Amplifier

I've never installed a car audio amplifier. How hard is it to do and what needs to be done? Thanks!

are u going to be useing an after market cd player or not
and what else are u going to be putting in liek subs and how manys amps
most people take the power right off the battery and run it threw the fire wall to the back of the car make sure u use a fuse as close to the batter as possable tho then u need to find the remote wire off the back the cd played and run a peace of wire from there to the amp then u need a ground a speaker wire and all is good good luck

Most important thing is a good, heavy gauge power feed (with fuse, as noted above) direct from the battery, and a good heavy gauge ground. Be sure the metal amp casing does not touch any metal of the car. If running a high power amp, like over a few hundred Watts, one of those 1 Farad Lightning capacitors located as close as possible to the amp is a good idea.

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Jeff Korn

88 Turbo Coupe: Intake and exhaust mods, T3 turbo at 20 psi, forced air intercooler, water injection, bypass valve, Ranger roller cam, subframes, etc., etc.. // 86 Tbird 5.0 (original owner): intake, exhaust, valvetrain mods, 100 HP nitrous, ignition, gears, suspension, etc., etc.... // 91 Escort: Bone stock winter car // 00 Windstar (wifes vehicle)

I'm planning on using my stock deck and putting on 12" subs. I might use an aftermarket cd deck later. It's the wiring I'm mostly concerned about.

The wiring is a bit of a job.. You'll need to remove the rear seat, both door sills and kick panels, press the tabs in the sides of the glovebox to drop it down, and remove the driver-side lower dash trim.

The audio and amp. power wires should be kept as far apart as possible. Run the audio wires down the passenger side under the doorsill/back seats and into the trunk. I also ran the turn-on lead from my head unit with the audio wires, it carries very little power so it won't interfere.

Ground the amp to the brace behind the rear seats. Run its power wire up the driver's side. Push it through the grommet for the hood release cable, and it will go into the inner fender. Now pull down the inner fender liner slightly (you don't need to remove the wheel or any fasteners if you have small hands!) and feed the wire through to the front of the fender. Reach in there and push it back out the hole where the washer fluid bottle protrudes, and you'll be at the battery. Attach a fuse holder and you're all set. Don't install the fuse until you have everything put back together and the amp is hooked up!

When you run the wires through the car, keep them away from any sharp metal, brackets that might pinch them, places where trim screws might go through, etc.

Others may suggest different places besides the hood release cable grommet, but that's my favorite spot in these cars because it's easy, the wire is well protected, and it's nicely hidden.