my mid amp the 4 guage it needs. I'm new to car electronics and couldnt find anything on Amazon.
Perfect answered all questions I'm running the 200amp stringer your using for example, on 4 gauge wire now about to switch to 0 gauge and wanted to research a the 200amp still good enough.
Thanks for this video. I needed this after I added a 12" sub to my system to see how it would sound and melted the fuse box. The wire is on the small side. I bought the system already installed I just updated the factory speakers.
Amazing channel. I assume when you review the 2 amps in this video and quote 1000W for one amp and 400W for the other amp that these are the MAX POWER RATING and NOT the RMS RATING
This diagram is great but what if you add a capacitor after the first fuse near the batt. Would you recommend adding another fuse between the capacitor and amp?
My god this guy saved me so much money! I've watched a lot of his videos and I've learned a lot from it and installed my system. Thank you for your knowledge 🙏
Also keep the fused dist. block close to the amp as possible. this keeps the reduced size wire short as possible, which will be able to carry more current than a longer run. Actually, just a good idea to keep all cables short as possible. Don't leave 5 ft of extra wire just balled up in the trunk. Looks bad too.
Thank you for the very informative video. I am in the process of building my system, and am bit confused on the fuse size calculations. The amp I am planning on using for the sub is rated at 150 watts @ 4 ohms, 300 watts @ 2 ohms and 500 watts @ 1 ohm. I will be running the sub @ 2 ohms so the amp will only be producing 300 watts. Should I calculate fuse size based on the 500 watts that the amp is capable of, or the 300 watts that it will actually be producing? Similarly, I plan on utilizing a small 4 channel amp where I will only be using 2 of those channels to power the rear speakers for rear fill. Should I calculate fuse size on the total output of the amplifier (all 4 channels) or just the actual output that will be used ( 2 channels)?
This is hands down, the best car audio install channel on youtube!
No exo is the best.
@@isaacvoeller3208 1
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Amplified ????!!
Yeah I couldn't agree more this guy has helped me through a more complex install then I'm used to every thing I had to look up this guy/company has popped up in the search with the best most in-depth information out there.
I have been a mechanic for 25 years, I just watched your video and you cover this so well. You are one of the best on UA-cam for car audio, I just discovered you a month ago, and have already learned a ton. Thanks for what you do, you make this even more enjoyable
Appreciate that a ton, thanks for watching!
4 years on and still excellent information. Thanks Mark.
Mark, your videos are on point! I became a fan while watching videos relevant to projects I needed help with and now regularly find myself watching videos on subjects I feel I know pretty well and videos which are completely irrelevant to anything I’m working on. Point is, your delivery offers something for both the novice and the expert, and you’re producing the most compelling car audio content on the web by far.
Strong work, thank you.
God Bless,
Jay
Brother of mine... I have to give you what you definitely deserve... A WHOLE LOTTA PROPS! You are the Master of car audio and, I think, video! I am a commercial electrician with 31 years in the trade! I say this cause I see you touching on a lot of basics that many DIYs do not pay attention to and end up getting themselves into trouble down the line. Thanks for all your hard work and patience!
Great video Mark! I'd also add that fuses can carry 2-3x their rated current for short bursts, so in many cases slightly underfusing is ok. I get the question all the time how an amp with a 100A fuse can pull 150A or more with my Dyno tests. Fact is, it can't for very long! But for short periods it can which is good. As you mentioned, music playback in most cases draws far less current than test tones or music with long bass notes. I also agree it's *BAD* to be on *#TEAMNOFUSE* and there's NO reason to go this route. Use quality components, good wiring and the fuse will never be a bottleneck in your system.
Most fuses are specified to survive a certain over current like 50% for a certain certain time delay like 5 seconds sometimes longer in a larger fuse. You have to pull the datasheet to know the time failure curve.
Off topic but. if someone has a 12' dvc sub and 2 300w amps .could someone wire 1 amp to 1 coil and the 2nd amp to the other coil ? Should someone get a class b fire extinguisher for the ensuing fire someone would need to put out auickly due to filling ur fuel tank while on the phone smoking a cigarette at the pump ? Or no ?
?maybe?
@@logiticalresponse9574 wtf
@@SbassLaser i dont understand ur answer considering its a multi-coarse question-soup that should have either 1 multiple answers 2 multiple insults or 3 multiple insulting answers. ......... huh?
@@logiticalresponse9574 are you like 12 years old or just a nerd
You hit everything hard. Nobody explains it better than you, thank you.
This comment is for all of your videos all together. I started watching your channel video's 2 months ago and I learnt so much from you and I purchased everything online from amazon and so. And installed it all by myself and I'm so happy how it turned out. I'm so glad I found your channel and you're amazing. Thanks for all the video and you helped me save couple hunder bucks and a awesome built (if I go to a car audio place and tell them to do what I did, they'll just say oh no it's not necessary, you don't need fast rings, you don't need 4 gauge wire, 10 gauge is enough to power 2 amplifiers, you don't need spacers, we can screw our speakers on bare metal, you don't need to scratch paint for body earth) not every professional place does this but I see so many places do this and I'm so glad I did my car audio all by myself and it sounds so good.
Lots of love from India 🇮🇳 ❤️ stay safe and make more videos about car audio improvement
I just ran across this channel yesterday, and really like the content. This particular video however, is in my opinion, the best, most important, and extremely useful video I have run across in a long time. Extremely important content that is delivered in a clear concise manner. Great job, and thanks so much for sharing!
I just spent the entire day diving into the mysteries of Ohm's Law, all while trying to plan out my very first electrically charged adventure! And let me tell you, this guy making the video is so intelligent and handsome that I almost forgot I was learning physics!
I wish I had stumbled upon this video sooner because it's been a real game-changer. It's like finding out there's a shortcut to the treasure chest at the end of the rainbow! Thanks to this, I can finally confirm that I've spent my day doing things right, and now I'm feeling more confident than ever about my grand master electrical setup plan.
So, wish me luck, it's all about the small details in audio physics!
Hey whatup Mark! Anthony here - I just wanted to say, that all of your fabrication designs are simply to perfection, you're the man! Wish you well bro!! and thank you so much
I been trying to get my music system to work for around a week and watching these and a couple of your videos made me understand everything more and I ended up getting it working, that been said…… I love you!
Hey man. I just wanna say you nailed it. I mean nailed it. Thank you for the thorough explanation. EXACTLY what I was looking for.
Glad to help, hopefully you are subscribed and will share with others...
CarAudioFabrication yes I am subscribed and have liked every video of yours I have watched
CarAudioFabrication hello, I have a question. I have new 12” subs with 4 connectors on one coil and 2 on the other coil. How is this easier to run series or parallel? So is the side with the 4 connectors that has the 2 positives and 2 negatives, the same positive and negative for that side? Is it making it easier to connect that side to the other side? Please explain. Thanks
It better to run 2 subs that have the same voil coil configuration. It looks like you have 1 dual voice coil and one single voice coil sub.
@@jefftuttlejr Have you figured this out yet? What exact Brand and Model # subwoofers do you have??? You can use a DMM/Volt-Ohm Meter set to Ohms/Resistance and check for continuity between any two terminals on the subwoofer.
For example, if One of the Positive (+) Terminals on the far side that has just the 2 terminals has continuity or "directly connects" to one of the (+) terminals on the side with the 4 connections, you can confirm that they duplicate terminals, but just placed on the other side for wiring convenience. When you check for continuity, if they are connected through the same voice coil, the DMM should display an Ohm rating close to or just under the Nominal Impedance rating of each coil. But this type of terminal arrangement is very unusual.
I would think that you actually have "SERVO" subwoofers with a separate SERVO control/feedback circuit??? SERVO subwoofers will have a separate set of terminals for the Servo Feedback Loop which connect to a special amplifier that has a Servo Control Circuit. Look up the specs and user manual for your subwoofers Online for these details!
I've always been a DIY car audio guy, and your videos are awesome for expanding knowledge. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos!
Wow man I know absolutely NOTHING about car audio, I repair other electronics such as laptops and iphones but after watching this video I'm totally subbed! Thank you. 😇
Couldn’t ask for a more clear guide, this guy makes me feel like a pro
CarAudioFabrication YOU ARE A BADASS!!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Hey friend..
If I had found you online a few years ago , my install would not have turned out the way it is now, but with your videos I managed to track many issues I was having....thanks for sharing your knowledge,
You always know it’s going to be a good video when Mark busts out the whiteboard!
All of your videos are absolutely excellent. Thanks for all the effort you put into them. Whenever I need to brush up on some car audio stuff I haven’t messed with in a while, this is the only place I go. 🍻🍻
Mark, To get the proper fuse size in the equation, do we use the amp's max power, or the power I'm using via the ohm rating for my subwoofer? So, I have a 600watt 1-ohm subwoofer connected to a 600watt @ 1ohm class D amp (which the specs say is 2000w max power). Would I just do 600/.8/13.8? Also, my amp has no fuses, so would you recommend using a distribution block? I'm also installing a LOC with a smaller guage power wire than my main power wire 4 awg, so a block should be used, right?
Professional, as always. One of the best channels on youtube.
FACTS !!!!
So would have been cool if you explained best was to step down to 16g 1A fuse for your dsp they don't make a 1A anl fuse, and there are no videos out there explaining this
This was actually way more informative than I thought it would be. Good job.
Fantastic! The very best video for a car audio fuses explained that has ever been made.
Great video, thanks! The amp efficiency segment of your video was very helpful! I never took that into account when picking my fuse before! Thank you!
Love this video. I am currently planning to add another amplifier to my truck, and I needed a guide to get everything proper. Thanks!
Do I wanna match the amps fuse rating on the fuse block? Or match the 0 gauge wiring amp size?
I like knukoncptz products but make sure to check the screws in the distribution blocks every once in a while or add lock washers. Had the the dual 1/0 fuse block start melting on me once because the screw holding the fuse down came loose. Was installed for about 7 months then one day started smelling something burn, thought it was the subs but they were cold. Then found the fuse block plastic melted
@john d
This is common due to the many hot/cold cycles of your vehicle on a daily basis, and all of the engine and road vibration, etc. Use a bit of the *LocTite Threadlocker Blue 242* adhesive on your terminal block's set screw threads.
This dude is doing God's work. I'm system savvy and this was in sinful. Thank you
thanks.. this was a great lesson.. i am now looking for fuse holders and blocks for my 2 amp system..
Thank you for doing this amazing page! Your videos are great and super helpful. I had a couple systems in 93-95 (PPI, MB Quart, Phoenix Gold, Red Line G&S subs....) and its cool to see what has changed and evolved since then!
10:55 and 11:05 Mark says a "sine wave", not a sound wave like I originally thought. (Per YT Auto Captions) DEFINED: A sine wave is a continuous wave. It is named after the function sine, of which it is the graph. It occurs often in pure and applied mathematics, as well as physics, engineering, signal processing and many other fields.
Been following you for years! No clue why you aren't over 1m subs man
This video is exactly what I was looking for on UA-cam. Very informative and easy to follow. Thanks for explaining in detail what fuses to be used in distribution blocks. All your videos are very well made. Thanks again Mark!
So humble, knowledgeable, well spoken and extremely on point 💪👌
Means a ton, thank you.
That formula for solving for the size fuse is golden thanks man
My man, I feel like I'm back in college listening to the professor! Awesome channel! Subscribed.
Super eye opening video tutorial. Thank you CarAudioFabrication. Rob from South Africa
This is definitely a video I will have to be watching a few time to grasp the concept but thank you for explaining it so well! 👍🏾
Very good video! I'm already a pretty experienced installer, but every now and then I peruse UA-cam to see what people are doing. Personally I shoot for a wire and fuse that can handle at least 125% of whatever it needs to power. For example, if I have a system that pulls 100amps, I'll wire and fuse it for 125 amps. Also, I prefer circuit breakers because of easy reset as opposed to having to unscrew an ANL fuse in the field. Personal preference though.
Hey why do you aim for the 125%. Kinda confused because he stepped down to a 120amp. I can kind of see why you would want to go up in amps for the extra headroom and I can understand stepping down is safer. But by stepping down like that doesnt it now have a higher chance of the fuse blowing?
so glad i found your channel again! i subscribed probably about 5 or 6 years ago but lost that account! great vid thank you!
You answered a huge question for me on fuse and wire size. Now I know how to calculate both sizes. Glad I found your channel because I was going to run my system (1200w sub amp and 400w high end amp) with regular distribution blocks. Now I know the proper way! Thanks!! Subscriber!
I want to say congratulations for your channel, I admire you and I like your perfectionism in everything you do! I just have to comment there is a mistake in this video. When you want to calculate the overall current draw of an amp you don't have to deduct the efficiency and this is because if an amp has efficiency for example 80% the rest 20% converts to heat and this energy comes also from the same source which is car's battery. So to finalize if an amp is 1000W that means 1000W / 13.8V = 72.5A (We don't care at this point if 80% of the energy will convert to music and the rest 20% will convert to heat) We just want to calculate the current draw in order to be able to pick up the right fuse. Sorry for my English hope you understand me :)
Glad you like the channel, thanks for watching. Your understanding here is incorrect though. There are plenty of amplifier test videos on UA-cam. Watch and see how much current they pull. The amps must pull more current to create the rated power because of losses in efficiency. You must take a rough efficiency value into account.
@@CarAudioFabrication Hey Marc sorry its my mistake I've watched your video again and I saw that you wrote P/0.8 I thought it was Px0.8 that's why I thought it's wrong my apologies.
@@CarAudioFabrication, please help. I'm running 8k, 2k and 400 watts amps. With two zero gauge lines from the super cap under the hood to the Lithium in the trunk, I should be using two 500amp fuses? My number by your math is 942. One amp calls for a 60 amp, another 120amp the last 8k calls for 800amp fuse. I have 6 positive runs to the 8k that calls for 800amp fuse. Is that 800 split across the 6 lines or 800amp fuse on each? All zero gauge to everything from a 10 slot SMD fuse distribution block. Thank you for your reply.
Beautifully explained I just got a new fuse for my second battery
It’s not like car people have a code for them like electricians do. We have NFPA 70, 70A and 70E. Your calculations are correct based on your math and I see you are correct in being on the safe side in your choice of fuses. Burning up your investment is never a good thing. Protect that investment and your hard work and size that wire and those fuses to give yourself that protection that will keep that equipment on the safe side of things. You won’t burn up and you won’t lose your money from stupidity! Good video Mark!
Wow thank you for explaining this bro, I finally understand what short circuit is and why the cable gets hot. Very well done video
Best information found on UA-cam !
@Car Audio Fabrication
Excellent video, Mark, and one of the most thorough discussions on the topic that I've seen. 👍
FINALLY, now I can refer the hundreds of questions I see about this to your video instead of having to type it all out again each time! So that's for that!
I think that Big D and Curt Chase in the comments addressed my other thoughts on this topic eextremely well, too.
Thanks again for the concise video. 👍
Really well done video! I’ve always installed a circuit breaker at the battery vs a high rated fuse. It’s convenient to throw the trip/reset lever if I’m working down the line.
Yes, I learned the hard way with straight wiring and had a fire of course.
Can you collaborate and tell us exactly what happened?
I generally just fuse to a little under what the max amperage of what the wire itself can handle. I try to stick to one amp for the whole system though to make it easier. Just use the recommended wire size from the manufacturer on a 5 or 6 channel amp. Good info as always.
Good looks, now I'm aware about FUSED distributions blocks. Will be one of the first upgrades I make when i can work on my truck again!
Thank you for the great video!!! I keep learning something every time I watch your videos!!! Keep up the great work!!!!
thank you thank you thank you. i don't speak english, i use app to translate this message. In Spanish I struggle to find videos with the information you share. I thank you and I would like to make videos in Spanish with the information that you share for people like me, who do not speak English. My wife translates some things for me and the rest is easy for you to understand. thank you.
Wow. Someone who actually makes senses and you can understand. Great video I actually learned something. Made me subscribe. I work on my car electrical system all the time bit don't know much about electricity besides ther basics and common sense. I installed a 2 inverters a pure sine and a modified sine, auxiliary battery new head unit ,amplifier, subwoofer, 6.5 and some tweets. Also put in ther 24 inch tv ,microwave, coffee maker and a solar battery charger/maintainer and a DC to DC charger/maintainer. I have room for all that I drive a 2019 mercedes sprinter.
For you calculations, are you using the total peak power of the amp or the RMS rating for the amp?
Currently watching trying to figure out if my inline fuse under the hood is affecting the kenwood head unit.
I love car audio but I don't have any training just my own UA-cam knowledge.
Thanks for the video!!
You are a genius dude. The video is perfect and easy to watch.
Hi Mark, don't know if you reply to comments but I can only hope lol. My question is, when calculating the Watts of the amp. Is the Watts of the amp RMS or PEAK that we are calculating? Thanks
I watch this video 4 time 1 week.😂for me to get more detail understanding.thanks Mark for the video. -subscriber&follower from Malaysia.- ❤ from Malaysia❤
Honestly I feel smarter being able to actually get the real fuse size and everything by math. Thank You so much
I too rather do the math to double check! Also good for when the manual doesn't give you a fuse size or for more complex system designs. Thanks for watching!
Still have much to learn but I got a lot of information from this video, thank you for the help.
Working on my Expedition install and been out the game for a few years and needed a brain tickle to remember. Thanks
hi caraudiofabrication, look at the minute 10.06, why the power (1400 watt) of the amplifier must divide by the 80% efficiency. it supposed the value watt to be more less if the working efficiency is 80%. if im not mistaken, 1400 watt must multiply with 80% and the result is 1120. i'm enjoy your video. keep up the good work. thanks...
Nope. Wrong. I'm calculating how much power IN is needed. You must have MORE power in than out. The math in the video is correct
Thanks, for your explanation...will be apply on my car audio system upgrade...
I have learned so much from this channel . Thank you for all the great content
Great video and explanation Mark! I was just wondering why are fuses used instead of circuit breakers, since there are many made specifically for cars.
The point of this video is determining a current value for the protection circuit. You can use a breaker of the same calculated value.
OMG! Now i have to rip out all my wiring and start over... thanks for the info, now i can run it correctly.
Great video and really informational, but damn it went over my head. Will have to watch this multiple times
This is top of the line best car aidio install and the best explanations that i have seen you are the bobmb
I watch this video often to reinforce my “expertise”, as my system is always evolving. Just wanted to point out that you cannot put too many fuses… (well technically you could get stupid with them) but better safe than sorry if your not sure. As Mark hilariously and dramatically states here: 14:09 , an inline fuse does not put a bottleneck in your system, but fuses everywhere they’re not really needed can potentially lol.
My sub amp is 500.1 and has 4 15 watt fuses. I recently blowup all those fuses replaced them with the same fuses and now it's running great like it used to. I also replaced my 100 amp fuse also.
Excellent video. In the past builds I used to do we would use the glass type, but that was a long time ago. Mark, I do want to ask you about the use of breakers. I used a circuit breaker in one of my past installs and wanted to get your take/opinion on those. Are they less safe (more prone to failure)? Or still another option? This would only be installed immediately after the battery. Thank you!
I'm curious about this as well!
I'm curious also as I just installed on for my build.
One thing you did not point out is that IF you blow a fuse not to keep putting them in there and blowing them. Fuses (especially 200A ones) blow for good reason and you absolutely have to figure out what is causing them to blow.
Just send it
If you place a fuse adapter into lets say a 10 ampfuse then took out the 10amp fuse and addes tw0 amp fuses and plug the adapter in that fuse spot with led wires the adapter has ledlight should you go up on amp and by how much radio takes a 10 amp fuse im adding led lights to that fuse should i go up im ampage becuae with the 10 amp fuse it powers my radio and led lights fine ????
Oh yeah well you can just add a bolt or even a paper clip. BOOM. fuses no longer blow.
I just chuck in a bigger amp fuse 👍
As always, i love learning from you. This helps me do my own installs better on my cars. I appreciate it you alot Mark. Thank you!
such a very great and informative video! Especially really enjoyed how to determine if amplifier companies are really distributing enough power they claim to their amps by solving for the fuses they should be using! Thank you so much Mark for this awesome and insightful video that was much needed by car audio newcomers like myself!
Outstanding information , very very helpful and well said, thank you Mark.
Very informative video currently I'm working on my motorcycle system and needed to figure out how to wire up everything as my motorcycle wasn't factory installed with nothing! So 2 6.5" and 1" components with xovers for upper fairing 2 8" woofers and super horns in my lower fairings 2 6.5" sub woofers and 2 8" sub woofers in the saddlebags 2 6.5" and 1" components with xovers in touring pack and a 12 inch sub in the touring pack itself, ok there's 1 4 channel 1600 watt amp for front side a 2400 watt amp for back side and a 1500 watt mono amp for my 12 incher. Now I had to run the amps 1 in fairing 2 in bags inline fuse, power distribution, a 2.0 farad capacitor in the opposite bag, all the wires to my 7" Android head unit (so in that mess was power aux gnd all speaker wires remote turn ons as well as how ant radio ant and a 2 camera dvr setup for insurance reasons) to add to it I also went LEDs all around for ruining trail head lights and a 24pc LED rgb lighting kit with music processor to make a light show with music.! Wow anyways using what I've been learning of your videos it's coming together nicely! So well thanks
Love your vids man. I've learned more installation tricks & technical things like in this video from you than from any other source. I know my way around basic installs, but I've never really gotten too far into the numbers like this. Very educational, entertaining & you keep it interesting without droning on.
My only complaint is that I always come away from your videos wanting to spend money lol!
GOLD Content!!
Thank you for your time.
Great video Mark
I usually "under" fuse my stuff. Figure out the actual capacities of the wire and all, then de-rate by 20% or so. I do that with just about all my electronics that have user replaceable fuses. I worked as a A/V service tech for many years and learned that a lot of equipment "blows up" but does NOT burn the fuse! The old joke was that the $250.00 picture tube in the TV set will burnout to protect the 30 cent fuse! So, unless you're in a SPL comp event and would rather risk smoking the amp to get that 1st place award, I'd put lower amp fuses in the equipment. If you de-rate the fuse in your amp and it does not pop during power up, you're fine.
Seems like you know you stuff, I'm trying to run a 0guage to the bank with an online fuse in the hood, but how would I still feed my smart 3 it's 0 guage and give my mid amp the 4 guage it needs.
I'm new to car electronics and couldnt find anything on Amazon.
Perfect answered all questions I'm running the 200amp stringer your using for example, on 4 gauge wire now about to switch to 0 gauge and wanted to research a the 200amp still good enough.
Thanks for this video. I needed this after I added a 12" sub to my system to see how it would sound and melted the fuse box. The wire is on the small side. I bought the system already installed I just updated the factory speakers.
Would that be the same for the ground wire distribution block?
You are a god, man!!! Thank you so so much. I’ll go directly to your sponsor and buy some stuff. THANKS!!
Good video Mark what is your take on using circuit breaker instead of inline fuse holders.
Ditto
Amazing channel. I assume when you review the 2 amps in this video and quote 1000W for one amp and 400W for the other amp that these are the MAX POWER RATING and NOT the RMS RATING
This diagram is great but what if you add a capacitor after the first fuse near the batt. Would you recommend adding another fuse between the capacitor and amp?
Your the best I've come across love your work keep it up
Clear and concise explanation. Thanks!
How do you fuse dsp at distribution block going from a 8g to 16g they don't make a 1 amp anl fuse i don't believe
Are you using the RMS or Max watt rating to calculate the fuse size?
He's using RMS
how many physics class would i have to go for me to learn all that he just taught me. A LOT !!! Thank bro i appreciate the lesson.
Great video as always mark
My god this guy saved me so much money! I've watched a lot of his videos and I've learned a lot from it and installed my system.
Thank you for your knowledge 🙏
Glad I could help!
Also keep the fused dist. block close to the amp as possible. this keeps the reduced size wire short as possible, which will be able to carry more current than a longer run.
Actually, just a good idea to keep all cables short as possible. Don't leave 5 ft of extra wire just balled up in the trunk. Looks bad too.
Great video! I bet it sells a lot of wire, fuses and distribution blocks.
Thank you for the very informative video. I am in the process of building my system, and am bit confused on the fuse size calculations. The amp I am planning on using for the sub is rated at 150 watts @ 4 ohms, 300 watts @ 2 ohms and 500 watts @ 1 ohm. I will be running the sub @ 2 ohms so the amp will only be producing 300 watts. Should I calculate fuse size based on the 500 watts that the amp is capable of, or the 300 watts that it will actually be producing? Similarly, I plan on utilizing a small 4 channel amp where I will only be using 2 of those channels to power the rear speakers for rear fill. Should I calculate fuse size on the total output of the amplifier (all 4 channels) or just the actual output that will be used ( 2 channels)?
Too many things learned today damn i feel like a professional now
What about the fuses that are physically on the amplifier? How to you determine what size fuse should be in those? Thank you!