meltdown!!

[ghost_deini]

i have a hifonics bx1000d w/a 1.0 farad cap. its driving one 1000w rms sub.(rockford fosgate power Hx2), and i have 4awg wire w/a 120amp fuse approx 12" from the battery.
ok, now my problem...
on my break from work i went to start my car and all i herd was clicking. so i popped the hood to investigate. couldnt really see anything wrong, so i tryed to jump it. it wouldnt start at all, so apon futher inspection i saw that my fuse holder, and power wire were melted. the part that was melted was the side going into car. so i quickly disconnected it, and that allowed me to drive my car home. (even though my break was now over )
now my car can be jumped and it will run, but if its off for more than a hour my battery goes dead. i charged the battery w/a battery charger, and my car started about 3 times, then went dead. i am going to have my battery and my charging system checked out, but i have a few questions...

why would my stuff melt? is 4awg too thin?
does my problem sound like my battery? is there a battery you would recomend?
is my system drawing too much power? should i get a better alternater?
any sugestions?

thanks for your time, and help...

[sr20de4evr]

hm....

it sounds like a combination of things, the only scenario I can put together is that your power wire grounded out somewhere in the car, your fuse for some odd reason didn't blow, and it fried your alternator and ran the battery dead. Now your alternator is blown and can't recharge the battery, so your battery can only last as long as it can before the draw from startup and normal running drain it until it's dead again.

The only thing I can think of is to take it to autozone and get the battery and alternator checked out. One of them is definitely shot, my guess is the alternator but I'm not sure. Once you find out which one is fried get it replaced, then start hunting down what the problem with your amp's power wire is.

[forcefanajd]

FOR ALL YOU GUYS WITH SUBS....ALWAYS INSTALL THE INLINE FUSE AFTER THE FIREWALL.....MEANING INSIDE THE CAR.

y u ask....because where you run the wire through the firewall could rub through the insulation and cause it to ground out.....thats fine and dandy....but the fuse wont break...not good just a litte FYI for you system guys out there

[sr20de4evr]

what? what you just said makes no sense

you're right, the firewall can cut through the insulation and short out the power wire. When this happens, you'll get a TON of current flowing from the battery to that point where it shorted. If your fuse is inside the car it won't do a thing, your fuse has to be BETWEEN the battery and the short, that way all that current flowing from the battery will have to go through the fuse before reaching the short, so your fuse will blow and cut the connection.

[CBFryman]

Originally Posted by forcefanajd

FOR ALL YOU GUYS WITH SUBS....ALWAYS INSTALL THE INLINE FUSE AFTER THE FIREWALL.....MEANING INSIDE THE CAR.

y u ask....because where you run the wire through the firewall could rub through the insulation and cause it to ground out.....thats fine and dandy....but the fuse wont break...not good just a litte FYI for you system guys out there

the short has to be after the fuse, not before it....a fuse breaks the circut because it melts...in order for it to melt you have to have a certian wattage....since most car voltages are 12-14volts the fuses are rated in amps....in order for a 40amp fuse to blow almost instantly (a direct short) it needs 960watts or 80amps to blow...if its not a direct short (which by the way causes the battery to try and produce as much current as possible) if it is pulling any where over 40amps over a period of time it will get hot enought to melt and brake the conection.....if you place the fuse after the short then it wont blow because there will be little to no current flowing through the fuse... every installer/electrician in the world isnt wrong about this....the fuse is usually placed in a fuse box as close tot the battery as possible so there is less of a chance of a un-fused direct short....

[Haibane]

Originally Posted by forcefanajd

FOR ALL YOU GUYS WITH SUBS....ALWAYS INSTALL THE INLINE FUSE AFTER THE FIREWALL.....MEANING INSIDE THE CAR.

y u ask....because where you run the wire through the firewall could rub through the insulation and cause it to ground out.....thats fine and dandy....but the fuse wont break...not good just a litte FYI for you system guys out there

Dude, come on. Are you serious? you want the inline fuse about 10-15 inches from the battery because you want it to keep the short from your battery. If you do it inside your car, you can cause an electrical fire inside your hood, and also can short out your entire electrical system. Please don't give out bad suggestions that are possibly lethal.

[PaulD]

the fuse on your amplifier power line is to protect the CAR (battery and alternator) not the stereo equipment. Sadly enough, there are certified installers that don't know any better.