powering amp...power wire?

  • Thread starter Thread starter localkineguy
  • Start date Start date
L

localkineguy

I want to install a sub and amp into my P5. I'm looking for suggestions as to where to run the power wire to the battery through the front firewall, passenger cabin, etc.
 
i have found that the best place to run it is under the carpet and through the door out to the engine bay... but thats juts me
 
Thru the door or under the middle console. Those are basically your 2 options. Thru the door is probly the better, cleaner, more professional option.
 
I ran mine through a big grommet on the driver's side firewall and down through the console. This was the best option for me because my amp is under my pass. seat.
 
I ran mine thru a large grommet on the driverside and then down near the fuse box to under the front seat where my amp is. Works well for me and can't see a single wire. Kinda depends on where you're putting your amp.
 
^Take off the door panel, run it where all the other wires are... There is a large grommet that goes thru the door into the front dash.

It sounds like you haven't done much wiring b4. My advice: just start taking s*** apart (be careful and remember where it comes from, lol) and just play with s***. Thats how I learned. Just taking s*** apart in my free time.
Take apart the console, door panels, dash and check out where all the wires are run. Then map out where you want to run your setup. Its all dependent on where your installing the amp. The less (shorter) wires the better.
 
^Take off the door panel, run it where all the other wires are... There is a large grommet that goes thru the door into the front dash.

It sounds like you haven't done much wiring b4. My advice: just start taking s*** apart (be careful and remember where it comes from, lol) and just play with s***. Thats how I learned. Just taking s*** apart in my free time.
Take apart the console, door panels, dash and check out where all the wires are run. Then map out where you want to run your setup. Its all dependent on where your installing the amp. The less (shorter) wires the better.

Who (omitting major audio comp competitors) would install an amp in their door? There is no reason to be running power wire into the door... He did say power wire, not speaker wire.
 
I'm about to be doing the same thing.. is this large gromet on the drivers side easy to find?

Also, I have a stupid question - Can I hook up my ground for my amp on the seat belt anchor? I don't have much wire, and am not going into town till monday.
 
Who (omitting major audio comp competitors) would install an amp in their door? There is no reason to be running power wire into the door... He did say power wire, not speaker wire.

I usually go thru the middle console personally. But I have seen some people who dislike running all of their wires there. It does get pretty hot by the shifter...

I was thinking under the doorsills, sorry. I just saw that guy above said door and I didn't think twice about the meaning, ha. I had my power wires in my fc ran under the door sills and up thru the door & dash. But I see what you're saying, idk what exactly I was thinkin. I'm out of my element today. I think I'm just gonna go take a nap. (burnout)
 
Last edited:
I ran mine through the big ass grommet that is under the dash on the drivers side. This is probably the best place, as you are not running through the door (running the risk of cutting) and is right by the battery. Then I ran down the drivers side to under the seat and up the middle the rest of the way to the back.

I did a 4 gauge run as I am only running a 1200 watt amp (not a full power). I'm not sure if you would be able to squeeze 0 gauge though... might be a tight squeeze.

Anything over 1200 watts should be using 0 gauge to power. And don't forget, run the remote wire and RCAs down the opposite side! Nothing to kill a nice setup more than engine noise coming through your speakers.
 
I have 0 gauge run. Followed the factory loom through the top of the driver's side fender through the grommet at the back of the fender, then down the driver's side.
 
I usually go thru the middle console personally. But I have seen some people who dislike running all of their wires there. It does get pretty hot by the shifter...

I was thinking under the doorsills, sorry. I just saw that guy above said door and I didn't think twice about the meaning, ha. I had my power wires in my fc ran under the door sills and up thru the door & dash. But I see what you're saying, idk what exactly I was thinkin. I'm out of my element today. I think I'm just gonna go take a nap. (burnout)

Yes sir, under the door sills- that makes a lot more sense! haha(cheers)
 
Although its a lot more work, I do believe you can run wire from the battery through the fender area into the cabin area. Its basically where the hood latch cable runs.

I thought about doing it the way I mentioned above, but you would have to either take the fender off or blindly navigate through.

So what I did was: I cut a slit through the rubber that, if I remember correctly, the steering column runs though. Or maybe there were some wires running through it. I don't remember, I haven't been down there in a while. Its a large circle with a hole in the center of it, the center hole sticks out into the engine bay.

I cut a slit from the engine bay side with a utility knife, and I ran a 4g wire and a 0 g wire through. From there the 4g wire goes toward the passengers side to my front speaker's amp. The 0g wire goes over toward the fuse box, then I managed to fit it into the fuse box and it goes down under the carpet, and its wedged into the slit below the door, next to where the pull is for the hood release cable/trunk release cable. Theres a small tunnel thing you'll have to go through (where the seatbelt is i believe). Then it goes from there to the backseat area, under the seat itself (which is easy to remove), into the trunk where my sub's amp is.


And on a side note, the remote wire is a POWER wire, it does not have a noise signal in it. Therefore it will distort your RCA's and speaker wires' signals. So the remote + power wires should be ran on the left side of your care, and the speaker wires + rca's ran on the right side.

Make sure to sand your ground location down to BARE metal. No paint should remain. The more joints/welds the current has to go through to get to the engine black to battery -, the more resistance the ground has. Which is bad.

My ground is under the bolt holding my rear seat down. UNDER the seat metal. The ring is touching the chassis of the car. Which is good.
 
Yes sir, under the door sills- that makes a lot more sense! haha(cheers)

I can't blame you. I, too, was like "WTF, I'm not putting my amp in my door". I guess the answer I was looking for was to find grommets under the driver side dash. I'll do that this weekend. Thanks for all of the input.
 
Easiest way to get the power wire through the OEM wire loom grommet is to take out the fender liner completely. Unless you are super slammed, you won't have to take the wheel off.
 
I can't blame you. I, too, was like "WTF, I'm not putting my amp in my door". I guess the answer I was looking for was to find grommets under the driver side dash. I'll do that this weekend. Thanks for all of the input.

Sorry, I was on a 48 hr bender, procrastinating at the end of my shift at work, when I wrote "thru the door", lol. (pow)
 
hmmm.... if you think about it. theres a lot of unused space in the door. Interesting idea.

I'm planning on putting a heater/air filter inside my doors lol.
 
And on a side note, the remote wire is a POWER wire, it does not have a noise signal in it. Therefore it will distort your RCA's and speaker wires' signals. So the remote + power wires should be ran on the left side of your care, and the speaker wires + rca's ran on the right side.

Oops, my bad... brain fart. Yes, run the power and remote on one side of RCAs down the other.
 
Back