Hey,
I'm installing an Eclipse 50x4 RMS amp under the passenger seat of my 94 Prelude Si. I'm pulling out the whole interior and I only want to do this ONCE, so I'm looking for all the pointers I can get. I'm on a steep car-audio learning curve here.

I've got 6-foot RCAs, directional double-shielded, gonna go down the center divider. They were each $9. Got 8-guage ground and power wire, the ground will just go straight to the nearest steel beam and the power goes down the passenger door sill.

My concerns:
Screwing the amp to the floor: will it produce interference? I'm especially concerned because I'm installing sound deadening material all around, which has an aluminum backing. I don't really want to eliminate it under the amp. I need to insulate the amp mounting points somehow.

Power to the battery: I'd like to route it so it hugs the chassis. Then it's out of the way and I can screw my fuse holder to the chassis. Is it a problem to have the + and - power channels right up against each other for several feet?

Any installation tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

-Dan

 

Your ground wire should only be a foot or two long going from your amp to an unpainted metal part of the chassis. If you can find an existing bolt somewhere near the amp, remove it, clean and sand away the paint and then bolt down the ground wire in that spot. I've had no noticeable interference that way - just be extra sure to have the cleanest and most secure ground possible.

The positive wire goes one way to the battery in my car and the negative ground goes the opposite direction to the grounding point - it's better IMO to keep them apart but if you run them the same direction, keep your distance between the amp and grounding point as short as possible, ideally like 1-2 feet. There's really no need to run them the same way though since they're not going the same place.

 

Run the RCA cables separately(away) from the power wire.

 

By hugging each other I mean the positive power wire in the engine hugging the chassis, which is the negative lead. Power wires shouldn't make a difference, but I want to make sure.

Thanks.

Dan

 

Fuse your main power cable close to the battery. Within a foot or so. You should be fine going through the sound dampening. I screwed my ams right to the floor under the seats and never had a problem. If the rcas are directional make sure to pay attention to the arrows and which way they are supposed to go in. It wont matter if the + wire is near the chassis. I dont see any way how you could possible have it far enough away even if you wanted to.