setting up my new system

[friskynibbles]

ha, fooled ya! actually my new system is the one i'm puting in my new truck. seeing as you're all music nuts, i'm sure you know about stereo equipment.
my new kit:
Pioneer 200W CD Deck
2 Pioneer 6x9 in boxes, 200W
2 Stock Speakers
My new wiring harness doesn't have an inline fuses or anything, but there is a fuse in the back of the new deck.
The old wiring in the truck has some inline fuses (.5A, 3A) and a static box or something.
Yesterday we wired it all together (with the inline fuses and static box present) and started that sucker up. At low volume everything was peachy - I turned it up and it died. Upon checking the fuses, I saw that the .5A one was baked alaska. I assume my deck is fine because the fuse in the back of it is ok.
Anyway, the question is - should I put higher rated fuses in there (10A?) or should I remove the inline fuses... or what? Any ideas?
-Daniel

[James8831]

I am no electronics expert.. I advise an auto electrician first and foremost.

Having said that I guess that if you can work out the amperage drawn from the section in question by using ohm's law.

Which is V[E]=IXR.

V= Voltage
I= Amperage (current)
R= Resistance.

Here is an example with a 12 volt system and 4ohm speakers
you would be drawing 3 amps (3X4=12), BUT!! there are many reasons that this might not apply to your Truck , your amplifier may have a transformer which draws a higher voltage, your speakers may be (commonly) 4 or 8 ohm AND could be wired series OR parrelel (spl) -which means a different resistance again!! etc,etc,etc.

I have had no problem using these calculations on low amperage active speaker systems (DC) at home, but having had a Yamaha 250 burn it's wiring out underneath me (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back) I know auto electrics can be extremely...worrying.

Maybe if you talk to your local garage nicely they'll advise you for free.

[friskynibbles]

thanks, i went to autosound plus and they told me to cut all those damn fuses out - if they didn't come with the deck & harness, i don't need 'em.
thanks again,
-Daniel

[PonyOne]

yup, I put a massive system in my Saab 900 turbo recently; the speakers and deck were gone because the guy who had it before me had a better stereo in as well as better wiring, but left the old stuff in so that when he sold it he could just rewire it all... I told him I didn't want it.... I mean they're paper-cone speakers powered by a 1986 Clarion tape deck, 5 watts per channel... yeah right...

So I stripped it all out. Gold-contact Monster cable to each speaker. The only complaint I have about my car is that the rear speakers are 4x10.... a few companies make decent 4x10's, but 6x9's are sooooo much better. I can't cut into the parcel shelf for 4x10's either because it's removeable, and I'm constantly taking it out to get my amp & gear as well as that of my bassist and the occasional guest drummer plus the other guitarist, so I'd have to disconnect every time I went to remove it and there goes my system...

So anyway....
Infinity Kappa Reference 4in speakers in dash
Pioneer 4x10's in back
1 10-in lightning audio sub in cargo area (I cut out the removeable section of floor that allows access to tire & jack to accomodate the sub, but relatively soon I'm going to add another 10' cutout and add a pair of 12's in custom enclosures in back, but after I move to Cali)
Boston Acoustics 6in components in kick panels w/2in tweeters on doors, custom-voiced crossovers
1 750 watt Sony Xplod 4-channel amp (powers sub, 6's and 2's)
1 Sony Xpld 52x4 CD deck w/10 disc changer (i'm going to sell this to get a Nakamichi in-dash 6 disc and a second matching add-on 6-disc in dash soon)
and underseat blue neon mood lighting.

As you can see, I went a tad overboard and yes, it is a 1986 Saab 900 Turbo. It's actually a very well-performing car, can outdo most other vehicles on the road with relative ease, and handles like a Lotus. Very roomy when you put down the rear seat too!

I need to get it resprayed, the paint is showing is age, and I have a new set of black leather seats on order to replace my cracked ones, but other than that and the old comic book smell it's awesome, and don't get me started on engine mods.... I plan on doing shows w/it after all this crap is over.

It's always a kick to pull alongside some dumb little prick in a Civic with a wild paintjob, or a Limp Bizkit type in a Camaro or pickup, or some rich Harvard bastard in a BMW M3, have them flexing their engine at me, and me just sitting there, and then the light turns green, and the little old Saab 900 with faded silver paint blasting indian techno, weezer or failure surges from 0-60 in 3 secs and leaves them slackjawed in the distance.... sigh.... i'm rambling....

MARK MY WORDS, SAABS KICK ASS!!!!

[Raskolnikov]

I feel you on the paint thing. Of course, I have a whole freakin' Econoline to repaint one of these days.

Something tells me I'll just sand down the bad spots and hit it with some primer in a couple of months. I actually kinda like that "white trash" look.

[PonyOne]

here in New England Maaco will do a full coat for $250 including primer; you gotta sand it down and do rust removal yourself though.

I've got rust on one fender I gotta take care of, and after I get that I'm sanding it & taking it in.