amp wiring question
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 127
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From: SE Portland, Or
amp wiring question Ok, lets start by saying I've never wired my own amp. I've read quite a few posts here regarding it and I still have a question. In our cars there is a positive cable and ground running over to the fuse box on the drivers side under hood, can power for the amp be drawn from that or only directly from the battery itself? I'm attaching a couple of pics just in case no one has really thought about this before. I can only imagine if it's been done someone on Tech knows.
So anyway can it be done? I guess I have no particular reason not to run right off the battery but I'm just looking at my options here and I don't want to do something stupid as I've never wired my own amp. I'm honestly just trying to do the cleanest possible job and I see a few ways to really hide things on the drivers side of the engine bay.
Thanks a lot guys for any help.
So anyway can it be done? I guess I have no particular reason not to run right off the battery but I'm just looking at my options here and I don't want to do something stupid as I've never wired my own amp. I'm honestly just trying to do the cleanest possible job and I see a few ways to really hide things on the drivers side of the engine bay.
Thanks a lot guys for any help.
I was able to do a better job by running it right off the battery - I ran the power wire the same place as you would if you've done the !wire mod (getting that bundle of wires on the passenger side off the fender) and was able to take it from there behind the PCM and into the cabin.
You could really do it either way...that's just how I did mine.
You could really do it either way...that's just how I did mine.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 127
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From: SE Portland, Or
meentss02, so it sounds like I can run power off that cable on the drivers side if I want, am I understanding this right? you chose to run directly off the battery though...
am I overcomplicating this? is there any reason I shouldn't run my amp power from the positive lead by the fuse boxes that I posted pics of? If theres any reason I shouldn't let me know and thanks again
am I overcomplicating this? is there any reason I shouldn't run my amp power from the positive lead by the fuse boxes that I posted pics of? If theres any reason I shouldn't let me know and thanks again
I always run my power cable directly to the battery, every install. This is a bit better choice because the alternator runs directly to the battery so charging is not an issue and your not having to run current through another cable to get to the amp. Charging in this case your talking about would be from the alternator to the battery and then to that aux power through another wire. You really want to run your power cable directly off the battery instead of through another cable. The shortest, direct path to your power source. Plus getting it through the firewall on that side is easier with the grommet being right behind the PCM.
Was there a reason for wanting it on the other side? It can be done but I personally would not do that unless I had no other alternative.
Was there a reason for wanting it on the other side? It can be done but I personally would not do that unless I had no other alternative.
meentss02, so it sounds like I can run power off that cable on the drivers side if I want, am I understanding this right? you chose to run directly off the battery though...
am I overcomplicating this? is there any reason I shouldn't run my amp power from the positive lead by the fuse boxes that I posted pics of? If theres any reason I shouldn't let me know and thanks again
am I overcomplicating this? is there any reason I shouldn't run my amp power from the positive lead by the fuse boxes that I posted pics of? If theres any reason I shouldn't let me know and thanks again
The main reason I ran it on the passenger side is because I knew there was a grommet behind the PCM that would be big enough to feed the cable through without having to drill my own hole.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 127
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From: SE Portland, Or
KeeAudio
thanks for your response, based on that I will run direct from battery and through the firewall behind the PCM. I was just trying to figure out my options for a quick easy install.
does the PCM need to be removed completely in order to run the wiring? Does anything need to be removed inside the car or will I be able to access the grommet in the firewall by simply dropping the glovebox? any ideas how long this job should take a newbie like me? As you guys may have guessed I'm nervous and don't want to screw up but I don't pay to have **** done to my car. I always do all my own work and am very mechanically inclined just new to stereo stuff...always had friends who did it when I lived in so-cal but now I'm in Portland, Oregon and don't have those guys around anymore
thanks for your response, based on that I will run direct from battery and through the firewall behind the PCM. I was just trying to figure out my options for a quick easy install.
does the PCM need to be removed completely in order to run the wiring? Does anything need to be removed inside the car or will I be able to access the grommet in the firewall by simply dropping the glovebox? any ideas how long this job should take a newbie like me? As you guys may have guessed I'm nervous and don't want to screw up but I don't pay to have **** done to my car. I always do all my own work and am very mechanically inclined just new to stereo stuff...always had friends who did it when I lived in so-cal but now I'm in Portland, Oregon and don't have those guys around anymore
It'll be easiest with the PCM removed...just loosen the two nuts holding the connectors to the PCM and pull those off, then remove the two bolts holding the PCM in place. You'll see the grommet down there (well, hopefully...it'll be a little dark under there). If you shove enough of the wire through, you'll be able to pull it into the cabin without having to drop the glove box. You'll just need to remove the plastic piece that's just above the foot well.
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Depending on how large your hands are you may be able to get behind the PCM without removing it. I had to remove mine to do it but it was a very easy thing to do just be careful with it as it does run your car basically...lol. The large grommet is right behind it.
If you remove the underside panel on that side you can get to the grommet without having to remove the glovebox. It can be accessed under and behind the glovebox. Also remove the door trim as it extends up and under that side of the dash where the kick panel is. You will need to remove it anyway to run the cable to the rear of the car if that's where you will be mounting it.
Depending on how large your hands are you may be able to get behind the PCM without removing it. I had to remove mine to do it but it was a very easy thing to do just be careful with it as it does run your car basically...lol. The large grommet is right behind it.
If you remove the underside panel on that side you can get to the grommet without having to remove the glovebox. It can be accessed under and behind the glovebox. Also remove the door trim as it extends up and under that side of the dash where the kick panel is. You will need to remove it anyway to run the cable to the rear of the car if that's where you will be mounting it.
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On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 127
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From: SE Portland, Or
Steve and Ian, you guys are awesome! Thanks so much for your info as you've both made me feel a lot more comfortable about doing this job.
I have another post going as well where I asked about using the PAC-oem-1 but have seen no responses, do either of you have any experience with this unit? As i understood it, it goes between stock radio and stock harness and adds preouts for an amp/sub and would eliminate the need to splice wires for a normal line out converter. Do you know if this is correct or am i missing something?
I have another post going as well where I asked about using the PAC-oem-1 but have seen no responses, do either of you have any experience with this unit? As i understood it, it goes between stock radio and stock harness and adds preouts for an amp/sub and would eliminate the need to splice wires for a normal line out converter. Do you know if this is correct or am i missing something?
I don't have any experience with that - my stereo is entirely aftermarket.
And you'll do just fine on the install...when I saw the hack job that was done by a shop that installed my first setup, I decided it couldn't possibly be that hard, and I was right. Time consuming, yes, but not hard.
And you'll do just fine on the install...when I saw the hack job that was done by a shop that installed my first setup, I decided it couldn't possibly be that hard, and I was right. Time consuming, yes, but not hard.
From what I remember you use the C cable. This will plug into the radio harness and into the back of your stock radio. It takes your speaker level signal and converts it to low level out. This gives you the signal that will go to the amp via the RCA cables. I believe that it also has a remote turn on signal as well so you can use that to run to the amp as well.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 127
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From: SE Portland, Or
Ian, thanks for all your info. I'm feeling a lot more comfortable with tackling this job now. I had almost talked myself into just taking it somewhere but now I'm ready to get it done. So ready to have the amp and sub hooked up!
Launching!
Joined: Oct 2007
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I ran mine off the AUX post on the driver side. No problems and it looks factory that way. No other wires coming off the batt or anything. I used a kicker AMP install kit, very nice quality stuff. I run a 500+ watt Kicker ZX Mono amp and have absolutely no power issues, no noise, no dimming lights, no fluxtuating voltage.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 127
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From: SE Portland, Or
@ J-Train
I just spotted your post a little while ago and had noticed you ran off the aux post like I had been thinking of doing. It does look really clean there which is why I had been pondering doing it in the first place. I'm not sure which way I'm gonna go now but it's good to know guys have done it both ways.
where did you bring the cable through the firewall? Did you drill a new hole or use an existing one? any pics by chance?
Thanks again to all three of you guys for helping me out
I just spotted your post a little while ago and had noticed you ran off the aux post like I had been thinking of doing. It does look really clean there which is why I had been pondering doing it in the first place. I'm not sure which way I'm gonna go now but it's good to know guys have done it both ways.
where did you bring the cable through the firewall? Did you drill a new hole or use an existing one? any pics by chance?
Thanks again to all three of you guys for helping me out
I had a shop install run the amp wires originally and they used the aux post. Since then, I did the hood cable mod! and ran the power wire with it, so you don't see it as much. The only issue is that they used a red wire and the wiring I bought later was blue, hence the different colors going into and out of the fuse holder in the pic below. Eventually I plan on getting more black tubing to cover it so it looks more like stock.
Sorry these are the only two pics I have of it right now, but in the bottom one, you can kind of see how there are no wires running up the side.
Sorry these are the only two pics I have of it right now, but in the bottom one, you can kind of see how there are no wires running up the side.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 127
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From: SE Portland, Or
I'm kinda liking the look of running off the aux post but still haven't figured out where the cable will go through the firewall if I do...
Suggestions... J-train or peterlawl84 as you've both gone this route
again thanks to all of you for making this whole job a lot easier
Suggestions... J-train or peterlawl84 as you've both gone this route
again thanks to all of you for making this whole job a lot easier
Well I couldn't remember how it went through the firewall, so I went out to the garage and got this pic for you. Like I mentioned, I had a shop originally wire the car years ago. I changed it a couple years ago and followed the route they used, so I am not sure if this hole is actually there stock or if they drilled it. I drilled the hole on the right with the rubber grommet (where the power wire and hood latch come back into the engine bay from the wheel well).
For a cleaner install, if you have removed your AIR pump, then you could run the wire down and into the space that the pump originally occupied (see my first pic in the previous post... the clean black wire coming from the aux post, it goes under the fuse box then comes back up into the space just to the right of the front fuse box). You can mount the fuse holder in that location to make it a cleaner install, I just left my fuse holder where it was placed originally.
When I ran my power wire in my Silverado, I just ran it with the wires going into the cab, just cut a small hole in the rubber grommet and slid it in. I am not sure if there is anything like this on the driver's side of the firebird though, I didn't look around too much.
For a cleaner install, if you have removed your AIR pump, then you could run the wire down and into the space that the pump originally occupied (see my first pic in the previous post... the clean black wire coming from the aux post, it goes under the fuse box then comes back up into the space just to the right of the front fuse box). You can mount the fuse holder in that location to make it a cleaner install, I just left my fuse holder where it was placed originally.
When I ran my power wire in my Silverado, I just ran it with the wires going into the cab, just cut a small hole in the rubber grommet and slid it in. I am not sure if there is anything like this on the driver's side of the firebird though, I didn't look around too much.
Launching!
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 289
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I ended up just drilling a small hole and using the suplied grommet in the Kicker kit, but i originally wanted to go through the hole beside the brake booster that the wiring comes through on the driver side, but I could not reach up behind the dash far enough and did not feel like riping the dash apart. There is a small post that comes though the firewall that a retainer clip goes on holding HVAC control cabling (looks like) It is up aways from the carpet and I chose to drill a small hole right beside it. You can not see it from in the car or under the hood, so it looks real clean still. The reason I chose the drivers side was (a) I wanted a clean factory looking install with no obvious connectors hooked up to the battery or anything, (b) I wanted to keep the power wire for the amp away from the audio signal/speaker/antenna wires that run down the passenger side of the car to avoid any possible interference issues. My amp is mounted to the back wall of the hatch and I have a stealth cubby box btw.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 127
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From: SE Portland, Or
J-train and peterlawl, thanks for all the info. The pics really helped a lot and now I'm fairly sure I want to run my power off the aux post like yours is. It makes sense being that I should run the audio cables and power on opposite sides of the car anyway.
J-train Btw, Love your car! I've always liked the yellow CETA birds best of all and yours is very nicely put together. The stereo install looks great as well, saw your other thread with more pics. Lookin good man!
J-train Btw, Love your car! I've always liked the yellow CETA birds best of all and yours is very nicely put together. The stereo install looks great as well, saw your other thread with more pics. Lookin good man!
I know on the 93-97 cars i run it off the junction box beside the power steering overflow,,, ill be installing the amp wire in the 98 soon and that drivers side location looks good,, but sucks if you have to run it to the pass side to go thru the firewall by the pcm? Anyone find a good location on the pass side simalier to the pic i have here. I hate going strait off the battery on these side post cars.
