amp hook up

[big bad blazer]

hey guys im going to be putting in a sub and amp in my m1009 today and where is the best spot to put the 12v hook up the book says to hook it up to the battery so should i hook it up to the front battery.

 

[OL AG '89]

How many amps are you drawing?

 

[Westech]

Front battery is your 12V yes.

 

[OL AG '89]

Westech,
Wouldn't you want to "balance" the syatem and come off the distribution block in the engine compartment?
or does it not matter ?

 

[Westech]

There are TWO alternators..... One charges the front battery the other the rear... It does not matter if you draw high amps off the 12V or the 24V. Its not a "deuce" charging system.

 

[nk14zp]

 

[OL AG '89]

Understand the charging system, but the stock configuration draws off the distribution block in the engine compartment. Wouldn't it make sense to hook up power from there?
I guess no matter where you hook to, put in a big FAT capacitor and FUSE...

 

[Bighurt]

hey guys im going to be putting in a sub and amp in my m1009 today and where is the best spot to put the 12v hook up the book says to hook it up to the battery so should i hook it up to the front battery.

I always run minimum 4 awg wire off the battery. I also always use a circuit breaker vs a fuse. Easier to reset and isolate the system then a big fuse block. Also keep in mind the breaker needs to be mounted very close to the battery. See product description for details. Remember CUCV specific wiring is a tad different than most vehicles as mentioned

 

[Westech]

Understand the charging system, but the stock configuration draws off the distribution block in the engine compartment. Wouldn't it make sense to hook up power from there?
I guess no matter where you hook to, put in a big FAT capacitor and FUSE...

Take a look at the TM's and you will see that the junction block gets it power from the first battery. You NEVER want to draw a amp or other high power toy off the junction block. It is rated for the factory specs.. not to power a amp also.

 

[big bad blazer]

i only have one 12" sub so i think it will be ok to hook it up to the front battery

 

[mistaken1]

If your add-on equipment manufacturer tells you to use a certain sized wire off the battery with a certain size fuse you should follow that recommendation especially if you ever need them to honor their warranty.

Westech already said it. The front battery positive and the back battery negative are the same point electrically as evidenced by the large wire connecting those two battery posts together. Namely 12V nominal to ground (vehicle chassis).

If you hook any 12V negative ground equipment to the positive and negative posts of the back battery there will be a direct short through your equipment case to ground (vehicle chassis). If you used a fuse or circuit breaker you may get lucky and only have rewire correctly otherwise you will have nice electrical fire in your CUCV (unless of course you are really quick at removing that last battery connection you just made in which case there will just be smoke and charred insulation).

 

[big bad blazer]

the amp came with a 8 ga wire and a 40amp fuse

 

[OL AG '89]

Westech
That's why I started with the question "what Amps are you drawing?". The military radios weren't big amp hogs, but on high power with the fans running, I'm betting they were close to 25-30 Amps....
I'll look at the wires left from the tear out (previous owner) that is in the cab. I'm thinking its at least a pair of 8 gauge, which is PLENTY for his stereo amp and woofer..... Unless he's running a 2500 Watt Sub...
Gonna search the radio TM if I can find it see what the specs are for the standard 524 or prc-77 in vehicle configuration.

 

[Recovry4x4]

The mil radios are 24V vs this 12V amp. Drawing off the buss bar on the firewall behind the batts nets 24V. The other little 2 post block on the firewall by the GP relay is 12V. Drawing power off of that would be just like drawing off the battery except you are pulling the amps through the factory harness and maybe even a fusible link. (Cant remember). I never ever thought we would be discussing amps on this site. We have sure evolved.

 

[BIG_RED]

DO NOT connect two the 2 bus bars - as stated by Recovry, that would be 24V. I would not recommend the little 2 post "engine harness plug" on the firewall. I would run a wire right to the front battery positive. Use a fuse. I have run all sorts of stuff in my truck that way. Good luck.

 

[big bad blazer]

DO NOT connect two the 2 bus bars - as stated by Recovry, that would be 24V. I would not recommend the little 2 post "engine harness plug" on the firewall. I would run a wire right to the front battery positive. Use a fuse. I have run all sorts of stuff in my truck that way. Good luck.

yeah thats what i did, got it hooked up today and it sounds great.