Wire low power amp into head unit wiring harness?

[coldfission 10+ year member]

I got this really nice and tiny Clarion APA4100 4 channel amp from busabob. (thanks it looks to be in great condition). I noticed it only has 1x 25 amp fuse on it. Does that mean that it pulls 25 amps max? I am assuming that it does, but correct me if i am wrong.

So then i looked at some charts and figured 14 awg would be the smallest wire i could use to get full power without frying any wires.

Now i want to rip my dash apart and see what the wire gauge is on the stock power wire going into the head unit's wiring harness.

Could i just tap into that wire for power? And would i also connect the ground to the ground in the harness?

Is there any way this could damage my Clarion Equalizer or head unit i have on the same line? Each device has a fuse right before it or inside it. so i'm safe?

Edit: I just realized that the EQ and head unit both draw power too! haha so 14 awg might not be enough. What do you think?

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[Ronmeister]

The amplifier probably won't come close to drawing 25A just running 4 speakers.

You should give it at least 12G cable. On my old low power setups I still ran 10G at least.

BTW- Just a rough estimate the amp is supposed to do 25X4rms for a total of 100watts rms

100W/12V= 8.3A

On a peak every blue moon, the fuse will blow though.

Sometimes old fuses will blow also.

Ron

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

Theoretically you could wire it into the Head Unit constant power. You first need to check the stock vehicle fuse box to see what that circuit is wired to. If it's a 30A fuse, go nuts. Anything beneath that, run a separate power wire for the amplifier.

 

[coldfission 10+ year member]

Every time i go to hook up the amp, i get a spark over to the power terminal. If i take the fuse out, i can connect everything. But, when i go to put the fuse in it will spark like crazy and it blew one once. I have tried a 12 volt power supply and it won't even turn on. Is it broken?

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

Yes.

 

[busabob 10+ year member]

I just got back from GA on a family emergency, so I didn't get a chance to get online. Just FYI, I test everything before I send it out to verify it works. I've had to back out of several deals due to the item not working before sending it out, so I cover my butt.

Tell me exactly how you hooked it up.

 

[coldfission 10+ year member]

I have 4 gauge wire running from my battery with a 120 amp fuse on it. That is split 2 ways. One way is 4 gauge to my Infinity 611a sub. The other way is 4 gauge to fork terminals where i hooked up the Clarion APA4100. I went to go hook up the power terminal and i saw sparks.

did i hook it up wrong?

 

[coldfission 10+ year member]

http://pinkscustomautopaint.com/ebay/102_0016.JPG

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I could not find anything wrong with the board, but it does look like some modification was done on the solder side. Anybody see anything wrong with it?