Jim*B

Can you use cigarette lighter plug for power?

I have a cigarette lighter plug near the rear of my SUV, where my amp will be mounted. Can I tap into the hot and ground wires going to the plug to power a single 100-200 watt sub, rather than running a dedicated line all the way to the front fusebox?

Denton

You really don't want to run to the fuse box. Go directly to the battery. There are adaptors available to make it easy. Be sure to fuse within 18 inches of the battery.

I'd suggest that you consider at least 8 ga wire. Most amps will have some guidelines on wire size in the instructions. From experience, I'd even go so far as to suggest 4 ga. Using a 4 will allow you to generally run 2 amps without difficulty so upgrading later is MUCH easier.

As for the cig lighter, use it to charge your cell phone.

Jim*B

Why can't I use the power wire going to the cigarette plug? Is not the correct gauge? What gauge wire does your average 100 watts RMS amp require? Is the amperage the amp requires more than the power wire going to the cirgaette plug can safely supply? If I can't use the cigarette plug power line, why can't I use the fusebox for power? I DO NOT want to through the trouble of going to the battery for a single amplifier. I have no intention of changing anything else with the stereo. It is stock. I'm only adding a small sub because it should've had one from the factory!

Brad_Harper

Jim,

Check what the ampere rating is on the fuse of the AMP you want to use is. If it is less then the lighter fuse circuit then go ahead and use the lighter circuit. Otherwise you would be best to run a dedicated wire for the amp. Just be sure not to use the lighter while the amp is on Also check what other items in the car are powered off the same fuse as the lighter. Be sure there isn't any motors (fans, climate control) or safety systems (ABS, airbags) powered.

Bob_Bo

Jim,

Chances are that lighter circuit is going to have another half a dozen things on it.

The last thing you want is to have additional noise or loads on the same line as your amp.

As Denton mentioned, running a direct fused line (8 ga) to the battery is the preferred installation method. Most late model vehicles have panels and moldings that are simply attached with clips and can be pulled back to run your wires. Just be careful not to run them in moisture heavy areas; like under the carpet in the foot-wells.

Jim*B

Bob-bo, I understand people prefer to go straight to the battery. Is there anything wrong with just going to the internal fuse box rather than the battery?

Christ Reynolds

if you want to start a fire, no there isnt. if there is a thinner gauge wire between the fuse box and the battery, you will run the risk of drawing too much current through the thin wires and possibly burning off the coating and starting a fire. this wont happen for sure, but if you are willing to take the risk, go ahead. the only way to install an amplifier is to wire it to the battery, dont think about other ways. put it this way...the only way you should drive a car is with tires on the wheels. if you have no tires on your rims, the car will still go, but not without the risk of damage. find a grommet and go to the battery, otherwise you are taking a risk.

CJ

And then when I feel so stuffed I can't eat anymore, I just use the restroom! And then I CAN eat more!

Jay H

I guess I had it easy when I installed an amp in my MR2 Spyder. Being a mid-engined car with me installing my Amp in the cubby space behind the driver seat, all I had to do was drill a hole in the firewall, install a grommet and run the wire through it. I only have about 2 ft of 4gauge wire running from the battery and also only about 1ft ground wire to the chassis even though I bought a "amplifier wiring kit" from knukonceptz.com which came with some really long power cable runs so now I have a ton leftover. An amplifier wiring kit is fairly inexpensive (at least from knukonceptz) and included everything you need to wire up an amplifier and even speakers, however, because of my component speakers and I ran new wiring to the door, I did have to order more speakerwire, but other than that, the kit will have everything, including the fuse, fuse holder, and wire.

Jay

You are the crispy noodle in the vegetarian salad of life

Brad_Harper

Jim,

Don't let everyone scare you about fires. If your amp is rated to draw 25 amps and the lighter circuit can handle 25 amps (check the fusing) then there is no risk of fire. The worst case is you blow the lighter fuse. Using a cars internal wiring is very safe. Check out the wire guage going to the cooling fan in your car. I bet it isn't 8 guage wire and it draws a lot more power then your amp ever will. Internal car wiring is not evil. Just look in the owners manual of your vehicle and it will tell you fuse ratings and what is fused with what.

Jim*B

Thanks Brad . I can't imagine a single 100-200 watt amp drawing so much current that it would melt a wire between the fuse box and the battery on a modern car. That just sounds crazy!

Juan Castillo

Lets see, 5 people, including Brad, gave you information about what the possibilites are when doing it your way..

I guess all you wanted to hear was, sure, go ahead..


Don't forget you will still need a switched remote connection, and I doubt there are any switched leads in the back of your vehicle..

Jim*B

Juan, I think Brad gave the most useful info. He advised to check the fuse on the lighter plug circuit (I think it is actually called an "accessory plug" since it is placed at the very rear of the cabin, near the floor). If it is big enough, I'll probably be okay. If not, I can just go to the fusebox. Running a wire to the battery is pretty much overkill for my application. Regarding your advice, the amps I'm looking at have something on the high-level input that senses the signal and turns on automatically. I assume they turn back off if no signal is detected for some period of time. I can understand some of the people hear believing there is only one "right way" to do something. They proabably also think that using a speaker-level connection to an amp is 'mickey-mouse'.

Denton