How to connect the interior speakers to an amp?

[b33lz89]

Hello everyone... i just bought my first EP3, i gotta admit its way better than my integra... am gonna start working on it..first i need my music.. i bought Alpine Type R SPR-17S 4 speakers and tweeters with a alpine pdx-4.150 amp for about $500.. (I think its a good deal) but anyways.. how do i connect the speakers to the amp.. and what do u think the best place for the amp.. just to let u know am gettin another amp for my future subs... any advice would help... thank you

[gamma6]

what i did was ran speaker wire from the hatch (where my amp is) and wired it to the speaker inputs on the harness of my aftermarket stereo for the rear i just took the plastic covers that cover the top of the rear struts and run wire from from my amp to the speaker, i used a wire hanger to pass the wire thru...

[Supaduck]

which speakers are you planning on replacing? the front or rear. either way, you need an amp installation kit or a couple sets of wires. now then. first off, the amp. find a place to mount it, i chose to mount my front/rear speaker amp under my driver seat, planning on another amp+subs in the hatch but until then, wanted everything to look clean. anyways, find a mounting point.
Now then, you need to install the amp. (getting an amp installation kit has most of what you need, if not, read on) This includes PROBABLY 4 gauge wire, i do like knukonceptz wire. I myself used 0 gauge wire, but its a little bit of over kill and is harder to work with. The thicker, though, generally the better.

MAKE SURE YOU DISCONNECT YOUR BARRY+ TERMINALS BEFORE INSTALLING ALL THIS

you need it to go from your positive battery terminal, through your fire wall, and to your amp. best place to do this is through the hole under the steering wheel which is normally used for foglights. anyways, also, you wanted an inline fuse within like 10 in from your battery terminal, i suggest getting a 300 ampere fuse with that. so right now, that wire is + battery terminal -> (within 10 in) 300A inline fuse holder w/ fuse -> through firewall -> amp.

Now, you need to ground your amp, use the same gauge wire to ground your amp. Make sure the ground is CLOSE BY your amp, mine is about 6 inches away. you want your ground wire short. find a nice bolt on your chassis, use a wire brush or something to scratch off the paint to expose BARE metal, and use that to ground your amp. I made a new hold in my chassis under my seat to do this.

Your amp probably has a "remote start" thing to connect your amp -> head unit. you only need like a 16 gauge wire for this or something.

Now, for your speakers. what you need to get them to work are RCA cables (again i used knukonceptz RCAs). To connect your amp to your head unit. make sure you know where you are going to mount your amp, first. then find out how long you need your cables. and then you need to route your speaker wires. try to keep it looking clean and tucking them under the inner panels in your car. overall, your setup speaker wire setup should be amp->crossover-> tweeters+speakers. the tweeters and speakers should be hooked up to the cross over. make sure they go in their respective spots.

[b33lz89]

thanks a lot for the responses.. i am replacing both the front and rear..i just bought the wire kit and am gonna take Supaduck's idea try to mount it under the one of the seats... but can i use the positive cable thats gonna b running from the battery to 2 amps, or do i have to run another cable to the battery.. because am planning to install another amp.. 1 for the subs and 1 for the front and rear speakers

[Supaduck]

okay. just some tips. might wanna put it under the driver seat cuz the passenger seat goes back and forth alot, plus alot of people sit back there so might kick your amp. 2nd thing is wait out for drilling into your metal under your seat ,you dont wanna drill into anyything under your car. try getting some washers to make it so the screw doesnt go in too deep. you just need the screw to go in a little to secure the amp, not ALL THE WAY.

and for the 2 amps, i actually did that too. they're called distribution blocks. Look into kicker's 0/1 gauge 09PKD1. thats pretty much what i used but its a bit expensive, i found one for really cheap.
http://www.crutchfield.com/s_20609PKD1/Kicker-09PKD1.html?tp=1045
that's what you'll be looking at pretty much. it has 0/1 gauge wire running from your battery to the two distribution blocks. and then 4 gauge wire from the distribution blocks to my amp, and in the future, to my other amp lol. but yeah, just get a distribution block and you can put more than one amp to one wire from your battery. have my two blocks in my center console under the cup holder, to let you get an idea of how i ran the wires. NONE can be seen, and you might want to try to do the same. trust me, it was a PAIN. but it's worth it in the end. Or you can just get a professional to install it for you. but where's the fun in that. also, unless you have a lot of help. this will take you a LONG time, make sure you dedicate a weekend or something. dont think that anything will go as planned. you will hit problem after problem like i did. granted, it might work out for you till the end, chances are they wont. so be ready and dont get fustrated lol. you dont wanna half-ass this job!

[b33lz89]

Ur the best man these are great tips I guess am not gonna install it under my back seat anymore... am gonna take the time and do a really good job.. am gonna strip the car little by little n show some pics of how am gonna do it... a little diy

[Supaduck]

just to clarify >.> i mounted mine under my driver seat, i...dont think it would be a good idea to do it under a back seat since there would be no ventilation. yeah, take your time with this. the more patience you have the less of a chance youll break something and the better the final outcome will be. Also, if you pull off any panels are any of the like, do NOT use alot of force, things will crack so if something isn't fitting right while taking off or putting on, figure out why, dont try to just stick it on! goodluck! post again if you need more help!

[Mighty_Mouse_Ep]

A 300 amp fuse is WAY to big use like a 30 or 40 amp fuse. The whole idea with a fuse it to protect the system a 300 amp fuse will not blow and the amp or other components will fry.

[Supaduck]

A 300 amp fuse is WAY to big use like a 30 or 40 amp fuse. The whole idea with a fuse it to protect the system a 300 amp fuse will not blow and the amp or other components will fry.


Uh. you're kidding me? 30-40?
http://bcae1.com/
look up the fuse section. it will mostly depend on the ratings of the amps he uses, and the thickness of wire he's using. 30-40 amp fuses on 0/1 gauge wire right next to the battery? they'll most likely blow the moment the bass hits. granted, 300 may be a bit too big, i would suggest nothing lower than 125A for one amp, MAYBE two, and i guess 200A for two amps.

Doing some more research, the alpine pdx 4.150 has 2 fuses, both 30A. That's already a total of 60. To get the BEST fuse, you want to have no more than 10 less than the TOTAL amount of fuses for all the amps. So just with that one amp, he should be rockin a fuse thats minimum what..75A?

[VegaS10]

For the 4 channel, he could run it off an 8 gauge wire and 30 amps when it is set in "High pass" mode. Midrange amps draw virtually no current what so ever. If he runs it full range, ehh...you can go with 4 gauge, and toss a 60 amp fuse in it.

Depending on the sub amp, most folks are fine with 4 gauge wire. You'd have to have a HELL of a CONTINUOUS draw to need anything larger. Most people don't cruise around with the radio wide open ALL the time. For 15-30 minute bursts of audiom 4 gauge will be fine for 99% of all applications on sub amps.

[b33lz89]

well i actually got the 4 gauge kit... am going to install it soon... but i also was looking at sound damping... has anyone tried it... or know if its worth the time to install it?

[gettheledout]

I skimmed so I apologize if I repeat anything. Both of my amps, for the door speakers and sub, are both in the trunk. That way you can use one power wire and ground for both amps. A 4 ga kit may be fine for two amps, it depends on how much your amps need. Do a little math and use this http://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp