I need some big time help with this one!

My boat has a 2000watt stereo sys. in it. I am running a 140amp circuit breaker. The question is why the heck did my circuit breaker smoke like it was going to catch fire after playing it for about an hour straight? I am running 4 gauge wire and has been professionally installed. Any good ideas as to why this happened and what i can do to prevent this from happening again would be appreciated

Your circut breaker is supposed to trip when things go wrong. Im guessing somthing went wrong and the circut breaker stuck and didn't trip like it was supposed to however this is very un likley I haven't seen or heard. Im guessing its somthing else. Loose ground or connection, Sorry I hate that answer because its not for sure. Check around and see what else you can find out whats wrong

The wire connection is at the circuit breaker is probably not suited for a continuous load. Boat stereos sustain much higher current than car stereos, most shops don't understand the difference. #4 wire is probably too small for the runs between the battery and the amps if the run is over 4'. Sure it will sustain the current but it will drop the voltage, made the same mistake myself first time around and I am an electrical engineer. You should be running 1/0 cable between the batteries and the amp distribution block.

Here is a picture of my fuse block, it's a $200 unit once you buy the fuses. It will run full current all day long without even getting warm.



(Message edited by mikeski on June 17, 2008)