Alright, I need help with an amp install.
 

Hey guys, my name is Jake, and I know NOTHING about AV. The gist of the situation is that I obtained a decent amp and sub set up and want to install it. I understand that I need RCA hook ups, a ground and battery connection. Got all that, but the thing I'm having a hard time understanding is the location of the remote turn on. Which wire do I tap into for that/how do I tap into it? I'll probably have more questions as you answer this one.

Do you have the factory stereo or aftermarket? For aftermarket it is usually the blue wire (or blue/white) wire. For factory, you might need to tap into ACC somehow to give you a 12VDC signal (maybe with a repeater).

I have the stock head unit. I just need to figure out the correct wire that I need to tap into. I'm on a preschool level of understanding audio wiring.

ACC is the red wire up front. It will give you a 12VDC signal once you put your ignition to the ON position (and with the engine on). Typically you don't want to tap into your factory wires if you don't have to but in your case you might have to. Another option is to use the signal that turns on the factory amp in the back, I believe it is the brown (?) wire going to the OE amp.

If I were you I'd piggy back from the amp in the back, there's other threads on here on how.

Try this thread. It discusses how to use a commonly available adapter to connect to the amp cable without doing any cutting. He rearranges the wires on the adapter to match the factory wiring at the amp.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42239

I found that thread and read through it. It doesn't really make sense to me. I understand that I should go through the rear amp, but I don't know what to once I get there. If I get that metra harness can I just wire up a remote turn on to one of the pins? Like I said, preschool-level knowledge.

you could get a metra 1760 and 1761 and wire them to one another, then splice into the remote on (blue) a line to your sub amp.
a 1760 and 1761 would literally 1 to 1 wire, then plug it in between factory harness and the factory amp. (your basically extending it and getting 'non' factory wires you and play with without hurting the factory stuff.

Okay, I think that I'm beginning to understand. Do you think that I could get those harnesses anywhere local or would I have to pick em up off Amazon?

Yeah I highly recommend doing it the harness way, I wish I had noticed that option before cutting into the stock wires. I just finished hooking up my own, here's my post that links to a very helpful thread as well:


http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...6&postcount=20


I couldn't for the life of me get the high level inputs working (with the speaker level wires), so I just bought a low level converter and used those instead with the signal level wires.

Remember that even though the connectors are the same, the wires are arranged differently at the amp than they are at the H/U.
There are two places you can do this.
1) Behind the H/U.
Advantage, you don't need to "re-pin" the wires.
Disadvantage, you need to run wires from behind the H/U to the back of the car or wherever you mount the sub.
2) At the factory amp.
Disadvantage, you need to re-pin the wires to make it match.
Advantage, minimal running of wires.

One of them is probably readily available in stores, the other, not so much. You are probably better off just ordering them together from the same place. Meanwhile you can run a power line from near the battery to wherever you are putting the amp and scout locations for the amp's ground.

The only wire I ran in my car from the front was the power wire to the battery, was nice not having to even take out the head unit. I highly recommend it. The floor cover in the trunk even has a flip-up part especially for wiring coming out of the amp location. I'll take a picture in a few for a reference.

Honestly I'm okay with running wires to the back. I'd rather not screw with repinning something... Which wire is it behind the head/how do you suggest splicing into it?

You're going to be splicing either way, might as well just splice in the back. You don't really need to repin the harness either, just splice/sodder the whole thing the way you want.


http://i.imgur.com/YqOcgzXl.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/bgNBT4Vl.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/NMaPmrgl.jpg