Technical Subwoofer Installation advice

[nate009]

Hi Guys

just need some advice as its the first time im fitting a subwoofer on my own

im having trouble getting the power cable from the battery to the subwoofer (amps built in)

i have found the gromit, behind the battery but i cant get to the cable from within the passenger side

do i need to take out the glove box?

punto 2002

Thank you for any help

 

[oldhammer]

If irember correctly there's sound deadning stuff behind the area of the gromet
So you may have to poke something through .perhaps tape some string to a length or coat hanger or similar.

 

[Andy Monty]

What ever you do make sure you fuse the live feed correctly and as close to the battery as possible and protect the live cable through the car from any sharp edges..... If the live conductor touches the body there is a fire risk... Also secure the sub and amp you don't want it flying about should you be involved in a crash ....

 

[benny279]

it is tricky to do on the punto, but once you get the hang of it, its easy peasy!
heres how you do it, get the power cable, that hole you found is indeed the way into the cabin, you need to push as much cable in there as possible, then getting under the dashboard on passenger side (have a flash light handy, it does help!) and put your hand right behind the dash to feel for the cable, but BE CAREFUL there are some points up there, when i fitted mine i took my hand down to find a few cuts on my hand again using a flash light will make it a lot easier to see what your pulling on (no pun intended!)
once you got that cable pull as much as you want so you got a decent enough length to use, then it's all down to you to do cable management i.e. hiding cable, making sure its not near any sharp points as andy monty said, and he correct make sure you fuse the live wire at the battery end, so fused then wire to battery, its always best to be fused and not fused!!!

 

[Ziggy122]

Wire coat hanger my friend

thats how i installed all my wires

However - its easier to go from the cabin to the engine bay
not the reverse

So push a wire hanger down the hole toward the door frame and down

once in so far - you'll find the hanger hopefully near the sill area
Attach wire to said hanger - and pull it back through

remember to Fuse as said
Fuses = Saves fires

Even though the fiat sub is fused at the sub, i have got another fuse on the power feed

Just incase the wire chaf's before the subwoofer and shorts out
that 10amp fuse will go pop and my car will be saved

Ziggy

 

[benny279]

i never bothered with a coat hanger, mind you i didnt have any problems shoving it in the hole
a bit of patiences goes a long way! i use that hole for my rcl kit (power feed).
everything i do on my car thats not originally there is fused, safety comes first!, you dont wanna be driving on short or long distance it shorts and kaboom! bye bye!:devil:

 

[JLenno]

Just wire it to the red power wire for the radio if you can't get it to the battery. there is ample current for a sub from there. A joining wire may be needed as the Subs power wire is huge

Connect it at the radio and feed the wire down onto the passenger footwell and back to the boot. But if you can get it to the battery..all good!

 

[Azzam]

im pretty sure the amp power wire needs alot of current for a reason........

when wiring an amp ALWAYS use the battery for power. if not then thats just appauling installation.

ermbehind the battery theres a grommet behind some sound proof mat....steel wire poke it thru, tape the other end to the power wire... and pull.... simples.

 

[benny279]

im pretty sure the amp power wire needs alot of current for a reason........

yep spot on, it does a lot of current, low current will damage the amp, or you'll have a form of distortion, my friend fitted an amp/sub in his car this way and it sounded dreadful!:bang:

 

[souleh]

In my opinion if the cable isn't stiff enough to push through into the passenger foot well the gauge of cable isn't thick enough. I put in an 8 AWG cable and routing it was a breeze as its still pretty thin but its extremely sturdy.

 

[JLenno]

im pretty sure the amp power wire needs alot of current for a reason........

Pretty sure is guessing, do you actually know?

Done plenty of cars sound to the radio power when the battery wasn't available. No problem with sound or anything. It's all 12v in the end and you don't need that thick a wire for current unless it is a serious sound system. It's also easier to fit a switch by the radio without running a 3rd small wire back to the amp.
I wouldn't suggest it if it didn't work not trying to give a bad experience here. & Ive nothing against putting it to the battery if the person finds it easier! Just giving alternatives.

 

[Ziggy122]

i wouldnt personally run an AMP off the stereo

Feed its manually and let it be controlled by the stereo - best solution

The standard fiat sub is only 100w, fused at 10amps at both ends
So running 16amp cable for me is perfectly fine

Remember bigger sub = bigger wires

Ziggy

 

[Azzam]

Pretty sure is guessing, do you actually know?

Done plenty of cars sound to the radio power when the battery wasn't available. No problem with sound or anything. It's all 12v in the end and you don't need that thick a wire for current unless it is a serious sound system. It's also easier to fit a switch by the radio without running a 3rd small wire back to the amp.
I wouldn't suggest it if it didn't work not trying to give a bad experience here. & Ive nothing against putting it to the battery if the person finds it easier! Just giving alternatives.

yes... i know
my friend had a ciggy lighter supply in the boot and rigged it to that....... week later his loom melted..... serves him right. do the job properly once then you'll never need to bother with it again.

 

[AndyRKett]

Pretty sure is guessing, do you actually know?

Done plenty of cars sound to the radio power when the battery wasn't available. No problem with sound or anything. It's all 12v in the end and you don't need that thick a wire for current unless it is a serious sound system.

So a cheap low budget 400w amplifier is going to need a current of 33amps..... That's not a serious sound system but needs serious current, I certainly wouldn't power that from the 10/20amp supply on the back of e radio and even the cig lighter socket at 30amps isn't going to cover that sort of current.

And these days of silly peak power of 500-1000w you're going to need a lot more current, underspec wiring on an amplifier has a tendency to slowly cook the wiring and eventually burn out without ever reaching a point where the fuse blows

 

[JLenno]

So a cheap low budget 400w amplifier is going to need a current of 33amps..... That's not a serious sound system but needs serious current, I certainly wouldn't power that from the 10/20amp supply on the back of e radio and even the cig lighter socket at 30amps isn't going to cover that sort of current.

And these days of silly peak power of 500-1000w you're going to need a lot more current, underspec wiring on an amplifier has a tendency to slowly cook the wiring and eventually burn out without ever reaching a point where the fuse blows

A 400 watt amp for a sound system would have 30amps. 400w/13v ( battery at full charge )

You're connecting onto a 30-35 at the radio, so no problem.
As i said, go over this and you would need a proper power source, from the battery.

kinda getting out of hand is this thread

 

[AndyRKett]

kinda getting out of hand is this thread

Indeed it is, so rather than using your seriously floored maths and misunderstandings of electrical systems lets just end it on what's best practice in this situation, which is to install a new cable from the battery rather than just hacking the amp in where you feel like it, to a wiring loom not designed for it.

 

[Azzam]

taking the dash apart and looking for a power source is harder than drilling a hole and connecting it to the battery.... its easier if you relocated the battery in the boot like i have in my celica
the question is........why find a alternative solution to something that works anyway?

 

[JLenno]

floored maths .

Well, apparently the methods always worked for me and others by magic then.
I bow to your expertise :worship:

As i said in an earlier post, if you can take a power source directly from the battery, then do so. If not, ask Mr divine ^ here for help.

 

[howardsam95]

Its not worth taking it from anywhere else. Run atleast 8 gauge from battery and dont be lazy. £20 for an AMP wiring kit is nothing to losing your car if it catches fire. The amp wire is easy to install, drill a hole in the firewall and then its a case of 3 fittings and i can get mine in the boot. Passenger door seal cover, undo them 2 screws, then bottom part of the seat i believe is a T40 fitting, undo that and you can slide cablr underneath and round into the door seal, 10 mins max...
Sam