How To Install Amp And Sub In Vs Commodore
How to Install a Car AmpInstallingcar audio amplifiers is one of the trickiest things a newbie car audioinstaller can attempt. Car amp installation requires that all sorts ofpanels be removed and that various wires be run all over the car. Installingcar audio amplifiers is a step by step process which I have outlined here.If you have any questions please contact me. Please do not attempt a car amp installation if youare not comfortable with the process. Leave it to a professional.
Nowhere are the steps on how to install a car amp. There is also a wiringdiagram below. NOTE: These directions assume you have already physicallymounted your amplifier to a solid, non-conductive surface (non-metal). If you have not purchased your power wiring be sure to read this article on.
Id run your front splits and rear 6x9s off a 4ch amp as youve recommended, and in a commodore id run 2 12' subs, off a single monoblock. The gear i recommended would come to about $1250, plus the cost of your head unit, installation and sub box. Expect to pay $500 or so for the install. Then the sub amp, then match the 4 channel to it.
Best SeTUP For A VS CoMMoDoRE Car Audio. If you are looking for the best location to install your new car audio tweeter, you’ll need to keep in mind that there isn’t one solution because every car is different. However, regardless of the type of your car, the proper tweeter installation can make all the difference in a quality audio system.
Determine what side of the vehicle the battery is on. Disconnect thenegative battery terminal. If you have a radio with a security feature(such as a Delco-Loc, Eclipse ESN, etc.) make sure you know the reactivation or security codebefore disconnecting the negative battery terminal. Find a spot to run the power wire through the firewall. Try to findan empty rubber grommet that hides an unused factory hole.
You can justput a hole in this grommet and run your wire through. Ifthere is no factory hole you will need to make one.
Get out the powerdrill and steel drill bits. Before drilling make sure you know wherethe bit will end up once it's through the firewall. I usually make asmall pilot hole and then increase the bit size until the hole is bigenough for my wire. If you have a stepped bit (i.e. Uni-Bit) that would be great touse (see photo). I recommend them highly.
Protect the drilled hole edges from rust with paint or a similarmaterial. Don't skip this step. Installa rubber grommet (see photo) into the hole to protect the wire fromchaffing (VERY IMPORTANT!). Caulk the gap between the inner diameter of the rubber grommetand the power wire if necessary to prevent water from running down thewire. Larger gauge wire such as 1/0 will require a specialized grommet and a much larger hole.
StreetWires makes these type of two piece grommets which they call. Run the wire from the interior of the vehicle, through the hole andto the battery area, being very careful to avoid pinch points and movingparts in the engine bay. It's easier to push 5-8ft of wire through the grommet than the other 15-20ft from the battery side.
That's why you push the wire from the interior. Installan in-line fuse holder (see photo) for the power wire as close as possibleto the battery terminal connection (therule is within 18' but less is better ).
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT!!!!! This fuse protectsyour vehicle from burning up in case of the power wiring shorting out.It's not there to protect your audio equipment, it's there to protect your car. The wire between the fuse and the battery terminal will be unprotected,which is why you want this section to be as short as possible.The fusesize depends on the current the power wire will carry. Consult the owner'smanual of your amplifier(s) to find out the maximum current draw ofyour system. You can also contact the manufacturer and ask them forthat information. For multiple amplifiers you will need to add up themaximum current draw of each amplifier. Once you know the maximum currentdraw you'll know what size fuse to use.
For example, if your maximumcurrent draw is 50 amps then you'll need a 50 amp fuse. Do not insertthe fuse until all other connections are made! Connect the power wireto the battery using appropriate connectors for the wire and battery terminal. For more help on. Pull back the carpet in the area you intend to run the power wire.You will need to remove the rocker panel and kick panel covers to dothis. Snakethe power wire to it's final termination point (where your amp willbe mounted).
Be careful to avoid any pinch points such as seat tracks/doorjambs, etc. Depending on your application, you can connect the powerwire to the amplifier (using appropriate connectors such as ring terminals,see photo) or connect it to a power distribution block if you are using multiple amplifiers. Afteryou have your power wire run the way you want it, go back and use plasticwire ties to secure the wire in place. You may also want to cover the wirein the engine compartment with wire loom (prior to using wire ties).
You can find this loom at auto parts stores and. Now run the RCA cables and remote turn-on lead (typically a blue leadbut you will need to check your head unit's manual) from the back ofyour head unit to your amplifier's mounting location. You will needto follow a process similar to that of the power wire (steps 8 and 9).However, run your RCA cables on the opposite side of vehicle. You donot want to run power wires and signal cables on the same side of thevehicle. This could induce noise into your system. Connect the remoteturn-on wire to your amplifier using an appropriate connector (suchas a ring terminal). NOTE: The remote wireis what sends the signal telling your amplifier to turn on or off.
It is a veryimportant wire and your amplifier will not work without it.if you don't have a remote wire or are using a factory headunit. For multiple items using the remote wire you will want to. Now run your speaker wires between your amplifier and your speakers.If you need to run wires through the interior of the vehicle, make sureyou run them on the same side as the RCA cables.
You do not want to runpower wires and speaker wires on the same side of the vehicle. Thiscould induce noise into your system although it is less likely than picking up noise through the RCA cables. Connectthe speaker wires to your amplifier using appropriate connectors (suchas ring terminals) and to your speakers using the appropriate connectors(such as female spade terminals, see photo).
Most speakers have two terminals of varying sizes. The larger terminal is the positive terminal and the smaller is the negative terminal. NOTE: If your speakers were previously connected to (powered by) your head unit you will need to first disconnect the speakers from the head unit. You cannot have your head unit AND your amplifier connected to the speakers. This will cause damage to your electronics. Now you will need to connect the negative terminal of your amplifierto the chassis ground of your vehicle.
Any metal point on the vehicleshould work since they all lead back to the negative terminal of thebattery. This negative power wire should be short and of the same diameteras the positive power wire leading to the battery.
When connecting thenegative power wire to ground, you may need to scrape some paint fromthe grounding surface. If you have a Dremel type tool with a metal brush these work great (wear eye protection). This will ensure better contact between the negativepower wire terminal and the vehicle ground. After you have the negativeterminal connected to ground, cover the connection with paint, caulkor a similar protective material to prevent rust (corrosion = noise).
CAUTION: Ifyou must drill a hole in the vehicle to connect the chassis ground,make sure you know what you're drilling into. This is especially importantwhen you are in the area of your vehicle's gas tank. A wrong move herecould puncture the tank, cause a spark and set your vehicle on firewith you in it! If you are unsure then consult a professional. After all connections are in place and all wires are secured, youmay insert the main power wire fuse. If you are you will need to charge it first. This can also be done at the fuse holder.
Reconnect the negative battery terminal. Congratulations! You just installed a car audio amplifier. Now you'll want to. See the instructions below.You may also be interested in How to Install Your Own Car Stereo System.
It covers many topics including in depth car audio amplifier installation.Level and Gain Setting for Car Audio AmplifiersLevel setting, done by ear, is more art than science. It can be doneusing an oscilloscope but since few people have one of those laying aroundwe'll cover doing it by ear. Basically you want to start with the firstcomponent in the chain (the head unit) and work your way to the last component(the amplifier). NOTE: You can be exposed to very loud volumes during this process so it is wise to wear hearing protection in most cases. You should still be able to hear the distortion through the attenuated hearing protection.
Start by turning all of the input level adjustment knobs (gain controls)on your components fully counter-clockwise (to their minimum setting).Set the tone controls (bass, treble, loudness) on your head unit tono boost (bass and treble level = 0 and loudness is off). If youhave more than one RCA pair you will want to set each gain adjustmentseparately. Make sureyour fader and balance controls are set to the channel you want to adjust first. This can be an individual channel if you have individual gain adjustments or a pair of channels if you have one gain for two channels.
Next set all of your equalizers settings (if you have an equalizer)to the center (detent) position so they produce no boost or cut. Whatwe want is as pure a signal as possible. Put in some good quality source material, preferably a CD with strongoutput and a clean recording. Hard rock would be a bad choice here.Try something cleaner, maybe acoustic, that you're familiar with.
Turn the deck's volume up slowly until you begin to hear distortion.When you hear it, stop and back off slightly until you no longer hearit. If you don't hear distortion, even when the volume is all of theway up then you have a quality head unit. That's what we're lookingfor.
Now with your head unit at maximum undistorted volume move on to thenext component. Adjust it's input gain until you begin to hear distortion.Back off slightly. Continue this process until you have all of the components in thechain at their maximum undistorted level. When you reach the amplifiers you may need to wear hearing protection to adjustthem to their maximum level.
How To Install Amp And Sub In Vs Commodores
As before, turn up the gain until you hearaudible distortion. This should be audible even with earplugs in. But honestly, if you have to wear earplugs to listen the distortion level is probably not a factor:)That's it. Play some music and verify that everything sounds right. Congratulations!You've just learned to properly adjust the settings on your car audiosystem.If you have any problems after the installation be sure to read over these three articles.