i installed my first "system" today (kenwood 12" sub and PG amp). it was a pain in the butt but i definitely learned a lot doing it. it took my time because i didn't want to accidently crack any of the plastic kick panels while removing them. it's a fairly clean install for my first time but i still have the clean up the wires by the amp because i left all the excess in the trunk. the biggest problem was that the amp wasn't powering up but i found out that my choice of location for a ground was crappy. i found a good ground and it worked perfect. i'll take some pics after i clean up the excess wires.

ps: anyone have any tips for "tuning" the amp so that i get the most out of it?

UPDATE: PICS




Modified by mrm1682 at 8:01 PM 4/12/2004

 

good job dude.. yeah clean up the wires in the trunk but be sure to leave enough slack in case you ever change your setup back there..
zipties are your friends!
im sure you did the basics right? fusing the power cable at the battery? using a big enough gauge wire for your application?


also when setting your amp.. remember to not go crazy with turning the gain up too far.. a good rule of thumb is to not go past half way up.. and just sit back by your subs at normal listening level, to make sure there not clipping or any distortion sounds coming out.. and make sure your amp is getting to hot either!!

good job dude.. and get some pics up!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eternalek &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">a good rule of thumb is to not go past half way up...</TD></TR></TABLE>

that is a good one, but a better rule of thumb is set your head unit to ~2/3 volume, then turn the gains on the amp up until you start to hear distortion. then back off on them a little till it goes away. that way, you will still have the crankability and your sub will usually have excellent bass to go with it!

 

Sobe_Death

 

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

that is a good one, but a better rule of thumb is set your head unit to ~2/3 volume, then turn the gains on the amp up until you start to hear distortion. then back off on them a little till it goes away. that way, you will still have the crankability and your sub will usually have excellent bass to go with it!</TD></TR></TABLE>

that's actually what's written on the tuning instructions that came with the amp (except they say 90% volume). i think i have it set and i'm off to clean things up a bit. look for pics later tonight or tomorrow!!

 

update: pics above!!

also, i ended up blowing the inline fuse next to the battery because the power and ground wires accidentally touched each other...DOH!! i went to a local shop (the only one open at 730pm) and they only had a 40A fuse. the amp has a 25A does it really matter if i don't use fuses with the same amps?? i'm gonna stop by another shop because i actually want to use a 25A fuse but they just gave me the 40A fuse for free but i'm hesitant to put in it because i don't want to damage the amp.

HELP!!! the amp doesn't power up now. i have no idea why. the amp's fuse is good. the ground is good because it worked today fine before i blew the inline fuse. i put in the 40a fuse just to make sure things work but the amp doesn't even power up now!! it lights up for a second but then nothing. i quadruple checked all connections and everything is fine. i didn't blow the amp itself now did i??? please don't tell me this because this is the last thing that i want to hear after all the work i just did.


UPDATE 4/14: The inline fuse that i got from the local shop was apparently bad. That's what I get for getting free stuff I guess. Anyway, I picked up a 30A fuse today and it worked perfectly!!


Modified by mrm1682 at 9:06 PM 4/13/2004

 

so, um, what color is the neon on the side of the amp

 

lol....the badge lights up blue. i got the neon sticks for the amp as well (came free with the amp) but i won't install it. i might just stick them on ebay hoping to get someone to buy them.