Upgrading, existing power wire sufficient?

[b34tBoX 0]

Well, I'm upgrading, and had plans to keep existing power wire, but think i might stress the capacity of the wire.

What I have:

20' of Knu KLMX 1/0AWG to second battery (trunk) [Fused @ 250A]

5' of Knu KLMX 1/0AWG from second battery to amps (distro. block in between)

What I'm putting in:

Soundstream RUB1.2500D [250A]

Soundstream RUB2.600 [60A]

Soundstream RUB2.250 [30A]

Now, I've read that KLMX is capable of 250A loads, and Kolossus 300A+.

Would the KLMX I have be enough to run the amps, if I upgrade the inline to 300A, and run 250,60,30 ANL in the distribution block. [However, 250+60+30≠300]

Has anyone ran a 300A load off KLMX, or should I just spend the $100 and get the Kolossus if it would really make that much of a difference?

Maybe it would safest to run a second KLMX 1/0 wire to the back instead?

[CrazyKenKid 64]

question why don't you just run your 1/0 to the 2500 with an inline fuse of 250amps? and just use the distro for the 2 other amps?

i am currently running the kolossus wire and i running a sax100.4 and a saz2000d amp. i have 1 run from back to front, in the back is a pair of batcap 2000's.

also what kind a distro block are you using? b/c i believe ANL goes from 60-300amp fuses. does your distro block accomodate for mini anl and anl?

and i wouldn't run a 300amp fuse in a 250amp rated wire. it isn't safe. and if something where to happen and your car caught on fire (extreme case) your insurance company would lol at you and not give you any coverage b/c you decided to go with a bigger fuse!

O well i wouldn't do it! I would juse use a separate run to the 2500 and if you wnat use a distro block that takes 30amp and 60amp mini anl and call it a day!

something like this

Knukonceptz product detail for KONFUSED 2 WAY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

and this for the 2500

Knukonceptz product detail for IN-LINE WATERPROOF ANL FUSE HOLDER W/ FUSE

or

Knukonceptz product detail for KONFUSED HIGH CURRENT IN-LINE FUSE HOLDER

I hope that helps some!

[b34tBoX 0]

I have one run of 1/0 from the front battery to the rear battery, fused at 250A.

From the rear battery I have 1/0 going to the 2-way distro. block to the amps.

Pictures always help..

I guess what I'll do.

Is keep what I have, change out the fuses in the distro. block for a 30A and 60A and power the smaller amps.

Then run another 1/0 fused @ 250A directly to the 2500D from the front battery.

Sound good?

[CrazyKenKid 64]

I have one run of 1/0 from the front battery to the rear battery, fused at 250A.

From the rear battery I have 1/0 going to the 2-way distro. block to the amps.

Pictures always help..

I guess what I'll do.

Is keep what I have, change out the fuses in the distro. block for a 30A and 60A and power the smaller amps.

Then run another 1/0 fused @ 250A directly to the 2500D from the front battery.

Sound good?

So you wnat to run ANOTHER run of wire from the front to the back JUST to power the 2500? why not just go from the rear battery to the 2500? shorter run of wire!! plus the batteries are in parellel right so if you hook the 2500 up the front or rear it doesn't matter!

ALSO one more thing, DID you NOT use a FUSE from the ALT to the battery???

also 1 more quick question did you do a negative run from front to back of the car?

also i assume you did the whole BIG 3, groud both batteries, ground engine,ground alt, and bigger pos from alt to battery

[loudcav 1]

unless that is the group 31 yellow top your going to want to get a bigger battery in the rear but if you do it right you should be able to get away with your single run of KLMX but doing a 2nd run will be much safer

[b34tBoX 0]

So you wnat to run ANOTHER run of wire from the front to the back JUST to power the 2500? why not just go from the rear battery to the 2500? shorter run of wire!! plus the batteries are in parellel right so if you hook the 2500 up the front or rear it doesn't matter!

ALSO one more thing, DID you NOT use a FUSE from the ALT to the battery???

also 1 more quick question did you do a negative run from front to back of the car?

also i assume you did the whole BIG 3, groud both batteries, ground engine,ground alt, and bigger pos from alt to battery

Yeah, I guess it would not matter which battery I hook the additional 1/0 too, would it.

No fuse from alt to battery.

No negative run from front to rear, should I?

Big 3: Positive alt to battery. Negative batt to chassis, and chassis to engine.

Battery in front specs: Group 34/78; Cold Crank Amps 800; Crank Amps 1000; Reserve Capacity 100; Ampere Hour 50

Battery in rear specs: D34/78; Cold Crank Amps 750; Crank Amps 870; Res. Capacity 120; Ampere Hour 55.

I'm VERY open to how you guys would wire it, I'll rip everything out if I have to, I just want to make sure I'm doing it right.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

the only reason why i did 2 runs (1neg and 1pos) b/c i had a lot of 1/0 to use up, plus i believe it helps with the flow of current. being so your batteries will be in a closed circuit? i think that is what someoen told me to me about 4years ago when i was running wire!

i think for my next setup i am going to do another 2 runs of 1/0 wire from front to back to help out my electrical as in give the current more places to flow!! (lol make it choose) since in parellel current adds up!

other then that you have a combined ah of 105ah! whihc is JUST enough ah to run that amp!! nice! did you plan that? (well just enough to run it then you factor in the alt and you should be good)

also for pos alt to battery i would fuse it b/c it is safer.

and one more question before i go to bed, why didn't you ground your alt to the chassis also? or is the alt grounded to the engine? (mine is grounded to the engine so i jsut grounded my alt rather then the engine due to how easy it was to get at the alt compared to under the engine lol! )

[b34tBoX 0]

the only reason why i did 2 runs (1neg and 1pos) b/c i had a lot of 1/0 to use up, plus i believe it helps with the flow of current. being so your batteries will be in a closed circuit? i think that is what someoen told me to me about 4years ago when i was running wire!

i think for my next setup i am going to do another 2 runs of 1/0 wire from front to back to help out my electrical as in give the current more places to flow!! (lol make it choose) since in parellel current adds up!

other then that you have a combined ah of 105ah! whihc is JUST enough ah to run that amp!! nice! did you plan that? (well just enough to run it then you factor in the alt and you should be good)

also for pos alt to battery i would fuse it b/c it is safer.

and one more question before i go to bed, why didn't you ground your alt to the chassis also? or is the alt grounded to the engine? (mine is grounded to the engine so i jsut grounded my alt rather then the engine due to how easy it was to get at the alt compared to under the engine lol! )

That alternator in the picture is a POS 200A "HO" alt. I didn't realize that it reaches 200A @ 5k rpm though until later..haha

No doubt, I have a new alt to go in.

DC Power 270A, 190A @ idle.

I think what's best is to replace the KLMX with 1/0 Kolossus and run a high current in-line fuse @ 360A in it, between batteries

And use existing KLMX and do what you did, use it for ground between batteries.

Then from rear battery run 2 x 1/0 off it, one directly to amp (2500) fused @ 250A and the other to a distribution block, split into 4 gauge. 30A and 60A.

I honestly just got the batteries because, they were much cheaper then say Kinetik....etc. (I know they really don't compare though)

[CrazyKenKid 64]

lol POS alt! story of my ilfe also! lol! and good idea on going dc i have heard lots of good stories

now explain why you wnat swap your wire from klmx to kolossus? there is only a 50amp difference, and why would you wnat more then 300amps of current for? hell 300amp at 12v=3600watt and 14v=4900watt and you will only be using about 3000~3200? so no real need to be unsafe and toss a 360amp fuse in a 300rated wire. now if you wnat to STEP UP to 2/0 or even 3/0 or 4/0 there is this website whihc sells wire for cheap called:

www.weldingsupply.com - main menu

so no real reason to upgrade from klmx to kolosssus you will not get any real benifit and just for reference 12v @250amp= 3000watts. in my car i am only runing a 250 amp fuse to supply my saz2000 and my 100.4 and when i go to install my other saz2000 i will be upgrading my wire or my number of runs!!

play it safe and your fuse don't make your music louder!!

[b34tBoX 0]

lol POS alt! story of my ilfe also! lol! and good idea on going dc i have heard lots of good stories

now explain why you wnat swap your wire from klmx to kolossus? there is only a 50amp difference, and why would you wnat more then 300amps of current for? hell 300amp at 12v=3600watt and 14v=4900watt and you will only be using about 3000~3200? so no real need to be unsafe and toss a 360amp fuse in a 300rated wire. now if you wnat to STEP UP to 2/0 or even 3/0 or 4/0 there is this website whihc sells wire for cheap called:

www.weldingsupply.com - main menu

so no real reason to upgrade from klmx to kolosssus you will not get any real benifit and just for reference 12v @250amp= 3000watts. in my car i am only runing a 250 amp fuse to supply my saz2000 and my 100.4 and when i go to install my other saz2000 i will be upgrading my wire or my number of runs!!

play it safe and your fuse don't make your music louder!!

Oh ok, so my power wire should be fine if 250amp x 12v = 3000watt?

That's if I run a separate wire from the second battery to power the 2500D. Ya?

I got a reply from Knu regarding the difference between KLMX and Kolussus.

"The KLMX uses CCA, it has a higher internal resistance then the Kolossus which uses Oxygen Free Copper. More resistance means a loss in voltage as the current flows through the cable and that loss means the amplifier has to work harder to make power. At 250A and under, the KLMX operates within industry standards for loss over the rated length of 20'. Beyond 250A or 20' the loss becomes greater then what we feel to be acceptable (above 10%).

The Kolossus Kable is rated to 350A,so yes, the difference in materials does make that big of a difference."

So I guess with what I have, I should be fine.

Thanks!

[CrazyKenKid 64]

wow that is cool! so what he is saying with the klmx wire if you exceed 20feet or 250amps you will get a ~10% loss in power!! thanks for posting that!

what i was getting at is use a 250 amp fuse going from front to back which can supply up 3000, and then run another run from the back battery to the amp which again cna support another 3000. since you are tapping off of another battery.

errr....double check that now iam not sure, b/c in a parrellel setup the voltage is constant and the currnet adds up,...so what happens to power then? will it vary with the current draws? but total system will remain constant.... let me look into this and i wil follow up with a better answer lol.!! sorry for the confusion!

[CrazyKenKid 64]

also a fast question, where you grounded the rear battery did you first grind it down to bare metal? i can't tell from your pic, it appears to still have paint on it.

also in your first pic of the front battery you have 3 sets of wires coming offf of it...1-alt, 2-rear battery,3-?

i also noticed you are using your front posts along with the top mounts? p/s i have never had a red top before are you allowed to use both sets of terminal at once?

[b34tBoX 0]

also a fast question, where you grounded the rear battery did you first grind it down to bare metal? i can't tell from your pic, it appears to still have paint on it.

also in your first pic of the front battery you have 3 sets of wires coming offf of it...1-alt, 2-rear battery,3-?

i also noticed you are using your front posts along with the top mounts? p/s i have never had a red top before are you allowed to use both sets of terminal at once?

It's sanded down and I used metal tooth washers. Vehicle is unibody, but it worked the same as grounding to seatbelt bolt, just easier to disconnect.

The 4th wire upgrade is from battery to fusebox, not really necessary.

No issues with using top and side posts at the same time, they go to the same source anyways.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

o that is good! also i have heard that using screw terminals is superior to post style terminals? (my batteries are all screw terminals). any comment on that thought?

[b34tBoX 0]

o that is good! also i have heard that using screw terminals is superior to post style terminals? (my batteries are all screw terminals). any comment on that thought?

I'm not sure, but if you have 2 or more wires, especially of 1/0AWG size, the top terminals look cleaner, IMO.

Anyways, I think you've helped me to understand what I need to do with my system, and appreciate all your help!

I'm also from Ontario, Canada. =D

Edited January 27, 2010 by b34tBoX

[CrazyKenKid 64]

no kidding!! where abouts in ontario? windsor? sarnia by any chances?

[b34tBoX 0]

no kidding!! where abouts in ontario? windsor? sarnia by any chances?

Nah, York Region. About 20minutes North or Toronto.