Audio wiring.

[R1ch85]

Going to be getting an amp for my car soon and am after a bit of advice about wiring.. I've been looking round the web and seen alot mentioned about "the big three".

As far as i'm aware, this includes..

1) alternator positive to battery positive
2) battery negative to chassis
3) engine ground to chassis

what i'd like to know is.. has anyone done this?
where are all the above mentioned points?
what complications am i likely to face?

The power wire for the amp has already been run by the previous owner so that is no problem.

Thanks in advance

 

[Ruski]

I "think" your getting confused.

If, for example your installing an amplifer in the boot do this;

Run a Good quality power cable from the battery, through the bulkhead all the way down to the boot, might have to carefully remove some trip and carpet as you don't see the cable. Also DO NOT FORGET to run an inline fuse as close to the battery as possible.

Run a remote cable from your headunit to the boot, do this the same side as your power cable.

Run the RCA cable from your headunit but on the othe side of the car away from the power cable.

When you earth the system, get a nice fat piece of "pref" black cable short as poss and earth it to a good point and then run it to your amp.

If you do all this, that should be all you need with no interfearnce and good quality sound. Will not need to worry anymore about the battery/earth etc.

Russ

 

[Ibiza 130 tdi]

If you need help on wiring it from front battery to boot - give us a shout. I have a step by step picture guided....guide!

 

[R1ch85]

all of the wiring for an amp is already run, the previous owner did it all and left it in (including a set of JL VR650-CSi components ) all i need is an amp.

I was looking on the talk audio forum and "the big 3" got mentioned alot so thought it would be worth looking into to ensure the system is charging the battery properly.

 

[Ibiza 130 tdi]

I was looking on the talk audio forum and "the big 3" got mentioned alot so thought it would be worth looking into to ensure the system is charging the battery properly.

I have a live from my battery, earth to the metal in my boot, Remote lead from the headunit. think that's it. and it's fine. i can listen to it for an hour + with the engine off and the battery not die.

 

[Ibiza 130 tdi]

Can i interest you in this Rich? http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=147619&page=4

 

[R1ch85]

ah right.. so i only really need to look at these if i intend to listen to it with the engine off alot?

I rarely, if ever listen with the engine off so im guessing that the wires that i have in the car already will be enough

really cant believe the last owner left everything behind still, its all quality stuff! :| ive got my own set of components too so im gonna put them in the back and get a 4 channel amp to power them and the fronts.. will have to experiment to see which set sound best up front tho. Any ideas? My Rockford P162S, or the JL's? Both are 60wrms.

Also while im here, what kind of amp power should i be looking at? Ive not had an amp before and am looking at the Rainbow iPaul which is 90x4 wrms.

 

[Ibiza 130 tdi]

I reckon you should be ok with just those wires. Never heard about using the battery earth and alternator before!

I don't have a clue with amps. I reckon the more power the better! Although mines a cheap one I'm borrowing.

 

[R1ch85]

Can i interest you in this Rich? http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=147619&page=4

just posted in that thread feb is a long time away tho and my memory isnt that great lol...

 

[R1ch85]

I reckon you should be ok with just those wires. Never heard about using the battery earth and alternator before!

I don't have a clue with amps. I reckon the more power the better! Although mines a cheap one I'm borrowing.

apparently wiring those up helps the system charge as you'd be improving the wires between the points with 4awg + cable, pref 0awg supposedly helps stop your headlights dimming on loud bass hits tho i dont have a sub so i wouldnt know lol

take a look here... http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1~TPN~1

 

[Ric 2001]

To stop lights from dimming I added a 0wg piece from the negitive side of the battery to the original grounding point.

 

[sparcoracer87]

Do you guys amplify all of the speakers in the car or do you just run a sub off of it?

 

[Ric 2001]

I've replaced all my speakers, and amping them from 1 amp running at 2ohms and running a seperate class D amp to power my sub.

 

[R1ch85]

Do you guys amplify all of the speakers in the car or do you just run a sub off of it?

ive changed all the speakers, gonna amp them up with a 4 channel amp. Dont have a sub atm but hopefully next year ill get one and a separate amp to power it

 

[Ric 2001]

Get a 2 channel amp and run it at 2ohms (make sure amp can handle this though), and sometimes can costs less.....

Example:

2 channel amplifier
2 x 100w RMS @ 4 ohm
2 x 200w RMS @ 2 ohm
1 x 400w RMS @ 4 ohm
Variable hign & low pass filters
RCA inputs
RCA outputs
Cast aluminium heatsink
Remote bass controller
60mm H x 270mm W x 290mm

Cost £175

So basically you can run 4 speakers at 200w if you wire them in parellel. Also thats if your speakers can take that.

The only downside from this setup is the fact you lose the fading capabilities which many people really don't care for all that much anyhow.

 

[R1ch85]

my speakers are 60wrms and 120 peak so i doubt theyd take 200

ive got about £300 to spend on an amp for my components and am seriously considering the Rainbow iPaul.. heard it last month running a set of rainbow components and it sounded great! Looks pretty nice too. Its 90x4 at 4ohm.. should my speakers be able to take that?

 

[Ric 2001]

Rainbow comps are high quality speaker so..... couldn't comment. My comps set me back £300 at the time. I've coupled them with a £120 2 channel amp running the above and it sounds quality to me.

 

[Ibiza 130 tdi]

apparently wiring those up helps the system charge as you'd be improving the wires between the points with 4awg + cable, pref 0awg supposedly helps stop your headlights dimming on loud bass hits tho i dont have a sub so i wouldnt know lol

take a look here... http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1~TPN~1

Yeh the thicker the gauge wire the better sound quality and performance.

 

[Deleted member 13581]

If your looking for a minted amp for reasonable money try the JL Audio 4 Channel amp. Im sure it come in around £200-£250 and it top notch.

 

[Poverty]

www.caraudiosecurity.com

cheap as chips.

Rainbow componenets are **** hot thats why they sounded so good. Personally I wouldnt go for a rainbow amp though.