Posted May 12, 201213 yr Ok I have a mechamn 220a alt... Gonna use 6 xs d3100s... Was planning on running 2 4/0 runs for alts positives and 2 4/0 runs for the alts negative....well after looking at it I dont know if it will work... I don't have much room on the alts posts... Or much room in the firewall...Would it hurt me just to do 1 run each of 4/0 for the alts neg and pos?
May 12, 201213 yr You will be fine. A single run of 1/0 full spec copper will support over 300 amps of current. A single run of 4/0 even CCA on a 220a would be more than sufficient.
May 12, 201213 yr Running that much power I would try for at least two power two ground. However this is coming from someone who has never had more than 3k. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in.
May 12, 201213 yr 4 runs of 4/0 is pretty excessive IMO Im running 2 runs of positive and 1 run of negative for my 320a alt.
May 12, 201213 yr Chart i have here states in open air wiring (not tunneling it through conduit), copper 1/0 can handle up to 290A but at 221F...That's ridiculous hot...Car audio wants least voltage drop. Most of us are aware of what a cable can handle.. but the lowest voltage drop is always best.According to calculator, single 4/0 cable run at 200A (when hot and maxed out) will exhibit a 0.3v drop in the rear. This is only when maxing alternator out...At that point.. you will be well into the 13.0-13.6v range already.So, yes, single 4/0 run for each is fine.
May 12, 201213 yr Chart i have here states in open air wiring (not tunneling it through conduit), copper 1/0 can handle up to 290A but at 221F...That's ridiculous hot...Car audio wants least voltage drop. Most of us are aware of what a cable can handle.. but the lowest voltage drop is always best.According to calculator, single 4/0 cable run at 200A (when hot and maxed out) will exhibit a 0.3v drop in the rear. This is only when maxing alternator out...At that point.. you will be well into the 13.0-13.6v range already.So, yes, single 4/0 run for each is fine.would you mind posting this chart?
May 12, 201213 yr A single 1/0 copper run can support 300 at failure...Only passes 100 or so under standard duty. Good rule is 100a per run. In a 350a alt you won't stop seeing DB gains untill the 5th run. My .02
May 12, 201213 yr Author hmm i know i can make them fit in the firewall... but dont really wanna make custom brackets off the alt to make it work lol...ill try to make 2 runs of each fit.... if not ill just do 1 run per neg and pos then...thanks everyone !!
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