amp wiring

[93v6firebird]

got an amp that I'm installing myself...the amp is gonna be in the trunk, where is a good place to run the ground? also, where should I go through the firewall for the power, and what is the easiest way to get the interior up to run the signal, remote on, and power from the back to the front?

[megabass]

For grounding the amp, find someplace solid. There's a hole in the bracket that holds the hatch lock mechanism on. Use that. As for the power wire, there is a rubber grommet on the passenger side. I used a piece of wire and fished it through the grommet. Some say to remove a a couple 10mm bolts and take something off that is in the way, but I didn't have to. This wire will come out behind the glove box area. You can remove the door and kick molding and run the wire under there all the way to the back. I ran all my amp turn-ons and RCAs down the middle of the car, but on top of the carpet. You can go under if you want but that's more work. I tucked all the wires under the console and and then shot them between the rear seats and then once behind the upright section of the rear seat, I ran them over to the driver's side and behind the trim panels. I only have about 4" of wires showing on top of the carpet. It's hardly even noticable.

Here's my power lead and yes, I tied into the aux stud. It was easier and I'm not drawing that many amperes. My wire is 8 ga. Might upgrade to 4 ga. though. Make sure you put a fuse up near the battery.



[ January 02, 2002: Message edited by: megabass ]</p>

[SunsetOrange98Camaro]

Megabass pretty much summed it up. When I did mine I had to remove the computer that he was referring to. I used 4 gauge wire so it was a lot bigger and harder to hide. One suggestion for you (if you have enough power wire) is to actually run the wire in on the passenger side then cut across the dash to the drivers side, then under the carpet next to the tranny tunnel, then through the plastic trim in the back seat all the way to the trunk. Then this will allow you to run your RCA's and turn on lead down the passenger side under the carpet or trim (if it will fit). This keeps your RCA's from all kinds of electronics in your dash that could cause noise in your system. Also use the ground that megabass mentioned. It is the piece of metal that holds the lock mechanism for the trunk. There is a screw there that should already have two grounds going to it. Hope this helps.

[93v6firebird]

its fused at 20amps... is 10gauge wire good enough for the power?

[massivefirebird]

It should be ok with 10 ga.

I ran mine through the driver's side. There's a soft spot where all the factory wires go through. I had to drill it though because it's 2 ga wire, and wouldn't fit with all the other wires.

Be sure to route your power wire on the opposite side from your RCA jacks. You can route the remote wire with the power wire.

You can ground the amp to the rear... just remove your left panel and your right panel(with the car jack in it), then remove the carpet lining the rear of the trunk. There should be a bolt there with a wire hooked to it. Be sure to sand down the paint before you ground it here!

[massivefirebird]

Oh yeah, try to keep the ground wire as short as possible, and keep it the same gauge as the power wire... [img]smile.gif[/img]

[93v6firebird]

damn it... it has to be the same gauge as the power wire!? why?? power wire is 10 and the ground is like 16-18 or something... booklet said the gound and power could be different (they said power had to be at least 2mm and ground 1mm thick...) why should they be the same?

[TheRealWave]

All the power the amp sucks in doesnt just dissapear. [img]tongue.gif[/img] It needs the same size or bigger ground wire so it can safely release the power and complete the circuit. If you have a big Power wire and a small Ground wire, there is a risk of having more current go through the ground wire than it can handle. Thus causing it to heat up the wire, possable melt the rubber and cause a fire. You dont want a car like Big Green Bird [img]graemlins/crybaby.gif[/img]

Edit:
But then again, if the booklet that came with the amp said it would be ok, your probally fine.

[ January 03, 2002: Message edited by: TheRealWave ]</p>

[MTMike]

If you're running 10awg +12VDC then you will want nothing smaller than 10 awg gnd wire. You may even wanna go with 8awg for gnd. Also, like others said, try to keep the gnd wire as short of possible - prefereably 18" or less
This is where I grounded mine:

http://www.redlineenterprises.com/mt...reo/ground.jpg

That is behind where the factory Bose sub was, in the driver side of the well of the trunk. It's bolted to the fender, in that mounting hole there (the plastic in the background is the rear marker lamp). I dremmeled the paint off for a good connection. That's a terminal lug with a 1/4" hole, and then heat shrunk for a professional look.

I ran 4awg all the way throught, but I had the intention of adding another amp back there, so I really only needed 8awg.

-Mike

[93v6firebird]

well then it would be ok just to run 2 lengths of 16 gauge ground wire, right? cuz I dont really wanna go out and get more wire cuz I cant deal w/ the slowness of the employees lol

[MTMike]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 93v6firebird:
well then it would be ok just to run 2 lengths of 16 gauge ground wire, right? cuz I dont really wanna go out and get more wire cuz I cant deal w/ the slowness of the employees lol<hr></blockquote>

It doesn't quite work like that.

When you double the surface area (ie doubling up the wire), you gain 3 guages. Example. 2 16's would be only 13 awg. 4 16 awg (2 pairs of 2 - 13awg) would be 10 awg.

So to achieve the equivilant of 10 awg, you would need 16 awg quad-ed up.

-Mike