Fitting an Amp in the rear storage bin!

Draggon · September 15, 2007, 12:21

Hi All

I dont suppose anyone has any pics on how to do this? (the pics are not showing anymore, links gone i expect)

I have bought an Alpine SWD-1600 and am attempting to fit it but just need some advice on where to run the speaker cables to the HU.

I am placing the sub in the rear passenger side bin as it sits nicely and I can use the straps in there to hold it in place (not screwing it down as i may want remove for storage purposes) along with a bit of sticky back velcro I think.

Should I try to run the speaker connections doen the centre under the handbrake etc or down / under the passenger side sill?

Any advice is good s:)

s:)

(PS: sorry mods if this is covered elsewhere, did a search but no joy)

rtbiscuit · September 15, 2007, 12:49

side sill is where i run all mine, there is a panel in the passenger foot well that you can run the cables behind, and then up in to the centre behind the stereo. s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Draggon · September 15, 2007, 13:42

Ta very much s:)

s:) ...had a quick look....all unclips....should be easy s:)

s:)

Thanks again

Ernie Ball · September 15, 2007, 16:50

Got a question about the proper order in which to connect things.

I assume that one removes the negative lead from the battery before beginning.

Then what? Is this the order?

1) Amp to ground on metal body of car
2) Fused power lead from amp to positive terminal on battery
3) Ignition lead to ignition lead behind head unit
4) Reconnect negative lead to battery.

Is this right?

rtbiscuit · September 15, 2007, 20:41

not sure, i just disconnect the neagative, fit it all together, redo the negative.

but then mines not working at the mo! s:roll: :roll: s:roll: its currently in the garage awaiting a re install s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

Ernie Ball · October 6, 2007, 11:38

How does the grommet on the firewall come out? Can't seem to get it out.

And which one do you use (there are two)?

philster_d · October 6, 2007, 12:23

Whichever is most convinient for the cable run. Presumably the battery side?

Istr making a small hole in it and pulling something like a string through first.

After 1 wire is in you can tape onto that and pull the next. My teins also go through these gromets. So they, and my sils, are very choc a bloc with cables.

Ernie Ball · October 6, 2007, 13:01

I solved it by wedging the power cable along one side of the grommet. It seals nearly perfectly and is probably as good as it would be with a hole in it.

Now I'm just about to give up on getting speaker wire through the door grommet. Even if I get it through, I can't figure out how on earth I could reach the area where the wire comes into the car. Any ideas?

aaronjb · October 6, 2007, 14:33

Quote from: "Ernie Ball"I solved it by wedging the power cable along one side of the grommet. It seals nearly perfectly and is probably as good as it would be with a hole in it.

You mean between the grommet and the bodywork? I wouldn't do that - if the metal eats through the power cable you'll have some nice sparks..

Ernie Ball · October 6, 2007, 16:13

Quote from: "aaronjb"
Quote from: "Ernie Ball"I solved it by wedging the power cable along one side of the grommet. It seals nearly perfectly and is probably as good as it would be with a hole in it.

You mean between the grommet and the bodywork? I wouldn't do that - if the metal eats through the power cable you'll have some nice sparks..

OK. So would you put a hole in the grommet?

aaronjb · October 6, 2007, 16:17

Yep - poke a hole in the grommet with a crosshead screwdriver (that can't damage the existing wires), then poke the wire through the hole..

Tip courtesy of Stu, by the way, since that's his method really s:)

s:)

Ernie Ball · October 6, 2007, 17:25

Sage advice, as always, Aaron. Thanks for saving me from myself. I've now put it through a hole in the grommet. No worries.

I've given up on getting speaker wire to the doors. I understand the coathanger trick and pushing the wire from the door into the car, but I can't for the life of me figure out how it can work. Even if I could get hanger and wire through the long rubber grommet (which I can't), I can't figure out where or how to pick up the wire from inside the car. This is on the left-side door. I haven't even tried the right side.

So I'm just going to put the speaker wires under the carpet to connect them to the leads behind the head unit that run out to the doors. I'm not happy about hooking my amp up to such cheap/thin wire, but I don't see any alternative. Am I going to regret this? Is the amp (80w RMS x 2 into 4 Ohm, I believe) going to be too much for those thin wires?

Any other suggestions?

By the way, I've abandoned plans to put the amp in the bin and am now attempting to put it under the passenger seat. I think it's small enough.

Ernie Ball · October 7, 2007, 10:33

I'm going to take another stab at running wires through the doors today. Can anyone give me more detail about how they did this?

kanujunkie · October 7, 2007, 10:55

come on Steve, its not hard to get the wires through, but you do need to really shove your hand up behind the dash, also the length of coat hanger wire needs the tip of it folded over to stop it snagging on the rubber folds. As for laying wire under the carpet, well thats not going to do any good as feet will damage the cable over time. Plus connecting into the old wireing may overload the stock stuff, it was never designed for amplified signals and you may have problems.

philster_d · October 7, 2007, 13:48

To help get the speaker wires through the door gromet I recomend putting a bit of washing up liquid on the wires so they can slip through easier.

My friend did mine and in less than 30 mins using this method and a small screw driver.

Ernie Ball · October 7, 2007, 16:55

Thanks, guys. The deed is now done. I can see why it seems like getting the wires through the doors is not so hard . . . after I did the second one. The second one was a breeze and took about 5 minutes.

But the first one, for whatever reason was a complete bear. Almost as hard as getting it through was getting the coat hanger back out afterwards!

A couple of tips for anyone attempting this:

I found it was easiest if you removed the woofer from the door and also removed both ends of the rubber grommet from the door and car body respectively. Rather than using a bent coat hanger, I found that cutting a perfectly straight 8 or 9-inch piece from the middle of a coat hanger was best. No need to bend the top over, just tape the wire to the end and work it through. I didn't use dishwashing liquid or any lubricant, but it might've made the job easier. Once you get it through, work it into the body-side hole that the grommet came out of. In order to access it, you'll need to have the kick panel on the floor out. Doing this involves removing the sill plastics and then hand undoing the one plastic bolt keeping the kick panel in. Work the wire down and you should see it coming out of a hole in the space under the kick panel. From there you can route it either behind the dash or under the sill.

Have now got the amp (Blaupunkt TSA 280 minus the ridiculous plastic housing it comes with) mounted under the passenger seat. This is a great place for it. The amp is small enough that it doesn't impede movement of the seat. And it doesn't take up precious storage-bin space. Now, if it were an expensive amp, I'd worry about it getting tons of dust in there, but it wasn't expensive and having the wiring means it's easily replaced if need be.

Power came in through the upper battery-side grommet in the firewall, under the bin plastics, down the centre console and out through the hole in the carpet where the right rear bolt for the passenger seat goes in. Ground went through that same hole and got bolted to a metal part in the console.

Speaker wires went through the doors, down the centre tunnel and out a small slit I made in the carpet just behind the front right bolt hole for the seat. RCA and remote lead up through that same hole (I know people say make the RCA leads and the speaker leads go different ways, but I didn't have a whole lot of choice given the placement of the amp). There's no danger that anyone will tread on them or that the seat will crush them.

Also installed the bluetooth unit for the Alpine iDA-X001 head unit. Seems to work as advertised with my Nokia 6288.

Anyway, thanks for the help and advice.

Anonymous · February 4, 2008, 08:30

Is anyone able to post a picture of the location the +'ve cable comes through the grommet?

If you like, drop me a PM and i can host the images s:)

s:)

G

kanujunkie · February 4, 2008, 09:13

doubt theres 2 the same, its where ever you decide to put it through, either through one of the 2 exsisting gromets at a convienient place or make a new hole with a new gromet in the hole.

Anonymous · February 4, 2008, 14:38

Quote from: "kanujunkie"doubt theres 2 the same, its where ever you decide to put it through, either through one of the 2 exsisting gromets at a convienient place or make a new hole with a new gromet in the hole.

I'll have a butchers at the weekend then s:)

s:)

If you like (and if someone can edit the original post) i can take + host pictures of my progress so they can be re-added to the original post?

G

kanujunkie · February 4, 2008, 16:20

go for it

Anonymous · February 19, 2008, 10:07

Pics:

The grommet you're aiming for looknig through the engine bay (easier if you unbolt the battery):

From the inside, screwdriver poking the hole:

Lots of fairy liquid later, and the cable is through:

Running speaker cable to the drivers side (white cable):

Temporarily amped up the stock speakers until my new ones arrive:

cclarke99 · February 19, 2008, 20:52

Just one point, make sure the drain holes (see other threads) are clear before you install any expensive electrical goodies in the bins, because if they are not chances are they'll get wet. When I bought it, my car had a very nice 6 disc CD changer in the bin which was completely dead for this reason.