hi there, as i have mentioned before i have a jvc kaboom that i want to use in the car the problem is the dc jack is not a common one and the car adaptor is not available in uk, so i have replaced it with a regular one from maplins it fits perfect so i would guess the special one was just to make you buy the jvc lead.

anyway my problem is i made a lead up with the correct polarity etc but im worried the gauge of wire wont be strong enough (it came from an old ac adaptor i just cut the adaptor off and replaced it with a cigerete socket plug) so how much power do you guys reckon a kaboom will draw on 12volt.

any help is much appreciated

1st pic origional socket.

2nd pic after (new socket).

bottom pic the home made lead.

You don't mention which one you have, so I'll assume you have the most popular "full-size" Kaboom (RV-B90, RV-B99, RV-NB1, RV-NB10, etc.).
The maximum power consumption of a full-size Kaboom is 43 watts, so at 12Vdc, the maximum current drawn will be a touch under 3.6 amps. However, unless it's run at full power, it'll use less than that most of the time.

From the picture it looks like the lead may be OK, but my advice is to try it & see.
When not driving the car, plug the lead in, power up & run the Kaboom at a high (but distortion-free) volume for a few minutes. If the lead starts to get warm, you'll need a larger guage of wire.
Now you've replaced the annoying, JVC specific DC jack, you'll be able to find a heavier guage lead easily (if you need it).

Let me know the model number of your Kaboom if you want a copy if the user manual...

ok thanks alot, i have tried it at half volume for an hour and no heat so i will see how it goes at least now i know the amps i have something to tell maplins

At 3.6A no problem as long as you keep both conectors and jack clean. Defective contact (caused by dirty) is the most common issue related to overheating.
Cable length won't be a problem. Power consuption has peaks but is quiet most of the time. Internal BBX capacitor stores energy when power demand is little and delivers its energy when power demand has a peak ... so the cable isn't stressed too much.

EDITED: Speelling mistakes ...

thanks all, its been used in my car for the last few nights and seems to be fine, the sound however is something else, in such a small space it really kicks, i was thinking about putting tweeters somewhere in the kaboom but after carefull listning i dont think it needs them it seems to do highs to the same frequency as my other bbxs it just doesnt squeeze them out with earpiercing volume like my 3d80 but they are there and seems to be more relaxing to listen to than the 3d, i always end up backing off the trebble on my other bbxs so maybe they are not needed.

those piezo things, im sure somebody said they cant hear them work, but i would say if you cant hear them they are not because they really screech when they pick up a note of the right frequency (especially those jingles you get on modern music)