How To: Install Amp Wiring Kit

[derrick1623]

HOW TO: Install an amp wiring kit

the kit contains a power wire, a ground wire, a remote turn-on wire, and RCA jacks

• passenger side of engine bay.
  
  
• to the left of where these wires enter(next to the wires but still inside the grommet), you can feel where to go.
  
  
• go inside the car, and pop out this cover panel.
  
  
• then, pop out the one one the right side...
  
• after that, pull the carpet down like so...
  
• then, poke a small screw driver through like this...
  
• follow that up with something the same thickness as your power wire (i used a bigass lag bolt, but whatever.). tape the wire to whatever you used using a tape that wont hang up...and CAREFULLY slide it through the grommet, you may need an extra set of hands here.
  
• then, the in-line fuse...
  
• ok, now just run the other end of the wire all the way to the trunk, to get it under the middle plastic piece, pull it up about a half inch.
  
• fish the wire under the rear seat bracket, after going under the side of the seat.
  
  
  that's it for the power wire.
  
• the ground wire is easy. move the stock sub out of the way and pull back the carpet from inside the car...ground it here.
  
  
  
  
• for the RCA and remote wires, i ran them together so i didn't have to do it twice.just run them like the other side...
  
  and thats it.

 

[pro5utah]

But my question is how you get the stereo stock) out to be able to run the remote and RCA's. Anyone plan on doing that here? I am probably just going to run a line converter off of the rear speaker lines and then RCA's off of that for now.

 

[JAC]

This guy has an Mp3 with the "stock" kenwood HU. Ask SirNuke, he did what you're planning to do on his P5 with the stock HU.

 

[323Sport]

You should not run the power, RCA and system remote together from one side, since it causes some drop in sound quality. Run the power cable from one side of the car and the RCA from the other.....

edit, sorry you did run them from different sides...

 

[shackles10]

how bout the completely easy to remove grommet on the driver's side?? i noticed you said he has an mp3 but i know on the pr5 there's a grommet you can pop out and 4awg fits right through easily. if you're looking for it, it's almost straight behind the battery on the firewall a little less than halfway down. pops right out, wire slides right in.

 

[traitorhound]

can i get a pic of where this grommet is form teh inside and the outside of the car please? im a retard and can't seem to find it and i really don't want to poke a hole in the passenger side grommet (looks hard to replace if i mess it up somehow. . . .heh)

thanks

 

[shackles10]

i'll be out of town all weekend so no pc access. if someone else wants to put a pic of it on here then by all means go ahead, otherwise just give me your email addy in the next half hour and i have a camera in my cell phone. i'll just snap a couple pics and send them to you.

p.s. you'd not believe how awesome having the camera in the phone is. all i have to say is some of the only pictures probably to ever leave a strip club lol

 

[Yaegs4life]

Does any1 know how to remove the stock stereo?????

 

[joka1]

ya..... get the ford stereo removal u shape things(or cut and bend a coat hangar right) you need 4 total..... pop off the sides of the stock radio and insert the removal tools into the 8 holes and pull!!!!!

 

[ahb11m]

extra note
- you will need to squeeze the things to the side (which side i forget - sorry) eithere in or out, you'll work it out i'm sure... make the coat hanger stay in a u shape, making sure the ends arn't sharp, and the U shape is even - ie both tip ends line up you'll feel the coat hanger on a bit of resistance when going in - push harder, till you feel it meet a butt stop then do the squeeze and yank the thing out towards you!! too easy

ps if your replacing th HU i highly recommend using a mazda adapter to open wires, make life a lot easier if using stock wires, or just rewire the sucker

serrick i put mine under the drivers seat, thing is secure, doesn't get in the way of anything, and is a b**** to remove (read - steal) i just screwed the thing straight down into the floor with a gap of 10mm between the carpet and the amp bottom for ventilation or something - also only a few wires to disconnect in the boot, with no risk of shorting out, if ya remove your box!!

 

[joka1]

thanks for the extra note!!!!! p.s. if you cant get it out.... take it to the dealer...they took mine out for free when one of the locks that hold it in broke!!!!

 

[traitorhound]

yea tha'ts how i got mine out. . .cause one of the tabs were bent and they had to take out by taking off my center console pice......i wish i knew about that back thn. . .cause they scratched some parts taking it out. . ..and i know how to do it myself. . .as my center console radio surround has been an LCD surround for a while now

 

[ramdaspadhye]

extra note
- you will need to squeeze the things to the side (which side i forget - sorry) eithere in or out, you'll work it out i'm sure... make the coat hanger stay in a u shape, making sure the ends arn't sharp, and the U shape is even - ie both tip ends line up you'll feel the coat hanger on a bit of resistance when going in - push harder, till you feel it meet a butt stop then do the squeeze and yank the thing out towards you!! too easy

ps if your replacing th HU i highly recommend using a mazda adapter to open wires, make life a lot easier if using stock wires, or just rewire the sucker

serrick i put mine under the drivers seat, thing is secure, doesn't get in the way of anything, and is a b**** to remove (read - steal) i just screwed the thing straight down into the floor with a gap of 10mm between the carpet and the amp bottom for ventilation or something - also only a few wires to disconnect in the boot, with no risk of shorting out, if ya remove your box!!

If you're a sound quality freak, mounting it directly into the floor isn't the best route. If you have the room, mount it on a piece of wood (insulator). This prevents any type of ground noise associated with screwing it straight into the metal. Just my $.02

 

[ahb11m]

if your a full SQ fan would of thought you'd want to keep the wires short, and close to the box??????????.... (i'm guessing)

but yeah mine is good where it is, i just used some small wood blocks (off cuts) to raise it, but no sheet of lumber... maybe i'll do that, but i couldn't be bothered to ATM...

 

[loccusst]

An extra bit is to make sure when crossing over other wires to do it as little as posible. Don't run your stereo wires close to the wires in the car if you don't have to. Lastly if you do cross over other wires to go across them as straight as posible like a plus sign instead of a "x".

 

[INGREXCO]

run the rca's up not down, meaning. send them up the pillar colum and through the celing

 

[ramdaspadhye]

That's a lot more work than is necessary. You'd have to pull your headliner out to do it, and, well, I'd hate to put that thing back up in there. Anyways, if you can wrap the wire in some type of rubber (or any other type of insulator), you shouldn't really have to worry about ground noise. You won't be able to tell much difference. The big thing is to run your RCA's on one side of the vehicle and your power on the other. You shouldn't have much trouble there at all

 

[Chiguy_2002]

Has anyone accidentally loosened the grommet? I have, (hand) and am not able to get it all the way back in...any suggestions? (uhm) Also am having trouble running the power wire through it...appreciate any suggestions!!

 

[loccusst]

You need to wireloom the wires in the engine bay and anywhere they might rub against metal. Just a safety thing. Also, make sure you solder any conections in the engine bay too. You should run the power wire through the firewall on the same side as the battery also. A gromet is a must for the firewall. Just some extra help from a paid installer. Last thing...never, and I mean never unless its absolutly needed, do not cut the factory wires for the head unit. Just spend the 14 or 16 dollars for the wire kit, the colors all match up and it will take you about 10 minuets.

 

[chuyler1]

Someone was referencing this how-to in another thread and I thought I would clear things up for the record. You do not need to run your power cable over to the passenger side. In fact I will go so far to say you should NOT do it because that means you will most likely run your RCAs down the driver's side right past the fuse box which has a tendency to induce noise into your system. Furthermore, if you run your power cable down the driver's side you save 3-4' of cable.

Here is what you should do instead:
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=19373

In the above picture, you are looking at the firewall behind the battery. The grommet you want to go through is highlighted. You can pop this out from under the driver's side without removing any panels. Pop the grommet through from the engine bay and use a flashlight to find it on the other side. Carefully cut a hole in the rubber with a small knife (I used my swiss army knife), slide your cable through, and pop it back in.