i need a tutorial to install a stereo system in a 93 accord
Hi
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
From: Central PA
wiring and powering an amp is pretty easy business. powering an amp is as simple as running a power wire from the positive terminal of your battery through the firewall and to wherever the amp is located. hiding the wire is up to you.
ground wire is just as simple, except don't go from the battery. find yourself a bolt that goes into the chassis somewhere. hook your ground wire there. in my Blazer, i ended up running the ground wire to one of the seat bolts for the rear seat. worked like a charm.
as far as turning the amp on and off, i'm going to assume you're using an aftermarket head unit. get a set of RCA cables that have an auxillary turn on wire on them as well. use this wire to connect to the aux turn on lead on the head units wiring harness. hook the other end of this wire to the amps remote turn on spot.
easy enough?
ground wire is just as simple, except don't go from the battery. find yourself a bolt that goes into the chassis somewhere. hook your ground wire there. in my Blazer, i ended up running the ground wire to one of the seat bolts for the rear seat. worked like a charm.
as far as turning the amp on and off, i'm going to assume you're using an aftermarket head unit. get a set of RCA cables that have an auxillary turn on wire on them as well. use this wire to connect to the aux turn on lead on the head units wiring harness. hook the other end of this wire to the amps remote turn on spot.
easy enough?
Hi
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
From: Central PA
Originally Posted by jimmyfly
how do i find a bolt that goes to a chasis
look for a big bolt, not a small one (i hope you're running at least 12 gauge wire, preferably 8 gauge, so you'll need a big bolt to work with). if you can run to a seat belt bolt or a seat bolt for the rear seats, they should work no problem. might be a pain in the you know what to get to, but it will work. make sure the area is clean and rust free first. if you can, pin it between a pair of washers as you bolt it in. what i normally do is take the copper wires and split them into 2 "fingers," then twist each one up, and wrap them around the bolt. this way, the bolt goes in evenly all the way.
have a 12V test light? if not, you can pick one up at any automotive store for $5-6. you can have all the wires hooked up, then clip the alligator lead to the ground wire and stick the tip of the test light to the bolt you think will work. should work, i've never done it, but it should work no problem.
oh, lemme give you some advice....hooking the ground wire to the chassis should be the LAST thing you do. hook up all the wires to the amp, then connect the positive to the battery, then connect ground. if the amp has a fuse you can see, pull that out before hooking up the ground wire, then put it back in afterwards (note - you can not test for power with a 12V test light with the fuse removed). i once fried an amp because i was in a hurry and was screwing the positive lead into the amp with everything else already hooked up. i accidentily touched the screwdriver to the amp and fried the amp. wasn't too big of a deal, because i bought the amp for $20 and sold it for $20 to a kid who eventually fixed it, but thought i'd let you learn from my mistake.
broke college kid
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 376
Likes: 0
From: Bronx, NY & Nashville, TN
Originally Posted by crak600
well......
look for a big bolt, not a small one (i hope you're running at least 12 gauge wire, preferably 8 gauge, so you'll need a big bolt to work with). if you can run to a seat belt bolt or a seat bolt for the rear seats, they should work no problem. might be a pain in the you know what to get to, but it will work. make sure the area is clean and rust free first. if you can, pin it between a pair of washers as you bolt it in. what i normally do is take the copper wires and split them into 2 "fingers," then twist each one up, and wrap them around the bolt. this way, the bolt goes in evenly all the way.
have a 12V test light? if not, you can pick one up at any automotive store for $5-6. you can have all the wires hooked up, then clip the alligator lead to the ground wire and stick the tip of the test light to the bolt you think will work. should work, i've never done it, but it should work no problem.
oh, lemme give you some advice....hooking the ground wire to the chassis should be the LAST thing you do. hook up all the wires to the amp, then connect the positive to the battery, then connect ground. if the amp has a fuse you can see, pull that out before hooking up the ground wire, then put it back in afterwards (note - you can not test for power with a 12V test light with the fuse removed). i once fried an amp because i was in a hurry and was screwing the positive lead into the amp with everything else already hooked up. i accidentily touched the screwdriver to the amp and fried the amp. wasn't too big of a deal, because i bought the amp for $20 and sold it for $20 to a kid who eventually fixed it, but thought i'd let you learn from my mistake.
look for a big bolt, not a small one (i hope you're running at least 12 gauge wire, preferably 8 gauge, so you'll need a big bolt to work with). if you can run to a seat belt bolt or a seat bolt for the rear seats, they should work no problem. might be a pain in the you know what to get to, but it will work. make sure the area is clean and rust free first. if you can, pin it between a pair of washers as you bolt it in. what i normally do is take the copper wires and split them into 2 "fingers," then twist each one up, and wrap them around the bolt. this way, the bolt goes in evenly all the way.
have a 12V test light? if not, you can pick one up at any automotive store for $5-6. you can have all the wires hooked up, then clip the alligator lead to the ground wire and stick the tip of the test light to the bolt you think will work. should work, i've never done it, but it should work no problem.
oh, lemme give you some advice....hooking the ground wire to the chassis should be the LAST thing you do. hook up all the wires to the amp, then connect the positive to the battery, then connect ground. if the amp has a fuse you can see, pull that out before hooking up the ground wire, then put it back in afterwards (note - you can not test for power with a 12V test light with the fuse removed). i once fried an amp because i was in a hurry and was screwing the positive lead into the amp with everything else already hooked up. i accidentily touched the screwdriver to the amp and fried the amp. wasn't too big of a deal, because i bought the amp for $20 and sold it for $20 to a kid who eventually fixed it, but thought i'd let you learn from my mistake.
Hi
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
From: Central PA
Originally Posted by saga
props on the nice post
also, if running multiple amps, get a distribution block. i've set up and run 2 amps and a crossover before without a distribution block and it's NOT fun. you have to criss cross wires everywhere. using a distribution block is awesome. i was able to prewire everything before hand. had my amps, crossover, and dist. block all mounted to a piece of plywood and ran different colored wires to identify what was what easily. even went as far to take the staple gun and VERY CAREFULLY staple the wires to the board. have to hover that staple gun above the wire so it just barely makes it into the board, but enough to hold the wire in place.
stapling the wires down saved me a LOT of headaches. i've made many trips with my blazer fully loaded with furnature, boxes, etc. i was taking a 2 1/2 hour drive each way every weekend for about 6 weeks, so i wasn't about to remove the stereo from the car. i'd drop the back seat, slide the subs and amp board all the way up, and load my car. if the wires on the board weren't secured, i'm sure they would've gotten ripped out numerous times. no fun to have a live piece of wire hitting your amps, or even worse....you.