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All Wire is not created equal
Do not use CCA wire with Zapco amplifiers
It is easy to think of wire as just wire but the fact is there are major differences between the types
of wires being offered today. The price of copper has gone up quite a bit lately, but you will notice
that you can still buy heavy primary wire at very reasonable prices. How can this be? Simple... That
lower price wire is not all copper, it is CCA wire. CCA stands for Copper Clad, Aluminum. That means
it is aluminum wire with a thin coating of copper around the outside of the wire.
Does it look like copper wire? Absolutely. But does it conduct electrical current like copper?
Absolutely Not.
Two things can and likely will happen:
• Because CCA wire can not conduct DC electrical current like copper wire can, your amp will
not get the current it needs to produce its rated power. That means you get less power and
more distortion. It also taxes the amplifier that is trying to make its power, shortening the life
of the amp
• CCA wire corrodes quickly and causes terminals that used to be tight to become loose. This
causes arcing when electrons to fly around all the open space lookin for more copper. This
causes heat that damages connections and can even eventually melt the terminal blocks on
your amplifier
In short: While CCA wire is excellent for high frequency AC current (like tweeter voice coils), it is
absolutely bad for high current 12V DC like power and ground for a car audio amplifier. We have
seen CCA wire become a major cause of amplifier failures as buyers are offered CCA as a low cost
alternative to pure copper wire. So always look at the description of the contents of wire that you
purchase. When someone offers to save you some money with CCA wire just say "No, thank you".
Protect your investment with real copper wire.
CCA Wire
OFC Wire
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Wire Size
The second most common cause of under performing amplifiers is insufficient power current or a
poor power connection. The most common cause of under performing amplifiers is insufficient
ground current or a bad ground connection. 12-volt current: Battery power works only if it travels in
a complete circuit from the battery positive terminal to the battery negative terminal. Main power
input, of course, is attached to the battery positive terminal. Ground current is returned to the battery
through the chassis to the point where the battery is grounded. The current available for your
amplifier to use to produce power will be restricted by the smallest gauge of wire in the circuit and
by the weakest physical connection in the circuit.
It's often surprising how many people will obsess about signal wire but routinely provide the
amplifier with only a fraction of the current it needs to do its job. The most common wire gauge
used in car audio is 10-gauge, and the most common location for amplifiers is in the trunk.
Wire Sizing Chart
0-20 amps
20-35 amps
35-50 amps
50-60 amps
65-85 amps
85 -105amps
105-125 amps
125-150 amps
Copper coating
Aluminum
Let's look at a fairly small system. If you use a 50 watt/ch amp (25 amps) for the highs and a 100
watt/ch amp (40 amps) for the woofers, you need at least a 4-gauge and maybe a 2-Guage wire to
provide 65 amps at the trunk. Use the Wire Sizing Chart. Add up the fuse values on the amplifier(s)
then choose the proper size wire based on the distance from the car battery to the amplifier location.
All Copper
Always use the same gauge wire for the main ground as you do for the main power. Always make
your ground as short as possible and secure it to a clean solid surface, preferably the vehicle frame.
Length
4 ft
7 ft
10 ft 13 ft 16 ft 19 ft 22 ft
14
12
12
10
10
12
10
8
8
6
10
8
8
6
6
8
8
6
4
4
6
6
4
4
2
6
6
4
2
2
4
4
4
2
2
2
2
2
2
0
28 ft
8
8
8
6
6
4
4
4
4
4
4
2
2
2
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
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