wire gauge

Stereo, security systems, vehicle electronics, and electrical-related discussions
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meistees
Posts: 214
Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2005 11:47 pm

wire gauge

Post by meistees »

does anyone happen to know the gauge of the wiring running from the stereo to the speakers etc..
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2006Vibe
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Post by 2006Vibe »

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say it's no bigger than 18 AWG, and more than likely 20.Believe it or not, it's more than enough for fairly high power, and the short length should not affect the damping factor of an amplifier (even at higher power levels I'd keep the OE harness to make things simple. It's just not as sexy.
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tangerine
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Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2005 11:43 am

Post by tangerine »

its 20 guage, and be careful running more than 150 watts though that, it can easily burn your wires up. I ran a 150watt(underrated) to my door speakers and they burned all but my rear passenger speaker wire.
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meistees
Posts: 214
Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2005 11:47 pm

Post by meistees »

thanks for the replies! I'm going to be running 60 watts RMS to each door ..replacing the stock amp under the passenger seat with a Pioneer 4 channel and tap into the stock harness under the seat
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2006Vibe
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Re: (meistees)

Post by 2006Vibe »

That's not possible (sorry to say)..The wire becomes resistive, and more than likely the amplifer won't be able to dampen the speaker anymore if the wire is too small.With amplifier power, there is NEVER a constant 150W coming out of an amplifier. It's also very low current, and the voltage is quite high (I'd say 30VAC RMS or higher)!! So this makes a small AWG wire typically ok.. A typical music wave form varies dynamically, and there isn't one period of time that 150W would be available. The limiters are the connectors, the speaker tinsel lead, and ultimately the voice coil, well before the speaker wire.Also, if you're running 150W crossed over (at 100Hz or higher), well, I'd look at replacing your ears, cuz I'd hope that you're already approaching well over 110 dB at that power level from efficient speakers... for 60W, no probs.. Heck, in professional (concert) audio applications, I've run 1100W over 14 AWG to subs over a 50 foot distance, no problems with the wire, ever. (QSC EX-4000 amplifiers, and Crown Macro-tech 3600s/5000). 12 AWG would have been adequate, and would not have improved the dampening much.Up it 16 AWG max.. unless you like the look of 10 AWG Monster cable running your tweeters ...
2006 Vibe 5 spd FWD - Abyss(Canadian model)Factory 16" Aluminum wheelsPower PackageGraphite Interior
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