Power amp wires..where to?

JDMCivicB16B · March 2005

well..i am having a little difficulty. I figured out the power wires go into a dist. block..to the amps..but where do the power go to? the battery under the hood? and how do i hook it up to my stock battery?

swerve · March 2005

take it to circuit city and let them do it for you.

then once you see how it's done... you'll know for the next time.

-adam

exalted512 · March 2005

i got a ring terminal for the right size power wire i had and hooked it up with the rest of the wires at the battery
-Cody

swerve · March 2005

Originally posted by exalted512
i got a ring terminal for the right size power wire i had and hooked it up with the rest of the wires at the battery
-Cody

something about your post makes me laugh.

-adam

JDMCivicB16B · March 2005

oh thats right..circuit city does have a install bay. yea i guess i let them do it. thanks

MacLeod · March 2005

Dont waste your money.

Do like Cody said. Get a ring terminal and run your power wire from the dist block to the battery. Make sure you stick a fuse within 18" of the battery and before it passes thru the firewall.

JDMCivicB16B · March 2005

so i should wire it to a empty hot spot on the fuse box..and then run it to the battery?

i know the ring terminals you are talking about.i bought an amp kit..that came with them.

MacLeod · March 2005

No you use a fuseable link. Like this one.

From the battery you run the power wire to the fuse, then thru the firewal to the dist block then from the dist block to your amps.

Nuttin' to it.

JDMCivicB16B · March 2005

ok i can understand that, that sounds simple. I have another question. Where is the best place to ground? and i am going to need 2 dist. blocks, one for ground also?

MacLeod · March 2005

You dont need a ground dist block but they do make things neater and more secure so theyre never a bad idea.

For a ground, ideally use a seperate location for each amp. Find a good piece of metal under the carpet somewhere and sand all the paint off and then drill a hole thru it (make sure there isnt a gas tank or brake lines on the other side!!). Then use another ring terminal and bolt it thru there.

JDMCivicB16B · March 2005

so Ground it to the chassis? and How does a ground dist. block help out?

MacLeod · March 2005

Well, if youre going to have a single ground running to 2 or more amps it makes the connection a little more secure as opposed to simply splicing the wires together.

neomagus00 · March 2005

you don't necessarily need to drill a new hole... for example, i'm grounded to a seatbelt bolt (and it's pneumatic-wrenched in WAY beyond all sane amounts of torque

). and, ground distros help because it can get entertainingly difficult splicing 2 4-gauge wires together, not to mention 3 or more.

MacLeod · March 2005

Thats what I did.

Both my power wire and ground are all spliced.

I took the 4 guage power and stripped it down about 4 inches then strippid off about 6 inches on each 8 guage power wire and then wrapped them around the 4 AWG wire then taped the hell out of em with duct tap. In 15 years I have yet to use a distro block and havent had anything catch on fire! Except for the time I used cheapo Radio Shack 10 AWG and it shorted on something under the seat!

neomagus00 · March 2005

mac, that is honestly the most ghetto thing i have ever heard of. you are my hero.

JDMCivicB16B · April 2005

Also..i bought a LCD screen online..waiting for it to get here..i want to pre-wire it..how do i get power to it? and how do i wire for a video and audio signal? i am going to put a ps2 to it also.

LittleCar_w/12s · April 2005

Hehe.. Mac, that reminds me of an install I did.
The person wanted cheap install, so that's what I gave em. and when their amp wire was too short, I used some scrap I had of similar 8GA. I joined them by opening up the strands then wiggling the ends into each other about half an inch. That got E-taped and worked great. I told her "dont pull on it, no matter what!"

MacLeod · April 2005

Eh. I didnt have the cash for the distro block not to mention the room to mount it. I guarantee you my connection is just as good as any distro block could be and with the amount of tape I used there is no chance of if shorting out due to scraped off insulation.

Plus, Im not a big fan of showing off wires. Right now my install looks like **** but once I get my sub, box and amp board built, the only wires youll be able to see will the 2 inches or so of wire that comes thru the ampboard and into the amps.

And actually I have invisioned making some kind of cover that I can set on top of the amps so only the top half of the amps, above the wires connestions, are visible. I know this isnt anything revolutionary but if I can pull it off with my limited skill it will be!

neomagus00 · April 2005

Originally posted by MacLeod
if I can pull it off with my limited skill it will be!

oh, come on, we all know you can do this

still a good idea, though, even if it's not original. i personally like showing a bit of wire, if it's done neatly and on purpose; like arranging the speaker wire on inverted subs, or having all the wires from the amp fan out and then disappear. either way is good.

MacLeod · April 2005

And there is nothing I hate MORE than inverted subs! :mad:

Stick the damn things in the box the way they were meant to be!! And pull your damn pants up!!

neomagus00 · April 2005

haha... it's okay, i wear a belt. and the sub in my room is inverted because i built the box too small... i would never do that to a real sub.

LittleCar_w/12s · April 2005

Just out of curiosity, neo, how does inverting the sub do for the sound

MacLeod · April 2005

It does basically nothing. Its just for looks.

People who invert their subs are the same people that buy Audiobahn equipment!

neomagus00 · April 2005

Originally posted by MacLeod
People who invert their subs are the same people that buy Audiobahn equipment!

hey, that was uncalled for!

and it actually does nothing to the sound, you just get more space in the box (for me, more air and no polyfill sounded better than less air and more polyfill).

MacLeod · April 2005

Originally posted by neomagus00
for me, more air and no polyfill sounded better than less air and more polyfill.

And a properly built box in the first place with the sub INSIDE like its supposed to be is even better!

swerve · April 2005

Originally posted by MacLeod
And a properly built box in the first place with the sub INSIDE like its supposed to be is even better!

*spouts off the infamous MacLeod box joke!*

heh

MacLeod · April 2005

Originally posted by swerve
*spouts off the infamous MacLeod box joke!*

heh

AustinKP · April 2005

Originally posted by JDMCivicB16B
ok i can understand that, that sounds simple. I have another question. Where is the best place to ground? and i am going to need 2 dist. blocks, one for ground also?

Little late, but there is a good way to know if you have a good ground location. Take a voltmeter and place it across the battery terminals. It'll read something like 12.8 volts. Then to find out if you have a good ground location in the trunk or whatever, place the voltmeter leads from the + power wire to the potential ground location. It should read the same voltage. If it's less, you need to scrape off the paint, or find a better location.
-Austin

MacLeod · April 2005

Ahhh, I never though of that. Good point.

Power amp wires..where to?

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