How to Wire a Subwoofer Amplifier.
Wiring subwoofer amplifiers in your car can be tricky and tedious but not impossible. Here is a guide one can refer to on how to wire one properly.
First of all, aside from the amplifier, you’re going to need a basic amp wiring kit, screw drivers of various sizes, wire strippers for large gauge wire, wire clippers (most wire strippers have this on this feature), pliers, a hex key set, a wrench, and a drill motor with a drill bit proportional to the gauge of wiring your using. And here’s a friendly reminder to keep various other kinds tools on hand just in case any sort of problem arises. Before you go to wire the amp, your wiring kit must have a 0, 4, or 8 gauge wire long enough to run from your car’s engine to its trunk, a fuse, fuse box, grommet, push on stake ons, and wire conduit. Note, If you don’t have any of these items, take a visit to your local hardware store and purchase them. Then, you can begin the actual wiring process. And make sure your car is turned off before you start.
1) Wiring to the Battery
Here is how to wire to the battery safely. First, grab your drill motor (make sure it has a fully charged battery) and put in the drill bit similar to the size of wiring you have. Then find a good spot to drill a hole into your fire wall on the driver’s side of your car. Note, start from the inside of the car and drill out into the engine so you know where your drilling into. Once the drilling is completed, grab your 0, 4, or 8 gauge wire and slide it through the whole u just drilled. Then use the wire cutters to cut an approximately 1 foot section off of the end. Then use the wire strippers to strip the both ends of the section u just cut and 1 end of the rest of the wire, then twist all of the stripped ends. Take one end of the 1 foot section of wire and put attach a push on stake on to it (make sure it’s the right size for the gauge of wire your using) by sliding it on the stripped end of wire and clamping down with the pliers where the rubber part of the push on stake on meets the metal part. Push down hard and give it a little tug. If it stays on, its golden, if not, clamp harder. If it still doesn’t stay on, throw it away and try a new one. Now, do NOT hook it up to the batter yet or risk being electrocuted. Get your fuse box and if it’s one that has twistable ends, untwist them off. Insert the bare end of the 1 foot section of wire into one end of the fuse box and take your hex key, if needed, and turn that little screw until its fairly tight. Test its hold on the wire by giving it a little tug. If it stays your good, if it doesn’t, re-twist the wire and try again. Next repeat the same process on the stripped end of the rest of the wire you have. Now take the fuse and hold it into one of the ends of the fuse box and put the middle portion of the fuse box on and the take the other end of the fuse box and hold it together. Then you twist both ends until they’re tight. Pull on both ends of the wire you just connected through the fuse box and if everything stays together, you’ve done it right. If not, start over with attaching the parts of the fuse box. Now, use a wrench to remove the nut on the screw on your batter terminal. Then slide the end of your wire with the push on stake on onto the screw, and retighten the nut. After that, you want to slide your grommet to the point where your wire passes through your firewall to act as a barrier to keep your wire from rubbing against the firewall. If your wiring kit did not come with one of those, wrap that part of the wire with a few layers of electrical tape. That will do the job. Now you’re ready to run your wire to the rest of your car.
2) Running the wire
Take your 0, 4, or 8 gauge wire and run it to wherever you’re going to have your amp located in your car. Do not attach the wire to your amp yet if you intend to try to hide your wire, which most people want to do. You can hide your wire any number of ways such as underneath the plastic lining your car’s door frames or underneath the carpet in your car. Just be creative any way you can with it. But keep in mind wire that is this big of gauge can show under most carpeting. Once you’ve gotten that done, strip the end of the wire and attach another push on stake on to it as described before. Then cut the circular part of the push on stake on and bend the cut ends away a little. This will allow you to attach it to the back of your amplifier. Find the designated location for the wire (it’s usually the second biggest input). Different amplifiers have different ways you can attach the wire. If it has screws, take a screw driver and loosen the screws. Slide the end of the wire on and tighten down the screws and tug on the wire to make sure it stays in place. Now, you can begin grounding your amplifier.
3) Grounding
Grab the short really thick gauge wire that is found in most amp wiring kits and strip both ends and attach push on stake ons like before. Attach one end to the designated spot on the back of the amp like you did with the other wire. Now, search for a large bolt nearby that you can use for a ground. Attach the ground wire to the bolt just exactly like you did to the batter terminal. Now your amp should be properly grounded.
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