i have a question about installing my amp.

[DannMann99]

car stereo.com says:
Power Wiring
Even though amplifiers are easy to install, a lot of things could go wrong. The most important thing to consider is where to get the power from: Straight from the battery. ALWAYS put a fuse as close to the positive battery terminal as possible. If the wire going to the back of the car shorts out, then the fuse will blow. If you don't install a fuse or breaker and the wire shorts out, then the wire will carry so much current that the insulation will melt and could catch your car on fire. The size of the fuse should be the same rating as the fuses used by the amp(s) or less. The ground (-) should be hooked-up to a metal part of the car. It is not necessary to run a ground wire all the way to the battery.

my amp tho has a fuse thats in it, its sticking out alittle bit and is green and says: 30 on it. is this the fuse they are talking about? i dont want a melt down lol.

thanks in advance.

[ViperJ]

Yes that is the fuse there talking about if its about a 12 inches from the cars positve connection on the amps power cable.

[DannMann99]

well... the +12v that goes into the amp, is only about 2-3inches away fromm where the fuse is on the amp. does this sound right?

[DannMann99]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ayphotohosting

happens to be the exact same amp i have. the side with the fuse isnt shown but that side contains the fuse, , the remote plugin, the +12v plugin, and the ground plugin.

[ViperJ]

Originally Posted by DannMann99

car stereo.com says:
ALWAYS put a fuse as close to the positive battery terminal as possible.

Their talking about a actual fuse in the amps power wire. And yes you do need on of these. You will want one LESS than 12' from the battery. The fuse or fuses on the amp are also important but not as important as the one in the wire. They work with the powers fuse to also help protect your amp from power surges.

[DannMann99]

so question, if i just buy a amp wiring kit, will this be included? and is it already wired in and ready to go? cause i have no idea on how to put in a fuse.

[sr20de4evr]

They're talking about the inline fuse in the power wire. In a typical amp install you have 2 fuses, one at the amp and one in the power wire.

The one in the amp is to protect the amp itself. If it happens to short out internally, that fuse will blow before any of the components inside the amp fry (hopefully). Then you can open up the amp, fix the short, and the amp will work again. If it wasn't there then the amp would self-destruct and would be well beyond repair by the time the main fuse blew.

The one in the power wire is to protect your car, not the amp. If the power wire running to the amp happens to short out (maybe there's a sharp piece of metal where the wire runs through the firewall and eventually this metal cuts through the insulation and makes contact with the wire), you all of a sudden have a TON of current running through that wire. If you have a fuse between the short and the battery, then it will blow and everything is fine. If you don't have a fuse, then rediculous amounts of current will flow through the wire, heat will build up, and the wire itself can get so hot that it lights things next to it on fire, such as the carpet inside your car. Well then you have a fire in your car, and if you aren't lucky it will burn the car to the ground, if you are lucky maybe it will just char a bit of your interior before going out. This is why you ALWAYS put a fuse in your power wire as close as possible to the battery (if the wire shorts out in between the battery and the fuse, the fuse won't do anything and you still have a problem).

Amp wiring kits will come with a fuse holder and a fuse, it's one of the easiest things to hook up imaginable. You cut the power wire near the battery, strip both ends, screw these ends into each end of the fuse holder, slap a fuse in the fuse holder, and you're set.