Amp Power Cable Melting!

[loonysalmon]

Hi, as the title says, my amp power cable keeps melting!

OVERVIEW OF SETUP
dual amps (300 watts each at 2 ohms)
2 power cables (4 ga and 8 ga)
2 ground cables
1 rem turn on lead that splits
1 set of RCAs that run to the back and go through one amp into a second

Obvious possible culprits:
Too much power = too much heat = MELTING!
Faulty fuses

So I know it can't be too much power since I'm running 2 amps at around 300 watts a piece. That's 300 watts through a 8 gauge cable and the other cable is 4 gauge. Obviously not that much power and can easily be handled by the 8 and 4 ga. wire.

Second, Faulty fuse is a no go as well because I've also blown fuses while this has been going on.

So . . . here's some odd anomalies that go w/the situation. . .
The cable affected depends on which amp is the first input and which is second. I send input to amp1, and output from amp1 to amp2's input. The first in the series is always the one affected. Confused? Me too. Also, the wire has melted in 2 different places. Once, directly after the inline fuse (in between the fuse and the amp, the fuse being about 8 inchs from the battery) Second time it was right at the power input for the amp (where I have a contact crimped to the end of the cable).

Anyone have a clue what's going on?

What I've checked:
Bare wires (none exist)
Bad grounds (definitely fine)
Other connections (all good, RCA, remote turn-on etc.)'

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS PLEASE!

[kapone]

A grounding power cable can cause a melting wire or a wire to small for your power output ...

Since your wire size is more than adequate for your power output...

and...

Since you already checked all your external wires and none are bare or touching bare metal. Than your only choice is the amp itself or the battery. Since the rest of your car is working fine (I presume) then the only culprit left is the amp itself.

Test the amp in a friends car if you can or better on a bench tester. Or if you have a spare amp switch it up see if it still happens ...

Keep us posted i would like to know what you come up with ...

[TomQuick]

What do you mean by "The cable affected depends on which amp is the first input and which is second. I send input to amp1, and output from amp1 to amp2's input. The first in the series is always the one affected.?"

Specifically, what wires from Amp1 are you connecting to what terminals on Amp2? A picture could be worth a thousand words here, especially if it's nice close up shot of the amp wiring, and in good high resolution. If you've done what I think you might have a really good answer to my question will clear up your problem.

[Bad_dude]

Wow, melting power cable. That sounds horrible, especially for some who's installing for the first time like me.

[TomQuick]

I suspect that the OP has made a critical error in the way his amps are wired, which is causing his problem, but will need some specific information, or pictures to verify.

Generally speaking, if you are a bit careful about your install, there is no reason why you should ever have a power cable melt.

[darkfusion42]

Nobody seems to be asking but...

How are the speakers wired? What ohm load are you running to each amp and what are they rated at?

If perhaps you are running at too low of a load and for some reason the amp isnt going into protect....

It's a long shot.

[lost_accord]

I have to say bad connections on this one. Don't know how many times I've read this since he posted it but I keep comming back to where he says that it melted right after the fuse and at the amp. Bad connections have high resistance that causes heat. Although it should be blowing the fuses before 8 or 4 gauge wire melts. But 300 watt amps should not be melting those wires unless they are a dead short and probably not working. Are the cables ran by anything hot or getting poked by something sharp?

[trubluryder]

My advice would be to upgrade to all "true" 4 gauge wires. Try this and I'm pretty positive it will get rid of your "melting wires issue". Don't assume that 4 gauge is overkill, because in the future if you plan to get a better/more powerful system, you'll be set to go...Unless you go crazy like me and run 0 awg. The bigger the wires, the more current of electricity can flow

Make sure both your ground and power are both the same size, never ever run different sizes .

About you blowing your fuse, get a higher rated fuse and you should be set...

Try these two thing out and i'm pretty sure it will solve ur problems.

Keep us updated

[TomQuick]

Any news here? Did you get the problem worked out, or are you still having issues with it? If you did get it worked out, we'd love to know what the cause was, and how you fixed it.

[nachocb7]

how are your speakers set up? You could be drawing a 1/4 OHM load and that will definately melt wires. A 4 awg power wire should be fine for your setup. I am running a 4 awg main power line and ground. The main power is split in a power box to two 8 awg power wires. Both amps are running 2 ohm loads. One is 600watts and the other is 600 watts. Never had a melting or even heat problem.

[bigbadnothing85]

deffinatly upsize your wires, you cant go to big when it comes to the ground wire either, what size fuses do you have in your amp wires? how about a cap? if you'r runnin a dualie set-up you should have a cap for each amp

[rgsh22accord]

u need to get a bigger cable either 4 guages or 2 guage will work and make sure u grounds r good

[rclawson1983]

[QUOTE=lost_accord;2058479]I have to say bad connections on this one. Don't know how many times I've read this since he posted it but I keep comming back to where he says that it melted right after the fuse and at the amp. Bad connections have high resistance that causes heat. Although it should be blowing the fuses before 8 or 4 gauge wire melts. But 300 watt amps should not be melting those wires unless they are a dead short and probably not working. Are the cables ran by anything hot or getting poked by something sharp?


Hi I have two lanzar optic drives 12's peek at 6000 watt subs and a lanzar 6000 watt 2 channel amp hooked up to a 6600 cap and a marine battery. I have the same problem it's only getting hotter and melting my power wire I have 4 fuses and the only place where it melts wires is at the amp. Please help

[sonikaccord]

[QUOTE=rclawson1983;3280800]

I have to say bad connections on this one. Don't know how many times I've read this since he posted it but I keep comming back to where he says that it melted right after the fuse and at the amp. Bad connections have high resistance that causes heat. Although it should be blowing the fuses before 8 or 4 gauge wire melts. But 300 watt amps should not be melting those wires unless they are a dead short and probably not working. Are the cables ran by anything hot or getting poked by something sharp?


Hi I have two lanzar optic drives 12's peek at 6000 watt subs and a lanzar 6000 watt 2 channel amp hooked up to a 6600 cap and a marine battery. I have the same problem it's only getting hotter and melting my power wire I have 4 fuses and the only place where it melts wires is at the amp. Please help

Your amp termination is poor, causing high resistance. Does your amp have a set screw style power wire connection?

[Binladin]

10yrs later. Lol... Years ago I once melted a nice 1000watt amp cuz my SUBS were wired in 2ohms instead of 4 how they should have been, I didn't melt any wires though but I was running 0 gauge... The amp always ran hot so I put 2 fans in the amp but the resistors still burnt up n fried the amp, while taking things apart I noticed how my voice coils were wired:/...
Lesson learned: every amp cant handle 2ohms.