[HOW TO] Install a subwoofer and amp

[Deemon]

Ok, after upgrading my front speakers (thx Pottsy, Front speakers - replacement with Infinity Ref 6510CS) I could finally take no more of the poor base, so it was time to put in the Sub

The plan was simple, run a power cable from battery through the car to the amp, run wires from the back speakers into a LOC and then RCA's to the amp, Remote cable would be run from the cigarette lighter in the boot, and earth would also be in the boot........the result? OH YES!!!! NOW THAT HOW IT SHOULD SOUND!!!

Here's some pick of the installation.....

Back door panels come off the same way as the fronts, 3 screws and a load of poppers.

sub01.jpg

sub02.jpg

sub03.jpg


The speakers appear to be the same size as the front ones but I didn’t take any sizes (sry), +ve as per front is the right hand side terminal viewed from the back of the speaker, from memory it was the blue cable..

sub04.jpg

Next I started to remove the trim so I could feed the cables through. The this pic shows the kick plate? which is held on by poppers, I did the same at the drivers door.

sub05.jpg

Then the seal can be lifted to allow the middle trim section to come off

sub06.jpg

sub07.jpg

sub08.jpg

Next, rig up the speaker connections and use plenty of black tape on the connector block to secure the wires.

sub09.jpg

Now this is the tricky bit, feeding the cable through the door into the car. My solution was to use a metal coat hanger to pull the cable through.
If you look you can see a red cable, that was my first attempt to feed the cable but the rubber seal was too tight...

sub10.jpg

1st part almost done, feed the cable under the carpet and replaced the trim.
Next thing was the power cable from the battery, and let me tell u it was not easy trying to find a way into the car from the engine bay. but there is one, right in the middle at the back of the engine, all the electrical wires run through a rubber seal into the car, It was difficult to get a picture of this and this is the best one (sry) but you can just make out a bunch of wires and my red power cable..

sub11.jpg

sub12.jpg

The power cable was run down the passenger side of the car under the carpet, as per the speaker cable on drivers side.

Is that light at the end of the tunnel or is a train coming? no I think its light
Final connections now, this is a where all the cables come to meet in the boot, also the earthing point.

sub13.jpg

sub14.jpg

Now, wire up the amp screw in place and your done

sub15.jpg

Lookin good, As u can see I have used the cigarette lighter for the remote, it means I can easily unplug the amp when I need to remove the sub to load up the car and I was easier to do this than find another source and install a switch

So there u have it, how it install a sub in, eh, a few easy steps


Thx to my ** Qaz for his help.

[Fedorov]

Nice work mate, great set of pictures, not something I would ever dare to try but well done!

[Deemon]

Lol, thx Fedorov, the most difficult part was getting my wife to agree to the sub

[Pottsy]

Missed this while I was away... Nice work!

Deemon, may I pinch, resize and directly host the images here to make it a bit easier and nicer to read?

[Deemon]

Yea go for it Pottsy

U now tempted to install a sub yourself?

[Pottsy]

Done.

Yes.

All bits in stock (nice Boston Acoustics sub, big fat PG amp). Was trying to avoid it!

[Deemon]

Thx ** looks better now

You won't be disappointed in the SQ, I'm amazed at how much base I get from the standard headunit, it's real window shaking stuff....Not that I play it loud u understand

[Pottsy]

What amp did you use? I presume the crossover was in the amp, or was it in the LOC?

[Deemon]

It's an amp I have had for years (Pioneer GM-X404) but it has always gave me good sound and as they say if its not broke don't fix it and yea the amp has a built in crossover so I only needed the LOC to convert from speaker level.
If U are only using the Amp for base u shouldn’t have any SQ problems that can sometimes happen when adding an amp to standard HU so an cheap LOC should do the job, the one I used was only £7 from my local ICE dealer.

[Jay]

This guide is the one I have been looking for - and acually made me cancel my order for the Bassworks package.

I'm not so much of a electronic nut - but is it possible to still have the rear speakes connected while also having the signal mounted to a LOC and further to the amp/sub?

Cause my idea was to upgrade both the front and the rear and then add a sub package to the trunk when I can afford it... :P

[Deemon]

Yea Jay that’s exactly what I have done so both front and rear speakers work with a signal wire for the LOC/SUB connected to the rear. If u look at the 9th pic down u can see the cable I used. Split, one with connectors to go onto the speaker terminals and one cable running to the LOC.

[Nick7]

Only one concern: didn't see a fuse for wire you used to amp amplifier.... I reeeeeally hope you put one.

[Deemon]

LOL Yea there's on one there just don't show in the pics

[hondaatje]

here a picture how i made it:


and this is what you see when it's dark:

[NeoWave]

i have one big question...Do you use the original cd player ? how can I put another source in my civic ? is there some adaptator ?

cheers

[Evil Ash]

what's a LOC, i'm going to attemt this in a few weeks but i'm dutch and don't understand it

[Pottsy]

It's a Line Output Converter - reduces the speaker level output of the head unit down to "line level" for sending into an amp. They can range in size a quality, but here's an example:

http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/pro...s_id/3867.html

HTH.

[rammos]

Ok this is a very stupid question, What is RCA cables you are talking about?

[rammos]

sorry got it

[p64]

Hello!
A question: how to get the amp wire through the grommet? In the engine bay there is practically no access. Do I have to just punch it through?
Any suggestion would be fine.

Thanks,
Andrej