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Basics Car Stereo Install

Discussion in 'General Car Audio Discussions' started by electrolytic, Dec 31, 2006.

  1. electrolytic

    electrolytic Full Member

    Fuse amplifiers power wire at the battery.

    Be sure to fuse the power wire within 12” of the car’s battery. This will protect the car’s battery in case of a short circuit between the power amplifier and battery. THIS IS A MUST, the amplifier’s built-in fuse will only protect the power amplifier not the car’s battery!

    Use high grade wire connectors.

    To ensure maximum power transfer and secure safe connections, it is recommended to use high grade barrier spades (for connection at amplifier) and terminal rings (for connection at battery).

    Do not run any wires underneath vehicle.

    Exposed wires have a chance of being cut or damaged. It is best to run all wires through the vehicle under the carpet and/or side panels. This lends to a cleaner installation and less risk of damage.

    Use caution when mounting amplifier.

    Remember there are many electrical wires, gas lines, vacuum lines, brake lines as well as a gas tank in the automobile. Make sure you know where they are when mounting the amplifier to avoid puncturing lines, shorting wires or drilling holes in the gas tank.

    Run signal wires away from electrical wires.

    To avoid the possibility of induced noise from the car’s electrical system (i.e. popping noises or engine noise), run wires away from the car’s electrical wiring.

    Make all ground wires as short as possible and at the same point.

    In order to reduce the chance of ground loops (i.e. engine noise), make the grounding wire as short as possible to reduce the wire’s resistance. Also, when using multiple components, make sure all units are grounded at the same point.

    Avoid sharp edges when running wires.

    To avoid the possibility of power, signal or speaker shorts, be careful not to allow the amplifiers wires to come in contact with sharp edges. Use a grommet to protect the wire when running through the firewall.

    hey thought this might be usefull, all of you have been very helpfull to me and i appreciate it. I will have a SWEEEEET system with your help. So just returning the favour.
     
    electrolytic, Dec 31, 2006
    #1
  2. TheViking

    TheViking Well-Known Member

    This is actually all very good advice, other han the grounding method when using multiple amps.....
     
    TheViking, Jan 1, 2007
    #2
  3. Ranger SVO

    Ranger SVO Full Member

    Did you mean "at the same point" putting grounds on top of one another, because this is a NO NO.

    Now if "at the same point" means next to each other about a 1/2 inch apart, then GREAT Advice.
     
    Ranger SVO, Jan 1, 2007
    #3
  4. TheViking

    TheViking Well-Known Member

    yep, ground saturation...........
     
    TheViking, Jan 1, 2007
    #4
  5. electrolytic

    electrolytic Full Member

    ok, yes that what i meant lol:) i just copied it from my bazooka manual, thats good to know though because i would have put them all on top of each other!
     
    electrolytic, Jan 1, 2007
    #5
  6. Willy D

    Willy D Full Member

    I will add a couple points here....

    While fusing the large wire feeding amp(s) power will protect battery...the most important thing it will do is disconnect power flow through that wire...this will save your vehicle from burning to the ground (literally)....If that big wire shorts to ground, you will basically send all available current (lots and lots and lots) from the battery..through that wire....That wire will get so hot it will instantly start to melt the insulation...It will burn....and anything touching it (can you say carpet) will catch on fire....The wire will melt and eventually disconnect itself from the battery, but by that time your car will be on fire.....

    While you do want to avoid running power and signal wires together in a group, there is one wire you will almost never avoid....it is the largest wire in any vehicle.....it is the body/chassis....Power not only flows through wires, it flows through the chassis....

    If you do the big three, realistically anywhere you ground on the body or chassis SHOULD be a good path to the battery. Ground noise is much more common in AC wiring....

    I do lots of sound reinforcement work (PA systems for bands) and we ALWAYS check all outlets with a tester to check for ground...If you plug a guitar amplifier to an outlet on stage that has a poor ground, it will show voltage on the ground terminal....Now if you run a snake from the stage to the front mixer (snake is a cable that runs microphone signals from stage to mixer and runs speaker signals from mixer back to stage) and the front mixer is properly grounded, you are gonna get noise, and possibly shocks because the bad ground is looking for a good ground...You hold a guitar in your hand and touch your lips to the microphone, you just complete the path.....In this case, you would power front mixer and stage amplifiers (guitar, bass, keyboards) on the same circuit....anyway, that is a story for another day...

    Willy
     
    Willy D, Jan 2, 2007
    #6
  7. aznboi3644

    aznboi3644 Full Member

    The inline fuse is not meant to protect the battery...mainly just the wire so it won't burn the whole car to the ground...the battery won't be damaged from burning up some wire
     
    aznboi3644, Jan 2, 2007
    #7
  8. pedro quiroga

    pedro quiroga Well-Known Member

    it protects both.
     
    pedro quiroga, Jan 2, 2007
    #8
  9. electrolytic

    electrolytic Full Member

    i need a capacitor!!

    lol just kidding, tommorow we will see the creation of thunder and raw amperage being born!! I hooked in to the ford speakers tonight, it has seperate tweeters in the upper doors and mids down below and 5x7's in the back and they sound amazing! So the BIG 3 tommorrow and it should be complete for now..
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2007
    electrolytic, Jan 3, 2007
    #9
  10. aznboi3644

    aznboi3644 Full Member

    Well I guess the battery could be damaged from the burning wire lol
     
    aznboi3644, Jan 3, 2007
    #10