Although wiring a car amplifier may seem like a daunting process with all of those wires stemming from numerous outputs, it is actually simple as long as you stay organized. There are three main steps to properly wiring the amplifier: powering the amplifier, wiring the channels and connecting it to the head unit. Working on each section of the wiring process can help keep all of those wires organized and lead to a clean installation.
Instructions
Ground the amp
1. Remove the negative terminal from your vehicle's battery to prevent damaging your electrical system.
2. Connect your ground wire to your amplifier. This usually requires placing your ground wire on the ground input and screw it into place with a Phillips head driver. However, this may vary depending on your amplifier's model.
3. Locate an area near your amplifier to ground it. An ideal area is a screw or nut with no paint on it. Paint can insulate the ground because the ground wire needs to be connected to a metal fixture on your vehicle.
4. Unscrew the nut or screw and place your ground wire's output end where the nut or screw was bolted in. Screw the nut or screw over the ground wire's output. An amplifier is powered similarly to a battery and needs both positive and negative polarities to draw power. Grounding the amp satisfies the negative polarity.
Connect to the Battery
5. Plug the power wire into your amplifier and run the wire along the left or right side of your vehicle up to the front beneath the dashboard. Note which side of the vehicle you run your power wire through because the RCA cable that you will install later should be placed on the opposite side of your power wire to avoid sound interference.
6. Fold back the carpeting underneath your dashboard to reveal small openings to your engine bay. These openings are likely covered by your engine bay's firewall.
7. Cut a hole, using your X-Acto knife, through the firewall large enough to run your power wire through.
8. Connect your power wire to your car batteries positive terminal.
Slide your power wire through the hole and connect it to the positive terminal on your car battery. You will need to remove the positive terminal, usually with a monkey wrench, then screw it back over the top of your power wire's connector. This is a similar process to how you installed the ground wire.
9. Connect your power wire's fuse within 18 inches of the car battery. The fuse prevents the entire power wire from burning due to a short circuit, but it doesn't protect the length of wire between the fuse and the battery. So the closer it is installed to the battery, the better.
10. Seal the hole in your firewall with caulk. Now that your ground and power wires are installed, your amplifier will be powered when you reconnect your negative terminal of your car battery at the end of the installation.
Connect to the Head Unit
11. Remove your vehicle's head unit, also know as the CD player or deck, using the head unit's specific removal tool. This would have come with your head unit. You can also purchase them at most car stereo installation stores, such as Best Buy or Circuit City.
12. Connect your RCA cable into your amplifier by simply plugging it into the RCA slot.
13. Run the RCA cable along the opposite side from where you ran the power wire, running it up to the front of your car near the head unit.
14. Plug the RCA cable into one of your head unit's RCA inputs and reinstall the head unit.
Connect to Speakers
15. Cut as many lengths of speaker wire as you have speakers or subwoofers to install to your amplifier.
16. Strip the plastic ends of each side of the speaker wire using your wire cutters to reveal the copper wiring.
17.Connect one length of one end of speaker wire to one channel on your amplifier, being sure to match polarities respectively. For instance, the positive strand of speaker wire will connect to the positive input on the channel of your amplifier. Perform this step for each strand of speaker wire on different channels.
18. Connect spade connectors to the other end of the speaker wires. Spade connectors slide on the speaker's or subwoofer's terminal. Slide the spade connector on the copper wiring and use the crimping tool to crimp it on.
19. Plug your speakers or subwoofers into their respective channels by connecting them to their respective speaker wire. For instance, a speaker located on the front right of your car should be wired to the front right channel. Connect the speaker wire's spade connector to the speaker's or subwoofer's terminal by sliding it into place.
Tags: power wire, your amplifier, speaker wire, your power, your power wire