amp & subwoofer question

[chrom3titan]

hi, i'm pretty bad at cars, most I've done is replace my lights & rims lol. How do i install one in my trunk? And my main question is can I keep my current cd player, I love the 6 cd changer. I have the premium sound package, is there a guide?

[Astro]

You want to install a light in the trunk? Just tap the power off the existing light. If you don't have a light, then run a wire around 16 guage from the battery with a fuse to a pin switch. From the pin switch to the light. If you hook it up to a pin switch, it'll trigger to come on when you open the trunk.
Here's a few pin switches:
http://www.parts-express.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&SO=2&=&CATID=47&ObjectGroup_ID=30&raid=1&rak=pin_switch

For the cd changer, are you asking if you can change the stock deck out for an aftermarket one? If you're keeping the stock deck and adding an amp and sub, just buy a line out converter. The converter hooks up to you rear speaker out on the deck (and front if it's a four wire). The converter has RCAs on it, so it'll allow you to hook it up to an amp. It also converts the signal form high level to a low level. If the converter has four wires, this will also allow you to hook up one four channel amp.
Just like this:
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=721&i=142SLC4&search=line+out+converter&tp=2001

I hope this is what you were asking, it's difficult to clearly understand you questions.

[chrom3titan]

hey thanks so much for the response man. Excuse my earlier post.. I was not in the best condition to be on the internet lol (definitely not driving my solara lol )

well I purchased http://www.savinglots.com/lotprod.asp?item=VB212PKG this, and I know its not fancy high end system but thats what I can get right now with my financial circumstances hehe. I was just wondering if there was a tutorial for this certain project. I want to install the amp and subs in my trunk (as you all know we have a huuuuuge trunk with plenty of room.) I have already searched the tutorial section and didn't find anything I too helpful and if somone can please point me in the right direction thanks for the help guys

[redgen1]

visionsonik makes decent stuff, taht should be a nice starter packege, if you have any questions about car audio, get in touch with prodigy, hes pretty much the man when it comes to that stuff. in reality though, the only way to learn about car audio work is to do it yourself, if you can cut wires and follow simple instructions, shouldnt be bad

[AllShowNoGo]

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-tD7 ... ?listAll=1

[Astro]

Crutchfield has some good diagrams and explains things pretty well.

Just remember to keep your speaker wire away from your power line. Generally, run you power along the driver side and speaker down the passenger side (or even down the middle). If you have to cross them, do so at a 90 degree angle. When these wires are too close together, they will cause noise to enter into your system. Also, you can hook up the power wire, but don't put the fuse in the fuse holder until everything is completed and grounded. Don't forget that where you make your grounds, scratch away any paint so you have direct contact with a metal surface.

Feel free to ask more ?'s, there are alot of people here to help you that are even MECP certified like me. Good luck!

[AllShowNoGo]

^^^where did u get MECP certified?

[Chinky420]

if you can drill a drill, and screw screws in, then you should be able to wire your amp/sub combo up. you're going to have to run power wire from your battery, through the firewall, alongside the cabin (under the plastic driver side door sills), and then under the rear seat, to the trunk. you can ground your amp on the metal panel that is behind the fold-down rear seat (there's a few screws you can use, or you could drill another hole). as far as the speaker signal wire (from the headunit), you're goin to have to loosen the kick panel (probably pass. side) to run the speaker signal wire from the headunit -> pass. side door sill -> under the rear seat ->amp in the trunk.

the hard part will be finding a suitable point to drill through the firewall, then also finding out how you want to run the wire to the trunk. since both of these are relatively easy, then you should be able to do the easier final steps of hooking up your hardware, without too much trouble. oh yeah, be sure to keep the in-line fuse empty until everything is hooked up and ready to go. otherwise you might get a SHOCKING surprise.

everything else will hook up to the head unit, which, yes you can keep (i'm running my JBL OEM single disc w/ (2) 12" pioneers.

you may have to get a crossover to be able to wire it up to the OEM head unit, but i don't think it'll be a huge deal. this part i'm not positive about (anyone else want to weigh in), since i had bestbuy install, and they up-sold me on the crossover.

that's about all i know (i paid bestbuy to install, for convienence sake), astro seems to be knowledgable enough to answer whatever question you can throw at him.

don't be afraid to jump in headfirst. the only thing that can really be broken is the clips that hold the panels on (the door sills and the kick panel). if the proper safety measures are observed (i.e. don't install w/ a hot wire that is actively running from the battery), then you should be fine.

[Astro]

^^^where did u get MECP certified?

I got advanced certification at Mobile Dynamics in Tempe, Arizona.

[Mole]

please post in the correct forums.

[Astro]

please post in the correct forums.

I guess amp/subwoofer questions are related to this forum????

[chrom3titan]

thanks alot for the responses! I will start on the project tomorrow, its so damn windy out now.. And I didn't even notice this section. It was in the wrong section till it was moved, thanks for that! good post chinky, thx guys

[redgen1]

yep, welcome to sg

[chrom3titan]

thanks guys, I have some new questions though:

Do I also have to hook up the actual speakers that came with the car to the amp? Like the ones under my rear-view window and the ones up front

And since I have a 1k watt amp (I think its only 400w though...) will I have to take new measurements with the car? Like not let it run while the engine is off for to long?

thx, yall have been mighty helpful

[AllShowNoGo]

An easy fix is just replacing the speakers and connecting them into the existing wires. As stated earlier if u are not going to get a aftermarket deck u are going to have to get a converter. So unless you really like the oem look i would suggest looking for a aftermarket deck it will make tunning your system easier.

ANd to your other question yes you should be careful using your system while the car is off. Rule of thumb if your in an area u dont want to get stuck dont take the chance.