Thread: Powering Carputer and amp ...

fuses are good, but they are better when they are close to the power source. IE. I wouldn't put the fuses halfway between your power lines as shown in your diagram. An easy fix for the distribution block and the fuses would be a fused distro block. Like this one...

Originally Posted by TxMazda3

so my question is ... is there ever too many fuses on a line? Should I only have a fuse in certain spots?

when using an amp a 2 channel amp can power all four speakers right? so if I was going to up my front speakers to components and my amp to a four channel could i run the components like a single speaker? meaning left tweeter and speaker are just one (left) and the right tweeter and speaker are one (right)?

You can have as many fuses as you want,although you probably don't need that many.I'd put one from the battery to the distribution block,and one for the power to the lcd.(depends on how you wire the power for it;i.e. from a molex on the power supply,or from the distribution block)
Whichever you choose,just make sure they're accessible and easy to change.

A 2 channel amp can generally power 4 speakers,the caveat being that you need to check the speakers' impedance if you wire them in parallel so that you don't overload the amp,and realize that you can't fade between front and rear.
Component speakers (seperate woofer and tweeter) act as one speaker.
Using a 4 channel,or even a 5 is the way to go if you want a single amp that can power front,rear,(and fade between front and rear)and a sub.

Thank you guys so much. Y'all have been a huge help

Michael

I just upgraded from a 2ch amp to a 4ch amp and the difference is huge....a lot more control on the speakers....i have to say that 4ch or higher is the way to go

Go with a fuse within 12 inches (18 inches??) of the battery and a fused distribution block. You can go with the one posted above which uses one fuse for all or something like what I use. It takes a 2/4-gauge wire and distributes it to a 4/8-ga and 3 8-ga connections. It also has a voltage display on it.

Link here

Also, if you don't have the amp yet, I would recommend going with the 4-ch amp. They're not too much more than a 2-ch amp and sometimes are cheaper. Remember, too, that you don't need a whole lot of power to drive regular speakers.

Derek

Well- I believe I've decided on my amp- I'm going with a Profile AP-1040. It's a 4-Ch pushing 80W per ch. Gonna cost me about $100 on ebay and users on Crutchfield rated it well. Everything else is moving along nicely. I'm researching and reading a book I picked up at Barnes and Noble, Geek My Ride. It's helping and I don't have to come running to you guys with every little questions. So- thank y'all for your response. I can't wait to get my carputer up and running.

Didn't some of the guys around here submit info for that book or is that another one? (time to go searching)

Derek