Help me hook up my car audio system...Please!

[Kyle Lorenz]

I need some help/advice on connecting my amp to my subs.

Amp: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-SFH1ybBuUVb/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=120&I=500PDX1100

Subs: Two 12 inch Kicker L5 (4 ohm)
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-SFH1ybBuUVb/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=kicker+L5+12+4+ohm&i=2066S12L54

Now, the "speaker output" on the amp looks new to me and the subs have 2 pos/neg posts each

I got each sub in its own box (only way it would fit behind the seat) so theres no branching one sub off another. How would you set this up? Diagrams would be nice Thanks a bunch

 

[Haoleb]

Cant help you on the speaker outputs on the amp. Looks like you need a proprietary connector for those.

Your subwoofer drivers are dual voice coil, which is why they have two leads for the positive and negative. You need to wire these up in parallel. Meaning pos and neg from the amp to the pos and neg on the first set of posts and then another wire jumping over to the pos and neg on the second set of posts.

 

[Adam]

Kyle,

Did you buy your gear from Crutchfield? If so, their technical staff should be happy to help you get it all set up.

Also, one of the reviewers on Crutchfield mentioned that he called Alpine a couple of times and that they were very helpful.

Just a thought.

Adam

P.S. This is assuming, of course, that you're not crawling around the car right now trying to install it at night.

 

[gus6464]

Cant help you on the speaker outputs on the amp. Looks like you need a proprietary connector for those.

Your subwoofer drivers are dual voice coil, which is why they have two leads for the positive and negative. You need to wire these up in parallel. Meaning pos and neg from the amp to the pos and neg on the first set of posts and then another wire jumping over to the pos and neg on the second set of posts.

Correct me if I am wrong but if he hooks up the 4ohm voice coils on the speaker in parallel and then does the same to the other sub he will have a 1ohm load. Each voice coil is 4ohm so by doing them in parallel will result in 2ohm load per speaker. I don't think that amp can handle a 1ohm load.

Also I hope you bought a capacitor to hook up to that amp because that thing is going to kill your lights. I had to get one for my 8in L5 solo baric which is only 400w so it is definitely something to think about.

 

[Haoleb]

I didnt bother looking at the specs on the amp, But yes if he hooks both subs up in parallel thats exactly what will happen.

 

[gus6464]

Ahh ok so it would be best then to hook up the voice coils on each speaker in series and then hook up the speakers in parallel. That will give you a 4ohm load.

So what you want to do is connect the + from one of the voice coils to the amp. Then connect the - from the other voice coil to them amp. And the other 2 +- connect them together. It will be like a daisy chain. Do the same exact thing to the other sub and connect it as well to them amp. In the end you will have 2 sets of + and - connected to the amp. That will give you a 4ohm load and will not overload the amp.

 

[Haoleb]

Here's a page with some hookup diagrams that should be helpfull.

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=163

 

[Kyle Lorenz]

Thanks alot for all the input guys. I drew a quick diagram on paint just to show what I understand from what you guys are saying. I hope im right


One more thing...on the crutchfield site, it says "4-gauge amp wiring kit with 80-amp fuse recommended". The kit the salesperson gave me has the 4-gauge wire but the fuse that goes in-between the power cable is 150A. Should I take it back and get a 80A fuse or will it not make much of a difference?

 

[Haoleb]

Its hard to tell what you have drawn up there but what you should be hooking it up to be like is the Series/Parallel wiring in this picture. (the top one)

Also, The amplifier you bought takes a total of 4-20A fuses, 80Amps total. put an 80amp fuse in vs the 150 the guy sold you. Be sure to put it as close to the battery as possible incase there is a short.

 

[Kyle Lorenz]

The amp has two speaker outputs though. It has a Ch-1 and a Ch-2. I'm looking at the manual and it shows two subs, with one connecting to Ch-1 and the other to Ch-2. The picture you have there is showing how to hook two subs with one channel. I don't get it though, this alpine is mono, not 2 channel. I'm confused.

 

[Haoleb]

It says that the two speaker outputs are shorted together, so if your only using one sub you can use either plug. This is kindof a complex wiring setup needed with the DVC drivers, maybe you should enlist the help of a professional to make sure nothing gets crossed and bye bye amp.

 

[Kyle Lorenz]

If the speaker outputs are shorted together, why can't I just use Ch-1 to the first sub and CH-2 to the second sub? From there I'd take the - of Ch-1 and connect it to the - of the first sub's first voice coil, then the + of Ch-1 to the + of the second voice coil. Then I'd connect the leftover + and - together. Repeat the same to the other sub but using Ch-2. What's wrong with that? I'm fairly new to car audio but I gotta learn it sometime.

 

[Haoleb]

Since the speaker outputs are shorted together you could do that. Its basically the same as the Series/Parallel setup.

 

[highfihoney]

Once you get your car system up & running the best thing you could ever do is to sound proof & dampen everything in sight,trunk & trunk lid,door panels,floor boards,eleminating outside road noise was a huge leap in the quest for real stereo in my car.

Not to mention 1,000's of watts.

 

[Kyle Lorenz]

Also, The amplifier you bought takes a total of 4-20A fuses, 80Amps total. put an 80amp fuse in vs the 150 the guy sold you. Be sure to put it as close to the battery as possible incase there is a short.

Listen to this...I phoned the guy at Visions (where I bought it from) to ask if they have any 80A fuses and he remembered me. He told me that "the fuse in the power cable needs to be bigger then the fuse in the amp. If the fuse is the same size in the cable as in the amp, it'll blow. All the fuse does is protect the cable from setting fire." Now, I set up some of my friends systems and theres a 40A fuse in the power cable and in the amp and its working like a charm. Is this guy right or should I be taking my wiring kit back and getting one with a 80A fuse? (I'm guessing take the kit back lol)

 

[Haoleb]

Listen to this...I phoned the guy at Visions (where I bought it from) to ask if they have any 80A fuses and he remembered me. He told me that "the fuse in the power cable needs to be bigger then the fuse in the amp. If the fuse is the same size in the cable as in the amp, it'll blow. All the fuse does is protect the cable from setting fire." Now, I set up some of my friends systems and theres a 40A fuse in the power cable and in the amp and its working like a charm. Is this guy right or should I be taking my wiring kit back and getting one with a 80A fuse? (I'm guessing take the kit back lol)

He is right that the main point of putting in the main power fuse is so that if there is a short the wire will not catch on fire due to excessive current. But the total current draw of your amp is 80 amps, If it draws enough to fry the main power fuse its close to frying your amp fuses as well. The way i see it, If there is a short its just that much sooner the fuse will blow. You can put a 150A in there but I would stick with an 80 unless you have problems then move up to 90 or 100A

 

[speakerman39]

He is right that the main point of putting in the main power fuse is so that if there is a short the wire will not catch on fire due to excessive current. But the total current draw of your amp is 80 amps, If it draws enough to fry the main power fuse its close to frying your amp fuses as well. The way i see it, If there is a short its just that much sooner the fuse will blow. You can put a 150A in there but I would stick with an 80 unless you have problems then move up to 90 or 100A

I agree here as I manage a car audio shop. We would prefer to use an 80 A ANL type fuse in-line to the battery. The Alpine PDX amps will ouput the same amount of rms power in 4 ohms mono OR 2 ohms mono. This means that the amp bridges internally. Keep in mind that the PDX amps are super efficient and as such do not draw as much current provided your charging system albeit your alternator is working properly. If voltage were to drop too low then the amp will over compensate by drawing more current which is NOT a good thing if that were to happen. Do you at least have a 1f stiffening cap ??? If not, then I highly recommend you get one. If your plans are to add another amp down the road it may be a better idea to just get a dry-cell battery rather than a stiffening cap. If you go the battery route be sure to also get a battery isolator. Hope this helps.

 

[dem beats]

I agree here as I manage a car audio shop. We would prefer to use an 80 A ANL type fuse in-line to the battery. The Alpine PDX amps will ouput the same amount of rms power in 4 ohms mono OR 2 ohms mono. This means that the amp bridges internally. Keep in mind that the PDX amps are super efficient and as such do not draw as much current provided your charging system albeit your alternator is working properly. If voltage were to drop too low then the amp will over compensate by drawing more current which is NOT a good thing if that were to happen. Do you at least have a 1f stiffening cap ??? If not, then I highly recommend you get one. If your plans are to add another amp down the road it may be a better idea to just get a dry-cell battery rather than a stiffening cap. If you go the battery route be sure to also get a battery isolator. Hope this helps.

The man knows.

I would grab a batt asap. Speakerman you probably know more but, total draw sounds like it's getting pretty high up there, with how cheep you can get HO alternators now would you recomend he just go that route?

I only had 400 watts to my subs and I would get light dimming once and a while from my old alpine. I was just a pair of cheep subs though.

 

[speakerman39]

The man knows.

I would grab a batt asap. Speakerman you probably know more but, total draw sounds like it's getting pretty high up there, with how cheep you can get HO alternators now would you recomend he just go that route?

I only had 400 watts to my subs and I would get light dimming once and a while from my old alpine. I was just a pair of cheep subs though.

Well, that depends on the op 's listening habits. That is, if he really cranks his system up to loud volumes and say leaves it there for a long period of time-yeah I would opt for the dry-cell battery. However, the PDX amp are Class "D" amps which are much more efficient than Class AB amps. Thus, the PDX amps do not get near as hot as when compared to Class AB amps. This is why Alpine claims that the PDX amps can be stacked. Quite impressive imho. If, on the other hand, the op does NOT listen to his music at high volumes for long periods of time then a 1f or 1.2f stiffening cap would be sufficient enough. However, if the op plans to get another beefy amp or two then by all means a dry cell battery would be needed. It would not hurt to have a stiffening cap too. The PDX amps are designed to offer great SQ and to do it w/o breaking a sweat. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Kyle Lorenz]

I might sound stupid but what is a stiffening cap? The longest I'd probably have my system up high would be around 2 hours maximum. Also, where would I get a battery isolator and how much do they usually cost?