[Wolfman]

im getting my amp and subs soon.. and i know how to wire it.. i just dont know where i should run the wires and how to run them to the HU and such... so anyone got some info on what is the best way to run the wires from the amp to the HU and maybe some pics to go along with it? im more of a visual person... but im sure that any information will help.. so thank you in advance :]

 

[dzznuts]

well i don't have any pics but this should help......run them along the sides under the back seat and under the trim along the sides, that's not the hard part. run the wires up around the pedals BUT making sure you put them far under the carpet so they don't interfear with the pedals. then run them underneith the plastic up behinde the hu. now for this i used a metal coat hanger to feed down through the hole where the hu goes down to the side of the plastic where it meets carpet. then i hooked the wire and pulled it through. worked pretty easy, ghetto i know but it works. all wires are hidden. copy and paste the same way on the passenger side of the car.

o and in the back run the wires underneith the velcro part makes it look pro.

 

[Wolfman]

ok... would it be easier to run it just on the passenger side since i wouldnt have to deal with the pedals and what not?... and how would i go about taking everything off?

 

[antiquity]

run the power wire along the drivers side because that will make it a shorter run from the battery.


run the rca cables/turn on wire either straight down the center of the car or along the passanger side of the car.

you want to isolate the rcas from the power wire to help isolate interference into the signal. Pretty much everything just pops off. There is 1 screw in the rear side panel that is hidden by the rear seat backs when they are up if you need to take that panel off. there is 1 screw in the kick panels and 1 screw in the dead pedal on the drivers side. Thats pretty much it. It should be fairly simple.

 

[Wolfman]

ok kewl.. so running the wires under the carpeting and such doesnt require too much effort or anything... and is there anything involved where i need to cut holes or anything? also.. i havent done much car stereo hookups before... so like.. where do i connect the power to the amp?

 

[Kootr]

I would have someone help you do that if your not sure where to hook up the power wire.

 

[scftw]

Run the power wire down the drivers side, and the rest of the cables down the passenger side. Running the wires is pretty self explantatory, except for the power wire. The easiest way is to go through the wheel arch. You'll need to take the plastic piece in your wheel well off to do this. You'll run the wire from your battery down through the hole in your engine bay (you'll see it if you look. it's on the right side.), up over the wheel arch, through a rubber grommet (that you'll have to make a whole in with a knife or something). From there, it will come out through a whole right above your foot rest. After that, just run it through the plastic with the rest of your wires, back to your backseat, under the backseat, and voila.

NOTE: You do not have to remove your back seat or all that plastic around the back seat to do it. To get it to look that nice and neat, you do... But you can run it just fine without removing anything.

ALSO NOTE: I ran the power wire through my wheel arch without taking the wheel off at all. It was a pain in the ***, and I definately recommend you take the wheel off, but you don't HAVE to take the wheel off to do it.

 

[Wolfman]

thanks for that info.. it helps a TON you have no idea... well ill let yall know how it works out 2morrow.. thats what imma be doin all after i get out of skewl prolly... ill post some pics or somethin

 

[scftw]

It shouldn't take very long. Just make sure you have all the connectors and things you need before you get started. I had to make about 4 trips to the store during my installation to pick up connectors, more wire, tools, etc. It took me about two hours total, and that was installing a new headunit, running all the wires, and hooking up a sub, amp, and capacitor. Taking the tire off should save you 20 minutes or so, too. Good luck.

By the way, it was also my first time installing any aftermarket audio products into a car. I had someone experienced helping me, but still... You shouldn't have any problems. And if you do... Shoot me a PM. I'll get to it a.s.a.p.

 

[Wolfman]

ok thanks... i know this is a noob question.. but where exactly.. do i hook up the amp to... the power part that is... i know to the battery... but im not sure how exactly

 

[kartunez]

Put on a ring terminal on the power wire, and take off one of the nuts holding one of the factory power wires down, and put it on there. If you look at it, you will start to see what I mean, and if you got a good amp install kit, you should have a ring terminal in it!

 

[Wolfman]

yup... im about halfway done... got the box completed... now just wiring it up... ive ran it through the trim on the side step... but im wondering how exactly do i get to the grommet on the drivers side... and where should i wire it on the passenger side...

 

[scftw]

yup... im about halfway done... got the box completed... now just wiring it up... ive ran it through the trim on the side step... but im wondering how exactly do i get to the grommet on the drivers side... and where should i wire it on the passenger side...

Wait, you mean you're going from the back to the front? You should've went front to back. Anyway, the grommet you seak is under your dash, right above the foot rest (dead pedal) thing. You'll need a flashlight. When you look under there, you'll see a hole. Stick your finger through the hole, and you'll feel the grommet.

I recommend you run it front to back if you don't mind running everything through the trim again, as it would be a lot easier to push it through the grommet in the wheel arch than it would be to try and pull it through.

 

[Wolfman]

well i ran it through from the back to front just fine... and i put the power wire onto the terminal connecting to the battery.. to test it i hooked the rca cables up to the back of my headunit and connected the box to all the cables and such... i turned my car on but nothing happened.. there is a power indicator LED that is supposed to light up, but for some reason it isn't, im not sure why... also it said to hook up a remote turn-on lead to the headunit... but im not sure how to do that... i have the Kenwood EZ-500 that comes with the SE and it has a subwoofer out on it... so im trying to figure out what might be wrong... quick help would be good... thank you :]

 

[antiquity]

the remote turn on lead is a small wire that takes a 12v signal from the HU to the amp to tell it to turn on. ther should be a wire in the wire harness or the headunit that is for this. or you can run a small jumper wire from the power wire to the amp but this will make it so the amp is on whenever you turn the key on the car even of the radio is off.

 

[Wolfman]

ok well i looked at my headunit and found 2 wires... one says battery/constant, the other says ignition/switched... which one should i hook it up to?

 

[scftw]

Antiquity said you should have a wire with your headunit. You might, I've never had a Kenwood before. But my Pioneer didn't come with any extra wire to run to an amp. I just had the small piece to splice into my old connector. So I had to buy some more.

 

[scftw]

ok well i looked at my headunit and found 2 wires... one says battery/constant, the other says ignition/switched... which one should i hook it up to?

Hmm, mine was just blue to blue. But I'd say ignition/switched. Battery/constant sounds like that will keep your amp on constantly, which is bad. You don't want it to run down your battery while the car is off or anything. I'd wait on somebody more experienced than myself for a sure answer on this, though.

 

[Wolfman]

yea... i have to splice into my connecter.. but which wire should i splice it into? ignition or batt.constant?

 

[antiquity]

switched.

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