# Copper Clad vs. Real Copper Power Wires



## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

A few things to point about your amps wiring... might be worth taking a look at...

The Difference Between Copper and Copper Clad Aluminum Cable - Other Reviews - Car Audio and Electronics


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## TREETOP (Feb 11, 2009)

My experience with CCA wire, from a reputable company:


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

that doesn't look to favorable, does it


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

*In the long run* it might be cheaper *to buy copper wire *


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## kyheng (Jan 31, 2007)

Looks like the terminations are not properly done?


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## TREETOP (Feb 11, 2009)

kyheng said:


> Looks like the terminations are not properly done?


LOL, um, nope.
The ring terminal was crimped and soldered, and bolted directly to the sanded bare metal of my truck's frame. It was then sprayed with automotive undercoating to keep out the elements. 
The corrosion was so bad that the wire actually severed itself completely at the terminal, and ground was lost at my sub amp. This was after 9 months of use, and the wire was new when I installed it. I'm sticking to copper wire now.


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## kyheng (Jan 31, 2007)

But mine still ok even after 1 year + of usage. BTW, I'm using the same as yours.... The Knu's CCA...... Have to check back again on mine if the connection points got such problems.... If taking humidities into account, I guess my country are higher than US.


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## TREETOP (Feb 11, 2009)

Well I'm sure there are a lot of variables- actual current draw, ambient temperature, length of wire, etc. I can't say with 100% authority exactly what the specific failure was caused by, but I can say I don't trust CCA wire enough to use it in my car or to recommend it to others.


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## chipss (Nov 13, 2009)

aluminum wire has never worked out very well, used to burn tailers down, now its taking out woofer amps...



Information collected over the years from manufacturers and users has shown that aluminum structures will provide reliable service for periods in excess of 30 years. The factor which assures the long life of aluminum is its self forming microscopically thin surface layer of aluminum oxide. This layer is so thin that it is measured in atomic units. The air-formed film on new aluminum surfaces is about 2.5 nm thick, while the film on aluminum that is several years old may be 10 or more nm thick. The film is composed of two parts:

A thin, inner barrier layer

A much thicker bulk outer layer which is more permeable than the inner barrier layer

Chemically, the film is a hydrated form of aluminum oxide. The corrosion resistance of aluminum depends upon this protective oxide film. which is stable in aqueous media when the pH is between about 4.0 and 8.5. The oxide film is naturally self-renewing and accidental abrasion or other mechanical damage of the surface film is rapidly repaired. The conditions that promote corrosion of aluminum and its alloys, therefore, must be those that continuously abrade the film mechanically or promote conditions that locally degrade the protective oxide film and minimize the availability of oxygen to rebuild it.


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## kyheng (Jan 31, 2007)

^Agree with you on this, somehow... Indeed CCA are not that good and need alot of extra precautions if were to compare with tinned OFC. I actually got both of them and the CCA I always need to wrap it with something when not in use but the OFC I can just leave it and after a month of two, it is still the same.
maybe adding some silicone grease may help to prevent corrosion?


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## 808Munkyeee (Jun 6, 2011)

that sucks


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## SoulFly (Mar 15, 2011)

i have some aluminum clad copper. not sure if i'm gonna use it on my next build or not.


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## computerjlt (Nov 29, 2010)

i'm rocking some CCA wire; i'm quite liking it; especially since it was way cheaper. i'm running 0awg so its like having 2awg copper


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## andrave (Jan 20, 2011)

aluminum wire is what is used on high voltage electrical lines... but I'd still rather have copper when possible. i'd take copper welding wire over cca stereo cable if that was my choice. I've had really good luck finding old runs of cable for cheap at junkyards and on ebay. People rip their stereos out when they sell their car and often times they will sell you all the wiring for $20, even if it includes 20 foot run of 4 gauge stinger copper cable that probably cost $60 new.


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## Stück (Jul 3, 2011)

I feel like going out to my spare wiring bin and checking the composition of some of the big stuff. I'm pretty sure its all OFC, but I've never paid much attention to it. I mainly stick with Stinger and KNU.


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## so cal eddie (Oct 1, 2008)

Stück said:


> I feel like going out to my spare wiring bin and checking the composition of some of the big stuff. I'm pretty sure its all OFC, but I've never paid much attention to it. I mainly stick with Stinger and KNU.


Unfortunately, knu makes cca wire. Their higher end wire is copper, though. 

I will try to find the chart that I have, but it was from a scientific magazine testing wiring for a helicopter. They did various tests with copper and cca, and I was a bit shocked to see the results. Essentially, they concluded maximum power ratings for various gauge wire. 3 gauge copper and 1/0 cca wire were rated the same, and 10 gauge copper was equivalent to 6 gauge cca. I think I am remembering those correctly, as it was a bit shocking to me at the time. Maybe somebody paid them to skew results, I don't know, but it got my attention.


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

so cal eddie said:


> Unfortunately, knu makes cca wire. Their higher end wire is copper, though.
> 
> I will try to find the chart that I have, but it was from a scientific magazine testing wiring for a helicopter. They did various tests with copper and cca, and I was a bit shocked to see the results. Essentially, they concluded maximum power ratings for various gauge wire. 3 gauge copper and 1/0 cca wire were rated the same, and 10 gauge copper was equivalent to 6 gauge cca. I think I am remembering those correctly, as it was a bit shocking to me at the time. Maybe somebody paid them to skew results, I don't know, but it got my attention.


exactly right. aluminum does not conduct as well as copper, but it does conduct  to get the same ohms per foot as copper, you just need a larger gauge. if CCA is manufactured correctly it is perfectly effective. (no different that if copper is not protected from oxygen, it will corrode ALOT fast than aluminum.)


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## Stück (Jul 3, 2011)

so cal eddie said:


> Unfortunately, knu makes cca wire. Their higher end wire is copper, though.


Yup, I checked late last night and all the scraps and long runs I have are all the Flexs Kable, which is OFC. Phew...


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## bmxscion (Jan 31, 2011)

I just bought a bunch of CCA from Knu in 1/0 AWG to redo my grounds and power runs. I have some OFC wire installed in there now in 2AWG from the Kompressed line that Knu did like 5 or 6 years ago..





Is this actually a downgrade for me in doing this? I would have gotten the OFC in 1/0 but Knu is sold out until next month and I couldn't wait that long.


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## Stück (Jul 3, 2011)

^^^

Judging my the tests I just saw above on overall resistance, yeah.. it would be a downgrade IMO.


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## so cal eddie (Oct 1, 2008)

I have some pretty nice 1/0 pure copper wire that I'm going to be selling soon. I have several spools of ixos flat cable in silver. Some are full 50', while others have 17-20' left. I haven't decided on a price, but it is all new and pretty rare stuff. Check it out and there is a comparison to monster cable 1/0 copper wire. The stuff I have is not the cca ixos wire on ebay either.


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## bmxscion (Jan 31, 2011)

That flat IXOS cable looks nice. I really like that flatened cable because it layes under panels and carpet a lot nicer than big fat round wire. Only disadvantage I've found is that is does not has as much lateral flexability as opposed to round wire. I wasn't going to upgrage my wire at all, but where my positive wire goes into my fused distro block from the alternator gets hot and I noticed it the other day because it was so hot the rubber on the wire was smoking a little and that scared me. I also was charging a little high (15.1V) and it was during the time I was adjusting the voltage down a little that I noticed it getting hot. I am about 14.3-14.6V now.


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## Nismo (Jan 10, 2010)

I know this is an older thread, but I wanted to address the comments above. The issue you're having is due to a bottleneck in the current flow. If you install a fuse in a power wire, you're introducing a bottleneck (intentionally). If you exceed X amps, then the fuse burns in half. Your d-block is trying to do the same thing. There is a poor quality connection...right where its getting hot. What kind of fuses are you using?

If you were exceeding the capability of the wire, you'd be having that issue the whole length of the wire, not just at the d-block. Check your connections, and make sure they're very tight. I've seen where the fuse made a poor connection, and the brass output block melted through the plexiglass backing.

So again, no problems with your wire, just make sure you don't have a crappy setup for your d-block.

Eric


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## Gary S (Dec 11, 2007)

I would imagine cca is a way for companies to sell a big gauge wire for higher profit. I don't see any benefit to the consumer. It's a filler - Kind of like buying watered-down soap - or hot-dogs with fillers.


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## SynRG (Jul 30, 2007)

I ran across a product called CorrosionX. PacBell uses it to help with corrosion of telecommunications terminations in salt water environments. Some sporting goods stores sell it for fishing reels, boating, etc. It was originally developed for the aerospace industry to combat the tendency of dissimilar metals to interact and corrode, especially in aluminum based aircraft. Research of the product will detail how it works. Its great for corrosion on battery terminals, and will stop rust and corrosion. It also drives moisture out of the connection. Highly recommended especially for any electrical connection exposed to the elements, or where for instance you are grounding a copper-based wire to a steel chassis.


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