Question about battery cables

When I get my RMW, I am going to put my old subwoofers in the back as well as swapping out the headunit with a new JVC Arsenal.
I am putting the subwoofer amplifier in the locking side panel storage compartment and I am going to run 30 foot RCA cables from the headunit, through the vehicle trim, and up into the compartment to the amp. I have, however, run into a slight issue. Where do I get 30 feet of 2-4 gauge battery cable? I can't find anyone that sells that length. I want to buy 30 feet so I have enough battery cable for the amp once I'm done snaking it around the vehicle trim through the engine compartment.

You're going to have to buy it by the foot from a place like this: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/cat_i188_4-gauge-power-ground-wire.html and then terminate it yourself.

nstg8r wrote:

You're going to have to buy it by the foot from a place like this [edited out link because apparently I can't post external links for 7 days since I'm a new member] and then terminate it yourself.

That kinda sucks but you gotta do what you gotta do I guess...

Also, is there a way to wire up a switch to the battery cables to turn off the amp on or off along with the ignition so it doesn't drain the battery? I don't want to have to manually unplug the battery from my amp every day if I don't have to.

Your amp should have a signal wire that only turns the amp on when the stereo is turned on.  A lot of RCA cables will have this built in, otherwise just run a small wire from the back of the stereo to the location of the amp.   The blue wire on this image

We installed the subwoofers in my Dad's truck a few years back and we had to wire the amp into the fuse for the fuel injectors so it would only get power with the car running. I honestly don't remember what stupid way we wired it up and made it work but I remember connecting it to the battery made the amp stay powered all the time.

Any amp I have ever seen has a remote on input lead. Just like all head units have an antenna out and/or remote on output. Also, 2-4 gauge is probably overkill for the amps. You can do the math, and not waste money on thick cable you don't need.

To each his own,but I agree with Jay,2-4 gauge is overkill. Save some coin for other upgrades.

How much power are you running here? I had a run of 1/0 AWG in my wagon, but I also had 2500W RMS going to that amp, and another 750 RMS for mids and highs....

Soooo with that said -

What year is your wagon? You can run your amp wire to the remote terminal on the fuse box just as well. There's plenty of easy access holes (That's what she said) to run the wire, and it'll fit easily under the trim.

What gauge wire does your amp request? Use that. What amp are you using and how much power are you planning to run here?

Stingroo wrote:

How much power are you running here? I had a run of 1/0 AWG in my wagon, but I also had 2500W RMS going to that amp, and another 750 RMS for mids and highs....

Soooo with that said -

What year is your wagon? You can run your amp wire to the remote terminal on the fuse box just as well. There's plenty of easy access holes (That's what she said) to run the wire, and it'll fit easily under the trim.

What gauge wire does your amp request? Use that. What amp are you using and how much power are you planning to run here?

I don't have the wagon yet, but these are future plans for when I do get the wagon in a year or so. I plan to buy a 1994 Estate. The amp is 820 watts but I plan to upgrade to 1000/1500.

jayoldschool wrote:

Any amp I have ever seen has a remote on input lead.  Just like all head units have an antenna out and/or remote on output.  Also, 2-4 gauge is probably overkill for the amps.  You can do the math, and not waste money on thick cable you don't need.

I don't think the remote wire will work, since my amp is a Pioneer amplifier and I'm buying a JVC head unit... and yes, my Pioneer amp DOES have a remote wire plug, and the headunit I am purchasing has subwoofer amp hookups.

"Remote" means "remote power." As in - that power wire turns on remote (i.e. not-located-at-the-head-unit) accessories, like your amp. Not the head unit's remote control.

Is that 820w "MAX" or 820w RMS? These are very different power levels.

Stingroo wrote:

"Remote" means "remote power." As in - that power wire turns on remote (i.e. not-located-at-the-head-unit) accessories, like your amp. Not the head unit's remote control.

Is that 820w "MAX" or 820w RMS? These are very different power levels.

I don't really know. The amp just says 820W on it.

The amp is a Pioneer GM-5500T.

lol, that is not a big amp. You could install a Walmart amp wiring kit and it would be overkill. It's 125Wx2.

The remote on lead from the JVC will turn on the Pioneer just fine.

jayoldschool wrote:

lol, that is not a big amp.  You could install a Walmart amp wiring kit and it would be overkill. It's 125Wx2.

The remote on lead from the JVC will turn on the Pioneer just fine.

Thanks! And I plan to go up to 1000 watts anyways.

Yeah, still though, a "1000 watt amp" vs "1000W RMS" are very different power levels.

It also depends on what kind of subs you have, what impedance you wire them at, etc. etc. I had a 2500W amp, but it was 2500W at 1 ohm. I had two dual voice coil 4 ohm subs that I wired down to 1 ohm to use all 2500W.

Had I kept them at 4ohm, they'd only draw 750W.

A very large difference.


...and even then, it wasn't REALLY putting out 2500W. That's just what the package claimed. It was really feeding like ~1400 or so if I remember right. No amp is 100% efficient, and nothing but the best name brands will ever come close to the "rated" power. If it's not CEA-2006 compliant, they're full of ****.

Stingroo wrote:

Yeah, still though, a "1000 watt amp" vs "1000W RMS" are very different power levels.

It also depends on what kind of subs you have, what impedance you wire them at, etc. etc. I had a 2500W amp, but it was 2500W at 1 ohm. I had two dual voice coil 4 ohm subs that I wired down to 1 ohm to use all 2500W.

Had I kept them at 4ohm, they'd only draw 750W.

A very large difference.


...and even then, it wasn't REALLY putting out 2500W. That's just what the package claimed. It was really feeding like ~1400 or so if I remember right. No amp is 100% efficient, and nothing but the best name brands will ever come close to the "rated" power. If it's not CEA-2006 compliant, they're full of ****.

Ohm... RMS... Impedance... Welp, my brain is fried now.

The subs I have are two 10" Rockford Fosgate Kick woofers I bought at a garage sale earlier for $10. They were still sealed in their original box and according to a sticker on each woofer they were manufactured back in April 2001.

LOL the prev owner of Betty did the same thing. He was able to tuck thr amps behind the lockbox by the tail lights. Still plenty of room on either side, front or rear though. He ran a cable big enough to jump start a John Deere. I still have the amps, unused a i000 watt 2 channel and 500 watt 4 channel. I'm thinking of using the cable for an arc welder, or starting my own neon lit mobile billboard company. What I would REALLY like to do is power up a 16" Klipsch corner horn. Then when someone pulls up behind me trying to knock my fillings loose, a flick of a switch and the hatch comes up and blam!!!!

Bert Slater wrote:

LOL the prev owner of Betty did the same thing. He was able to tuck thr amps  behind the lockbox by the tail lights. Still plenty of room on either side, front or rear though. He ran a cable big enough to jump start a John Deere. I still have the amps, unused a i000 watt 2 channel and 500 watt 4 channel. I'm thinking of using the cable for an arc welder, or starting my own neon lit mobile billboard company. What I would REALLY like to do is power up a 16" Klipsch corner horn. Then when someone pulls up behind me trying to knock my fillings loose, a flick of a switch and the hatch comes up and blam!!!!

My other idea is when I cut the hole in the side panel to run the wires there I'll screw in a wallplate-style RCA coupler and run the headunit wires to the coupler then use a 2 foot or whatever set of RCAs to connect the amplifier to the coupler to make the whole thing removable/plug and play.

Also, since I'll likely have to use screws to fasten the amp to the side panel, is there any precautions to take? I don't want to screw down into anything important or use too long of screws then have screw tips protruding out of my wood paneling :p

Here's a crude schematic of my plan. Will I have to upgrade the alternator or not?


I'm going to get two RCA splitters, one for each channel, then from those run 3-foot RCA cables to each amp.

you need to buy a car first,..

phantom 309 wrote:

you need to buy a car first,..

Dream crusher!!!

Andebe wrote:

phantom 309 wrote:

you need to buy a car first,..

Dream crusher!!!

Lol

Here's what you do (once you get your car) Don't over complicate things here yet. work with what you have and upgrade as you like. you already have subs and an amp right? go to walmart, buy yourself a decent head unit and a wire kit. wire kit is probably something like 50 bucks, an okay head unit $150 or less. you don't need 30 feet of rca cables. I bought a set of 20 footers and had too much. dont even bother thinking about upgrading your alternator yet. wire it up and have fun. that simple.

My first ride was an estate too and I also had old car audio stuff kicking around (and still do lol) my subs were really old 2x JL 10" subs in a box that I got for free. because of the age and specs (I forget what their ratings were) I could only run a very small amp 300-450W I think is what I had. didn't really give a **** because the bass still bumped even with my cheap little setup. before I hooked it all up I had big plans to upgrade but once it was all said and done, I really didnt feel the need too. and trust me, when you finally get your wagon their will be lots of other stuff to spend your money on.

benn wrote:

Here's what you do (once you get your car) Don't over complicate things here yet. work with what you have and upgrade as you like. you already have subs and an amp right? go to walmart, buy yourself a decent head unit and a wire kit. wire kit is probably something like 50 bucks, an okay head unit $150 or less. you don't need 30 feet of rca cables. I bought a set of 20 footers and had too much. dont even bother thinking about upgrading your alternator yet. wire it up and have fun. that simple.

My first ride was an estate too and I also had old car audio stuff kicking around (and still do lol) my subs were really old 2x JL 10" subs in a box that I got for free. because of the age and specs (I forget what their ratings were) I could only run a very small amp 300-450W I think is what I had. didn't really give a **** because the bass still bumped even with my cheap little setup. before I hooked it all up I had big plans to upgrade but once it was all said and done, I really didnt feel the need too. and trust me, when you finally get your wagon their will be lots of other stuff to spend your money on.

OK. Thanks for clearing up some things for me. I might not upgrade my alternator because dimming the lights in the cab could be funny.

With the audio stuff you have, you won't need to worry about dimming any lights, but what's the inverter for?

benn wrote:

With the audio stuff you have, you won't need to worry about dimming any lights, but what's the inverter for?

Karaoke,..

phantom 309 wrote:

benn wrote:

With the audio stuff you have, you won't need to worry about dimming any lights, but what's the inverter for?

Karaoke,..

and a coffee pot, mini fridge... basically going to make the wagon into a sweet camper

TheRoadmasterKing wrote:

phantom 309 wrote:

benn wrote:

With the audio stuff you have, you won't need to worry about dimming any lights, but what's the inverter for?

Karaoke,..

and a coffee pot, mini fridge... basically going to make the wagon into a sweet camper

How about a hearse,call it a rolling dead...I mean bedroom.

Andebe wrote:

TheRoadmasterKing wrote:

phantom 309 wrote:

benn wrote:

With the audio stuff you have, you won't need to worry about dimming any lights, but what's the inverter for?

Karaoke,..

and a coffee pot, mini fridge... basically going to make the wagon into a sweet camper

How about a hearse,call it a rolling dead...I mean bedroom.

Lol