Wiring Questions for a Beginner.

[Crazzzyj]

Alright, being the newb that I am, I was wondering wether there was some way to hook up the sub and amp wiring without having to go through the firewall?

Also, how is it that you control your subs? What I mean by that is controlling the volume, turning them on or off, etc.

Would a simple toggle switch do the job, or will I be needing another piece of machinery?

Is it very wise to put the stock deck under the backseat, so I still keep my chimes?

Thanks.

~Crazzzyj

[Crazzzyj]

I had an afterthough, but isn't there some button on most modern stereos that has an option for subs? I've looked at mine, and didn't see anything suggesting this.

~Crazzzyj

[Demongrowl]

Wow, you are a newb. In my old crap car, i acctualy ran the wires under the car and drilled a hole through my trunk. I don't suggest doing this. I think the firewall is the best answer. but i could be wrong. There is a place where all the wiring goes though, and you can use this. I am not sure where it is, but others on here know. As for the volume control for your subs, after adjusting your amp and subs and deck so that they are right with each other.(should tell how in instructions that come with amp) the volume for the subs is controlled by the deck. turn the deck up, and the subs get louder. you can put a kill switch to the amp like i did in my old car. this will allow the stock speakers to play with or without the amp/subs. you just wire the switch, any kind you want really, in between the power antenna wire and the amp. you wire the amp into the power antenna button so it only come on when the deck is on. Again, should say this in the wiring instructions with the amp. Hope this helped

[boarder_punk]

Not all decks have options for subs. But all decks will control the volume of the subs if hooked up correctly.

And as for running the wires, there is a large rubber grommet around where the steering column goes through the firewall. Get a utility knife and stab it through the grommet, this should give you a place that is easy to access from both sides of the firewall and easy to actually put the wires through. It is also the safest option if done correctly.

But I seriously recommend getting a friend or someone who has done stereo installs before to help you with all of the fine tuning to the amps and deck and the break-in time etc.

[faroutguy]

I agree with boarder punk go through the grommit, also most modern decks do have sub control up to and including turning the sub off completly but it doesnt shut the sub off it basicly mutes it so theres still power going to the amp, if your that worried about it i'd upgrade the deck rather then having to go to your trunk and turn the gain on the amp down, I ran into that problem and just bought a new deck it was the easiest way around it

[colby67]

Originally Posted by Crazzzyj

Alright, being the newb that I am, I was wondering wether there was some way to hook up the sub and amp wiring without having to go through the firewall?

Also, how is it that you control your subs? What I mean by that is controlling the volume, turning them on or off, etc.

Would a simple toggle switch do the job, or will I be needing another piece of machinery?

Is it very wise to put the stock deck under the backseat, so I still keep my chimes?

Thanks.

~Crazzzyj

you dont have to keep you stock deck theres an adapter for cavaliers that have a box that chimes with it so you wouldint need to keep the stock radio go talk to someone at an audio shop and there is away for you to keep stock cd player and put an amp and subs in you car

[Crazzzyj]

Alright, I took the through the grommit course and everything has been working okay, almost. The subs supposedly stop working a max potential in under a minute. I'll turn on my car, enjoy some nice bass for a few seconds, then it tones down.

One day as I was looking over my trunk to install the new tailights, I noticed that it never switched over to "protect" while just the battery was running.

Any ideas or solutions?

~Crazzzyj

P.S. I'm doubtful, but the ground wire is basically two 4 gauge wires put together, we've found some 8 gauge and will put that in shortly. Didn't think that could be the cause.

[boarder_punk]

It sounds like the ground to me. Check to make sure it is making good contact with METAL, all paint etc. scratched away. Use the same gauge ground wire as power wire, don't be cheap in this area, it will affect performance. Two 4-awg wires would be similar to one 2-awg wire (not quite as good), not 8-awg. The smaller the gauge number the larger the wire diameter; so if you have a 4-awg power then you should have a 4-awg ground (it isn't the best idea to put two wires together to equal a larger gauge, although it might work).

[CavLCD128]

well i dont know about all amps in general but my amp will turn on and off immediately if my setup isnt....well...setup correctly
if my control wire from my head unit isnt attacked correctly...my power or ground wire arnt attached properely...or any other problem i might have, my amp just turns itself off as a safe gaurd i guess...so my comment is
wouldnt the amp not even power on or not work if it isnt grounded properly?

[spaceman88]

my amp did the same exact thing over and over again... i had two problems.... for one the amp shorted at the manufacturer.... and two it kept blowing the fuse because the capacitor in there that shorted kept negatively charging... what kind of amp do you have? i had an audiobahn 8000T ....... it blew 6 subs that i had bought before we actually new there was a problem with the amp.... it kept turning on, blowing the sub, then going into protect mode.... oh and you said it tones down, right? ok if you have a good altenator it should keep your amp powered for a short amount of time, especially right when the car starts because thats the largest electrical charge your car recieves.... if your subs are too powerful for this, make sure you go and get a capacitor, which is a device that charges itself, so you dont pull too much electricity off of the altenator which powers the car after you start it.... a cap should run you from 50$ to 100$ depending on how big of one you need... hope this helps... or is the answer to any questions...

[Crazzzyj]

I believe I have discovered my problem, and I'm an idiot not to have thought of it. Simply, I wondered if my amp could not handle the wattage of both my subs, so I unwired one and it works perfectly, with or without high gains and boost. So, I have a connector to wire up another amp in the back. Question is, would I have to run another wire to the battery?

~Crazzzyj

[boarder_punk]

No, you shouldn't have to run another wire, just a larger gauge.