wiring questions?

[97noma]

ok im about to wire my JL 12w3's and my JL 500/1 but i have a few questions. first off my amp wiring kit is a JL with a red power wire running into a fuse block and a black wire that is only about 5 feet long.i know that the red wire connects to the battery but how do you connect it?? its about 20 feet of red wire runnin into a fuse block and thats it.theres nuthin to hook to the battery. where does the black wire go to?? and where do i run the wires through the firewall??
i hope i wasnt askin too much but this is the first "system" that i have ever wired and i need answers soon.
thanks

[97noma]

i posted this on s10planet.com too so hopefully i get some answers and get this all wired tonight
thanks

[Importh8tr]

Okay, as for the black wire, it is just a ground wire, basically it goes grounded to the vehicle (some sort of metal, ie the bolts that hold the seat down, or panel bolts) As for the red wire, you can wire this direct to your fuse box instead of going direct to your battery, just make sure that the fuse you use is consistent with the fuse on the amp. This will eliminate you question about hooking up the cable to the battery and also about running the wire through the firewall. Make sure the fuse you connect to only has power when the ignition switch is on "only" otherwise it will consistently drain your battery. As for connecting the cable to the fuse, splice it and wrap the wires around the metal portion of the fuse then plug the fuse back in, making sure no part of the wires are making contact with other fuses.

Hope this helps, there are lots of different ways to wire your amp, you can also choose to go direct to the battery, but you will still have to run a wire to your fuse to the remote on the amp, so it will cut power when the switch is off. I've found that the above mentioned method is usually the quickest and easiest method to hook it all up. Especially since it's your first time.

Good Luck and let you know how it turns out!
Chris

[Matt]

With an amp that powerful though, it would be MUCH, MUCH, MUCH safer to go straight to the battery, plus it really isnt that much more wiring, and the new wiring that you need is much simpler than going to a pre-existing fuse panel. Your amp will also be able to run cooler and more efficient due to more consistant supply voltages.

You might have to purchase a short length of wire to go from the battery to the fuse block included in the kit OR cut about a foot of wire from the 20' length. Either way, you should have a short length of wire from the positive of the battery to the fuse block and a long length from the block to the amp. Closer to the battery the better with the fuse. Ring adapters or other battery terminal adapters are a huge installation and appearance plus. Try to use the shortest amount of wire possible. Also MAKE SURE you are using the proper guage power wire for that length of run (500 watt amp and a 20ft run youre looking at a 6 guage wire. 4 guage is good as well, and 8 might work, but I wouldnt try it espeically if youre looking to max out your amp on a regular basis)

The best spot I've found to run a power wire of that size (on my '98 blazer granted) is through the radio antenna grommet, located below the dash on the passengerside, but above the panel. For my 4 guage, I simply cut a small hole in that grommet next to the antenna lead, pushed the wire through and siliconed the inside of it. Its a nice location becuase the power wire comes out right under the AC/Blower unit on the same side of the engine compartment as the battery.

The ground (black wire) should also be as short as possible. If you only need 2 ft, cut 3 ft off. Same guage as power wire. Make sure its grounded to something very solid that leads to the frame, like the seat bolt mentioned. Grounding to a weak ground like a thin body panel or ground wire for lights will typically make your amp perform sub-par, especially under heavy loading, and could melt the smaller wire or could warp a body panel if you use too much power. (shouldnt be an issue with your amp, but really who wants to find out, especially if the seat bolt is only 12 inches away?)

To turn the amp on an off, like Import was saying, the absolute best way is from the Head unit/deck/cd player (whatever you want to call it). Nearly all aftermarket units have a "Remote" lead which 95% of the time is blue. This turns your amp on only when the stereo is on. (allows for the amp to be off when the car is on, because if you dont need it on, why have it on?) This wire is run striaght from the deck to the amp and can use very small guages (16-20 guage) as the voltages and currents are extremely tiny.

Also just as an FYI... Run your power wire on one side of the vehicle and your RCA wires on the other. This will drastically cut down on interference and noise in your amp signal.

[T Man]

im gonna have to disagree with importh8ter, infact that is about the worst way to hook an amp/sub/system up.

I would wire it directly to the battery. This will give you a cleaner sound, the battery acts as a filter. The black wire is your ground. I am gonna have to assume that it is 4 gauge wire, given the system you are planning on pushing. If there is nothing coming out of the fuse block on one end, just snip 18" off the other end and hook it up to the fuse block. The fuse is never supposed to be more than 18" away from the battery. There should also be a small wire that is almost as long as your power wire, that is your remote turn on. basically what this does is turns your amp (and system) on when the radio is on, and off when it is off. (saves the battery wouldnt want your amp on when the car is off and you arent in it now would you?). If you are running a stock radio, you are going to need a piece that hooks up to your stock speaker wires, and converts them to lo level inputs, basically it makes a place for your RCA cables. (at our store it is less than $10 and after reading what you are planning on installing, that shouldnt be too much) If it isnt a stock head unit, there should be rca jacks built into the back of it. The RCA cable is the one with plugs on either end. If you dont have some, you will need them, otherwise no sound will be sent to your system. As far as running the wires. If it isnt a manual trans, there will be a dent in the firewall, about where the clutch linkage would be. take a drill bit and drill a hole just a little bigger than the size of the wire. !!!!!Very important!!!!! Put a grommet in there. ask for one at a local car audio store. if you dont, you will wear a hole in your wire and short out the system = no sound!!!!!! Run your wires from the front to the back. so start from the battery and go from there. dont hook up the power wire, because everytime it touches the body, you are gonna spark and possibly blow your fuse. the Remote turn on wire will hook up to the back of the cd player if it is aftermarket, if not, tap it into the red wire. your yellow is a constant power, black is ground, red is the turn on for the radio when the key is on. the Remote turn on does not need to be fused. it is fused by the fuses on the amp, and the radio fuses. it would be compeltly unnecessary. The ground can be grounded anywhere. I chose to ground to a body bolt, but you could also do the seatbelt hold down bolt (make sure you torqe it back down to specs though). remember, you are gonna have a lot of voltage running through this, so as a general rule make sure the bolt is close in size to the wire (dont ground your 500watt system to a dash screw is what im saying) pm me if you need anyother advice, im usuallyon in the mornings when i am at work, and i can tell you all you want to know, i have all sorts of manuals there. ask superchargedzq8 also, i know he used to be big in the car audio comp. he will know lots more than i do.

the best piece of advice i can give, is to have someone who has done one or two hookups be there with you to help you. fortunately i had a certified installer help me with my first system, and look at where i am now!

[Matt]

Looks like we were typing at the same time, huh Tman?
But HA! mines got paragraphs!!!!!

[T Man]

looks like it. yours might have paragraphs,

BUT MINES LONGER!!

[Matt]

Wanna bet?!?!? jk

[T Man]

My Post Perv!!

[Supercharged-ZQ8]

It looks like I'm rubbing off on you guys! Sheesh! Novel-length posts! But, Matt and T Man are correct -- I couldn't have said it better myself, and I'm an MECP-certified installer (been doing this for almost 20 years and still love it). The only thing that I can add is that you NEVER want a ground wire longer than 24" -- RFIs can bleed into a system and garble the sound if the wire is longer than that.

What the heck are RFIs? Radio-Frequency Interferences. What is an antenna? It is a long piece of metal that pulls in electrical noise. What is a ground wire? A long piece of metal that pulls in electrical noise. The main thing that a lot of people don't realize is that the ground isn't just there to complete the circuit -- it is also there to act as a bleed-off for RFIs. Think of the ground wire as a pipe. The longer it is, the easier it is for an external source to go UPstream. The shorter it is, the better the current flows to ground and the RFIs will be carried along with that current and dissipate into the vehicle's chassis, and leave your signal clean.

Also, if the RCA cables that came with the kit have a ring terminal on each end, do NOT use that as an amp turn-on wire (Remote wire) -- that will also kill your signal. That extra wire is an RFI bleed-wire -- ground it to something metal inside the dash and to something metal near the amp -- it's the whole "antenna thing" again -- it pulls in stray RFIs and directs them into the chassis and away from the RCAs.

OK -- now that you are probably COMPLETELY confused. . . Any questions?

[Matt]

The only thing that I can add is that you NEVER want a ground wire longer than 24" -- RFIs can bleed into a system and garble the sound if the wire is longer than that.

Maybe not never, but it should be avoided. Im using a 3.5 ft ground on my amps, but thats because my amps are mounted with my box, which is moveable from behind the rear seats of my blazer, to behind the front seats when the rears are folded down for extra cargo room. Its a ***** to move, but its nice to have that extra room. I got a "little" rfi, but not terribly noticeable, and worth the gain of the cargo.

[Supercharged-ZQ8]

Maybe not never, but it should be avoided. Im using a 3.5 ft ground on my amps, but thats because my amps are mounted with my box, which is moveable from behind the rear seats of my blazer, to behind the front seats when the rears are folded down for extra cargo room. Its a ***** to move, but its nice to have that extra room. I got a "little" rfi, but not terribly noticeable, and worth the gain of the cargo.Sorry, I'm used to dealing with IASCA-grade installs -- IASCA, back when I was competing, would boot you if your ground was longer than 24" and if the power cable was closer than 18" to the signal cables. So, I keep those rules in mind with every system. . . But, as long as the RFIs are liveable, then it can be as long as it needs to be.

[97noma]

ok 1 question that i can think of rite now while im here...my amp is mounted to the top of my box and the box is against the back wall of my cab(xtended cab)...where would be the best place to mount the ground wire?? the bolts on the seats are the closest thing but are they a good thing to use as a ground?
oo 1 last thing...Supercharged is Columbus Car Audio a good audio store or is it just a audio store that sells a bunch of low name products?? i hear their ads on the radio and just thought if im ever near there when im in columbus i might go check it out.
thanks

[T Man]

i will still tell you to pull up the carpet and mount to a body bolt. those go straight to the frame. i have a 12" ground to the body bolt and have never noticed any rfi. if that doesnt work, a seat bolt or a seatbelt bracket bolt are acceptable alternatives. the only problem I have ever seen with these is they tend over time gain resistance with grime, but that isnt any more than a 10 minute fix at the most. the head installer at the store i work in loves to ground to the seat bolt.

by the way, nice choice on subs. i have a 10w3 in my truck. the w3 is one of the best subs on the market in my opinion.

[Matt]

Ditto on the body bolts... the closer you can get to the frame, the better.

[Supercharged-ZQ8]

Columbus Car Audio: Carries Kicker, JLAudio, etc. Good stuff -- not much in the way of lower end junk. Definitely some good guys working there -- I did some time in the install bays over there myself. A bit cocky at times, but usually know their stuff. Good equipment, decent prices.

If you're around Columbus, give me a yell -- I'm over in Hilliard (if you know the area -- NW side if you don't) -- hit me up in a PM.

[97noma]

thanks T man
i did my homework on s10planet before i bought subs
after skool today im gonna stop at the car audio store we have in town to see if they have the ring terminal
thanks for all the help guys

[sniper_moe]

Like two of you said i plan on running my main power wire from the battery but depending on where i drill through (i haven't decides yet, it was going to be the hump like T Man said but i have a standard tranny.) where can i run the wire out of view.

[bvr775]

let's simplefy this

have you ever seen a cars wiring harness catch on fire? never run you amp power from the fuse box. you need something that can handel a 50 amp spike on a regular basis. alway run amp power leads directly to the battery.

[XxInFaxX]

Like two of you said i plan on running my main power wire from the battery but depending on where i drill through (i haven't decides yet, it was going to be the hump like T Man said but i have a standard tranny.) where can i run the wire out of view.

what gauge wire? is it going into a s10?

[sniper_moe]

what gauge wire? is it going into a s10?

It's a 4 guage wire and it's going into a sonoma. one person told me there is a hole on the passanger side below the ac heater box.

[XxInFaxX]

depending on the year, yes there is and there is a grommet too. i believe its 94-97 doesnt have one...and 98+ does...the 4 gauge will run fine alone the door sil and under the little plastic that goes over the step. make sure you run your RCAs and your power on opposite sides of the car to avoid interferance...and always run power from the battery!

[T Man]

ALWAYS!!!!!! The battery acts as a filter for spikes and such from the alt, which would result in ****ty osund

[XxInFaxX]

ALWAYS!!!!!!


now Tommy, i do believe i hear an echo!

[T Man]

Echo maybe, but I cant stress it enough. It is the easiest thing to do, and all you have to do is find, or make a hole in the firewall. It prevents electric noise, and keeps everything much safer and easier to work on.

[XxInFaxX]

and make sure there is an inline fuse within 6" or so of the battery!!!