Thanks a lot for the help donpisto!
I purchased that Autotek Ampfor my components!

Now the only things I haven't purchased for my sound system are my subwoofer and amplifier (for the sub).

 

Whenver you're ready and have a budget set and what your goal is, let us know.

 

Holy **** this install is harder than I expected. The magnet on the speaker was huge, but after creating my own wooden 1/2" plywood baffle today I managed, with the help of a jigsaw, power drill, and electric sander, to create my amateur masterpiece to actually get the speaker to fit.

Now I just have to install my crossovers, and tweeters (I don't understand how people fit that in the sail panel, seems like a tight fit.) which are going in the door panel in front of the handle, and amplifier.

I honestly have no idea how you guys are getting the wiring from the factory speakers to the crossovers which then goes out to the tweeters, speakers, and amplifiers. Then you take the amplifier and plug it into the headunit AND the battery.

So you're wiring stuff from...the front middle of the car, the trunk of the car, and the doors of the car, and under the hood?

How the hell do you even get all those wires to those separate places without having a ton of wires running around your car?

P.S. Maybe I'm missing something, but if you hook the power up to the speakers in reverse polarity...won't it...you know, not work?
If you put a positive in a negative and a negative in a positive...
ex. Flip a battery upside down in a flashlight, and voila no light.

 

It is always harder when doing stuff like this for the first time. It does get easier as you go along but take your time and do it right the first time or you will be going over it again to try to solve problems.

Now you know why the cars are taken apart in install threads. It is not an easy job to install a complete system if you are doing it right.

Quote:

I honestly have no idea how you guys are getting the wiring from the factory speakers to the crossovers which then goes out to the tweeters, speakers, and amplifiers. Then you take the amplifier and plug it into the headunit AND the battery.

Sounds a bit backwards...RCA cables run from the head unit to the amp...speaker wires, use front as example, run to the crossover and are then split off to the mid-range driver and tweeter...it can be a bit difficult to squeeze the speaker wire through the wiring harness/grommet in the door area but not too bad with some effort and careful planning. The crossover placement itself can be an interesting and challenging location issue. The easiest way...but not always the best...is to locate it inside the door...making the wire runs to the mids and tweets easy...you can not adjust the crossover without removing the door panel and if there is a water issue in the door it could cause problems...when I have to do it that way I place the crossover in a heavy duty plastic bag and use strong velcro to mount it to the door panel...no rattling that way either.

The speakers wires from the amp to the doors can usually be run along/beneath the rug/trim panel at the edge of the floors. You can also pull the carpeting away and run the wires beneath the seats which may be the cleanest but not the easiest.
Keep the speaker wires/rca cablesas far away from the power wire as possible so not to pick up unwanted noise. You can duct the wiring/cables in place.

Quote:

How the hell do you even get all those wires to those separate places without having a ton of wires running around your car?

There is a lot of wiring being added...power lines, power remote line, ground, rca cables, speakers wiring...that is why it is best to take your time and do it right the first time...if you "mickey mouse" it you will not like the results.

Quote:

P.S. Maybe I'm missing something, but if you hook the power up to the speakers in reverse polarity...won't it...you know, not work?
If you put a positive in a negative and a negative in a positive...
ex. Flip a battery upside down in a flashlight, and voila no light.

This is not electricity and nothing like the batteries in a flashligt. It is merely an electrical signal that changes the polarity of the speaker driver.

Here are some links you may find helpful:
http://www.caraudio.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=13
http://www.caraudiohelp.com/how_to_i..._a_car_amp.htm

 

Thanks for your help Kai.

Man I need help.

I am so confused as to how to do this. I've been working all day for the past two days trying to figure out the wiring.

Do I connect the wires from the original factory speakers to the amp, then connect the amp to the crossovers, which is separately connected to both the tweeters and the new speakers?
I am confused by the wording on the xovers and amp.
it says line input, which I GUESSED to be the connection between amp and xover, but have no real basis for that guess.

on the amp it has rca cables on one side for channels 1/2 line input, but the amp install kit I bought only has 1 RCA cable to connect the headunit to the amp!


Also, on the xover, it has 2 slots for the negative and positive terminals of "woofer output". Does that mean those are the wires that connect the speaker to the xover? It has three options for my tweeter, "-3", "0", and "+3" and I don't know which one I'm supposed to connect my positive terminal from my tweeter to.

There's probably more questions I have but I'm quite overwhelmed right now. My car is laying in pieces I've taken it quite apart. Help would be super appreciated.

And to get the wire from the battery through my firewall? I've read that there is an opening under the MBC above my brake pedal, but I can't find it from the top of the engine hood. would I have to jack the front end of my car up?

 

You need another rca cable.
Front rca on radio to front rca on amp...sub rca on radio to rear rca on amp.
Now connect the "front" speaker wires...left and right +/- to the crossovers.
Then connect the mid/woofer +/- wires from the crossover to the +/- terminals of the woofers...the mid range drivers.
Then mount the tweeter housing and run the wires from the crossover...tweeter connection...to the tweeters. The +3, -3 and 0 are tweaking adjustments for the tweeter...they increase or decrease by 3db or 0 for neutral.

Don't you have install instructions that came with this gear? Before you start installing this stuff...you seem absolutely clueless regarding install basics...you really need to sit down and read the install instructions for each device and understand what you read.
What you are doing here is asking for a step by step online install instructions...Something is going to go horribly wrong at some point.
If your gear did not come with instructions...why the hell not unless bought used...you can download and print out the instructions, usually, at the manufacturers website.

 

Crossover going under the seats

Running wires on the side of the car

Running Wires to TRunk.

I haven't screwed the AMP into the board I made yet.

Alpine Ida-X100 HU.

I am only using the amplifier to power 2 speakers, do I need to set it on 2-channel or 4-channel?


By the way Kai you're right. My boxes didn't come with instructions, they were brand new. My amplifier did, but I lost that. I'll check manufacturer's website though!

 

What is the difference between front speaker wires and mid/woofer wires?
Maybe I'm confused but if you're referring to a subwoofer, I'm not installing one.

 

Argh...honestly I am about done here. You are not listening or not understanding at all.
You do not need to use the "hi input" lines on the amp.

Run one pair of rca cables from the "F" on your head unit to the "CH 1/2 R+L" line input of your amp.

Run second pair of rca cable from the "SW"=subwoofer on your head unit to the "CH 3/4 R+L" line input of your amp.
These are the audio (sound) signal wires sending the audio signal from the head unit to the amp for amplification.

Move "amp mode" switch to "4" for four channel use.

Now connect one pair of speaker wires to to "CH 1/2 speaker output" R L/R. Connect the other end of this pair of wires to the crossover "input +/-" connectors. Now connect another pair of speaker wires from the "woofer output +/-" connector on the crossover to the +/- connectors on the mid-range driver...this is the "woofer". Now connect another pair of speaker wires from the "tweeter output +/-" connectors to the tweeter. You have connected the amp front "R" speaker outputs to the crossover and the speakers. Do the same for the "Left" side.

Subwoofer wiring:
Connect one pair of speaker wires from the "CH 3/4 speaker output" "bridged"...follow the little line below the connections...the wires are connected on the outboard sides of the connector for "L/- and R/+" connection. Connect this pair of wiring to the sub.

You have now connected the head unit signal wires to the amp and from the amp to the speakers via the crossover.
Pages 44-46 of the x100 owners manual has a pretty good set of instructions though they only show speaker connections to coaxials. Your component speakers should have had a set of install instructions.
I am not impressed with your "lol" regarding the losing of your amp install instructions.
The project "SUCKS" because you have no idea of what you're doing, lose instructions and laugh over it, and are not listening or comprehending info on this thread.
I have spent close to 45 minutes on this reply alone and am done with "over the net" instructions. I wish you luck and hope all turns out well. I will answer "questions" but no more remote installs.
I strongly suggest you get the install/owners manuals of all your gear and read them thoroughly before you do damage to costly gear.
Good luck and keep us informed.

 

Oh. Well that's why I got so confused. No I'm just doing a straight-forward install of a component speaker system and an amplifier to power those. No subwoofer involved, and no bridging involved!

That clears up a lot of the information you gave me that I was confused about. Because you thought I was installing a subwoofer. Sorta got me mixed up.

Thanks for all the help and the information, I really appreciate it. +1

I'll post pictures of the completed project after I finish today.
************************************************** ****************
UPDATE
************************************************** ****************

Wow I was so close to being done.
Parts Express sold me a bad Positive Terminal connection.

Here are some pictures of that ****:


I bought my negative terminal from millionbuy.com, which was a little small, but I sanded down the negative block on the battery. My positive terminal is from partsexpress.com and it is too big. (Worse than too small)
No matter how much I tighten it, it still retains a gap because the ring around the terminal was built too wide.
It moves around very easily, and I don't wanna drive around with an unsecure battery terminal.
I accidently left my soldering iron on in my car and it melted a huge hole in the plastic center interior trim on the passenger side of the cupholder. I need to buy a cold solder.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I put a temporary bracket on the positive terminal to keep it in place.

Tried to start the system. Failure.
Tests: Amp turns on when HU turns on. Remo: Good.
RCA Cables: Well I don't even know what those do, so I guess they're good. Tried flipping them in the Amp R/L positions to see if it made a difference. Nope.
Speakers: don't work.
Tomorrow: will use a continuity check between crossovers and all speaker wires to see if its in right.
I am pretty damn sure I spent a ton of time making sure I had the right wires in the right places, so I doubt those continuity checks will yield any results. I don't know what the hell the problem is. Such a dissapointing way to end the 4th day of this project.