| Silence* |
I got my hands on a sub/amp/box for a good deal, But now the only thing I need is wiring and installing it - of which I have no clue as to what I'm doin', lol. Here's what I have:
Sub: Kenwood KFC W0311 (12")
Amp: Kenwood KAC-8103D (Class D)
Headunit: JVC KD-PDR50
Now, what kind of wiring should I use? And how should I go about installing it? I wanna do it myself so I can learn how to do it for in the future.
Thanks Guys! |
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| hontuner |
i recomend having the battery disconnected for this
alright, personally i would go with a 4 or 6 gauge wiring kit. Run the power wire from your positive battery terminal through your firewall whichever side of the car the positive terminal on the amp is. remove whatever you need all the way back to the trunk as far as plastic panels, carpet... whatever to hide the wiring. Get a wiring harness for the deck that is specifically for your car so you can wire in your deck. Run a small (eg.16gauge) wire from the back of your deck marked "remote" to the back in the trunk, hiding the wiring under dash panels and what not. Hook up all your wiring for your deck. and DO NOT leave any bare wires, if you have to, electrical tape them to prevent shorting out something. Somewhere about maybe ten inches after the battery, cut and install a fuse holder. this will prevent anything from being fried. Run your RC wires from your deck to the amp aswell. Now you need a ground. find a bare piece of frame to ground to. Attach something (screw into the metal for ground) and attach a 6 gauge wire to this screw/bolt and connect it to the negative terminal on the amp, postive from battery to amp, remote wire from deck to amp, and rca's to amp. |
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| hontuner |
| the tricky part in all of this is doing the wiring from the car to the deck. there is LF spkr +,- RF Spkr +,- blah blah blah, remote wire (tells the amp to power up), Antenna, power wire for the deck to power up, ground for deck (black wire always), and a bunch of other crap, but thats the main components that you need to get the system going. Then once your done the install, play around with the settings on the deck and the amp for tuning. It's pretty simple once you get a hang of it....... like learning how to ride a bike. If you have any really technical questions, PM me. if anyone else needs a system install for very cheap in edmonton, spruce or stony........ (780) 218-1238 Mike. |
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| Graphicdude |
| Getting the 4-6 gauge from the engine compartment to the amp is a bit of a bitch. Trying to find a grommet in the firewall to feed it through is probably the toughest part. It will take some time and 4 hands are better than 2 if you want it to go quickly. Make sure you have good lighting and a few flash lights. |
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| Silence* |
| Lucky for me me battery is in the trunk along with the sub & amp :p |
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| Dan_Gyoba |
Okay, first things first. You need to get signal to the amp. According to Crutchfield, your deck does not have subwoofer pre-outs, however, you can use the rear pre-amp outputs and the low-pass crossover on the amplfier. A sterep RCA patch cable will work well to get the signal to the amp.
It's a relatively low voltage signal anyway, so don't spend a fortune on signal cable, it's not worth it. It won't make much difference anywys, particularly since you're sending a full range signal which is going to get filtered for low-pass (Most noise is high frequency anyway.) Run your remote turn-on wire along with this.
Next, you need power to the amp. A class D is quite efficient, and doens't have the same current demands as a Class A/B does. 8AWG wire should be sufficient for this amp, as it will never draw more than 40A (If it does, the internal fuses will blow.) 4AWG is a waste, and is far more difficult to run.
Get a fuse holder! It should be in-line with the power wire, not more than 18" from where you connect it to the battery, preferably 12" or less. This fuse protects your car. 40A is sufficient for this amp (that's the rating of the on-board fuse anyway.) You may have to go with 50, as this is a more common value. This fuse is to protect your car/battery in the event of an accidental short in the line. The amp fuse protects the amplifier itself.
The power wire should be run away from other electronics, and also away from your signal cables. This CAN introduce noise into the signal, which should be avoided if possible.
For amp mounting: If you're not trying for a show car, under the passenger seat is a good place to mount amplifiers. This makes for shorter power/signal cable runs, though it doesn't show the amps off as well. It's also more work for a theif to take them out. All in all, this works well for practical mounting.
For the wires from the sub to the amp, I'd recommend at least 14AWG speaker wire, possibly even 12AWG. The amp puts out 300W to a 4 ohm load, which is respectable. Nice heavy gauge wire will do it good.
I'm assuming that you already have the deck installed.
For routing the power line: Try to avoid sharp bends, and any sharp edges in your car. Vibration is always a factor, and sharp edges can and will abrade away the insulation on your power wire until one day your fuse (you DID install a fuse, right?) goes pop. If you have to go near any metal edges, wire sheathing is a good idea, and if you need to drill any holes, make sure you use a proper grommet.
Enjoy your bass! |
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