2004 focus amp fitting

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.

Reply to
Kevin Scott
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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........

Reply to
joe schmoe

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..

Reply to
Dark1

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!!!

Reply to
Kevin Scott

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.

Reply to
joe schmoe

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