Wiring in an amp?

[pony2]

I'm fitting a new system in my Touring. Electrics are not my strong point.

I have a Hertz EP4 x4 channel amp (380W), this is to be mounted in the RHS rear storage compartment. I'm pretty sure I need to use 4 gauge power cable from the battery to the amp.

My questions:
1. Will a shop bought power cable have a connector to fit directly to the battery?

2. A fuse needs to be located close to the battery, do I need to purchase this and wire it into the power cable?

3. Any ideas on a good place to connect the earth?

4. Am I correct in thinking that I will need sheilded RCA's from amp to HU and these shouldn't run near the power supply?

Excuse my ignorance in these matters, any help is greatly appreciated.
Tony

[GDBN]

Buy yourself an amp installation kit ... it should have all the bits you need, including connectors.
Your signal leads should run down the other side of the car than the power lead or you will most likely get interference.

G

[pony2]

Thanks G,

Will Maplin sell such a kit?

[pony2]

I now have the Maplin kit, just a couple more questions:

Where to mount the fuse holder? (pictured on battery)

Which is the best route to run the power cable, is it best to go through the rubber gromit, behind the battery in the picture? If so any tips on how to get the wire through?

Oh and a quick picture of my tweeters, I'm quite pleased with the fit.


Thanks.

[streetbassincuk]

hi,running your power cable through the grommet is ok,you might struggle a bit with 0-gauge or bigger,but anything smaller will be ok.cut a hole in the grommet,use some lube,such as silicon spray or even washing up liquid to make the cable slide through.then it.s bottom of the dash out to find it,where the ECU is,behind that on the fire wall.it's up to you where you mount the fuseholder,you will need to change the fuse from time to time,cos maplin kit fuses are cheap and break down.if you need any more help.gis a shout, as i have a touring with a custom install.....

[pony2]

Thank you streetbass, I just wanted to check before I began cutting holes.

Am I right in assuming the Maplin speaker cable which came with the kit will be of a poor quality despite saying "highest quality"?

[streetbassincuk]

i'm affraid so.....depending on your budget,thicker is better,i get all my stuff from 'caraudiosecurity'.may be a little pricey,but the kit is top notch.

[streetbassincuk]

also.....yes,run the signal cables the opposite side to the power cables to stop interference,run the amp remote wire with the power cable,as that is also a signal wire.earth point can be anywhere,either drill a new hole or go in on an existing hole,but make sure to sand down the area for a good earth.
is your battery strong enough? cos if it's weak,the amp will kill the battery,and you'll have to keep the engine running to maintain power.
nice placement of the tweeters there by the way......

[pony2]

Just popped out and got some 16 gauge speaker wire, much better than the Maplin stuff.

On with the install then, thanks again for the help with this.

[streetbassincuk]

ok, no worries. i've posted a couple of pix of my door builds,have a look at my topic.

[BadDave]

To run the power correctly,you need to fit 2 fuses,one at the front(within 12" of the battery) and one at the rear(so they blow if there ever happens to be a "short" somewhere along the power wire).

IMO re settable circuit breakers are a lot easier/less hassle to fit

You can run 4g power feed down the drivers sill,following the existing wiring.(under the carpet)
Just thread it through the plastic clips and then under the rear seat base and behind the boot trim to the rear cubby hole. This looks neater and doesn't leave a small bulge under the carpet.

Speaker/signal and the remote turn on for the amp can all go down the transmission tunnel.
If you remove the centre console, you can feed them all through under the carpet to a nicely placed hole under the front section of the centre console.T/his keeps it all neat n tidy

As your using a tourer, you'll find a philips head screw down in the RHS cubbyhole that can be used as an earth point
No need to drill a new one

HTH

[pony2]

Thanks mate,

I was going to run the speaker cable down the passenger side, those darn trim panels below the doors are a right pain. Think I'll go down the transmission tunnel route.

Already found the phillips head in the RHS storage for the earth.

Thanks.

[BadDave]

When running the cable along the transmission tunnel

Tape the signal/speaker wire/amp remote ends together then tape them to a peice of firm wire to get them from the back seat area to the handbrake or gearlever hole.
It save having to do one wire at a time.

[Alex]

just connect the fuse wire in line between the + and where it enters the bulk head you could secure it to the other loom that enters the bluk head with cable ties it you wish

[pony2]

Thanks for all the help.

It took a bit of time but finally the amp is in, just the HU to fit now.

Just goes to show how most jobs are straight forward once you get over the mental block.

[konfuzion]

i'm affraid so.....depending on your budget,thicker is better,i get all my stuff from 'caraudiosecurity'.may be a little pricey,but the kit is top notch.

Sorry to disagree.. I've heard the "thicker is better" argument so many times, but it's not correct.

I used to install professional audio / visual systems in shops, pubs and night clubs ranging from a tape deck and 2 speakers to multi-thousand pound installs (Dave & Busters in Bristol was £250k for example).. thicker != quality.



Regards,

Ian

[sati]

it depends on what speakers are going to be run off the cable. no use running 8awg wire to a set of 5.25 or 6 inch comps as they will no be drawing much current/power from the amp. for comp's i have allways used ture 12awg wire not fake stuff were the the wire is like 16awg and just has a big jacket on to make it the same size. but every one is diffrent and has differnt bugets. and the saying bigger is better is not always right. just my 2p