hello HT,

i have been reading various articles on car audio and learning a little bit here and there... but nothing really specific that pertains to a civic.

my box and amp built are already set, and my headunit is on its way. the vehicle is a 96 civic ex
i would like to get a few things clarified:

1) if i ordered a wiring harness from crutchfield.., is there going to be a remote turn on lead for the amp on the harness? or am i going to have to splice a wire to do it? would you recommend me to solder?

2) is there a specific place that you guys used for a ground? i dont really wanna experiment and drill into a wrong spot.

3) amp mounting: some places i read says that mounting an amp on the box is a no no and it will damage the amp in the long run, some places say its ok... whats the low down with this?

4) anything you gurus feel that i should know? (ie: special places to run wires etc)

thanks much.


Modified by ekcivic9 at 7:50 AM 7/23/2005

 

never had an amp so I can only answer no.2

2)any metal brace/bar..anything that's metal


hope this helps

 

ground? i never knew i had to ground the unit. i jsut put it in and it works

 

1: did u order a wire harness for u car or did u order a smart harness??? a wireharness for ur car will just plug straight into ur stock plug then the wires comming out of the harness will have the same colors as the plug for ur deck.
a smart harness plugs into ur deck then into ur stock plug without splicing wires...
2: scrap paint off of the metal before u drill...make it nice and clean...make shure its a good spot of metal..dont pick some flemsy piece..
3: under ur seat isnt very good...u just need a good place for it to breathe...just put it in ur trunk behind ur seat thats the most comming place..
4:dont run ur rca's next to any power wires... run ur rca's down one side then run ur other wires down the other side..
thats pretty much all i can say now if u need ne more help just hit me up y0

 

thanks for the replies guys... as for the grounding place i was just wondering if there was an area that you specifically used. but its ok, ill find some bare metal

thanks

-edit- can someone also clarify the whole airbag thing? i dont want my airbags blowing out.

 

Never heard of any airbag issues.

The wiring harness that fits your aftermarket deck will have an amp remote turn-on wire that you need to connect to the amp somehow. It's easy: just use the same wiring connectors that you use to connect the rest of the wiring harness to the stock wiring. No solder needed.

I don't know how big your amp is or how much space you have under the seat, but I've got my amp under my passenger seat and it works just fine. Crossovers are under the driver's seat.

The right and left sides of your car (the door sills) probably have tons of wires running through them already, so I wouldn't recommend running the RCAs there. There are probably no wires under your center console however. I ran my RCAs there and it sounds clean.

Dan

 

hey dan,

i would like to run it down the center console, but wouldnt the wires be exposed in the back by the rear seats?

i snapped the door sill cover pin thingy by accident and 1 clip is busted.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ekcivic9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hello HT,

i have been reading various articles on car audio and learning a little bit here and there... but nothing really specific that pertains to a civic.

my box and amp built are already set, and my headunit is on its way. the vehicle is a 96 civic ex
i would like to get a few things clarified:

1) if i ordered a wiring harness from crutchfield.., is there going to be a remote turn on lead for the amp on the harness? or am i going to have to splice a wire to do it? would you recommend me to solder?

2) is there a specific place that you guys used for a ground? i dont really wanna experiment and drill into a wrong spot.

3) amp mounting: some places i read says that mounting an amp on the box is a no no and it will damage the amp in the long run, some places say its ok... whats the low down with this?

4) anything you gurus feel that i should know? (ie: special places to run wires etc)

thanks much.


Modified by ekcivic9 at 7:50 AM 7/23/2005</TD></TR></TABLE>
1- remote turn on- If you are talking about an adpt. harness for the HU, so you can plug it into the oem radio harness, it will have a blue "turn on lead" it is for a oem amp and/or power ant. or an amplified ant., the only reason you would need to use it is if you have one of the above in your car, if your HU has a blue wire and a blue/white wire connect the blue wire to the blue wire of the adpt. harness, if your HU only has a blue/white wire do not connect it to the blue wire on the adpt. harness YET. The blue/white amp control wire will have to run to the amp, and soldering is the best connection you can make, although, that is a low current line and you can use a "crimp" type connection.
2- grounds- You should ground as close as you can to the amp, there is no need to drill a hole in your car for a ground, there are lots of bolts and studs that go into the floor pan of the car, seat bolts, seat belt bolts and others, just find the one that is closest to the amp remove bolt or nut off stud, clean all paint and or dirt off surface around bolt hole or stud, and bolt or nut into place the proper size ring term. that you have soldered onto the end of your ground wire. You may need to add a ground from the chassis of the HU to the chassis of the car, there are lots of good ground points behind the HU, dash sub frame.
3-amp mounting- the sub box is not a good place to mount the amp, to the back of the back seat is better, but if the amp will fit under the pass. seat without interfering with the seats operation, it is the best spot, its close to the batt. and the HU, [short RCAs and power wire] and you have 4 bolts to pick from for ground, on most Hondas/Acuras you can raise the back of the seat with spacers a little if you need more clearance or a lot more if you replace the bolts with longer ones.
4- running wires- no matter where you end up mounting the amp, run the power wire down the same side of the car that the batt. is on, you want to keep it as short as possible, run the RCAs down the center of car, you want to keep it as short as you can also, but you will also want to keep it away from any power wires, not just the power wire for the amp.

If you have any other questions, feel free to IM me, or re-post on this tread

 

one last thing... i see a rubber grommet (or at least i think it is) near the battery on the passenger side of the car.

do i just cut a slit into it and feed the power wire thru? or is there a different method to this? the grommet on the drivers side looks diff compared to the one on the passenger.

anyhow, i need to get this system up and running.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ekcivic9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hey dan,

i would like to run it down the center console, but wouldnt the wires be exposed in the back by the rear seats?

i snapped the door sill cover pin thingy by accident and 1 clip is busted. </TD></TR></TABLE>

If you're running them all the way to the trunk, I'd run them under the carpet behind the center console and maybe cut a notch in the console plastic so it doesn't pinch the wires. That would be on a Prelude anyway - I don't know what your center console looks like.
Getting under the carpet there is way easy: take out the rear seats and the carpet is pinned under there, and between the center console and the rear seats there's probably only about 6"-1ft of carpet to get under.

If you used a seat bolt for your ground I imagine the wire would have to clamp under the seat and it would raise the seat a little. I just drilled a hole in the bar/mound that goes under the seat and bolted it to that, the contact is only 3 or 4 inches from my ground plug.


Dan

P.S. Listen to fcm, he's the man for audio advice

 

well i would love to run it down the center console, however, i have a coupe, and removing the rear seats would be a pain in the rear imo.

i think ill just run it down the opposite side of the car from the powerwire in the door frame.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ekcivic9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well i would love to run it down the center console, however, i have a coupe, and removing the rear seats would be a pain in the rear imo.

i think ill just run it down the opposite side of the car from the powerwire in the door frame.</TD></TR></TABLE> Do NOT run the RCAs on the other side of the car, all the powers for the rear of the car run down that side, there is only one bolt holding the bottom of the back seat in, if you feel between the back and the bottom of the seat just a little off center, 5 or 6 inchs to the drivers side, you will feel the bolt, remove it and fold the bottom forward and unhook it and its out, 2 min. max, this is if you are not mountind amp under the pass. seat, remove the seat anyway, it will make wiring a lot easier.
As for the rubber grommet in the firewall, Yes use it, but to keep it waterproof you need a round hole a little smaller then the wire you are running, if you don't have a hole punch, just use a socket that has an outside diametor the same size or a little smaller then the wire place the grommet on a hard flat surface place socket in the center of the grommet, [bolt side down] and smack it hard with a hammer, it will cut right through the rubber and leave a nice round hole, that when you runn the wire through it will seal right up. 94

 

ah. fcm... saves my *** again. thanks for the heads up!

 

ok last post, i promise, then i will stop upping this thread.
i got some pictures


that is the rubber grommet i am referring to, i cant seem to get it off but im pretty sure i can just cut a slit into it.


that is the grommet on the drivers side, looks different, but you guys recommended me to run the power wire down the same side as the battery.



and those are some possible grounding places... however, im afraid that removing a bolt would cause some of the screws to drop into the unknown -.- . at this moment, i am considering to use the rear light housing to use as a ground.

and one final thing: does the amp turn on wire go down with the RCA's or the power wire?

anyways, im done.




Modified by ekcivic9 at 2:54 PM 7/24/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ekcivic9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok last post, i promise, then i will stop upping this thread.
i got some pictures


that is the rubber grommet i am referring to, i cant seem to get it off but im pretty sure i can just cut a slit into it.


that is the grommet on the drivers side, looks different, but you guys recommended me to run the power wire down the same side as the battery.



and those are some possible grounding places... however, im afraid that removing a bolt would cause some of the screws to drop into the unknown -.- . at this moment, i am considering to use the rear light housing to use as a ground.

and one final thing: does the amp turn on wire go down with the RCA's or the power wire?

anyways, im done.


Modified by ekcivic9 at 2:54 PM 7/24/2005</TD></TR></TABLE>First let me say, good pic's, next, I hope you haven't cut that grommet yet, it needs a round hole in it so it will be water tight, if you cut it with a knife, just a slice or a cross, when the wire is in the grommet it will hold it open enough for water to get in, it's no biggy till you take that long trip and it's pissing rain all the way, use the method I mentioned above. The other thing you will do when you cut it in the fire wall is, you will cut all the way to the metal, not only can the grommet work itself out of the hole, leaving you with an even bigger hole, for that long trip in the rain, the edges of the sheet metal can be sharp, and if it cuts through the insulation on the power wire, it's a dead short. If you have already cut it, gob on the silicone, oh and use the grommet on the pass. side.

For the grounds, the 4th pic. of the 2 bolts, they are the bolts that hold the bumper to the unibodys "frame rails" removing one of then is np problem, the nut is "welded" to the bumper mounting bracket, although they make very good grounds, [once paint is sanded away] unless you are mounting the amp at the very back of the car, it will make for a very long ground. Ground as close to the amp as you can, at 12" the ground is getting long, in the 3rd pic., it shows the back, [nut end] of 3 bolts, [BTW that is how the bumper nut is mounted], even though you can get at the bolt end, to remove the bolt, the bolts do not go into the floor pan of the car, [like the bumper bolts] it is a better ground to go into the floor pan then it is to something the goes into something that is spot welded to the floor pan.
OK let me catch my breath
Is mounting the amp under the pass. seat, not an option 94

 

yea i wouldnt mount a sub amp under the seat...i would a 4ch tho...those dont get pushed at 1-2 ohms so they dont heat up as much...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NiPBoi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yea i wouldnt mount a sub amp under the seat...i would a 4ch tho...those dont get pushed at 1-2 ohms so they dont heat up as much...</TD></TR></TABLE>Braaaahahahahahaha I have been installing mono block sub amps under the front seats of cars for as long as there have been mono block sub amps, one of the big advantages of doing so is for cooling as it is nice and open under there, but the main reason in the amp is mounted flat and upright the way it is supposed to be, and guess what, not a single amp that I have installed under a seat, and I'm talking about more then 100, have ever come back with an over heating problem, even the ones that were loaded down to 1 ohm 94