Wire Gauge

[Minorthreat412]

I've always wondered about something. When amps say they except up to 2,4,8, etc gauge wire what exactly does this mean. If it says 8 gauge then would it be bad to have 6 gauge or would it be bad to have 10 gauge?

I have a 2 gauge wire going to my amp that says "up to 4 gauge." Does this effect anything? or is a bigger wire better or no different?

Thanx,
Chad

[Bwcad1]

bigger wire = less resistance = better

[smoker]

the smaller the number the thicker the wire.....these are based on awg (american wire guage) standards.......you should make your wire determination on how many amps peak you will draw through that wire.........


and it never hurts to err on the side of caution.......

[Minorthreat412]

I'm pretty confused about what power is suppose to come out of the outputs of an amp. Like the voltage and amperes that come from the speaker wires. I can hook a multimeter up to my speaker wires and I'll even get a negative number from my positive outputs. I don't know. It's not that important but this stuff interests me and I just want to learn more. It will help me in my "car audio adventures."

Thanks,
Chad

[Bwcad1]

do you have the dmm on ac or dc?

[lotas]

I have a 2 gauge wire going to my amp that says "up to 4 gauge." Does this effect anything? or is a bigger wire better or no different?

Thanx,
Chad

Like they have said, the larger the wire the less resistence which is better, because it should in turn give more power. If your amp only takes up to 4ga and you are running 2ga to it, I would get a reducer (I believe they are called) which would attach to the end of your 2ga, and the tip of it would be the diameter of 4ga, so you would put that into your amps input.

That's better than trying to cut strands off until you can fit the wire in.

Have you seen the amperes vs. wire size vs. wire length (etc) charts? Head to http://www.the12volt.com
and goto like Wire sizes or AWG Wire charts or something, (or goto the FAQ here) and you'll find it. It might clear up a couple points for yo.

[High Society]

Must have been a tight fit to hook up that 2g to the amp. When it says "up to" it means the maxium gauge wire that will fit. If getting that reducer(?) will make the install look nicer, I'd go for it, no use in letting strands of wire hang out, which would be bad.

[Ryan from Ohio]

The output of an amp is AC.

Your multimeter and eyes wont be able to catch the number or it wont register as its to reactive of a thing...

[Minorthreat412]

Ahh. Well, the gold plated wire ends that came with the install kit work fine and fit right into place and such.

I just thought that maybe if you had a smaller gauge wire than recommended would it restrict power and cause problems, and if it was too big of a wire would it get too much power. I'm already pretty sure what the answers are, I'm kind of just seeing if you guys can tell me something more, which of course all of you have.

[ridr4lif]

Wire that is too thin COULD heat up and catch on fire. But there is no such thing as too big. You cant get too much power using a big wire. The wire only carries the current, it doesnt amplify it.