voltmeter wiring

nat3d

nat3d

Wait, I don't drive a civic anymore....
3,335
1,566
Adams MA
Vehicle Model
Ford Focus ST
Body Style
Hatch
hey guys im installing my audio set up next week and i want to add a voltmeter (which i already have) so i have a couple questions. first off i have a bunch of fuse taps kicking around and for the +12 could i wire it in to a switched fuse slot? also with that what size fuse should i run in that tap and would that give me an accurate reading on the voltmeter or would the tap and fuse throw it off? and lastly which fuse slot would i use im already using 23 i think it is for my footwell lights?

thanks in advance.

also @AlienPrime and @Pauly99to17 i know you guys have done a ton of wiring.
 
nat3d said:
hey guys im installing my audio set up next week and i want to add a voltmeter (which i already have) so i have a couple questions. first off i have a bunch of fuse taps kicking around and for the +12 could i wire it in to a switched fuse slot? also with that what size fuse should i run in that tap and would that give me an accurate reading on the voltmeter or would the tap and fuse throw it off? and lastly which fuse slot would i use im already using 23 i think it is for my footwell lights?

thanks in advance.

also @AlienPrime and @Pauly99to17 i know you guys have done a ton of wiring.
Click to expand...
So, many things
First, you choose the fuse based on the amount of wattage you plan to pull. 12v power feed at 1000watts. That means 1000/12v = ~84A

So 84A would be pulling through that cable at peak 1000watts assuming its a perfect stable 12v (which it never is)
I would say up 10% wattage to be safe, and down about 10% voltage (1100/11 = 100A)

So 100A would be okay for that type of fuse. Most people use 1/0 wire in speaker systems (pronounced "one ought")

As for the voltmeter, you simply wire that in parallel! So wire it around a load or out of a marette you have. Don't wire to the 1/0 wire out of like #16 or #18awg leads.

And yes, if you really wanted you could wire the voltmeter out of any source.

And i wouldn't suggest wiring after a fuse if you want source voltage.

Lastly, fuses have no voltage drop they are only intended to cut off current that is over/above the rating of that fuse.

You can wire the voltmeter off of cabin fuse #23 in PARALLEL... but certainly cannot wire your entire audio system from fuse #23 :)

Hope that helps! Sorry im so tired ideas everywhere, hope you piece it together lol... unless pauly does a beetter job :D
 
This type of question is out of my league. Glad to see AP answered it for you. I have a lot of experience doing simple fuse taps (I have 5 of them now) and I know quite a bit about which fuses are good ones to tap into, depending on when you want the circuit to power up, but my experience basically ends there.
 
AlienPrime said:
So, many things
First, you choose the fuse based on the amount of wattage you plan to pull. 12v power feed at 1000watts. That means 1000/12v = ~84A

So 84A would be pulling through that cable at peak 1000watts assuming its a perfect stable 12v (which it never is)
I would say up 10% wattage to be safe, and down about 10% voltage (1100/11 = 100A)

So 100A would be okay for that type of fuse. Most people use 1/0 wire in speaker systems (pronounced "one ought")

As for the voltmeter, you simply wire that in parallel! So wire it around a load or out of a marette you have. Don't wire to the 1/0 wire out of like #16 or #18awg leads.

And yes, if you really wanted you could wire the voltmeter out of any source.

And i wouldn't suggest wiring after a fuse if you want source voltage.

Lastly, fuses have no voltage drop they are only intended to cut off current that is over/above the rating of that fuse.

You can wire the voltmeter off of cabin fuse #23 in PARALLEL... but certainly cannot wire your entire audio system from fuse #23 :)

Hope that helps! Sorry im so tired ideas everywhere, hope you piece it together lol... unless pauly does a beetter job :D
Click to expand...
first off thanks for the help guys :)

im not wiring my system off fuse 23 lol
i have the power going from the batt to my cap from the cap to the amp so for the meter it tells me to wire the ground to the neg bat terminal which should be ok with the 18 awg right? also the +12 on it needs to be switched and thats why i was leaning tords fuse 23 because i know its switched. the instructions say use the ignition switch but i dont know where to tap in to it.
 
nat3d said:
first off thanks for the help guys :)

im not wiring my system off fuse 23 lol
i have the power going from the batt to my cap from the cap to the amp so for the meter it tells me to wire the ground to the neg bat terminal which should be ok with the 18 awg right? also the +12 on it needs to be switched and thats why i was leaning towards fuse 23 because i know its switched. the instructions say use the ignition switch but i dont know where to tap in to it.
Click to expand...

Okay, so that clears up a little :)

Fuse 23 is indeed ignition powered, as well as 6, 11, 14, and 28.. (Just to name a few)
You should generally use 14awg stranded for speaker wire, even though #18 should be safe.

If you want to switch power from somewhere you will need a little 8 pin relay and contactor in order to have the amp/subs etc turn off once ignition is cut off.

i would say more than 80% of people get this source from their head unit as it is already tied to the audio fuse and also ignition powered... So they would take that feed from the head unit.
 
so got it all wired up and it works :) pics later tonight or tm morning.
 
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