Clarion XC2410 Amp and Polk DB652 speakers

[jcb1977]

so have searched all the threads but haven't found anything on this.....based on some reviews here, I went with an XC2410 clarion amp to pair with four Polk DB652 speakers for a value upgrade to my stock audio setup. But am confused with the wiring/fuse sizing.

the specs on the amp states 400W maximum and 50W x 4 continuous at 4 ohms and 14.4.V. for sizing wire/breaker using 400W max, would you use 400W/14.4V=28 amps or would use the more likely scenario of 400W/12V=34 amps. Or is it better to use the continuous rating of 200W/14.4V=14 amps or 200W/12=17 amps.

to make things more confusing though, the amp comes prewired with a power lead that is only 16AWG and has a 40amp inline circuit on it. in order to protect the 16AWG wiring, wouldn't one need to install a 10amp or so fuse? which is way too small to run the amp. and not sure the purpose of the 40amp inline circuit.

I'm leaning towards using a 30 amp fuse with 10 AWG wire, but not sure if I need to worry about that foot or two of 16AWG pre-wired leads. very curious to hear have others done when wiring this amp.

 

[212s]

Or is it better to use the continuous rating of 200W/14.4V=14 amps or 200W/12=17 amps.

Use what the manufacturer recommends - 40 amp fuse. That includes the maximum power draw under all conditions with a little buffer room so the fuse doesn't pop too easily from transient peaks.

to make things more confusing though, the amp comes prewired with a power lead that is only 16AWG and has a 40amp inline circuit on it.

The power wires look larger than 16awg, probably 10 which is plenty for a short lead wire (the manual doesn't mention wire sizes). The inline fuse is there already so unless you plan to run long wires, you don't really need another fuse. My amp didn't come fused, so I ran a two foot 4awg to a fuse block, 50a fuse as per manufacturer, then crimped an eyelet connector on the amp's power lead to connect it to the fuse block.

I'm leaning towards using a 30 amp fuse with 10 AWG wire, but not sure if I need to worry about that foot or two of 16AWG pre-wired leads. very curious to hear have others done when wiring this amp.

Not sure where you're getting the 16awg from? That might be the speaker wire size. Either way, if you're running 10awg, you would have to fuse it at 30a maximum as that's the lower limit for 10awg wire. I'd run 8awg wire minimum so you can fuse it properly at 40a.

 

[jcb1977]

so I looked again and must have misread the labeling on the wire.... it's actually 12AWG (not 16). so that makes more sense.

I ended up changing my mind and am going to install a small 6 circuit fuse block at the helm for any future equipment and use the fuse block for a common ground with head unit and amp. I'm going to run 8awg to the fuse block and connect the amp to fuse block with a 30-amp breaker. I spent a lot of time getting rid of all the inline ATC fuses in the boat already, so I'm just going to cut the factory 40-amp off. If I should have a lot of nuisance trips, it'll be easy enough to add a resettable 40-amp breaker off of the 8AWG I'll have up there anyway.