First we will start off with the regular atc fuse.

Good for a entry level sound system. And thats about it. They come in entry level kits for a reason. There cheap. I seen these produce voltage drop because of the fuse holder design. There easy to get water and weather in the case and corrode the terminals. They also have a limit because most atc fuses only go up to a 40 amp. Good thing about these is that you can get fuses anywere for it. And for really cheap. You will most likely never see them in apps under 8 gauge. I could be wrong because of ebay creation.

Next is the maxi fuse

This is the big brother to the atc fuse. Its the same but just really bigger. And can handel more current. I really don't use these much under the hood because of the holder design. Its alot better then the atc design because most are screwed in to there holder depending on the company. You will find these types of fuses on amps sometimes. Like the soundstream units and others

Next is the agu glass fuse holder.
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These units are good if you buy high quality ones. There are cheap ones out there That can cause voltage drop because of there design. If you look at the cheaper ones. Look into were the fuse is put into. It will most of the time be held into place by a small peice of coiled metal. This keep most of the contact off of the fuse were it is suppose to be. I seen these units fail because of this. Most cheaper unit will arc back and forth between the fuse and the holder. In turn it will weld itself toghter making it unchangeable when the fuse blows. Also on these units the fuse is allways know to look good when it blows. This is because the fuse might not blow in the middle were you can see it. It ends up melting the solder point on the case to the filament. This allways mostly occurs with cheap swapmeet fuses. But it does happen with high quality. Also these are not know as "fusiable links" never have never will.

Next are the mini anl

Nonething really bad to say about them. Its a good solid design. I never seen these fail or create voltage drop. Its a good step up from the agu fuses in a system. Or for anybody thats want to look diffrent. The only problem would be finding fuses for them at a dinky stereo shop or out on the road. The fuses will cost more then a standered agu glass type.

Next is the reg anl
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Perfect unit to go with if your budget allows. Really good solid design. More fuse contact. Fuse ratings are high on these up to 300 amp. I even seen a 500 amp rating one . But be prepared to shell out big bucks for them. They sell from $13 to 25 buxs a fuse. Ouch costly.

Next is the circuit breaker

I use to use them thinking that I will save money on fuses in the long run. I was using one during a show back in the day. It was not a cheap unit and its was from "PG" for all that know what company that is. Well the dam thing failed and did not trip and nearly burnt down my baby civic. Lets just say the amp was not no longer good and there was burnt wire from the back of the car to the fire wall. And a exploded battery under the hood. Cost more to fix the car then the dam unit was worth. But its better then nonething. If your using one I say back it up with a fuse still. You can never be to safe.

Lastly but not forgotten

Never seen one used in a amp power wire run. Don't think it ever will. Mostly 12-14 gauge wire. But you know people out here. They will try anything.

Hopefully you guys that are not into car audio will take notes on these. And choose your product right. Get the right stuff from the begining and you won't have to do it twice

Now to power wire

Here are a couple of charts to help you guys out to figure out what to run and why.

The chart lacks 2 gauge wire. But with cost almost the same just use 1 gauge. Not all wire is created same. There are alot of fake cheap kits out there. I seen alot on ebay and your local swapmeet. Brand like "amercian power, dhd, hot power" are cheaply made and all you are doing is just buying thin wire with fat coating on it.

Now before you just go throwing in a mega 2000 rms amp and try to rock the stars out the sky. You need to make sure you have enough amps in your charging system to push it. And how many amps that your amp is going to pull to get that power that you need. This part is easy. Take your amps rms and divide it by 12.6 . This will give you the total amps need to run the amp correctly. Give or take. Ie 2000rms/12.6 volts= 158.73 amps. Sorry your teg or civic is not going to do this with a stock charging system. So a bigger battery or two and alternator upgrade will be necessary. You can go to any auto zone or local auto electric shop to find out what condition the alternator is in, and putting out. You need to give or take 10%. a 100 amp alt that put out 95-97 is fine. This is some basic information that will get you by with out going to deep and getting everyone lost. O yea. If your drilling a hole in your firewall. Please do yourself a favor and use a gromet so your car does not look like this.

If you have any question please post a new thread or drop a pm.



Modified by wrx-killer-Sti eater at 5:42 PM 4/13/2007

Its not really hard to do. If you have common tools,time and the items to do the job right your good to go. Okay some pic. I would like to think hatching for letting me use his car for the write up since I sold the kitt off mine and I happen to be doing his.

Here is a pic of some of the items that you are going to need. A roll of 4 gauge power wire. The key to this is to make sure that you buy true 4g wire. There are alot of companies that make fake wire. Mostly on ebay and swappmeets. Its 8 0r 10g wire with a thick coat on it. amercian acc is some bull shyt. Stick will name brand stuff. Ie stinger, fosgate, tsunmie, street wire. There are others but I name the leading brands that most know. Your also going to need some quality terminals for 4g wire, crimpers or a hammer or high qulity crimp set. And the most important thing..... The terminals. There are alot on the market. So price is up to what kind that you want to use. I like to use High performance car audio ones like above. The best thing is that they lock on to the battery post. This also makes it hard for a theif to disconnect the car battery to kill your alarm. Even thou every alarm should have a back up battery on it just incase. Stinger, tsunnami,fosgate all make some good ones. Stay away of the cheap ones. They rust in the end and the bolts allways strip. Lets begin.

This is what we were working with from the start at the top picture. First make sure that you have the code to your stock radio if you have a factory one. If not you will be making a trip to the dealership to get the code. Second remove both the power and ground wire from the battery. This is done for two reason. One you don't want any loose wires shorting anything out. Second we are doing the starter wire too. And you don't want that wire live when you remove it. You don't want to see the 4 of july under the hood. Like I said before the process is really simple. Its R&R and a lil cutting.

Once you remove the main positive harness of the battery, fuse box, abs and starter wire. It will come off as one hunk. I'll put pitures of that up later since the camera died. Take your new wire and measure it all to the length of the harness removed. Then all you have to do is cut, crimp the new terminals onto the 4 gauge wire. Next insert the measured wire with the new crimps onto the new battery terminals. Follow the directions off the new terminals. Most use allen wrenches to tighten. Simple r&r. Repeat for the gorund wire and your done.

Here are pics of the starter wire and tranny ground.

valve cover.

Before

After

I hope this helps, You will notice brighter lights, easier starting and a lil uppidity on the gas mileage. Plus it makes the engine bay look alot cleaner. I might make car kits for diffrent makes and models of the honda and acura camp. So im me if your interested. Its a lil diy that can be done in about a hour.

DOHC - Division of Hybrid Creationz