Kevin Scott

Hi all, I'm going to put an amp into my 2004 5dr focus but I'm a bit of a
lazy bastard so I was thinking about running the power feed for the amp from
the 12v outlet for the rear passengers (which has never been used and
probably never will) instead of running a power cable from the battery.

Anybody tried this before? Or do you envisage any problems?

BTW The amp is 220w mono kenwood to run a subwoofer - not that powerfull,
but I realise I'll probably have the uprate the fuse for the power outlet
anyway.

joe schmoe

On Thu, 15 Dec 2005 12:38:13 GMT, "Kevin Scott"
<lj011a7316@spamlessblueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

>Hi all, I'm going to put an amp into my 2004 5dr focus but I'm a bit of a
>lazy bastard so I was thinking about running the power feed for the amp from
>the 12v outlet for the rear passengers (which has never been used and
>probably never will) instead of running a power cable from the battery.
>
>Anybody tried this before? Or do you envisage any problems?
>
>BTW The amp is 220w mono kenwood to run a subwoofer - not that powerfull,
>but I realise I'll probably have the uprate the fuse for the power outlet
>anyway.
>
You didn't mention if it's 220W RMS or Peak, what the current draw is,
if you're planning on using a capacitor or what not.

BUT ! Having said that I'd would think that the wiring might not be
quite up to the task of running an amp for hours on end.

Better safe than sorry answer is to put a fused wire of the right
gauge the full length, to the AMP. When you have a fire or it gets
stolen it will result in less grief from your insurance provider.

Perhaps others here have better advice, but to my mind for the $4
extra parts cost........

Dark1

"Kevin Scott" <lj011a7316@spamlessblueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Vsdof.56260$Ms6.30768@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> Hi all, I'm going to put an amp into my 2004 5dr focus but I'm a bit of a
> lazy bastard so I was thinking about running the power feed for the amp
> from the 12v outlet for the rear passengers (which has never been used and
> probably never will) instead of running a power cable from the battery.
>
> Anybody tried this before? Or do you envisage any problems?
>
> BTW The amp is 220w mono kenwood to run a subwoofer - not that powerfull,
> but I realise I'll probably have the uprate the fuse for the power outlet
> anyway.
>
a 220wrms class D amp should draw in the nieghborhood of 22A, varying by
your volume, a 3 db decrease in volume(just noticable) will cut that in
half.. I have no idea how good the wiring is to those outlets, but DO NOT
change the fuse! the fuse is rated at what it is to keep you from setting
your car on fire! I would say it's fairly safe to try if you don't change
the fuse, if the fuse blows, you need to run a real power wire.. NOT change
the fuse..

Kevin Scott

Thanks for the input guys. I already have an amp wiring kit with inline
fuse and have fitted amps to other cars before so know what i'm getting
into, but like I said - I'm lazy and thought I'd found a short-cut but I
guess not.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get the power cable through the forward
bulkhead on the focus? I plan to do the job this weekend but haven't so
much as had a look to see what's involved yet. LAZY!!!

joe schmoe

On Thu, 15 Dec 2005 18:21:58 GMT, "Kevin Scott"
<lj011a7316@spamlessblueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

>Thanks for the input guys. I already have an amp wiring kit with inline
>fuse and have fitted amps to other cars before so know what i'm getting
>into, but like I said - I'm lazy and thought I'd found a short-cut but I
>guess not.
>
>Does anyone have any tips on how to get the power cable through the forward
>bulkhead on the focus? I plan to do the job this weekend but haven't so
>much as had a look to see what's involved yet. LAZY!!!
>
follow the wiring harness through the bulkhead and where the grommet
exits the compartment, take a awl (screwdriver whatever) and pierce a
hole alongside the bundle to run your power cord. It'll be out of
sight, and will have the rubber to provide a seal and insulation to
prevent the metal from the body grounding out the line.