New Subs

[MitchFong]

Just picked up some new subs and a amp.
Car was wired by previous owner. It currently has 2 separate wires int he trunk. One has two bare wire ends( i think for sub) and the other has 2 plug-in stlye things on the end( for amp i assume)

What i was wondering is, how do i attach the amp to the battery? the amp is attached to the box so its all in the trunk. And is it a bad idea to have it attached to sub? Wont shake it apart will it?
Thanks Guys,
Mitch

[robert325is]

the one with plug ins sound like RCA's.. those go to hte amp...

others sound like ground/power wire... also for the amp


you need speaker wires from amp to sub.

[MitchFong]

Amp and sub are already connexted with wires. The non rca ones are for the sub im pretty sure.
Any ideas as to how i attach the amp to power source?
Its in the trunk PS.

[robert325is]

im having a hard time figuring out what you're talking about... but a pic would help

[MitchFong]

haha, ill snap one today after class. Hard to picture, and im probably describing it terribly wrong.
If what i think is correect as to how i need to hook it up. This is what im trying to say:
I have a wire with the rca plug-ins on it, and another wire that is just regular wire with the insulator pull back and bare wire exposed. I assume both of these are for the amp. My question is, the sub is already connected to the amp, so do i still need to attach the sub to a one of those cables, or are they both for the amp? Like one gives it power and the other(rca) lets you control everything. There is a crossover there aswell( has the rcq plug-ins) which runs to the amp, and the amp is attached and connected to sub.

Ill snap a pic... I cant imagine how those fragmented sentences must look.

Sorry, but thanks for trying to help me out.
Pics will make it clearer obviously. I may be going about this all wrong, as im just assuming what im saying makes sense and is the proper way of doing this.
-Mitch

[Digitalwave]

The RCA's obviously plug into the amp. The other wire I am almost sure is for the remote turn on feature of the amp. It sends a signal to the amp so the amp turns on when the radio is on, and turns off when its off so it doesn't stay on when your car isn't on. The hookup for the remote turn on the amp is usually next to the power terminals. It'll say REM or something like that.

For power, you want to go to Sound Advice, Best Buy, Circuit City or anywhere that sells car audio equipment, and buy about 5' of 8 gauge power wire and 5' of 8 gauge ground wire. They are the same thing, just different colors. You can use either or if you can only get one color, just make sure you keep track of which is which. It'll be about $1-3 per foot for the cable.

Further more, you will need a fuse to put in line on the power cable. Put it as close to the battery as you can. Just ask a person at the store where the amp fuses are, that'll be about $10.

Pick up two 8 gauge terminals that you can crimp onto the ends of the cables so you can connect them easily.

Connect the power cable directly to the positive terminal of your battery in the trunk. With the terminals, you can just loosen up the clamp on the positive terminal of the battery and slide the cable's terminal in there.

For the ground, I ground my amp to the same ground that the battery is grounded to (but not to the battery itself). When you take your battery cover off, you can't miss it. The short little cable from the battery runs to it, just take the screw off and put your terminal on there again.

Hope this helps.

[DSchultz325e]

Just picked up some new subs and a amp.
Car was wired by previous owner. It currently has 2 separate wires int he trunk. One has two bare wire ends( i think for sub) and the other has 2 plug-in stlye things on the end( for amp i assume)

What i was wondering is, how do i attach the amp to the battery? the amp is attached to the box so its all in the trunk. And is it a bad idea to have it attached to sub? Wont shake it apart will it?
Thanks Guys,
Mitch

It's not necessarily a bad idea to have the amp screwed onto the sub enclosure, but what it does is simplify the process of stealing everything because it only requires one trip to get both the sub and amp. The enclosure should be sturdy enough to not vibrate at all, though (assuming it was built properly with the right materials). As long as you've got at least 1.25" screws securing the amp (I use coarse-thread drywall screws), it won't budge.

I still haven't figured out a decent spot to mount my amps (3 of them), so I have them laid out flat on a sheet of MDF across the tail end of the trunk with the wires fished under the carpet. Works for now, but I need it to be prettier and a little more theft-proof, while still retaining spare tire access.

[StereoInstaller1]

My car will have easy spare tire access. It will be in my garage, at home. I may even run 2 spares, one at home, the other at my shop!

No issues at all with 3 big-ass old HK amps.

Luke