Post 7

How to Wire a car audio Amplifier.  #6

            Have you ever been driving around and felt like your car could use a little better sound than stock speakers have to offer?  Well, installing a car audio amplifier to your car is one effective way to enhance your driving experience.  Here are the steps to wiring an amplifier properly and safely.

            Aside from the amplifier you’re going to need a basic amp wiring kit and all of the necessary tools. If you don’t have some of the necessary tools, take a visit to your local hardware store where you can purchase most of them. After that, you can begin the actual wiring process.  And do make sure your car is turned off before you start.

1)      Drilling the Hole

            First, start by grabbing your fully charged drill motor and putting in the proper sized drill bit.  Then find a good spot to drill a hole into your fire wall on the driver’s side of your car.  Begin your drilling from the inside of the car and drill out into the engine so you have the hole in the proper spot. 

2)      Wiring to the Battery

Once the drilling is completed, grab your 4 gauge wire and slide it through the whole you 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 all of the ends of the 4 gauge wire.  Take one end of the 1 foot section of wire and put attach a push on stake on to it and make sure it’s the right size.  If it does not stay on clamp on it harder with the pliers.  If this problem persists, get a new push on stake on.  Do not hook anything to the battery yet or risk being electrocuted.  Get your fuse box and attach it to the parts of the wire you just cut so it fills the gap in the wire.  Pull on both ends of the wire and if everything stays together, you’ve done it right.  If not, try attaching the ends again.  Then, you can attach the end of the 4 gauge wire closest to the fuse box to the battery. 

3)      An Extra Safety measure

After your done wiring to the battery, take your grommet and slide it 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 and that will do the job.  Now you’re ready to run your wire to the rest of your car.

4)      Running the Wire

Take your 4 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 has a tendency to show under most carpeting.  Once you’ve gotten that done, attach another push on stake on to the wire.  Then cut the circular part of the push on stake on and bend the cut ends away a little  Which will allow you to attach it to the back of your amplifier.  Find the designated location for the wire and attach and tighten it to the back of the amp.  Now, you can begin grounding your amplifier. 

5)      Grounding

Grab the short really thick gauge wire that is found in most amp wiring kits and strip both ends and attach a push on stake on to each end.  Attach one end to the designated spot on the back of the amp.  Now, search for a large bolt nearby that you can use for a ground.  Usually, a large seat bolt will work.  You can also drill a hold down to the underside of the car and put a bolt in the frame of the car and  that will be the best ground you can get.  

6)      Wiring to the Deck

Now that your amp is properly grounded,   you can begin the process of wiring to your deck, also known as a stereo.  First, you need to figure out how to detach the face plate on the deck and pull the deck out.  Be careful you don’t damage any wiring behind the deck.  Then you want to grab the wire with the RCA plugs on it and plug one end into the back of your amp.  Then find the tiny little wire intertwined with that same wire and plug it into the spot on your amp labeled remote.  After that, run the wire to your where your deck is and hide any loose wire if you so desire.  Plug the other RCA end into the designated spot on the back of your deck and plug that tiny wire into its designated spot on the deck.  Now you can re-attach your deck and faceplate.  You can test to see if you did everything right by turning on your car.  If the lights on your amp come on then everything was done correctly.  If they don’t, double check your wiring.

Now you know how to install an amplifier into your car.  If done correctly, you will greatly enhance your sound and driving experience.  This guide is one of many ways one can install a car audio amplifier.