Who here has done this themselves? I had an amp and subwoofer installed in my car two cars back and want to install them in my current car. I paid someone to install them back then, but feel like it could be a fun project to do this weekend if it's not pouring down rain. I have pretty much no knowledge of the electronic wiring in cars, and would be going purely off of tutorials I could find online. My questions would be 1. Should I just pay someone to do it to make sure it is done right? 2. How bad would/could I F things up if I try to do it myself? 3. Is it easier to do than one might assume? Or is it something a novice could not easily do? Any input/advice is appreciated. I know a few of you are tech guys, and a few of you are car guys @bodyman5000 and 1 Thanks in advance FAMS
I used to have a system in high school. Car stereo stores really cut corners and cheap out btw. Things like fuses, wires, etc all are cheap and run crappy. Dunno who in Portland is good or hell even around. Run the power cables away from other wires and cables or u may get alternator whine
Aw hell, just tell him to run shielded wire (coax) from the amp to the speakers and ground the shield. Not that expensive, probably not an issue here anyway.
I competed as a kid and most of the advice here is shit. Any decent wiring kit will be shielded and you wont get alternator whine no matter where you run the cables. What kind of amp and sub is it? What year/make vehicle? Does it have a bose system already? Bose is extreamely hard to customize. Self install will save you $100-$200 and you can ensure it is done right.
Under your dash most vehicles have a gromet already where you can run the power cable so you dont have to drill into the firewall and put your own gromet. Make sure you poke a hole and run the cable through the gromet and dont just run it through the sharp metal. Fuse for the wire not the amp. Most people tell you to add the fuses on the amp for a fuse on the wire but they are retards. Get copper wire with a high strand count for flexability. Fuse should be placed as close to the battery as possible. Fuses serve to prevent fire incase of short, thats it. To ground the amp you really want to go to the chassis. Most people/installers cheap out by using a seat bolt or a spot on the body of the vehicle, i hate them. What head unit do you have? Does it have preouts for a sub? If no pre outs you are going to have to lose your rear speakers and use a line out converter to convert their ac signal to a .7vdc signal line.
My advice pertains to the actual running of the wires and not the actual wiring. Newer cars all have plastic interior trim that is usually pretty easy to remove BUT can also be very fragile. Most of it I try to remove just by pulling gently and rocking back and forth before I even try to use any tools. This prevents pry marks on plastic trim. It also overlaps, usually the sill plate is the first part on the door openings that you want to remove. If the trim uses clips that snap into the body and the clips stay on the body when you remove them your best bet is to carefully remove the clips and reattach them to the trim before reinstall. If you don't you're likely to push the clips through into the body of the car and lose them. As for the actual car you're working on I suggest looking for an S2 type message board for your specific vehicle. On my SVT focus there were plenty of helpful tips on focusfanatics. Even correct part numbers for wiring kits because the ones you'd buy at best buy for a focus didn't work. I had to buy one that was originally for a VW to get my sub wired with my head unit. I'm not big into stereos by any stretch but a good sub helps.
Thanks for the advice, I'll read your posts thoroughly after work. As far as my make/model it is a 2015 Ford Focus. Not sure about the other specs, I'll have to figure those out later. If I remember correctly it is a kicker amp and I know they are JBL 20's for the subs.
Make sure to run the remote wire to a proper source. Common mistake. Many people don't and end up with an amp that never shuts off, and a perpetually dead battery.
