I am helping a friend design his system, and am a little confused as to how to wire everything up, and what size wires I should use.

He just bought...
(2) JL Audio 12w6 Subs (The old style)
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/pdfs/8-12W6_BDS.pdf
(2) JL Audio 500/1 Amplifiers
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/pdfs/13320.pdf
(1) Capacitor

He listens to metal, so we are thinking of building a sealed box.

From what I have read I think 4 gauge power wire with a distribution block would suffice.

What size fuses should I use?

Any suggestions will be appreciated. I will post here what we are thinking as we design the system, and eventually pictures.

Thanks a lot guys...
Dave.


EDIT
---------------------------------------------

OK,

So we splurged last night, and bought more stuff..
- a componant set from CDT Audio (CL-62CF)
- a set of 6.5s for the rear deck CDT Audio (CL-6CF)
- an amp to power them from Pioneer (GM-6300F)
- A couple of fused Distribution Blocks
- A 2 aug Wiring Kit

I have made a diagram of how I think everything should be wired. Can you guys take a look, and let me know it it all looks good?

a few Questions...
How do I determine what size fuse for the main fuse holder by the battery?

Running the 2 JL Amps the way we are is there an advantage to splitting the RCA wired pre amp or using the RCA Out into the second one?

Please look at my speaker & Power wire sizes, and let me know if I am on the right track.

And do me a favor if you make a suggestion please explain, and I dont need any more opinions of what we should have bought... We just want to hook up what we have comming the right way the first time...

As Always Thanks a ton Guys!!!
Dave

 

I say sealed. Gotta have the quick punchy bass for metal.

 

ya i would go sealed too.

as far as ohms
with single sub wired in parallel
(6*6)/(6+6)=3ohms

so that will work with ur amp setup, u will have to run a master and slave setup with ur amps.

as far as power wire. what else is being used amp wise?(any other amps for the front stage?)
and i do not think u will need the capacitor if u setup the system right.

 

The capacitor is part of the lot we bought. For now that is all he is putting in. in the future he might upgrade his mid & Hi's.. He chose to do subs, and a touch screen dvd deck with the $ he is putting into this for now. He is thinking of doing the rest in his next car...

Parallel is better than series?
What makes 3 ohms better than 6 ohms?

 

well u see with the specs of ur amp
u will get 500rms @1.5-4ohms

so to fit those parameters you have to wire the subs in parallel.

if u were to wire the sub in series u would have a 12 ohm load, which would not fit the parameters of the amp, even though u could do it u would not have much of a response

 

Same as the amp, I believe its rated at 60?

I beleive the subs are dual 6 wich means you can get a 1.5 ohm load or a 6 ohm load, you're going to want to run all the coils in parallel.

This is basic stuff, if you don't know this you may want to have a pro install it.

The cap is absolutely not needed.

Go ported, tuned low, around 30 hertz and those subs should do well with the type of music he listens to.

 

I would go ported too if it can be built right. Sealed boxes are more forgiving. Also ditch the cap.

 

i agree to ditch the cap. 500 watts does not require a cap.

 

It is 2 500 watt amps = 1000 watt setup...
The cap is free...

 

5,000,000 watts doesn't require a cap either.

SEe above.


Mecca, you ever gonna shrink down that ginormous sig pic?

 

personally with this setup i would of gone with a jl1000/1

instead of 2 500/1 cuz it would make this system alot more simpler

 

this place will be ur friend
http://www.bcae1.com/

 

It was a package deal
(2) 500/1's (2) 12W6's (1) Cap
Plus some conectors & Wires for $550

Now we are making it work...

 

"From what I have read I think 4 gauge power wire with a distribution block would suffice.

What size fuses should I use?

What are my options and advantages when it come to wiring the subs to the amps?

What ohm system would that produce, and what is the difference between the different ohm setups."



First off, nice choice in equipment.

You're going to need a 120 amp fuse near your battery terminal.

If I was you, I'd run 2 guage wiring from the battery. It gives you opportunity for additional amps for the future with no worries such as a 4 channel amp to run your door speakers. Then a distribution block out of your trunk from there to various amps using 8 guage. 8 guage is good up till about 600 watts depending on the length.

The woofers are dual 6 ohm so wire them in parallel to 3 ohms for each amplifier. You really don't have a choice because that is the only way to stay within the ohm parameters of these great amplifiers.
And like others have said, ditch the capacitor.

Go with a sealed enclosure. They are very easy to build correctly and they take up less room and weigh less.

That was a smokin' deal!!!

 

Great post!

 

Update!!!

So we splurged last night, and bought more stuff..
- a componant set from CDT Audio (CL-62CF)
- a set of 6.5s for the rear deck CDT Audio (CL-6CF)
- an amp to power them from Pioneer (GM-6300F)
- A couple of fused Distribution Blocks
- A 2 aug Wiring Kit

I have made a diagram of how I think everything should be wired. Can you guys take a look, and let me know it it all looks good?

a few Questions...
How do I determine what size fuse for the main fuse holder by the battery?

Running the 2 JL Amps the way we are is there an advantage to splitting the RCA wired pre amp or using the RCA Out into the second one?

Please look at my speaker & Power wire sizes, and let me know if I am on the right track.

As Always Thanks a ton Guys!!!
Dave

(SEE DIAGRAM AT ORIGIONAL POST)

 

this site will give u the answers ur lookin
http://www.bcae1.com/

 

and all the wiring looks good, except for the fuses(which the correct sizes can be found on the site i posted)

 

The site recommends a 200 amp fuse at the battery. I personally would start with a 120 amp fuse and if it blows then go higher (safety first). You have to figure that if both amps were going full bore then it would be 120 amps of current draw.

Now if you had more amps other than the two 500/1's in your trunk, then you obviously need to go higher.

Use the RCA out of one amp into the other amp is the best way.

 

he is runnin 3 amps now so i would fuse it to 200amps

 

200 Amps.. I agree...
Just spent like four hours on the site mentoned above. What a great site...

 

Just be sure to fuse it with 60 amp fuses from the distribution block to each 500/1. And yes, 200 amps at the battery terminal.

Remember, the purpose of the fuse/fuses is to "protect" your amplifiers and wiring. Going over the ratings of amplifiers in terms of fuses means they are not as protected as they can be.

Current is a funny thing. It is actually current that kills a person not voltage. Obviously you need voltage to produce current but you get the idea.

When you go over the current rating of a wire, you produce heat and resistance. The heat can cause fires and eventually open the wire itself. the resistance from under guaging a wire will cause extra resistance resulting in a loss of power. As current runs through a wire that has resistance there is a voltage drop leaving the amplifiers starved for voltage.

Fortunetly, you chose some great amplifiers. The JL audio amplifiers are not sensitive to voltage and will produce their rated watts down to a mere 11 volts. A lot of brands list nice wattage output but you only get it under optimum conditions such as 14 volts from the battery.

You're going to love your system. Hook it up properly and "tune" it correctly and you'll be jammin for years.

 

[QUOTE=coolmax05;6638063]Just be sure to fuse it with 60 amp fuses from the distribution block to each 500/1. And yes, 200 amps at the battery terminal.
QUOTE]

JL says to use 50 amp Fuses for each amp...

 

What car is this going into?
The main fuse at the battery for the system should match the maximum output of the alternator or the maximum current draw of the system which ever is the lower number.

 

2002 Saturn SC2

I know...

 

very nice i had a 92 saturn, but i had no bump in that car. that thing had bad rattles already.