Things You'll Need:
- Amplifier kit Drill -- optional Screwdriver Soldering gun Wrench
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Step 1
Disconnect the car battery by unscrewing the terminal posts on a side terminal battery or removing the terminal rings from a top terminal battery.
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Step 2
Locate the power wire in the amplifier kit. The end with the fuse holder will go under the hood. Drill a small hole in the car firewall using a metal bit -- just large enough for the power wire to fit through. If you don't want to drill a hole, you can usually find an existing hole that the wire can be fed through.
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Step 3
Feed the power wire through the hole in the firewall. Place the heat-protective coiling over the portion of wire under the hood.
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Step 4
Use a screwdriver to unscrew any screws holding the base paneling around the doors in place. The power wire will be fed under this paneling.
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Step 5
Feed the power wire under the floor carpet from the hole in the firewall to the side paneling. You may need to cut a small hole in the carpet to feed the wire or you can usually just feed it under the edge of the carpet.
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Step 6
Feed the wire along and under the paneling so that it will be covered when the door paneling is re-secured. The wire will eventually make it way to come out under the rear seat. You can lift up the base of the rear seat by pulling it up or disengaging any fasteners -- this will depend on your particular car.
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Step 7
Look for any pre-existing holes under the rear seat into the trunk. As wires already go between the car and the trunk, you can typically find some. If not, cut a small hole in the trunk carpet against the back seat and feed the power wire through that hole.
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Step 8
Take the ground wire from the amplifier kit by the end with a ring terminal. You can either pull up your trunk carpet and search for a bolt that the ring terminal might fit over or simply find an exposed section of the trunk frame. If you choose to use a bolt, loosen the nut around the bolt, slide the ring over the bolt and retighten the nut. If you want to connect the ground wire to the frame, you will need to solder the ring directly to the frame. After you have connected the ring and the other end of the ground wire to your amplifier, replace the carpet.
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Step 9
Connect the audio cables from the amplifier kit to your stereo receiver. Make sure that if they are not color coded, remember which you have connected to left and which you have connected to right. Also, if you are connecting a four-channel amplifier, keep track of which are front and which are rear cables. Feed the wires down behind your center console. You can either cut a small hole in the carpet below the console to feed the audio cables through or feed them under the nearest edge of the carpet.
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Step 10
Connect the remote wire to the remote wire on the back of your stereo receiver. This wire may be blue but different receivers can use different colors -- check your receiver manual if you are uncertain. Either solder the two wires together or simply twist them together and use electrical tape to secure the connection. Feed the remote wire alongside the audio cables.
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Step 11
Feed the audio cables and remote wire under the carpet to the paneling on the opposite side of the car from the power wire. Continue to feed them toward the back of the car in the same way as you did the power wire.
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Step 12
Connect the audio cables to the amplifier using the labeled RCA ports on the amplifier. Connect the remote wire, power wire and ground wire to the labeled terminals -- typically on the opposite side of the amplifier from the audio cables. You may need to strip the end if the wire if you had to cut any off to shorten the length provided in the amplifier kit. Place the wire ends into the terminals and tighten with a screwdriver (some amps may require a hex tool).
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Step 13
Connect speaker wires to the amplifier in the same method as the power and ground wires. Simply insert wire ends into the labeled speaker channels and tighten the terminal connections. This will complete the connections to the amplifier -- individual speaker wiring will present various options depending on the number of channels on your amplifier and type of speakers you are going to use.
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Step 14
Connect the other ends of the speaker wires to your speakers. If you are using subwoofers, you will probably use spring-loaded terminals; if you are connecting to speakers, you will often solder the wires to the speaker terminals. Visit http://www.crutchfield.com if you need further help with your particular speakers and what type of connection they use.
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Step 15
Re-secure the backseat, door paneling and any other elements in the car you may have shifted out of place during the wiring.
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Step 16
Remove the fuse from the fuse box on the power wire. Connect the ring terminal to the terminal bolt on a top post battery. Loosen the nut and slide the ring over, then replace the nut. On a side terminal battery you will need a terminal post extender that will allow you to slide the ring over the back of the positive terminal post and secure it with a nut.
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Step 17
Reconnect the car battery by replacing the terminals on the posts on a top post battery or screwing in the terminal posts on a side terminal battery.
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Step 18
Make sure everything is connected properly. Insert the fuse into the fuse box on the power wire. Place the cover over the fuse connection and shut the hood. Turn on the car and test that everything is working properly.
