How hard is it to intall an amp?

[SilviaSR20DET]

Im getting an amp soon and i was just wondering how hard it is to install. What are the steps in hooking an amp up? The reason why im asking this is because i dont want to pay the extra cash for installation when it seems like its all about wiring. Any help will be great, thanks

[negular]

well, i've seen my friend do all my cars (im too damn lazy to route the wires) and it seemed pretty easy. all u do is get to the back of the stereo, and im guessin u will be using rca plugs which should be run on the opposite side of the power cables. run both sets of wires under the carpet and to the trunk... im guessin thast where ur goin to place the amp. if ur plannin on using high power inputs, thats a diff story, i dunno about those.
on the power cables, u have to run the red wire (positive) to the positive terminal of the battery, i usually buy a kit that runs about $70, which comes with the rca's, power cables, a fuse holder and a fuse (remote wire too?). just bolt that somewhere in the engine bay, and attach the cable to the battery, run through the firewall and all the way to the back under the carpet. the ground wire, u can just ground that somewhere in the back (dont drill the gas tank! )

edit: dont forget the remote wire! i think it would be better to run it with the positive power cable.
Hope this helps. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''>

edit #2: are they really called rca plugs? thats what my friend calls those audio plugs... i dont know. please correct me if any of this seems wrong, its pretty late at nite... i should go home now. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sleeping.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':zzzz:'>

[starfireS14]

yea its not hard just like negular said don't drill the gas tank me it shouldn't be hard to find a hole in the firewall dont run the red wire (power) and the rca and remote turn(blue) on the same side run the red on the right and the rca/remote(blue wire) on the left side me and my buddy install car audio if u were around the DC metro area we could help you......

[YellwMonky]

why wouldn't you want the power and remote to run on the same side?

[four]

its much easier if you guy the kit, i suggest you go and do that..just go to circuit city, or best buy

[whateverjames]

i ran my power, rca, and remote wires all together. i have no idea how i got away with no noise. but i'm pretty sure it's safe to run the power and remote lead together. i ran the ground cable to one of the rear seat belt bolts.

[sanmiam]

OK, if I ever get anything exactly right on this board, audio installation is it. &nbsp;The power wire needs to be run across the engine bay and go through the same grommet as the other power cables (unless you have an automatic, then you can fish it easily through the hole the clutch would have used.) &nbsp;You can cut the grommet hole bigger using a knife, and fish the wire through with a coat hanger. &nbsp;Removing the driver side kick panel makes finding where the wire comes out MUCH easier. &nbsp;Then fish the wire under carpet to the trunk (not hard) &nbsp;Make sure it is at least 8-guage wire too, you can get away with smaller on small amps, but bigger is usually better. &nbsp;The RCA's comming from your head unit can run on the other side (passenger) in the same fashion as the power. &nbsp;If you buy Rocksford Fosgate the remote lead runs along with the RCA's. &nbsp;Then remove a bolt from in the unk, sand the metal underneath, and wire the ground to that (replacing the bolt obviously) &nbsp;use the same size ground as you did power wire. &nbsp;Wire speaker wire to your speakers as you need (check the manual that comes w/the amp.
Things to remember:
fuse in engine needs to be installed within 18in from battery
max ground length = 18 inchs
power wire should not be closer than 18in from RCA's

If you have never done it before it may take you a little bit, good luck

[WhiteNissanS13]

i dunno but i didnt buy any special kit, i just used home speaker wires and rca wires and it works great, &nbsp;i wired my power to the cig. lighter, i grounded it to the Trunk latch. &nbsp;i ran the remote wire from the center console under the driver seat, in the floor lining for the door and into the trunk.

[YellwMonky]

I run my remote with my power with no problems. However, I do run my rcas on the opposite side.

[team_shift]

Why pay for an install? Make friends with the guy who does all of his own shit and enjoy the love of having friends in highplaces. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/devil.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':devil:'> &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''>

[kandyflip445]

Ok. To clarify something on sanmiam's post...When you find the hole in the firewall stick the straightened coat-hanger through the hole till it's somewhere you can grab in the engine bay. Tape the power cable to the end of the coat hanger and pull it thourgh. To run the power cable to the back I pull up the door sills on the bottom and then pull the carpet up from there. I also like to remove the bottom part of the back seat to ease in getting the cable to the trunk. This isn't as much of a concern in hatches though. If you got anymore ? just post. Oh...and another thing...shouldn't this be in the tech section?<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='???'>

[starfireS14]

When I had my civic I ran all wires and one side and there used to be interferance with my 240 i ran remote and rca on left side and power on right and it plays a lot better and i have a 800 watt amp now instead of 1600watt and it sounds a lot better my boy is a professional installer and he usually run the wires that way....