i have a 350 A anl fuse less than a foot from my battery. i have noticed in alot of build logs peole have them alot closer to their subs. did i do something wrong or do they have 2 fuses??

Thank you

Matt Cusack

They must have two fuses. You MUST have that fuse right next to the battery, as that fuse protects your power wire. If there is a short somewhere along the length of the power wire, that fuse will blow before the short starts your car on fire. But the fuse must obviously be before the short in order to do any good.

You use fuses near the amplifiers if you either A) use a distribution block and decrease wire sizes going to each amplifier (smaller wire requires smaller fusing), or B) the amplifier does not have internal fusing. Many big amps, like 2000+ watts, will require external fusing.

They must have two fuses. You MUST have that fuse right next to the battery, as that fuse protects your power wire. If there is a short somewhere along the length of the power wire, that fuse will blow before the short starts your car on fire. But the fuse must obviously be before the short in order to do any good.

You use fuses near the amplifiers if you either A) use a distribution block and decrease wire sizes going to each amplifier (smaller wire requires smaller fusing), or B) the amplifier does not have internal fusing. Many big amps, like 2000+ watts, will require external fusing.

ok my amplifier has no internal fusing and is around 2000 watts (i dont know how accurate hifonics amp ratings are) so do i need an 2nd fuse near the amp??

yes it will be wise since that is wha the manual says it will need if you read that. get either a 200 ANL fuse or 250ANL fuse to go 8 inches away from amp. make sure you have the electrical to back up that amp if you want to get some decent power from it.

They must have two fuses. You MUST have that fuse right next to the battery, as that fuse protects your power wire. If there is a short somewhere along the length of the power wire, that fuse will blow before the short starts your car on fire. But the fuse must obviously be before the short in order to do any good.

You use fuses near the amplifiers if you either A) use a distribution block and decrease wire sizes going to each amplifier (smaller wire requires smaller fusing), or B) the amplifier does not have internal fusing. Many big amps, like 2000+ watts, will require external fusing.

ok my amplifier has no internal fusing and is around 2000 watts (i dont know how accurate hifonics amp ratings are) so do i need an 2nd fuse near the amp??

I see in your sig that you only have one amp. If that is true you'll will only need 1 fuse and that would be placed near the battery. Now the fuse you put in the holder would be rated for what the amp needs to be protected, and not the wire. But if you have two amps this is a different story.

They must have two fuses. You MUST have that fuse right next to the battery, as that fuse protects your power wire. If there is a short somewhere along the length of the power wire, that fuse will blow before the short starts your car on fire. But the fuse must obviously be before the short in order to do any good.

You use fuses near the amplifiers if you either A) use a distribution block and decrease wire sizes going to each amplifier (smaller wire requires smaller fusing), or B) the amplifier does not have internal fusing. Many big amps, like 2000+ watts, will require external fusing.

ok my amplifier has no internal fusing and is around 2000 watts (i dont know how accurate hifonics amp ratings are) so do i need an 2nd fuse near the amp??

I see in your sig that you only have one amp. If that is true you'll will only need 1 fuse and that would be placed near the battery. Now the fuse you put in the holder would be rated for what the amp needs to be protected, and not the wire. But if you have two amps this is a different story.

Wrong. The fuse right next to the battery protects the wire, not the amp. Thats why it is right after the battery and not right before the amp. The fuse before the amp, protects the amp. KU40 just explained this.

They must have two fuses. You MUST have that fuse right next to the battery, as that fuse protects your power wire. If there is a short somewhere along the length of the power wire, that fuse will blow before the short starts your car on fire. But the fuse must obviously be before the short in order to do any good.

You use fuses near the amplifiers if you either A) use a distribution block and decrease wire sizes going to each amplifier (smaller wire requires smaller fusing), or B) the amplifier does not have internal fusing. Many big amps, like 2000+ watts, will require external fusing.

ok my amplifier has no internal fusing and is around 2000 watts (i dont know how accurate hifonics amp ratings are) so do i need an 2nd fuse near the amp??

I see in your sig that you only have one amp. If that is true you'll will only need 1 fuse and that would be placed near the battery. Now the fuse you put in the holder would be rated for what the amp needs to be protected, and not the wire. But if you have two amps this is a different story.

Wrong. The fuse right next to the battery protects the wire, not the amp. Thats why it is right after the battery and not right before the amp. The fuse before the amp, protects the amp. KU40 just explained this.

Well i can prove you wrong here is a piece of info right from the new zed manuals...

Last is the +12volt connection. Using #8 (#4 max)or larger, strip the wire to 19mm (0.75”)

and insert in to the hole marked BATT (+) on the power connector. Run the cable (away

from all audio cables) to the location of the vehicle’s battery. At the battery location install

the a fuse holder no further away from the battery (+) terminal than 300mm (12”). Insert

this end of the +12volt power cable into the fuse holder. Making sure that the fuse is

removed, connect the other end of the fuse holder to the battery’s (+) terminal using

appropriate high quality battery connectors. Insert the supplied fuse. DO NOT

OVERFUSE as this can be a fire hazard.

NO where in that paragraph does he say anything about a fuse near the amplifier, and most his amplifiers do have fuses on them any way. The Fuse near the battery would be below the rating of the wire any way. So in fact it would protect the wire. Also i read some where also that zed dislikes distribution blocks as well. He would rather have you run seperate power wire for every amplifier. If you want i can find this aswell. If you are running two amplifers like is said in my post before,then this way won't work unless u run a new power wire.

Edited November 13, 200915 yr by sqjeep

The only time you fuse before the amp is if the amp does not have any on-board fusing on it.

They must have two fuses. You MUST have that fuse right next to the battery, as that fuse protects your power wire. If there is a short somewhere along the length of the power wire, that fuse will blow before the short starts your car on fire. But the fuse must obviously be before the short in order to do any good.

You use fuses near the amplifiers if you either A) use a distribution block and decrease wire sizes going to each amplifier (smaller wire requires smaller fusing), or B) the amplifier does not have internal fusing. Many big amps, like 2000+ watts, will require external fusing.

ok my amplifier has no internal fusing and is around 2000 watts (i dont know how accurate hifonics amp ratings are) so do i need an 2nd fuse near the amp??

I see in your sig that you only have one amp. If that is true you'll will only need 1 fuse and that would be placed near the battery. Now the fuse you put in the holder would be rated for what the amp needs to be protected, and not the wire. But if you have two amps this is a different story.

Wrong. The fuse right next to the battery protects the wire, not the amp. Thats why it is right after the battery and not right before the amp. The fuse before the amp, protects the amp. KU40 just explained this.

Well i can prove you wrong here is a piece of info right from the new zed manuals...

Last is the +12volt connection. Using #8 (#4 max)or larger, strip the wire to 19mm (0.75”)

and insert in to the hole marked BATT (+) on the power connector. Run the cable (away

from all audio cables) to the location of the vehicle’s battery. At the battery location install

the a fuse holder no further away from the battery (+) terminal than 300mm (12”). Insert

this end of the +12volt power cable into the fuse holder. Making sure that the fuse is

removed, connect the other end of the fuse holder to the battery’s (+) terminal using

appropriate high quality battery connectors. Insert the supplied fuse. DO NOT

OVERFUSE as this can be a fire hazard.

NO where in that paragraph does he say anything about a fuse near the amplifier, and most his amplifiers do have fuses on them any way. The Fuse near the battery would be below the rating of the wire any way. So in fact it would protect the wire. Also i read some where also that zed dislikes distribution blocks as well. He would rather have you run seperate power wire for every amplifier. If you want i can find this aswell. If you are running two amplifers like is said in my post before,then this way won't work unless u run a new power wire.

It doesnt say anything about a fuse near the amp in that paragraph because you just answered it yourself. If the amp already has an internal fuse then you dont need it. Its that simple.

And who gives a shit about d-blocks? If you are going down in wire size from a d-block, you should use a smaller fuse. That is very simple as well. You proved nothing.

If all he has is a single run of wire front to rear straight into the amp, all he needs is a fuse right after the battery. The fuses should be in accordance to the size of the amp, or to match the amps on board fusing.

So you are saying the fuse after the batt is to be matched with the onboard amp fuse and not the wire size?

So you are saying the fuse after the batt is to be matched with the onboard amp fuse and not the wire size?

How do you match fuse size to wire exactly? Is there a formula?

Personally I don't use fuses except right after the last battery before the amp.

So you are saying the fuse after the batt is to be matched with the onboard amp fuse and not the wire size?

How do you match fuse size to wire exactly? Is there a formula?

Personally I don't use fuses except right after the last battery before the amp.

Ive seen some kind of chart before but I dont remember all the shit it said. I was only looking for info on 1/0 wire and it said to fuse it at about 350amp. I didnt take it as the bible but a reference. I also heard this from many people too. Thats what I use on all my 1/0. Ive used as small as 250 before but not for very long. I had some wire, when I had my first system, get completely fried by using too big of a fuse for 8 ga wire. It was like pvc.

Edited November 13, 200915 yr by bigrank916

So you are saying the fuse after the batt is to be matched with the onboard amp fuse and not the wire size?

How do you match fuse size to wire exactly? Is there a formula?

Personally I don't use fuses except right after the last battery before the amp.

Ive seen some kind of chart before but I dont remember all the shit it said. I was only looking for info on 1/0 wire and it said to fuse it at about 350amp. I didnt take it as the bible but a reference. I also heard this from many people too. Thats what I use on all my 1/0. Ive used as small as 250 before but not for very long. I had some wire, when I had my first system, get completely fried by using too big of a fuse for 8 ga wire. It was like pvc.

Wire size does have only certain current carrying capability. There are charts on the internet if you look. Also, there is no problem with going with a smaller fuse than what a wire guide says. You just can't go bigger. I've had an 80 amp fuse on my 1/0 gauge wire for years.

As for fusing only after the last battery before the amp, that's fine if that's for an external fuse for the amp. But if you have a wire running from your front battery to your rear batteries (obviously you do), it needs to be fused up front under the hood. That's the section of wire that's most important to protect with a fuse, in fact.

They must have two fuses. You MUST have that fuse right next to the battery, as that fuse protects your power wire. If there is a short somewhere along the length of the power wire, that fuse will blow before the short starts your car on fire. But the fuse must obviously be before the short in order to do any good.

You use fuses near the amplifiers if you either A) use a distribution block and decrease wire sizes going to each amplifier (smaller wire requires smaller fusing), or B) the amplifier does not have internal fusing. Many big amps, like 2000+ watts, will require external fusing.

ok my amplifier has no internal fusing and is around 2000 watts (i dont know how accurate hifonics amp ratings are) so do i need an 2nd fuse near the amp??

I see in your sig that you only have one amp. If that is true you'll will only need 1 fuse and that would be placed near the battery. Now the fuse you put in the holder would be rated for what the amp needs to be protected, and not the wire. But if you have two amps this is a different story.

Wrong. The fuse right next to the battery protects the wire, not the amp. Thats why it is right after the battery and not right before the amp. The fuse before the amp, protects the amp. KU40 just explained this.

Well i can prove you wrong here is a piece of info right from the new zed manuals...

Last is the +12volt connection. Using #8 (#4 max)or larger, strip the wire to 19mm (0.75”)

and insert in to the hole marked BATT (+) on the power connector. Run the cable (away

from all audio cables) to the location of the vehicle’s battery. At the battery location install

the a fuse holder no further away from the battery (+) terminal than 300mm (12”). Insert

this end of the +12volt power cable into the fuse holder. Making sure that the fuse is

removed, connect the other end of the fuse holder to the battery’s (+) terminal using

appropriate high quality battery connectors. Insert the supplied fuse. DO NOT

OVERFUSE as this can be a fire hazard.

NO where in that paragraph does he say anything about a fuse near the amplifier, and most his amplifiers do have fuses on them any way. The Fuse near the battery would be below the rating of the wire any way. So in fact it would protect the wire. Also i read some where also that zed dislikes distribution blocks as well. He would rather have you run seperate power wire for every amplifier. If you want i can find this aswell. If you are running two amplifers like is said in my post before,then this way won't work unless u run a new power wire.

It doesnt say anything about a fuse near the amp in that paragraph because you just answered it yourself. If the amp already has an internal fuse then you dont need it. Its that simple.

And who gives a shit about d-blocks? If you are going down in wire size from a d-block, you should use a smaller fuse. That is very simple as well. You proved nothing.

I forgot to type the NOT in one of the setences. Here is the corrected sentence. Most his amplifiers do NOT have fuses on them anyway. Which then would prove my point. Correct if you use a d block you would have a smaller fuse. Now the fuse you would put in the d block would be the fuse that would protect the amp you are using, then the fuse under the hood would be the sum of the two fuses in the d block. But going back to the original post he never said anything about a d block, also in his sig I only see that he has one amp and thats where i based my interpetation off of.

Edited November 14, 200915 yr by sqjeep

They must have two fuses. You MUST have that fuse right next to the battery, as that fuse protects your power wire. If there is a short somewhere along the length of the power wire, that fuse will blow before the short starts your car on fire. But the fuse must obviously be before the short in order to do any good.

You use fuses near the amplifiers if you either A) use a distribution block and decrease wire sizes going to each amplifier (smaller wire requires smaller fusing), or B) the amplifier does not have internal fusing. Many big amps, like 2000+ watts, will require external fusing.

ok my amplifier has no internal fusing and is around 2000 watts (i dont know how accurate hifonics amp ratings are) so do i need an 2nd fuse near the amp??

I see in your sig that you only have one amp. If that is true you'll will only need 1 fuse and that would be placed near the battery. Now the fuse you put in the holder would be rated for what the amp needs to be protected, and not the wire. But if you have two amps this is a different story.

Wrong. The fuse right next to the battery protects the wire, not the amp. Thats why it is right after the battery and not right before the amp. The fuse before the amp, protects the amp. KU40 just explained this.

Well i can prove you wrong here is a piece of info right from the new zed manuals...

Last is the +12volt connection. Using #8 (#4 max)or larger, strip the wire to 19mm (0.75”)

and insert in to the hole marked BATT (+) on the power connector. Run the cable (away

from all audio cables) to the location of the vehicle’s battery. At the battery location install

the a fuse holder no further away from the battery (+) terminal than 300mm (12”). Insert

this end of the +12volt power cable into the fuse holder. Making sure that the fuse is

removed, connect the other end of the fuse holder to the battery’s (+) terminal using

appropriate high quality battery connectors. Insert the supplied fuse. DO NOT

OVERFUSE as this can be a fire hazard.

NO where in that paragraph does he say anything about a fuse near the amplifier, and most his amplifiers do have fuses on them any way. The Fuse near the battery would be below the rating of the wire any way. So in fact it would protect the wire. Also i read some where also that zed dislikes distribution blocks as well. He would rather have you run seperate power wire for every amplifier. If you want i can find this aswell. If you are running two amplifers like is said in my post before,then this way won't work unless u run a new power wire.

It doesnt say anything about a fuse near the amp in that paragraph because you just answered it yourself. If the amp already has an internal fuse then you dont need it. Its that simple.

And who gives a shit about d-blocks? If you are going down in wire size from a d-block, you should use a smaller fuse. That is very simple as well. You proved nothing.

I forgot to type the NOT in one of the setences. Here is the corrected sentence. Most his amplifiers do NOT have fuses on them anyway. Which then would prove my point. Correct if you use a d block you would have a smaller fuse. Now the fuse you would put in the d block would be the fuse that would protect the amp you are using, then the fuse under the hood would be the sum of the two fuses in the d block. But going back to the original post he never said anything about a d block, also in his sig I only see that he has one amp and thats where i based my interpetation off of.

So are you going to base your decisions on one brands manual? Ive seen plenty of manuals including the OP's that say to fuse before the amp too. And after all we were giving advice to the OP who has a Hifonics amp, not a Zed. But I guess we can agree to disagree.

wow. i realy didnt mean to cause this much commotion!! sorry for all this guys.

so do i need a fuse right before the amp because it has zero internal fusing?

Thank you

Matt Cusack

wow. i realy didnt mean to cause this much commotion!! sorry for all this guys.

so do i need a fuse right before the amp because it has zero internal fusing?

Thank you

Matt Cusack

Yes you do, next time read the manual like your supposed to since it will tell you how to properly hook up your amplifier. If you see that most amps have fuses on them and you get one without some on there I hope common sense would kick in and be like maybe this needs a fuse. Reading is fundamental .

wow. i realy didnt mean to cause this much commotion!! sorry for all this guys.

so do i need a fuse right before the amp because it has zero internal fusing?

Thank you

Matt Cusack

This is just healthy debate dude. Dont get all worried now.

After all that, I had hoped you had made your decision. But it does say to in the manual so...I would do it. I did it to my BXI2006. If it was a Zed then probably not.

They must have two fuses. You MUST have that fuse right next to the battery, as that fuse protects your power wire. If there is a short somewhere along the length of the power wire, that fuse will blow before the short starts your car on fire. But the fuse must obviously be before the short in order to do any good.

You use fuses near the amplifiers if you either A) use a distribution block and decrease wire sizes going to each amplifier (smaller wire requires smaller fusing), or B) the amplifier does not have internal fusing. Many big amps, like 2000+ watts, will require external fusing.

ok my amplifier has no internal fusing and is around 2000 watts (i dont know how accurate hifonics amp ratings are) so do i need an 2nd fuse near the amp??

I see in your sig that you only have one amp. If that is true you'll will only need 1 fuse and that would be placed near the battery. Now the fuse you put in the holder would be rated for what the amp needs to be protected, and not the wire. But if you have two amps this is a different story.

Wrong. The fuse right next to the battery protects the wire, not the amp. Thats why it is right after the battery and not right before the amp. The fuse before the amp, protects the amp. KU40 just explained this.

What exactly would this 2nd fuse near the amplifier be protecting that the primary fuse near the battery could not protect against, given it was rated appropriately to protect amplifier and wire rather than sized for the wire only?

If the amplifier has onboard fuses, then the fuse near the battery only needs to be rated appropriately for the wire. If the amplifier doesn't have onboard fuses, then the fuse near the battery needs to be rated sufficiently to protect both wire and amplifier (which ever is less....which if you used the correct gauge wire will be the amplifier). A 2nd fuse on the same wire seems unnecessarily redundant. It's not protecting anything the primary fuse couldn't.