Revamping my ICE
23 July 2001, 11:43 AM
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Hi all,
I have a resonable system installed at the moment, but I want a bit more and most of this was installed in the car when I bought it!
Kenwood MD Mask Headunit
Kenwood 10 CD Changer
Kenwood 846 4-channel Amplifer
Kenwood 8" 3-way speakers (rear)
Kenwood 6.5" 2-way speakers (front)
The current cabling needs upgrading, it's about Gauge 4 (??), and I plan to replace it all with Guage 1 (??) Also the standard Kenwood RCA's
will be replaced with higher quality leads! 
I want to change to the front speakers for some Boston Acoutic Rally's (5.25") I have in the loft.
The rear speakers are staying put, as are the heandunit and changer.
I have a Rockford Fosgate 12" sub going in the boot. And I'd like to install the 1.5 farad cap that I kept from a previous install.
Questions:
I'd like a reasonable quality 5 or 6 channel amp to run my set up, but what should I get?? Looking to only spend £200 to £300!! (And yes I've sent Martin an email for his old Denon!!! 
)
Also how difficult is it to install a cap?? Is it just a case of putting it the right way round so not blowing up my car?
Does anyone see any issues with my plans otherwise??
Thanks in advance
Andy
[This message has been edited by Andy Tang (edited 23 July 2001).]
I have a resonable system installed at the moment, but I want a bit more and most of this was installed in the car when I bought it!
Kenwood MD Mask Headunit
Kenwood 10 CD Changer
Kenwood 846 4-channel Amplifer
Kenwood 8" 3-way speakers (rear)
Kenwood 6.5" 2-way speakers (front)
The current cabling needs upgrading, it's about Gauge 4 (??), and I plan to replace it all with Guage 1 (??) Also the standard Kenwood RCA's
will be replaced with higher quality leads! I want to change to the front speakers for some Boston Acoutic Rally's (5.25") I have in the loft.
The rear speakers are staying put, as are the heandunit and changer.
I have a Rockford Fosgate 12" sub going in the boot. And I'd like to install the 1.5 farad cap that I kept from a previous install.
Questions:
I'd like a reasonable quality 5 or 6 channel amp to run my set up, but what should I get?? Looking to only spend £200 to £300!!
(And yes I've sent Martin an email for his old Denon!!! )Also how difficult is it to install a cap?? Is it just a case of putting it the right way round so not blowing up my car?
Does anyone see any issues with my plans otherwise??
Thanks in advance
Andy
[This message has been edited by Andy Tang (edited 23 July 2001).]
23 July 2001, 11:58 AM
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4 gauge is around 15 mm in diameter and is used for power and ground. You do not need 1 or 1 over gauge cable - 4 AWG is perfectly fine. I suspect that you'll agree when you see the price of 1/0
Speaker cable may be worth upgrading, but it sounds like someone may have already done it. Even 12 gauge is probably overkill to the fronts, but I'm running 10 gauge .
Cap: I don't believe in them I'm afraid, but I'm an old cynic. Didn't make a shred of difference to my mate's SPL set-up. Adding another battery (plus relay) may be an idea if you're planning to run the system with the engine off.
Check your cap's instructions as to how to fit/charge and discharge. DO NOT just wire positive to positive and negative to ground - you can quite easily get a massive discharge off these things that will blow fuses, draw huge currents etc, so do check the instructions!
In short, charge separately using either a power resistor or a test lamp IN SERIES with the cap, NOT IN PARALLEL. If you use a lamp, the cap will go out when fully charged.
Once charged, carefully install it.
!!!DO CHECK THE INSTRUCTIONS AS THESE THINGS CAN BE ABSOLUTELY LETHAL!!!
For reference, the table below is the IASCA recommendations on size of power cable for the current draw and run length
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">code:<HR><pre>
Length of run (in feet)
Current 0-4 4-7 7-10 10-13 13-16 16-19 19-22 22-28
0-20A 14 12 12 10 10 8 8 8
20-35A 12 10 8 8 6 6 6 4
35-50A 10 8 8 6 6 4 4 4
50-65A 8 8 6 4 4 4 4 2
65-85A 6 6 4 4 2 2 2 0
85-105A 6 6 4 2 2 2 2 0
105-125A 4 4 4 2 2 0 0 0
125-150A 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 00
</pre><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Speaker cable may be worth upgrading, but it sounds like someone may have already done it. Even 12 gauge is probably overkill to the fronts, but I'm running 10 gauge
.Cap: I don't believe in them I'm afraid, but I'm an old cynic. Didn't make a shred of difference to my mate's SPL set-up. Adding another battery (plus relay) may be an idea if you're planning to run the system with the engine off.
Check your cap's instructions as to how to fit/charge and discharge. DO NOT just wire positive to positive and negative to ground - you can quite easily get a massive discharge off these things that will blow fuses, draw huge currents etc, so do check the instructions!
In short, charge separately using either a power resistor or a test lamp IN SERIES with the cap, NOT IN PARALLEL. If you use a lamp, the cap will go out when fully charged.
Once charged, carefully install it.
!!!DO CHECK THE INSTRUCTIONS AS THESE THINGS CAN BE ABSOLUTELY LETHAL!!!
For reference, the table below is the IASCA recommendations on size of power cable for the current draw and run length
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">code:<HR><pre>
Length of run (in feet)
Current 0-4 4-7 7-10 10-13 13-16 16-19 19-22 22-28
0-20A 14 12 12 10 10 8 8 8
20-35A 12 10 8 8 6 6 6 4
35-50A 10 8 8 6 6 4 4 4
50-65A 8 8 6 4 4 4 4 2
65-85A 6 6 4 4 2 2 2 0
85-105A 6 6 4 2 2 2 2 0
105-125A 4 4 4 2 2 0 0 0
125-150A 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 00
</pre><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
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