how to CORRECTLY hook up your car stereo!

[91EF3ZC]

I saw a thread last week asking how to hook up a stereo. I was not impressed at all with some of the responses. The only one I did agree with was, someone said to soldier and heat shrink the connections.
I saw wire nuts and tape! not good connections for automotive use.
Here is a Rockford Fosgate stereo I installed into a 2000 Nissan Xterra.
This is what you should be doing when hooking up a stereo.















If there is any questions, let me know.

[DMC12]

Originally posted by 91EF3ZC
I saw wire nuts and tape

The industry standard at stereo shops is to use crimp connectors as you've illustrated. They work decently and should last for a few years in low humidity locations.

Below crimps (in level of quality) would be wire nuts & tape. They can fall off and cause your system to short & die (or cause a fire).

The top of the line "bulletproof" method would be soldering & using heat-shrink tubing or brush-on electrical tape.

Im my own vehicles I will twist wires together & use tape until I know the setup is something I'll be happy with (won't have to return the deck or alarm the next day). Then I go back & solder all the connections when I can find the time

Peace:alien2:

[tehferret]

What i did is use wire nuts to make sure the connecton it correct then what i did is cripped it and but some electrical tape around the connection so that the metal part of the cimp wont touch any other metal to short out the circuit and blow a fuse. I like sodering and heat-shrink tubing but i had my system intalled by a pro cuz i was lazy and it was free and even his sodering and heat-shink tubing connections fell off. So if i were installing a deck i would use crimps and some electrical tape. Plus my dad is a electrican and he says these are better then the heat-shrink tubing and sodering. This is just my experiance wiht things. Later.

[Melt]

I always crimp everything ... dont have any pics of my stereo installs (im on my third deck, and about to get my 4th, moms accord is gonna get the JVC) But heres a pic from me rewiring the bumper lenses.



and what happens if you arent more careful with the wire cutter :o

[91civicDXdude]

[mindless rant]I would like to say that i will kill anybody who cuts their factory stereo harness to install an aftermarket stereo. go to walmart and buy a harness for 12.99. I hate cut harness' worse than anything in this world. [/mindless rant]

thank you and good night.

:finger:

[civicHBsi91]

i did mine by soldering them good and tightly wrapping them in electrical tape, it was nice and clean when i was all done

[gunnmen01]

Amen 91civicdxdude...thats what im dealing with in the HF rex right now...


gunnmen01

[91civicDXdude]

gunnmen01: i am very lucky. The stupid bitch that had my car before me cut the factory wiring harness but she didnt cut all the wires....the severed harness is laying back inside the dash with about 2 wire still hooked up. I have to just get off my lazy ass and resolder all the other wires and i'll have a nice clean harness

[Melt]

thank god both the times stereos have been stolen out of our cars they have just unplugged it from the factory harness and not cut the wires, man I would have been even more pissed .... they did do this on my clear corners though, rather than just twist the bulb out of the lense, they fuckin cut the wires, and pretty short too, it was a bitch to wire the new sockets on there :finger4: But anyways, what really burns me up is they fuckin broke the corners in the process of getting em out, so they cant even use the fuckin things

[gunnmen01]

I'm not so lucky....and the guy who owned the car knew better too...i can only assume that it was hacked when he got it....


gunnmen01

[Jmunk]

To me Fosgate decks are junk. Crappy lasers, they need to stick to subs and amps.

[91EF3ZC]

Originally posted by Jmunk
To me Fosgate decks are junk. Crappy lasers, they need to stick to subs and amps.

They are not junk, they are just as good as the leading top sellers.
thier out put section is better than most.

[Melt]

IBanotherfosgatevsJLthread.

[91EF3ZC]

Originally posted by Melt
IBanotherfosgatevsJLthread.

no, I wouldn't say that. I don't like JL very much and I don't like RockFord very much either, but I don't think their products are crap.

[Civic Jim]

I just used a straight plug in so all i had to do was connect the stereo to the car using this extra harness. cost me about $14 which aint shit comparing it to the time u spend messing about cutting and soldering and taping and crimping wires, plus its a bastard when u come to change stereos

Cheerz

Jim