Aftermarket Amp Installed in '06

Looks good....Nice fit....

Wish I could hear it!

:lol:

 

Looks like you have a 150A fuse on that bad boy. I think if you try to draw that much current you may blow the fuse on the high voltage inverter in the car. I believe the hv inverter is capable of putting out 100A max...so what you safely have on tap would be even less than that because the car uses a certain amount for various functions. On another thread someone did a good job of quantifying the current usage with different combinations of accessories running.

I have an amp that calls for a 135A fuse but I put in an 80A circuit breaker instead.

Nice install, in all other regards.

 

I couldn't find the post that I wanted but here is one from DanMan32 that adds to the notion that about 80A is the most you might want to draw.
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=1...ndpost&p=172336

 

There is a 120A fuse on the 12V Aux Battery. For your amp setup, I would go with with no more than a 40 Amp fuse. With a 150A fuse, you might as well be going with no fuse at all since that would only be good for protecting the battery from a short circuit if the power wire comes loose and grounds itself on the frame. If you are pushing the amp to the limit, you'll probably draw, at most, 30 Amps.

I am sucking down about 700 watts RMS with my amp and I have it protected with a 60 amp fuse, and it hasn't blown yet despite having the system cranked regularly.

 

I one sense yes, but in actuality you can't really by-pass the hv inverter because that is feeding the 12V system. If you overdraw what the 12V battery can supply then essentially the power will be provided from the hv battery through the inverter and hence through the 120A fuse. Just thought I might clarify this in case someone might think they can pull over 120A from the 12V system without risking blowing the fuse on the inverter.
Anyways, like you said, I don't think you are running a risk if your sure your amp isn't pulling too much.
BTW, I tapped in to the 12V battery the same way you did and also thought about adding an additional battery but so far I haven't had a problem. The amp I have is capable of 800W RMS. I have a single 10" Infinity Perfect running on it now and another waiting in the wings for me to finish building its enclosure. Going with this 10" speaker size, trying to fit it in the side cubby over the battery, trying to meet the enclosure volume specs, and trying to leave the trunk bottom storarge compartment unobstructed, presented a lot of conflicts. I got it to work and am happy with the results but it was tons of work and I had to cut out parts of the stiff trunk lining to create more volume for the enclosure to meet spec. In the end, it may not have mattered so much to get the exact 1.0 cubic foot called out, oh well, what's done is done.

I've never heard any Diamond Audio stuff so can't comment there, but I really like JL Audio woofers. I had a pair of 12s in my previous car (can't remember the model but it wasn't even one their top ones) and I think I liked the JL sound better than the Infinity I am running now. I know it's hard to make a straight comparison because so many things are different between the setups so take that solely as my impression and nothing else.

 

I'll throw in my thumbs up for the JL Audio. I purchased a 10W6V2 last weekend, and was not disappointed! This is my first JL Audio sub. I've used Alpine and Infinity and was pretty happy with those, but JL blows them out of the water.

What are you plans for cooling the amp? Just leave the cover off?

 

If you're looking to build a fiberglass enclosure, wait a few more days and i'll have a finished tutorial on how to do it posted on here somewhere (got the messy parts done, just working on the finishing touches right now)

I'll also be including a lot of info on the JBL amp that comes with the upgrade package if anyone is looking to tap into that to bypass/suppliment it.

 

I'll have to keep an eye on my JL, then . With the built-in fan, you'll probably be okay with what you have now, but keep in mind that if you put the cover on, the fan will just be blowing the hot air that's trapped in the bin. With a sub, that will almost certainly cause the amp to overheat. Good thing for thermal protection on the amp, though!


I think I might need to add another fan for intake on my setup since the exhaust fan doesn't seem to be doing a good enough job. When I take off the cover, it's like opening an air-lock and i get blasted by a wave of hot air.

 

I had a JL sub in my previous (previous, previous, previous actually) and it held up for 7 years with no issues at all. After I sold that truck, I gave the box/sub to a friend and he used it for another 5 years, and it still sonded great!

I have full confidence in JL subs, and I bought another (the massive 8W7!) to put in the Prius. Not that Diamond is bad or anything, quite the contrary. I think their drivers are spectacular.


[Broken External Image]:http://mobile.jlaudio.com/images/7739.jpg

 

My enclosure is going to be in the left (driver's side) so I'll be using the little storage compartment too. We've worked it out and we should be able to get about 1.2 cu. ft. which is enough for the W7.

 

I also have the exact same 150A fuse in install in the 2004 Prius with RF T8004 and memphis amp. My amps can suck down about 150A if driven hard, but I would never drive them that hard for more than a millisecond.

I also see no big reason to go with a smaller fuse. The main purpose of the system fuse is to protect the wiring, and as long as you are using large enough gauge wiring to handle 150A, that fuse is fine. I suppose it would be more conservative to use a 100A fuse to attempt to protect the DC/DC inverter from overheating though.

 

My bet is that the DC/DC converter will current limit itself well before the 120A fuse blows. The 120A fuse will be there to protect against a fault in the inverter or a short in the battery cable.