I tried searching and searching but couldn't find any posts regarding info I need to wire my system. Here's what I got:

3-pairs of component speakers (2 in-dash boston pro series 4" component, 2 front doors boston z-6 component, 2 rear doors boston z-6 component)
2-subs (rear hatch area audiobahn awt-12x)
1-multi-channel 4-channel amp (behind subwoofer box in hatch audiobahn a1504dp)
2-monoblock amps (rear footrest area audiobahn a18001dt x 2)
1-capacitor (rear footrest area audiobahn acap651n)

I know how to wire for the component speakers already but the problem i am having is rca connections. I dont know how to wire the rca wires coming from the head unit to the amps and I also dont know if I need to split any of the rca cables to run to the amps from the head unit. If I do need to split any of the rca cables, then where do I need to split them.

I'm trying to do most of the install myself as I am getting some rediculous pricing for installation of this system from any of the reputable companies out here and I dont trust the others as I have seen their work. Any help would be appreciated.

 

As far as the the rca from the head unit to the amp, what type of head unit are you using?

If it is the factory unit you will need to use a line out converter to convert the speaker wire to a rca connection.

If it is a aftermarket deck ow many sets of pre amp out puts dose it have? Dose it have outputs for front and rear speakers or just a sub output?

A bit more info and you should be able to get a answer no problem.

adam

 

i'm using an Eclipse AVN5495 navigation head unit...if i'm not mistaking, it does have thee sets of pre-outs for all four or six channels including a sub out.

can i run 4 individual audio interconnects for the component speakers and then use one y-cable for the subwoofer as it will be powered with two monoblock amps? or am i not getting it.

 

I think you might be a little confused. Audio interconnects are RCA's so you would not use those for comp speakers, you would use speaker wire. RCA's are to be used for amp to amp or HU to amp use. I hope this helps.


John

 

You may also go to www.crutchfield.com and also try www.the12volt.com they have great tutorials on hooking these items up.

Hope this helps!
John

 

sorry, not confused just misworded. when i wrote "can i run 4 individual audio interconnects for the component speakers and then use one y-cable for the subwoofer as it would be powered with two monoblock amps" i was meaning the connections from preouts for those speakers from the head unit to the amps in the proper spots. i tried crutchfield and the12volt but it doesn't mention anything about my application. still up for any advice...thanks guys.

 

I am still confused!


John

 

If your head unit has 3 sets of RCA's, most likely they are configured front, rear, and sub. So run the front RCA's to the Front input of the multi channel amp, and the rear RCA's to the Rear input.

Run the left sub RCA to one mono amp, and the right sub RCA to the other mono amp. If it is just one RCA coming out of the head unit, split it there and run the RCA's accordingly.

I get the impression that you may have bit off more than you can chew by going with an advanced installation. However, you should be able to figure it out, if you take your time.

 

Thanks oompwa, i know it's pretty advanced but i figure that i'm saving alot getting it done myself and plus i will have the experience for any other future installs. in addition, you kind of get a different feeling of accomplishment whe you do something yourself as opposed to someone else doing it for you.

on the 3 sets of rca's, i believe those are for 6 speakers if i'm not mistaking and there is one seperate out for a sub. so i guess i just need one y-interconnect for the sub and 4 standard interconnects total for the speakers...is this correct?

 

Nice write up! I am sorry I could not understand what he was talking about. Yours explanation was crystal clear. I hope it helps him with his install.


John

 

one thing that i found out about my eclipse avn5495 head unit is that the sub output has a left and right output and since i have two mono subs both with L&R inputs, i would have to get two y-interconnects instead of one. thanks jallamas for the help once again...wish me luck on my install. will post up pics of instal phase and completion soon!

 

Stating it like this will be confusing for beginners and experts alike. The RCA's, in simplistic terms are broken down into channels. Let me try to explain.

The radio has 3 pairs of RCA's. One pair of FRONT, one pair of REAR, and one pair of SUBWOOFER RCA'S.

The FRONT pair consist of a left channel output and a right channel output.

The REAR pair consist of a left channel output and a right channel output.

The SUBWOOFER pair consist of a left channel output and a right channel output.

So, the FRONT pair are going to go to the FRONT RCA inputs of your multichannel amp, period. This requires on RCA cable.

The REAR pair are going to go to the REAR RCA inputs of the multichannel amp, period. This requires one RCA cable.

The radio has a pair of subwoofer RCA's. Your mono amps may be able to accept both left and right channels of the RCA's, and sum the two channels into mono within the amp itself. The mono amps may also be able to be daisy-chained together. Some amps have an output set of RCA jacks along with the input RCA jacks. The purpose of this is so that you can connect multiple mono amps together with short lengths of RCA's. So how it works is, one pair of RCA's comes from the radio and goes to the first amp, and from there you run a pair of RCA's from the first amp(master) to the second (slave) amp. This would require one RCA cable to go from the radio to the first amp, and one RCA cable long enough to go between the two amps.

If my detailed explaination still does not make sense, the best thing you can do is ask someone with experience, to physically show you how your components go together. Some questions are not able to be explained on a forum such as this, short of people taking the effort of making diagrams and such. Even then, you have the components, the manuals, and the instructions for each and every component and we don't. Because of this, you should be able to figure it out by looking over all the manuals and connecting the dot's. It's very straightforward when you do it this way. The radio instructions are going to have diagrams and such, as will the amps, and speakers for that matter.

 

i've already tried reading the manuals but unfortunately the diagrams don't give me examples of my setup. they only show single amp/single sub connection or mutliple amp/single sub connection. they speak about daisy chaining the amps to control one sub. this makes a little sense to me because i've been told that if you have two subs and both are connected to it's own dedicated amplifiers, and both link to the head unit the same way, then there will be equal transmission of frequencies coming to each one. in the same scenario, if the amps are daisy chained, wouldn't one amp have a bit of a delay in comparison with the other? i'm assuming that's the reason the manuals don't have any explanations or diagrams of multiple subs running to daisy chained amps.

i looked at the wiring diagram on the head unit side of it and you're right, it does have three pairs which are dedicated to l/r front, l/r rear, and l/r sub.

the only reason i needed the proper info is to make sure i have the correct wiring needed and i'm not short handed. i'm having the wires custom made for better sound quality so once their here, it can't be returned. on the other hand, alot of people tell me that wires won't make a difference in car audio but in my home theater experience, i've noticed a huge difference changing cables out in my system so i assume it will be the same in car audio because it's the same concept but with a different voltage. thanks again for all your help and it really cleared things up and i hope it's easier than i think it will be.

 

alot of mono block amps have 2 sets of rca connections one says line in and one says line out what you can try is run one set of rca's from your head unit to one amp then take another set and go from amp to amp. that should take care of your problem

 

i thought by doing that i'm basically combining the amps together...is this true??? also, both of my subs are dual 2 ohm so i can either run them at 2ohms or 4ohms. i want each sub to have its own dedicated amp. would the best way to connect it still be y cables or should i do as you stated about running rca from head to amp then from amp to amp? now i'm totally confused.

 

No, you are just "daisy chaining" the signal from one amp to the next. You are only getting 1/2 the signal voltage level to each amp however.

Either 1 ohm or 4 ohm. 1 ohm load might be bad for your amp. In fact, unless you have a very high quality amp, it WILL be bad! Check your manual!!

Either way is OK. Whats easier might make your decision!

 

how can you run 2 or even 3 power cables from the battery to the amps??? would it be better to do seperate power cables from battery to amp or would it be better just to run one power cable to the back and use a distribution block to split to each amp? would i degrade any quality by using a distribution block? and if i run seperate power from the battery to each amp, would I risk damaging my alternator and/or battery in any way?

 

I would run 1/0 gauge wire to a dist block and from the block I would run 4 gauge wire to the amps and you would be set.



John

 

another questions, would it be safer and/or better for me to use a breaker under the hood from power or should i just use a fuse block? if i'm not mistaking, my combined fuses from all three amplifiers are approx 400-450 amps.

 

It is a good idea to run an in-line fuse on the power line near the battery. This will prevent any damage or fire if something were to happen along the power line before the distribution block.