Setting up Sound System

Deeps · Post by **Deeps** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 12:50 am

I am trying to set up my sub woofers and my amp. I have wired everything except for the power wire to my amp. I am having trouble finding a way to connect the power wire for the amp to the cars battery, I cant find a way into the engine bay. I can see an unused rubber gromet on the passengers side but I think there is somthing else behind the srs airbag blocking it on the inside. If anyone has set up an amp in their fto or knows how I can connect the amp to my battery, I would appreciate any advice you have to offer.

Thanks all.

andy · Post by **andy** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 11:55 am

The power cable for my amp goes through a grommet in the baulkhead - presumably the one you are describing. It's directly behind the battery, below the windscreen wiper motor and behind an aluminium looking pipe that I think is part of the air conditioning plumbing. I have no idea what's on the other side - the amp was already fitted when I bought the car.

While we're talking about amp installs - my pet concern is making sure you fit a fuse in the power feed as close to the battery as possible. Nearly lost a previous car to a similar problem!

Deeps · Post by **Deeps** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 5:34 pm

andy wrote:It's directly behind the battery, below the windscreen wiper motor and behind an aluminium looking pipe that I think is part of the air conditioning plumbing.

andy wrote:While we're talking about amp installs - my pet concern is making sure you fit a fuse in the power feed as close to the battery as possible. Nearly lost a previous car to a similar problem!

Thats it. That is the gromet I am talking about. So you allready have an amp set up with it's power cable running throught that gromet? In that case I will try to get in closer to see what exactly is on the other side, or I might just feed an old cable through to see where it goes.

I am planning to use a fuse near the battery because I am going to be using a heavy duty wire which is capable of carrying 110 amps. So if I dont use a fuse, I will probably burn somthing out.

However, what did you mean you nearly lost a previous car? Do you mean it almost started a fire or somthing?

andy · Post by **andy** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 11:31 pm

Oh yes! (not an FTO though)

I had fitted an imobiliser under the dashboard and the insulation chaffed through and the wire shorted to earth. It went red hot and cut through all the nearby plastic dash. I was really lucky that I spotted it, before I left the car for the night. Lesson learnt.

Dr_Jones · Post by **Dr_Jones** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 4:03 pm

Fusing is not an option its very essential regardless of the size of the cable. Put it as close to the battery as possible.

hnm738 · Post by **hnm738** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 9:22 pm

is 10ma ok? as a fuse?

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 10:35 pm

i just got my sub & amps fitted last week and boy what a difference it made...

basically it's running a single 12" Phoenix Gold Tantrum sub in a sealed box firing into the cabin, powered by a Cadence Q4000 amp (200wrms bridged) and another pair of 65wrms feeding the front coaxes, all driven by a Panasonic MP3 deck.

i'm still 'running in' my sub therefore the crossover settings are still quite mild for the moment... by the end of this week or so i should be able to crank it up a bit more, muahahaha...!!!

Bluntman · Post by **Bluntman** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 12:41 pm

i got my stereo installed professionally by oak flats electronics, they did an absolutly fantanstic job, i had a look where they routed the power cable and it comes out of the drivers side firewall about half way up.... maybe they drilled a hole and put a grommet in as well, the only problem is that the fto doesnt have much room for i.c.e
heres a list of what i got and where it is:
double din headunit (internal amp)
6inch splits - 6inch in the doors, tweeters next to the windscreen
6x9 3way - rear parcel shelf
4 channel amp - under passengers seat
2 channel amp - under drivers seat
6 disc stacker - in centre console
2 10inch competition subs, in custom box - in the boot
(everything is alpine)

Deeps · Post by **Deeps** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 1:27 pm

Yeh, i might do the same. I have tried a couple of times to lay the power cable for the amp to the engine bay and no luck. I might just go and get it done professionally. That way I know it will be done properly and I dont have to waste my own time. Plus, if I get it done professionally I may be able to get a custom setup.

Thanx anywayz guys.

Daz_FTO · Post by **Daz_FTO** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 2:14 pm

Im 3/4 through my stereo setup. I have a Clarion 4x150w RMS amp running a 12" Eclipse sub and a pair of kenwood 7x10's (prefer these to pretty much all 6x9's) I ran the power lead for the amp through the passenger side also. I had to use a coat hanger wire as it quite difficult to feed through.

Oh something i found just the other day. As we all know run power down opposite side of car to your RCA cables..always!! Anyway my wanky mate decided he was going to help me out a little with the install (i only allowed him to do so as a social thing) My amp is located in the boot beside the sub. He ran the power and rca's for me (he wanted to.) he did run power and rca down different sides, however the tosser ignored the numerous cables he came across on the RCA side. I didnt pick up on this prob until i installed the sub - i then had a lot of engine hissing and even 'popping' when i depressed the brake and also when changing from park to drive...ick. I found that the cables he crossed over were the power leads for the rear lights (smart) and also alongside some alarm wires. I have since moved the rca's to run down the centre of the car to the boot. So, if you were to self install - do avoid crossing cables of any sort. Anyone can do a stereo install.

Deeps · Post by **Deeps** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 5:42 pm

Thanx 4 your reply Daz_FTO. Yeh, I used to have a sh*tty little gemini and I set up my stereo in that, I also quickly found out what happens if you bunch your RCA cables up with your power. With my FTO, my amp and subs are in the boot. I've run the RCA cables down the middle of the car and I've run the power for the amp down the left hand side.

So what did you feed your power wire through exactly? Did you use the available gromet I mentioned in an earlier post?

Let us know when your finished. (Sould post some photos)

Daz_FTO · Post by **Daz_FTO** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 5:56 pm

Yeah i used that grommet you spoke of. I had the help of a friend when running it though there. I sacrificed a wire coat hanger to feed the wire through the firewall. I fed it through from the engine bay side while my may lay upside down in the car with a torch and a pair of long nosed pliers. I then looped the power cable onto my coat hanger wire and began to feed it through. My mate saw the wire coming through pretty much straight away and i just had to adjust the angle i was feeding it so he could reach it. Took about 5 minutes for us to get it through - it wasnt simple, and would most likely been alo harder if there wasnt someone there to help me out.

I can take a couple of piccy's tomorrow and post them onto my website for you to look at if you want. Which angles would you want - i will do from within engine bay - so you know which hole i went in through and also from the underside of the dash where it enters the car.

Deeps · Post by **Deeps** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 6:15 pm

Ahh, I see. Well, it sounds pretty simple.

That would be heaps helpull if you could post some pics 4 me on your website. I'll check them out tomorow and I'll try to set it up after I take a look at the pics. Hopfully they will offer some more help.

It didn't matter much with my gemini coz it was a piece of sh*t, but I dont wanna mess around with my FTO unless I know exactly what Im doing.

Thanx heaps 4 your help and I'll check out them pics 2morrow.

Daz_FTO · Post by **Daz_FTO** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 6:23 pm

I was also a little reckless with my previous car - had a 1983 corolla, just cutting holes wherever i wanted

I am taking a lot more care with my FTO. I'll let you know when i have posted those pictures.

Deeps · Post by **Deeps** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 3:36 pm

Yes!! I have my stereo finally set up. I wired it up yesterday using Daz_FTOâ€™s method, within a few seconds I could see the wire underneath the SRS airbag on the passenger side. But since my friend had the wires and fuses sitting around in his garage for about a year, the fuses corroded and were unusable. Then I had a hell of a time finding the fuses, I went to Strathfield car radios â€“ no luck, I went to Dick Smith â€“ no luck, I went to Jay Car â€“ no luck (they have but not in stock). I was really upset and was about to go home, but I saw a JB-HiFi and I thought Iâ€™ll give it a go. What do u know, they had them so I got the fuses and now my music is blaring!!!

One problem though, the car now rattles like a tin can when the music is turned up. Is there anything I can get done for this like re-enforcements or something?

Thanx DAZ_FTO, your posts were really helpfull. Dont worry about the photos now. Thanx anyway.

Daz_FTO · Post by **Daz_FTO** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 4:27 pm

Yeah sorry about not posting the pictures - i went and took piccy's though. Had courses all last week for work so i didnt find the time to get them onto my website (slack i know)

My car has the same rattly problem - i havent got a solution yet but found that the heat-shroud?? (not sure of its technical name) that covers the muffler is a big prob. I have stuffed some cork up in there and it has dampened the rattle a bit - but there are many sources for the rattle. I think i need to go a bit crazy with some rubber lining and cork or other heat resistant crap in the warmer spots. I found teh car rattles less when the windows are down