Amp Wiring

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Griffeycom

New member
Hey all, I just purchased a '98 SR5 4x4 and I was wondering how you guys wire your amp from your battery to wherever you put it inside your car. I sold my eclipse for my 4runner and I used to have it go from the battery to through the left fender then i'd have it pinched through the door :-/. I'd like to find a way that it's 1) hidden and 2) not pinched through the door.

Also, are there any real dangers of hooking this up to my battery? i use a 700W amp powering 2 10" subs (500W max each) Only thing that happend in my eclipse is that at night the lights would dim when the bass would hit hard...

Thanks :)
 
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There usually is a hole in the firewall that you can route the power cable of the AMP.

No danger of hooking into the battery as long as you are using the correct fuse. If there is a power surge, the fuse blows instead of damaging your vehicle electronics.

If your lights were dimming with the bass, then you probably needed a capacitor.
 
i have my power wire ran through a grommet in the drivers side fire wall

then its routed through the drivers kick.......then through the drivers side running board to the back

you can't see a thing
 
I believe I know where you're referring too, I saw a rubber seal with some wires running through them, should I try to open the point where the seal is and put my wire through there? I have a 4-gauge power cable, is that too much? I know the smaller number (bigger cable) the better, but do I really need a 4 gauge wire?

And my cable does have a fusebox attached to it. But if my lights dimm in my 4runner as they did in my eclipse i'll look into a capasitor.

Thanks for your help :)
 
Griffeycom said:
I believe I know where you're referring too, I saw a rubber seal with some wires running through them, should I try to open the point where the seal is and put my wire through there? I have a 4-gauge power cable, is that too much? I know the smaller number (bigger cable) the better, but do I really need a 4 gauge wire?

And my cable does have a fusebox attached to it. But if my lights dimm in my 4runner as they did in my eclipse i'll look into a capasitor.

Thanks for your help :)
Click to expand...

look and see what your amp manufactorer says for cable size.

4 gauge sounds right.

i believe you are correct in where the rubber grommet is.......there are quite a few wires going through this.....it is on the drivers side of the firewall in the engine bay.

i just shoved my power cable through there......you might need to slit it a little bit with a knife.

the fuse in the power cable should be within a foot or so of the battery

hope this helps
 
If your lights are dimming, a Capacitors is just going to put more of a strain on your electrical system.

The only real fix (not a bandaid) for this is a H.O. alternator.

Here is a great read on Capacitors, it's written by one of my admins, he really know his stuff.

http://www.caraudiocentral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1888

You do need to register to gain access to this section. We only did this because too many people were copy/pasting our FAQ's all over the web, and then saying they wrote it.

There are a bunch of FAQ's That can help you answer many of your car Audio Questions.
 
Alright thanks for the help. I'm gonna try and get my cable through the seal tomorrow.

I'll also be able to see if my lights will dim tomorrow too. I don't know if they will, I just know they did in the Eclipse so we'll see with a runner.
 
Griffeycom said:
Alright thanks for the help. I'm gonna try and get my cable through the seal tomorrow.

I'll also be able to see if my lights will dim tomorrow too. I don't know if they will, I just know they did in the Eclipse so we'll see with a runner.
Click to expand...

when i install my amp, i had my volt gauge before. it still remains 13v so my lights stay normal. even though it's been dim because i have too many LEDs and too much other lights in my t4r. :biggrin2:

13v meaning the engine is on and the alternator is recharging the battery. when i just switch my key to on but didn't start the car, it remains 12v. but yes, the amp will slowly run the battery up pretty quick. i noticed from my volt gauge that it went from 12 to 11 v within few minutes.
 
Okay new question. I'm going to be putting my amp underneith the drivers seat. It fits quite nicely there and I can hide most the wires under the trim. But. Where can I ground the amp? Can I use the inside portion of the bolt that connects the door to the hinge ? If not where else might i try to ground it?
 
Griffeycom said:
Okay new question. I'm going to be putting my amp underneith the drivers seat. It fits quite nicely there and I can hide most the wires under the trim. But. Where can I ground the amp? Can I use the inside portion of the bolt that connects the door to the hinge ? If not where else might i try to ground it?
Click to expand...


i for one wouldn't put it under the seat. you have no ventilation there, and you will get water and stuff underneith there from getting in and out of the vehicle. I would run it to the back.....maybe even put it on the back of one of the rear seats.

but if you must put it there...you could use one of the seat mount bolts.
 
My experience with caps was quite different than what has been described in this thread. I saw it with my own two eyes and have no reason to speculate about it.

I have a high current amp in my truck that can pull 25-30 amps under heavy load and it used to dim my lights to the point that people flashed me back. It was a really sharp, quick dim when I first hooked it up. After installing a 1/4 farad cap in it the dimming slowed down to a slower and less dramatic dim. Under most hits the lights ddn't dim at all.

I say try a cap and see if it helps you with your dimming problem, if you have it. That's what they sell caps for...


As for mounting under the seat, I mounted ours there and it's been fine. If it starts to get hot, or if you think it might be getting hot, hit the bi-level button on the Ac and it will get a nice cool blast. There is no other mounting location where you can direct AC on the amp as easily as under the seat. Personally I've never had a problem with heat.

I yanked the vent out of the side I mounted it on and filed it in a drawer in the garage. That allowed me to mount the amp all the way under the seat where you almost can't see it.

I think it's a great place to put it.
 
i disagree

i have a 1.2 farad cap in my camry, and it does nothing besides look cool. the lights still dim.....

and with mounting under the seat. Look at the amp's owners manual, and it will specifically state to NOT mount it in tight areas like that, and i belive my JL even says do NOT mount it under a seat.

it will heat up, no matter what.

i say: why place an amp where you HAVE to have AC blowing on it.....when you could easily mount it somewhere where that is not neccessary at all?

just my .02
 
oops! i mounted my amp under my seat. it's pretty small and compact so i thought it would be okay there. I guess i'll try to mount it somewhere in the back. there's also a vent in the cargo area on the driver's side just to let you guys know.

but about dimming. i haven't had problems with dimming lights when i have my amp. i guess it's not as powerful? but i have a volt gauge which i just look at it. when the engine is on, it's 13v but when it's off, it's 12v. the only dimming happens when i pull up my power window. that's about it.
 
sounds like your fine.

maybe after a drive....go feel your amp, and see how hot it actually is.

and with the dimming....i think the T4R electrical system is stronger then your previous cars
 
trd_style said:
oops! i mounted my amp under my seat. it's pretty small and compact so i thought it would be okay there. I guess i'll try to mount it somewhere in the back. there's also a vent in the cargo area on the driver's side just to let you guys know.

but about dimming. i haven't had problems with dimming lights when i have my amp. i guess it's not as powerful? but i have a volt gauge which i just look at it. when the engine is on, it's 13v but when it's off, it's 12v. the only dimming happens when i pull up my power window. that's about it.
Click to expand...

How many Watts is your AMP? Mine is a 700W

But like i said, it was only my Mitsubishi Eclipse where the lights dimmed, i still havent had a chance to hook my system up to my 4Runner and test it out (Got the CD Player installed today though, tomrrow just have to wire the amp to the battery to the subs :)
 
Griffeycom said:
How many Watts is your AMP? Mine is a 700W

But like i said, it was only my Mitsubishi Eclipse where the lights dimmed, i still havent had a chance to hook my system up to my 4Runner and test it out (Got the CD Player installed today though, tomrrow just have to wire the amp to the battery to the subs :)
Click to expand...

i bought my subs+amp from my friend for 200. my amp is about 400 watts though. but subs about 600watts. so maybe that's why. i didn't really want that much power anyways. i just want to feel the bass. not really the pounding nor blowing up my eyedrum. LOL. but my subs, Alpine Type-R are ported so i guess i could put my amp on my sub box. what you guys think?
 
alright, i finally got it all wired up. I put it through the rubber grommet (think that's what it's called) that a few other wires were already going through, i had to lit it enough to get the wire through though. It goes from there, under the trim, then under the carpet through the hole that already exists under the drivers seat then to the amp (so far no problems with overheating that i'm aware of). It's very concelied and you can't really tell there's wireing or an amp there. :)

Anyway, I have a new problem now. My subs seem to be rattling. I don't think it's anything on the truck, but the subs themselves rattling. Is it common for them to do this when they go bad?

I'm pretty sure there isnt anything loose that could be rattling. It really seems like it's coming directly from the subs theselves.
 
Griffeycom said:
alright, i finally got it all wired up. I put it through the rubber grommet (think that's what it's called) that a few other wires were already going through, i had to lit it enough to get the wire through though. It goes from there, under the trim, then under the carpet through the hole that already exists under the drivers seat then to the amp (so far no problems with overheating that i'm aware of). It's very concelied and you can't really tell there's wireing or an amp there. :)

Anyway, I have a new problem now. My subs seem to be rattling. I don't think it's anything on the truck, but the subs themselves rattling. Is it common for them to do this when they go bad?

I'm pretty sure there isnt anything loose that could be rattling. It really seems like it's coming directly from the subs theselves.
Click to expand...

is the subs rattling or the music is making a distortion noise? if it's a distortion, you should get a newer amp. this issue could blow your subs easily. it happened to my friend and it's not a good thing. but i never heard about subs rattling from the box. is the box custom made or directly from the company that made your subs? for mine, i had an Alpine subs that came in Alpine box which is ported.
 
my box that i have actually rattled at first

its cheaper.........but what was rattling was the plate for the conectors....you know, where you hook up the speaker wire to the box.

i just screwed those screws holding that in a bit tighter.........and no more rattle
 
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