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Amp power cord through firewall?

Rush2112

NAXJA Forum User
Location
NH
So I bought an amp and sub for my Jeep and said the hell with professional installation the moment they told me it would be 120 bucks:scared:. However, I'm now faced with the dilemma of getting the amp's power cable to the battery somehow. Apparently the way this is done is to go through the firewall some how. Any suggestions on where on the firewall to do it and how?

Thanks in advance.
 
I used the rubber plug thats kinda oval shaped on the drivers side near the steering column. Its easy to see if you pop the hood and look on that side. Remember to seal it up afterwards.
 
I drilled a hole through the firewall on the passenger side since it was closest to the battery and the amp. Use a grommet and plenty of RTV and you will be fine.
 
98XJSport said:
I used the rubber plug thats kinda oval shaped on the drivers side near the steering column. Its easy to see if you pop the hood and look on that side. Remember to seal it up afterwards.

I did the same thing... just make sure your power cable is long enough, 20 feet gave me about 1 1/2 feet to work with once I got it back there.
 
Ok, I got the power cord problem under control so, in the same vein, does anyone know which color wire on the head unit is the remote turn-on? I have a Pioneer Mosfet 50W x4 and have NO IDEA what happened to my manual.
 
I also have used that rubber grommit for when I had a system in as well as for all lighting wires and what not. The panels right under the door frame are great at hiding the wire all the way to the back.

As stated before, the system control wire is light blue, and sometimes has a white stripe on it if I remember correctly.
 
See, that's what I thought at first but there's only one blue wire (with a white stripe) coming from the head unit and it's already connected to something. In fact, all the wires from the head unit are connected to something.
 
All that wire needs is to be powered +12V to the amp when the key is on. Otherwise, it will be on all the time and drain your battery. Just find a wire for the radio that is switched like that and splice it in. Or, you can grab constant +12V and put a toggle switch on it so it will run whenever you switch it on, just don't forget to turn it off. I put a switch in so I could listen to the radio without amp when I have the engine off, battery lasts longer.
 
Ugh. This is driving me nuts. Having never done anything like this before, I think I'll jsut have it installed. I tried searching the net for instructions on how to wire the whole thing together but to say that the various tutorials and videos I've found are vague would be an understatement.
 
Did you pick up an amp install kit by chance? That makes it easier.

Biggest fused wire to power the amp.
RCA cables from head unit to amp to provide sound.
Small blue wire to amp to tell it when to turn on.
Ground to... well, ground.

Speaker wires to your speakers, this will vary depending on how may speakers you are wiring and in what configuration.

Should roughly be that easy. Or at least it was on mine :dunno:
 
unless you have a power antenna, the blue/white wire is doing nothing where it is currently hooked up. cut it and use it for your amp's remote wire.

keep the power cable on the driver's side and run the RCAs down the passenger side.

the other thing you need to do is update the chassis ground. You'll need to run at LEAST a 4-ga wire from battery negative down to the "framerail" to one of the bolts holding the mount for the motor mount. make sure you clean the paint off on the bracket when you do this.

I don't know what kind of power you're running, but another tip is to NOT mount the amp directly to the sub box. the vibration of the subwoofer WILL damage the amp eventually.

the key important things are:

SEPARATE the power wire from the RCAs or you WILL get noise.
make sure you have a good ground path. Use a multimeter set to "ohms" to test this. test while the Jeep is running. if your ground resistance is over one ohm, you'll have problems in the future.

that $120 isn't bad considering all the work that goes into doing a proper install. I would give it serious consideration, unless it's at best buy or circuit city or some other big-box retailer.

any more questions or standstills, PM me. I do this for a living ;)
 
98: Yes, I bought one. But for some reason, it doesn't appear that simple to me. Of course the 20 degree weather that feels like 6 due to windchill may be affecting my mood and performance but it still shouldn't be this difficult.

Cheap: PM sent.
 
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