Is the 1 amp inline radio fuse necessary after upgrades?

[zimvsdib]

So I installed all new audio components today and while blasting some tunes it all went dead.
It sounded incredible while it was on but a 1 amp inline fuse leading to the deck popped after some heavy bass was happening. I was curious, do you think that thing is really necessary?
After all, It is leftovers from the original radio setup. My radio had a 10 amp fuse on the back and the radio power comes from my fuse box with a 20amp fuse. In between the fuse box and the radio is this 1amp inline fuse. Should i just cut it out or throw a bigger fuse in there? I don't want to keep blowing fuses and having my music drop out but i don't want to damage anything either. Any ideas?
Thank you in advance!!!

My amp has a temporary remote wire jumped to the positive. I'm also wondering where a good spot to splice into an existing wire for the remote power would be. I'm thinking off the fuse 17 cig lighter purple wire.

specifics incase you are interested:
Infinity Reference 8-Inch 1000-watt High-Performance Subwoofer (Single Voice Coil)
Pioneer GM-D7500M Class-D Mono Amplifier with 800 Watts Max. Power
Infinity 529I 165W (Peak) 5-1/4 -Inch Two-Way Speakers (Pair)
Infinity 329CF 105W Peak 3-1/2 -Inch Custom Fit Two-Way Speakers (Pair)
KENWOOD KDC-X995 eXcelon In-Dash USB/CD Receiver with Built-In Bluetooth/HD Radio
made a custom sub door for the storage box and matched the carpet.

[Tomcio]

It is leftovers from the original radio setup. My radio had a 10 amp fuse on the back and the radio power comes from my fuse box with a 20amp fuse.

Well, you said it... It is a leftover piece that belongs to the original radio. Since you have a proper fuse in your new deck the old fuse can be safely removed.
You only need one fuse in a circuit. If something goes wrong in your radio the built-in fuse is suppose to cut power. Since the original radio didn't have one built in they had to add it in the wiring.


My amp has a temporary remote wire jumped to the positive. I'm also wondering where a good spot to splice into an existing wire for the remote power would be. I'm thinking off the fuse 17 cig lighter purple wire.

The remote wire should be run to the "remote" or "amp" output on your deck. It is suppose to be active only when the deck is on. Get a piece of wire and run it all the way from the amp to the rear of the radio and make an appropriate connection.
Don't leave the jumper in place as this makes the amp stay on all the time and that will drain your battery quicker than you might expect.

Good luck!

[Ron]

Just put the same rate as your current radio has in it...

[zimvsdib]

Thank you! I just needed the reassurance. It didn't make sense to have it but after all the work i did installing this stuff i'm a bit over cautious.

I will hook up that remote wire today. I'm pretty sure know what wire to use.

Anyone have any issue with these audio systems draining battery? I looked into capacitors as a possible means to take some strain off the alternator but i haven't been able to determine if that is going to be needed. My setup is only 1000w amp so it's not like i have anything crazy. I just thought it might be helpful.

[Tomcio]

Thank you! I just needed the reassurance. It didn't make sense to have it but after all the work i did installing this stuff i'm a bit over cautious.
No problem. Hey, better safe than sorry. If unsure it's always a good idea to ask.


I will hook up that remote wire today. I'm pretty sure know what wire to use.
It should be labeled "REMOTE" or "AMP". It's usually a blue wire but some manufacturers use orange.


Anyone have any issue with these audio systems draining battery? I looked into capacitors as a possible means to take some strain off the alternator but i haven't been able to determine if that is going to be needed. My setup is only 1000w amp so it's not like i have anything crazy. I just thought it might be helpful.
Capacitors will not take any strain off the alternator. They are meant to provide "cleaner" or more stable power to the amplifier (external or built into the head unit) so as to avoid any distortion during short bursts of high current demand - strong bass. They also filter out any noise the alternator might introduce into the electrical system. That noise can be described as high pitched whine that changes with engine RPM.
With good capacitors the silent portions of your music should sound clean and quite while strong bass should sound clean and strong.

[kobachi]

In between the fuse box and the radio is this 1amp inline fuse. Should i just cut it out or throw a bigger fuse in there? I don't want to keep blowing fuses and having my music drop out but i don't want to damage anything either. Any ideas?

Watts are amps times volts. The battery is nominally 12V but the actual system is usually 13-14V when driving. Your head unit has a 10A fuse so it's designed to use up to 140W of power. A 1-amp (at 14V) fuse allows 14W of power to the head unit. This is why it blew out -- your head unit wanted a lot more power than that little fuse is designed to allow. It worked exactly as it was supposed to, but it was not supposed to be used where it was.

[kobachi]

You only need one fuse in a circuit. If something goes wrong in your radio the built-in fuse is suppose to cut power. Since the original radio didn't have one built in they had to add it in the wiring.

This is not really true. It's very common to have more than one fuse in a circuit, but the fuses should always get smaller as you go. i.e. having a 1A fuse before a 10A fuse makes no sense. But having a 10A fuse on the radio after a 20A fuse on the battery makes tons of sense if you expect some other parallel component on the circuit to need up to 10A of current.

[Ron]

This is not really true. It's very common to have more than one fuse in a circuit, but the fuses should always get smaller as you go. i.e. having a 1A fuse before a 10A fuse makes no sense. But having a 10A fuse on the radio after a 20A fuse on the battery makes tons of sense if you expect some other parallel component on the circuit to need up to 10A of current.

$.02
Not entirely true either. Look at how fuses 2 and 8 are wired...8 feeds 2 and a branch, 2 has a branch(s) of its own. The fuses have the same rate! This is common practice.
It's OK to use the same or smaller. The key is that fuses are there to protect the wiring, not the components. The "first one is not to be exceeded (nor is it "legal" to splice-reduce wire size, technically). Fuses on components are rated at or near the greatest expected draw expected under normal conditions, basically. This way they will not be the cause of external damage, or, sometimes more important, the source of internal damage that may result in an internal fire or other dangerous situation particular to the device (think x-ray machine or power supply)...it knows "something" is wrong and shuts down, so to speak...could even have a bad ground or serving as a ground unintentionally, drawing more power than it can safely handle....

One thing is for sure- the lowest rated one is going to blow first if it is in line with another no matter its position -- and someone needs good glass coverage LOL

[kobachi]

I think you and I are in violent agreement :D

[Tomcio]

This is not really true. It's very common to have more than one fuse in a circuit, but the fuses should always get smaller as you go. i.e. having a 1A fuse before a 10A fuse makes no sense. But having a 10A fuse on the radio after a 20A fuse on the battery makes tons of sense if you expect some other parallel component on the circuit to need up to 10A of current.

I'm going to add fuel to this fire ;)
I do agree that it's a common and desirable practice to install a fuse after a fuse but only when the circuit is more complex and branches off creating another circuit. This saves on the number of wires needed and protects separate branches so one failure doesn't disable the entire complex circuit.
I was referring to the radio supply and only to the part right behind the unit. You have a fuse in the fuse box to protect the wiring and then another one inside the unit just to make sure. You do not need another inline fuse just next to the radio as this will create a fuse-after-fuse circuit. There's nothing wrong with it but it's just not needed.
As for the value, the fuses should get smaller as you get closer to the final component in the circuit. It doesn't really make much sense to install the same values in one circuit because if something goes wrong both will have to be replaced even if only one blows. The other one will also experience an overload and will start the self destruction process. Partially melted (blown) fuse will create problems - higher resistance (more heat and possible melting) and lower rating (it will blow below it's original rating).
The correct way of protecting a circuit should look as follows:
JUST AN EXAMPLE!
Main fuse 20A, with two parallel branches each with 10A, final fuse protecting a final component 5A. With this setup if the final component fails the 5A fuse will protect the circuit and keep everything else functioning as normal. If something goes wrong in the wiring of one of the branches the 10A fuse will blow and leave the other branch working. If there is a catastrophic failure the 20A fuse goes cutting all the power. All branches stop working.
Makes sense?

[zimvsdib]

rather than splice it out i took your advice and put a 15 amp fuse in there.
So the tree would work from 20>15>10 amp fuses. I think that should do it.

Now i'm having an issue with my Kenwood deck and the remote wire. Im hooked up my amp's remote wire to the Kenwood deck "blue with white stripe" and when the stereo powers up it shuts off like the power has been cut. It just doesn't like that for some reason.

I think the best "plan B" is run a wire from the fuse 17 or the purple wire going to the deck. I'll put an inline fuse there as well.

I know that blue/white wire is suppose to work like this but with my luck in not surprised it doesn't...

[DeloreanJoshQ]

Where exactly is the factory inline fuse located in the wiring harness? Is there one for both battery and ignition?

[Jonathan]

Where exactly is the factory inline fuse located in the wiring harness? Is there one for both battery and ignition?

Those inline fuses are up near the deck. At the back of the deck that is.

I took mine out when I did my stereo upgrade. I kept the main fuses in the fuse/relay area behind the passenger seat, which protects through both of the power wires, and there is also a micro fuse built into the back of my Alpine deck.

You can see the inline fuse holders in this photo, just behind my hand (the photo was of the connector, but you can also see the fuses coincidentally).

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