Car AudioCar audio related questions and helpful hints for building the best sound system for your car or getting the most out of what you have.
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i have installed a new head unit, and am now adding a couple of 10" subs to my system on my 85' Z28.......
i have routed my RCA cables from my head unit and my blue amp power wire back to my sub box, down the LH side of the car.
i need to route the battery wire now.......question is this: where is the best place to punch a hole in the firewall to come through with the battery wire??? i would like to route it down the RH side of the car, since the battery is on the RH side, and the other wiring is routed down the LH side,
second question: where is the best place to ground the amp? mine will be mounted to the top of the sub box located in the rear of the car....thanks in advance for any input! rick
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mine is in a similar location, i routed the wire trough the fender and into the car were that little whole that send that wire to the doors is after that just under the carpet, i didnt do any drilling at all. as for grounding i drilled a hole into on of the panel in the spare tire area... the po drilled behing the pulldown motor cover
anyone else?? how did everyone else route their battery lead to the amp??
I drilled a hole behind the fender.
It comes out behind the kick panel
I didnt want to risk it
Its a b**ch drilling through there though(the metal is pretty strong)but if u make small pilot holes using small drill bits and progressively goin bigger it makes it a lot easier. (You prolly knew that, but I thought I put it here for anybody else reading =])
My car the battery was on the left side so I ran it obviously on that side. I just ran it to the firewall and drilled a hole(double checking like a million times that it wouldnt hit anything lol) and ran it through there with a grommet. I used 4gauge stinger wire and ran it all the way to the "lock box" were I hid my kentik power cell. Then ran the power to a dist. box and ran to both amps. Both amps and power cell are grounded on the RH side of the car(i will be changing to the LH side right near the power cell this time tho, i just put the power cell in there about 4 months ago so i havent changed it yet). Either way i just pulled all the plastic back there when i was running wires anyway so i just drilled a hole in the metal back there and grounded all three of my 4gauge grounds to that hole. It worked out good. Check my album(on bottom of my sig is a link) to see different pictures of the system installed and power cell location. It came out pretty good IMO. Nothing too crazy just two 12's and two 500 rms watt amps.
__________________ 91 Firebird-75,XXX-3.1L Mods so far: Custom air intake, K&N Filter, high-flow Magnaflow cat, 2.5 cat-back Super Turbo Dynomax dual out the rear, alpine head unit, custom box and amp rack, two 12in DB3 subs and two profile AP1000M amps, Kentik HC800 power cell, memphis front and back speakers, Compustar alarm system, Gtech PRO SS meter, Autometer A-Pillar guages, 16in GTA style rims w/ 245-50r16 tires, Directional treads in front, straights out back.
Upcoming Mods: Poly Bushings, LCA's, Panhard bar, SFC's, Wonderbar, Eibach Pro Kit, Koni Yellows, Front end rebuild kit, LS1 swap w/ 6 speed man. tranny, Aluminum Driveshaft, Limited Slip rear end, Shift kit, Window Tint, Grant Wheel, Autometer in dash gauges, Upgrade subs and do all componet speakers, New Paint will be the last thing to do.
thanks everyone for the input, i got the power wire routed last night, and am now ready to start hooking up the amp. i ended up coming through the RH fender and drilled a new hole behind kick panel to come into the car. i used a grommet in the hole. worked out fine.....rick
I never drilled a hole for the power wire, the fan over ride wire or the nitrous line. I ran them through the grommet for the steering wheel and never had a problem in 3 years. I don't believe in drilling in the car because at the end, you have a friggin hole in the car.
thanks for sharing.....but since the steering column is on the LH side (of my car) and i stated that i wanted to run the power wire down the RH side, it didn't seem like an option for me. i'm sure that eventually when i sell the car, the small hole BEHIND the kick panel on the lower RH side of my car will probably hurt the re-sale value tremendously, but i decided to roll the dice anyway.
thanks for sharing.....but since the steering column is on the LH side (of my car) and i stated that i wanted to run the power wire down the RH side, it didn't seem like an option for me. i'm sure that eventually when i sell the car, the small hole BEHIND the kick panel on the lower RH side of my car will probably hurt the re-sale value tremendously, but i decided to roll the dice anyway.
come through the firewall like said next to the column, and run it over the trans hump to the pass side, i wouldent drill on the pass side kick panel the engine harness runs through there....................
and dont run the rca's next to the power wire......................buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Easy regal 301, he is obviously new to car audio and will figure it out on his own when he gets noise through the RCA's. Regal 301, you seem to know what you are talking about so to clarify, he could've used the place I told him so his wiring wasn't running next to each other and he could also run into wiring. But hey, what does a mecp installer know about car audio?
i don't understand how i am going to get noise through the RCA's....i ran them down the RH side along with the blue amp remote wire. the power wire from the battery is ran down the LH side. are you suggesting that since the power wire is close to the engine harness, that i might have a prob? (being serious now)
also, another question, since you guys know more than i do admittedly. i read somewhere that it is best to ground the amp close to the amp location. how far can you safely go? can you ground to body or chasis either one? thanks
First question's answer is expect alternator whine, accessories to act funny and once in a while for your gauges to read inaccurately.
Second question's answer is it is best not to have more than 12 inches of ground wire between the amp and ground point. Use a body ground but make sure that the connection is very clean and tight. Scrape away any paint on the point of connection and use high quality connectors and wiring.
im cool............ lol ..........just want to be straight forward and clear...............
as long as the power is run down the opposite side of the car as the rca's you should be ok,and the amp ground should be to the body and as short as possible.
350 TPI-Dyno Dons Headers-MSD Dist. Cap and wires-Magnaflow Exhaust-2 12" Rockford Fosgate P1- Q-Forms Box-500watt American Sound Bass Amp-500watt Performance Techniqe 4Ch Amp-Eclipse Head Unit- 4x6 Performance Techniqe 2 Way Dash Speakers-6x9" Concept 3 Way Sail Panel Speakers
come through the firewall like said next to the column, and run it over the trans hump to the pass side, i wouldent drill on the pass side kick panel the engine harness runs through there....................
