i just bought an amp and subs. no idea how to wire them up. im an EE major, so im not afraid to tackle this. but im not quite sure what i need. i know i need to run a wire from the positive terminal of the battery to the amp. what kind of wire do i use for this? is there supposed to be a fuse in this link, how do i put it in?

 

Most of us run 4awg power wire from the battery to a distribution block in back of the car. From the D-block we usually run 8awg wire to each amplifier. If you have a single amp you can probably get by with just 8awg from the battery.

You connect the wire to the battery with a ring terminal on the wire and a side post adapter.

You need to place a fuse within 18" of the battery. I like to place it as close to the battery as possible with one of these.

There are several types of D-blocks you can use.
Typical D-block
Fused D-block

 

you can purchase a 8 gauge wiring kit from most audio shops, best buy sells them for 80 bucks, this includes,

8awg power cable with inline fuse holder and ring terminal already crimped for connecting to battery

8awg ground cable w/ ring terminal

RCA signal cables

Remote turn on wire.

16awg speaker wire.

you will need to run the power wire from the bat to the amp, rca and remote turn on wires from the back of the deck to the amp, then ground the amp to the chassis. keep rca's away from power when running the cabling to help eliminate engine noise. and make sure you have a good solid ground.