How To: Safely wire an amplifier or power plug in your car

Systm is the Do-It-Yourself show designed for the common geek who wants to quickly and easily learn how to dive into the latest and hottest tech projects. They will help you avoid pitfalls and get your project up and running fast. In this DIY episode, see how to safely wire an amplifier or power plug in your car.

Whether it's the PC in our Wireless Access Truck, a massive 1000W amplifier or an extra power plug for a cell phone, the same rules apply... ignore 'em, and you could turn your car into a fire hazard... or just blow out its electrical system.

Safely wiring your vehicle (especially if you have, say, 400W worth of lights or a massive 500W amplifier) is about choosing a heavy enough gauge, or size, of wire, and figuring out how far it has to travel from your battery.

The longer the distance, the lower the gauge wire you need for a given load... with wire gauges, the smaller then number the amperage it can carry.

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