Car amplifier install instructions

Run the RCA cables and the remote turn-on wire typically a blue wire but you will need to check your head unit's manual from the back of your head unit to your amplifier's mounting location. However, run your RCA cables on the opposite side of vehicle.

You do not want to run power wires and signal cables on the same side of the vehicle. This could induce noise into your system.

Connect the remote turn-on wire to your amplifier using an appropriate connector such as a ring terminal. Run your speaker wires from your speakers to your amplifier. If your running your speakers from the inside of your vehicle; make sure you run them on the same side as your RCA cables. Connect the speaker wires to your amplifier using the appropriate connectors. Connect the negative terminal of the amplifier to the chassis ground of your vehicle. The negative wire does not have to be a long piece of wire.

If possible, scrape an area that is clear of the gas tank and insert a metal screw. The metal to metal contact will conduct a chassis ground. Check over your work and make sure everything is secure. After this is done, you may then insert your inline fuse. You could get a line-out converter. You can usually find them at auto parts stores or online.

You splice them into your speaker wires, per the instructions, and run your RCA cables from the converter. Yes No. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube.

There are many ways to connect subwoofers to an amplifier. Our wiring diagrams will help you find the best way to wire your subs and amps so you'll get the best performance out of your gear.

What size of wire should you should use when installing an amplifier? Use our handy wire gauge chart to find out. For free personalized advice, call Our Advisors have listened to most of the speakers we carry, and can help you make the best choice for your system. Close contact box.

Call See our hours Our hours Hours 7 days a week. Looking for International Support? Connect ID. What is Connect ID? Call us at Your advisor will be able to share relevant pages and add items to your cart. Your security and privacy are ensured. Our advisors cannot see anything that is on your computer. They only have the ability to "serve" a page from our site and put items in your cart. All finished with your chat session?

Continue chat Close. Our contact center is currently closed. Why is this required? Phone Please enter your US phone number. Please choose one:. For Tech Support, call Begin chat. Thank you,! Your Advisor,. Order number. Billing zip code. Billing last name. Virtual agent:. No Yes You said.

Your phone number. Look up order. Virtual agent: Would you like to schedule a callback from Tech Support? Virtual agent: Thanks! We found your order info. Please fill out the following and we'll have someone from Tech Support call you back at your convenience. Your phone number Please enter a valid digit phone number. When should we call you back? Callback time. You can exit this chat now. Exit chat Send. Don't wait on hold. We'll call you back when it's your turn to talk with the next available.

How can we help you today? When do you want us to call you back? Schedule a time. Calls may be recorded for training and quality control purposes. We are located in Virginia USA. Thank you. You are in line to receive a call from. Please keep your phone line open. If you no longer wish to receive the call, please click the button to cancel your request. Cancel my request. It's your turn. See bio. We will be calling you. We're sorry. We have encountered a problem.

Sorry, the call-back feature is currently unavailable. Car amplifier installation guide Step-by-step instructions for wiring an amp. Meet Buck Pomerantz Close. More about Buck Started at Crutchfield in Completed our thorough in-house Advisor training, learning about the ins and outs of our various products Stays up-to-date by attending vendor training sessions for new products Earned MECP Mobile Electronics Certified Professional certification Designed and organized Crutchfield's subwoofer wiring diagrams Authored dozens of Crutchfield articles and hundreds of product presentations, primarily focused on car audio amplifiers and pro audio gear Answers the many customer questions posted in the comments on his articles Semi-retired soundman with decades of experience making other people sound good From to , also worked as a sidelines video camera grip for University of Virginia football and basketball games.

Q: How do I install an amplifier? Power and ground wires The power and ground wires need to be thick enough to accommodate the amp's demand for electrical current or the amp won't operate properly or put out its rated power.

The fuse that will protect your system The in-line fuse on the main power cable, mounted within six inches or so of the battery connection, is essential for protecting the wire, your car, and you from a catastrophic fire in the event of a short circuit.

An amplifier wiring kit The easiest way to get these items is with an amplifier wiring kit , which will include matching power, ground, turn-on wires, and fuse. RCA cables and speaker wire Amp wiring kits often don't include signal wiring. Bojo trim panel tools. Fuse installed on power wire, and secured in engine compartment near the battery. Setting the amp's gain. Comments Read comments. Reggie, You can do that only after you disconnect the lower door speakers from the factory amp, so each speaker won't have two amp outputs connected to it, trying to blow each other up.

You can connect your new amp's outputs to the factory speaker wiring, to avoid having to run new speaker wires throughout your car. They deserve a more powerful amp. Using both amps each bridged to power a sub might be your best option using the gear at hand to power one sub with watts RMS and the other with watts. Otherwise, I recommend getting a mono, 1-channel subwoofer amplifier that can put out up to watts RMS at 2 ohms. Beto, There's no need for such an edit. In step 5 we state: "Attach the power cable to the positive battery terminal Tim, An online search for the amp you name comes up with zero suggestions.

It does, however, sound like you have a mono subwoofer amplifier with a low-pass filter engaged. This is an inappropriate amp for a full-range speaker. Doug, If you purchased your gear from Crutchfield, you're entitled to free lifetime tech support.

Give us a call so someone can fix you up. Dave, A fuse holder, and its fuse, must fit whatever size power cable is used. If you're using 8-gauge power and ground wires, then the fuse holder must be able to get attached to 8-gauge wire, and the fuse near the battery should be 50A or less. A great way to be sure you'll have everything you need to to get an amplifier wiring kit. Jimmy, If your receiver only has two outputs, you can use two RCA Y-cord adapters to make four input channels for your amp.

I don't know what it is that you refer to as a "worthless control app", but I'll guess that the gain and crossover filters on the amp aren't set correctly. Check out this article for some guidance. Vincent, If your vehicle is electric or has more than one battery, you should only let a qualified mechanic or audio installer disconnect things. Otherwise, using an appropriately-sized wrench, you'd loosen the bolt-nut assembly holding the negative terminal to the battery's negative pole tightly.

You need to set your amplifiers gain correctly in order to enjoy your musics full range of dynamics hearing all the notes clearly, whether loud or soft. Here's a method for setting amp gain fast and accurately using test tones. Here's a step-by-step guide to installing a car amplifier, including how to run the cables through your car and how to wire the amp.

There are many ways to connect subwoofers to an amplifier. Our wiring diagrams will help you find the best way to wire your subs and amps so you'll get the best performance out of your gear. What size of wire should you should use when installing an amplifier? Use our handy wire gauge chart to find out. For free personalized advice, call Our Advisors have listened to most of the speakers we carry, and can help you make the best choice for your system. Close contact box.

Call See our hours Our hours Hours 7 days a week. Looking for International Support? Connect ID. What is Connect ID? Call us at Your advisor will be able to share relevant pages and add items to your cart.

Your security and privacy are ensured. Our advisors cannot see anything that is on your computer. They only have the ability to "serve" a page from our site and put items in your cart. All finished with your chat session? Continue chat Close. Our contact center is currently closed. Why is this required? Phone Please enter your US phone number.

Please choose one:. For Tech Support, call Begin chat. Thank you,! Your Advisor,. Order number. Billing zip code. Billing last name. Virtual agent:. No Yes You said. Your phone number. Look up order. Virtual agent: Would you like to schedule a callback from Tech Support? Virtual agent: Thanks! We found your order info. Please fill out the following and we'll have someone from Tech Support call you back at your convenience. Your phone number Please enter a valid digit phone number. When should we call you back?

Callback time. You can exit this chat now. Exit chat Send. Don't wait on hold. We'll call you back when it's your turn to talk with the next available. How can we help you today? When do you want us to call you back?

Schedule a time. Calls may be recorded for training and quality control purposes. We are located in Virginia USA. Thank you. You are in line to receive a call from. Please keep your phone line open. If you no longer wish to receive the call, please click the button to cancel your request.

Cancel my request. It's your turn. See bio. We will be calling you. We're sorry. We have encountered a problem. Sorry, the call-back feature is currently unavailable. How to install a car amplifier Learn how to wire and position an amplifier.

Meet Zak Billmeier Close. I'll do my best to make videos that are helpful and interesting. Keep the song on repeat so you can continue listening for audio interference. Raise the volume on the stereo head until you hear distortion. Turn the volume knob slowly on the stereo to increase the volume. Keep turning the dial until you hear static or interference coming through your speakers. Set the gain controls until the music is as loud as you plan on listening to it.

Rotate the gain control clockwise by hand or with a screwdriver so you can hear the audio through your speakers. Push the wires for the stereo head back into the hole and position it so the mounting holes line up with the dashboard. Line up the trim panels around the stereo and on the sides of your vehicle and push them in until they snap into place. Keep attaching the rest of the trim pieces to finish the installation. While your key and radio is on, disconnect and connect the remote wire to the amp.

Not Helpful 2 Helpful 9. David Riggs. You probably have it connected to a full time 12 volt power source, you need to connect it to a source that is only powered when the key is in the on or accessory position. Not Helpful 2 Helpful 5. The balance on your radio may have gotten moved from center to right or left, or your speaker wire may have come disconnected.

Check your balance first on your radio's settings. If that's not it, trace your wires to make sure they are connected. If they are, then hook up an external speaker to the radio's output for that side to see if it is the radio at fault.

If the radio is good, it could be a bad speaker. Not Helpful 5 Helpful 9. This is called "line input. Connect the wires just like you would to your speakers. Not Helpful 4 Helpful 8. If you have a factory deck and install an amp, there's really no wire to connect the amp to on the factory deck. What you could do instead is locate your fuse box and find a fuse that turns on when you turn the key in your car. Take that fuse out, wrap the remote wire around it, and connect it back where it was.

Once you've reconnected it, turn the vehicle on and check to see if your amp turned on. If it does, then turn your car off and make sure the amp turns off as well so it doesn't drain your battery. Not Helpful 2 Helpful 3. The only time you should see a voltage reading is if you're measuring from a battery positive source and ground. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. Lewis Heath. It can be connected to the negative battery side or somewhere metal in the car.

Not Helpful 1 Helpful 0. Generally, the positive wire will be red and the negative will be black. However, if you're asking about the wires from the vehicle, it will depend on the manufacturer. If that's the case, find a good service manual with schematics. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0. Make sure the control wire from your deck to the amp is connected. Consult the schematic for your deck to be sure which wire this is.

The speakers attached to the amp are making a thumping sound like "pop pop," like it's picking up current draining. What do I do? If the sound increases with the increase in engine RPM then reduce gain of the amp to resolve the issue. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published.

Always use a fuse on the power wire connected to the battery, or else you could create a fire hazard if it shorts out. You Might Also Like How to. How to. More References