Bought the Rockford 10 Gauge Amp install kit, wired everything correctly (power to the distribution box under hood), ground to a known ground (FORD used it), Remote to the harness under the driver side dash. Hooked up an A400t2 Audiobahn and it kept blowing fuses (under hood inline fuse). Put a 40 amp in there and it smoked the amp...LITERALLY!!!! Well I figured it was the amp so I hooked up an old PUNCH 40 to the leads. Worked like a charm...until this morning. Which baffles me because when the car is off the amp is off.I get into my car and I can smell that burning smell.....Pop the hood and the 40 AMP fuse was burnt AGAIN!!!!! Replaced it and you guessed it...SMOKED THE AMP!!!! ****!!!!
The question at hand is this: Is the 10 Gauge wire sufficient to run from under the hood to the trunk???? Or is there a DEMON in my car!!!

BTW....Had a bazooka tube (amped) in the trunk for a year with NO PROBLEMS!!! Had the power ran to a 12v source in the trunk.

Thanks

 

10 gauge is pretty weak, for any system. I would check your power wire for any place it might be getting rubbed. If you dont have an amp hooked up though, it's got to be the amp, I would check your ground any chassis ground in the trunk will work, just make sure you take a wire brush, sand paper or something and sand away any paint or primer that may be there, you want bare metal.

Also your power you want to connect strait to the battery, not to a OEM box or distribution block. You want it to the battery terminal.

 

I was thinking when I pulled the wire throug the firewall grommet that it might have worn/cut it possibly......Going to pull the wire out this evening and inspect it. Looks like I am going to closet it either way though since 10 gauge sucks ballz.....The ground is going to the frame on the driver side (nice little OEM ground spot).

Thanks for the reply

 

If your blowing the fuse by the battery its more then likely your power wire. Like mentioned really check for missing insulation.

 

buy 4 gauge wire that way when you step up to another amp, or bigger amp you wont have to replace the wire again...itll be worth it...

 

I agree with the 4 or even8 awg.. Just be sure you dont strip it pulling it through the firewall. It may even be the amp,, If something is shorted internally it could cause the problem you described, I guess. Were you able to return the amp?

 

what speakers are hooked up to the amp? How are they wired?

You would not melt an amp with a scraped power wire and this is a perfect example on why if a fuse blows you do NOT stick a bigger one in.

 

Too small of a guage wire will have nothing to do with blowing a fuse. A blown fuse is a short. Plain and simple. I wouldn't have replaced the fuse after the first time until I checked everything out with a voltmeter first.

My guess is, as previouslysuggested you pinched the wire or scraped the sheething off somewhere. If you are "smoking the amp" then the problem is towards the amp, if it's not literaly smoking the amp then look at the firewall area.

Get a volt meter and run a continuity test. Disconnectyour ampspower wire from the battery. Plug the (+) lead from the tester on the part that's normally attached to your batter and the (-) on a bare metal spot near the grommet, it should read '0' if the needle or LCD starts moving, there's your problem. It's shorted out.

 

X2!!!!

Unless you ran way to small of wire, the resitive heat built, the insulation melted, the wire shorted and then you blew a fuse. That also considering the fact that this case is like nearly impossible to create, I guessing you have a short in your wire.