How to Install Amps
- 1). Disconnect the negative battery terminal.
- 2). Determine the battery side of the vehicle and drill a hole in the vehicle firewall on that side. If there is already a hole in the firewall, make it large enough for the power wires.
- 3). Protect the drilled hole edges from rust with paint or a similar material.
- 4). Install a rubber grommet into any firewall hole to protect the wire from scuffing, and caulk any gap between the inner diameter of the rubber grommet and the wire/cable to guard against moisture from anywhere running down the wire to the amp.
- 5). Run the wire from the interior of the vehicle through the hole and to the battery area, pushing from the car interior side through the firewall. Install an in-line fuse holder for the power wire within 12 to 15 inches of the battery terminal connection. The fuse protects your vehicle from burning in the event of an electrical short.
- 6). Run the power wire under vehicle carpet to where the amp is or will be mounted. Carefully avoid seat tracks, door jambs or any other pinch points. Depending on the wiring employed, connect the power wire to the amplifier directly or through a power distribution block if using multiple amplifiers.
- 7). Mount any and all amplifiers on solid, non-conductive surfaces within the vehicle.
- 8). Connect the remote turn-on lead (typically blue in color) from the in-dash head unit to the amplifier input. Run this cable from some channel away from the power wires. This remote wire is what sends turns the amplifier on and off.
- 9). Connect RCA cables on the same side as the remote turn-on lead to the speaker terminals that the amp will power. Use any other connectors if the amp and/or speakers are other than RCA terminals.
- 10
Connect the negative terminal of the amplifiers to any metal point on the vehicle to ground the amps. This negative power wire should be short, but the same gauge as the positive power wire that goes to the battery. Scrape paint to get a bare metal grounding surface. Paint, caulk or otherwise cover the material to prevent corrosion. - 11
Insert the amp fuses into their holder(s), reconnect the negative battery terminal and test the audio system.