Is the PPI guy a loony?

[AustinKP]

So I called PPI to find out if I needed a Y splitter or if my amp would work with just one pair of RCA's. Turns out there's some switch so I only need one pair. I was asking him about the fuses and he told me that I need one w/ in 18" of the Battery (this I knew) and ALSO one fuse w/ in 18" of the amp. Is that true or is he feeding me a line? To rephrase, for one amp with one power wire straight from the battery to the amp, I need 2 fuses? Logical?

[bknauss]

He's probably not feeding you a line, but he probably misunderstands some competition rules. From the wording, its easy to confuse "18 inches from the battery and from any distro block" and "18 inches from the battery only and also have access to the amp fuses".

All in all, just need the proper fuse close to the battery.

[exalted512]

ive been told that small fuses (80A and smaller) can take huge amounts of power and not blow
meaning if just a little more power over the amp rating itll blow, but a huge surge can go right through it
thats what ive been told, whether or not its right i dunno...
when i had my bd1000 i was only running one fuse from the 4awg and at the time i didnt have a distro block and the amp that was powering my mm6s only had one as well
more fuses never hurt...and theyre not expensive...
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Fusing the amp at the battery and at the amp is actually the proper way to do it just like never driving over the speed limit is the proper way to drive but as we all know......

I have never fused my amps at the amp and in 14 years of piddling, the only amp Ive ever had die was an Alpine 4 channel that went kaputz 2 weeks after I bought it. I replaced it and it is running off the exact same wiring scheme and has been for about a year now with nary a problem!

bottom line: it wont hurt to fuse it at the amp as well, but you dont have to. Consider it an extra layer of insurance

[exalted512]

Originally posted by MacLeod
Consider it an extra layer of insurance
very true, a 50 cent fuse is a lot better to replace than a 500 dollar amp...
but then again how many wiring kits do you see with two fuses?
-Cody

[AustinKP]

Originally posted by exalted512
but then again how many wiring kits do you see with two fuses?
-Cody Exactly! That's what made me wonder...

[exalted512]

are you ever going to be running 2 amps?
maybe this is a good time to put one fuse by the battery and put a fused distrobution block in the back, its ok to only have one coming out, and then when you get another amp all you gotta do is put it in the distro block with the proper fuse and there ya go:)
you might want to get a ANL fuse for the one by the battery
its a lot easier to find an ANL fuse with a fuse rating of 100A or more, its pretty impossible to find much over 80A in AGU fuses
-Cody

[AustinKP]

Well, I don't have the money to get another fuse holder or a distro block right now. (actually, I do, but if I spend another cent on this stereo right now, my wife will skin me alive) Tell me if this would work: for now, I'll put the AGU fuse holder next to the battery and nothing before the amp. When(hopefully not if) I get another amp for my sub, I'll put an ANL fuse holder next to the battery, and move the AGU fuse to before the amp. Sound good?

[neomagus00]

how bout you put the AGU next to the battery now and get a fused distro when you get the sub amp?

[AustinKP]

That's probably work. How expensive are ANL fuse holders compared to AGU?

[neomagus00]

from knukonceptz:
ANL: $20.00
AGU: $6.00

jeez... but, it's not that much in the grand scheme of things...

[TrappedUnder Ice]

well...If you not all amps need extrenal fuses...cause some have them allready!. Ive always put an external fuse if it has no internals...just makes good sense. I have saved amps that way. fuse blew instead of amp due to bad ground..wich I thought was good!.

A few extra dollars and things done right! saves time and money in the future!.:cool:

[neomagus00]

mmmm..... money....

donuts....

[exalted512]

a agu 4 pack of 80a fuses is like 5 bucks
a anl 100a fuse is about 11 bucks and hard to find under 100A
i still say shell out the $20 extra dollars and get the anl fuse and holder
itll save you time and money in the long run
i got mine from www.carmedia1.com cheapest i could find...it was like $7 and $7 for shipping---$14 total and still the cheapest one i could find...
check ebay--a fuse holder is a fuse holder, as long as its waterproof
-Cody

[Thom]

The fuse by the battery is to keep the car from catching on fire, like if the wire runs through the firewall without a proper grommet, or if the wire shorts to ground somewhere else along the way. Fuses in the back are for convenience, I've used fused distribution blocks when running multiple amps so that if one fuse goes you don't lose the whole system. At a show this past weekend my sub amp stopped working and the fuse at the dist. block was fine, the fuses on the amp blew. I've never put a second fuse in line by the amp when running a single amp system, and never had a problem. I've seen plenty of guys running multiple amps with a non- fused distibution block with no problems as well.

[exalted512]

those guys that ran multiple amps with a non-fused distro block had fuses inside the amps right?
-Cody

[AustinKP]

Do ALL amps have built-in fuses, even if they aren't externally accessible? Cause I thought that the PPI guy said mine didn't have any fuses, but at Radio Shak last night, I talked to a guy who was an installer for 12 years and he said that *every* amp has internal fuses. Who's correct?

[Thom]

As far as I can remember, every amp I've ever used has had fuses on the end panel, but I think I remember a friend of mine in high school that had a Phoenix Gold amp that didn't. Most amps do but I wouldn't bet that every amp does.

[AustinKP]

Mine definitely has No fuses on the end panel. Just wondering if there was one inside somewhere that I missed when looking over it quickly...

[MacLeod]

Xtant does not have internal fuses. You have to install one for each amp in-line somewhere. Its a real pain in the ass.

[exalted512]

that guy may have been an installer for 12 years...but he still works at radio shack...id say about 25-45% of amps do not have fuses
none of my do
even if they did, i would still put fuses outside the amp and hope that if a fuse did blow, itd be those...theyre much easier to change out
-Cody

[MTXMAN]

My US Amps TU-600 does not have fuses, since it has dual power and ground terminals (one per channel i assume) i just put a fused distro block right next to the amp and called it a day...

[MacLeod]

I guess Im making more out of it but that was always a turn off for me on Xtant amps (along with low power ratings). I didnt want to have to mess with it. Maybe Im just lazy.

Once I get some better and bigger amps I will probably uase a fused distro block. It is cheap insurance.

[TrappedUnder Ice]

Does have internal or maxi fuses:
Planet audio
Massive audio
Autotek

does not:
RF
PPI
Alpine

just a few off hand that I'm usin at the moment...

[MacLeod]

Not trying to be nit picky but Alpines do have internal fuses. I have two of their amps and both are fused. :cool:

[bknauss]

Originally posted by MacLeod
Not trying to be nit picky but Alpines do have internal fuses. I have two of their amps and both are fused. :cool:

I second this. I just looked at two different models and both had blade fuses. I'm VERY surprised RF does not... I thought it was sort of a standard thing! JL also does NOT have fuses... at least accessable from the exterior (or I didn't look hard enough).

[TrappedUnder Ice]

damn...your right..the alpine does have fuese...(doh!):eek: