k1prototype

I was wondering if someone could advise me what would be the proper way to run some audio wires?

I want to run new speaker wire to the doors and after reading the how to's to get them to the door, I wanted how people have run new speaker wire from their amps?

I will be mounting my amp in the cubby hole behind the passenger seat and this is what I had planned.

On the right side of the car I was going to run the power cable for the amp from the battery and the speaker cable to the front door.

In the center console I was going to run 4 RCA cables to my amps and one for a future carputer project i'm planning on.

On the left side of the car I was going to run the left front speaker wire and the power control wire from the amp to the head unit.

Does this sound correct?


Also I had wanted to find out what would be a good location to ground the amp if it is in the cubby hole.

Lastly my new hu has a black ground cable, would I run this to the "amp ground" portion in the metra harness or does it ground into metal some where in the car?

Please help if anyone can advise, i've been searching all day on the forum and i'm still clueless on what to do.

usmanasif

iTrader: (4)

Rule for thumb for wiring is to run the power cable far away from all speaker wires. I would suggest using the right side just for that. You will need a bit more speaker wire of course, but at least you won't risk interference.

k1prototype

Should I run the Power from the battery to the amp and the p control wire from the head unit to the amp on the same side?

Will it have any adverse effects or should i run the p cont wire in another area such as through the center console along with the rca's?

dannichols

Run the power wire as you said along the right side. Run the right front speaker wire, remote turn-on, and RCAs under the center console (and head unit power for rears if need be). And run left front speaker wire along left side of car. Be concerned about getting RCAs near power (very bad).

You can ground the amps inside the Cubby using the metal braket that hangs from the ceiling in there. You can ground your head unit to the grounding point on the top side under the dash where you will see many other things have been grounded..large screwdown.

k1prototype

Thanks for the info.

Is there any concerns I should be aware of with running the RCA's and speaker wire together?


Also when running the speaker wire to the right speaker when I run it from the transmission tunnel where should I run it to hide the speaker wire and have it end up behind the kick panel so I can then run the wire into the doors?

dannichols

No..not speaker wire and RCA. Be concerned with POWER WIRE and RCAs.

You can run the RFRNT speaker wire through the center console under the center dash, and tucked up underneath the airbag and cupholder area. It would lead down to the RGHT kick panel and then up through the door grommet into the door.

If your Xover is external to door you need to run two wires into the door.

Interlagos Fire

You can consider running speaker wires from your external amplifier directly to your head unit, thus keeping the stock speaker wires. This may not be the preference of audiophiles but it may save you some work. I hear the stock speaker wires are actually pretty decent, just my 2 cents.

k1prototype

Thanks for the suggestion but i'm set on installing new wire, plus my head unit has 4 rca ports available so why not

So far the car has had all of the blose amps subs and speakers removed and is in the process of getting wired for the speakers.

Would it be possible if I ran the right speaker wire along with the power wire coming from the battery on the right door sill instead of running them through the transmission tunnel to save a little time and headache?

Interlagos Fire

I think most would agree it's better off leaving the power wire as far away as possible from any other wires, including speaker wire, RCA etc. I may be wrong, but since you are going to run your rca through the center console anyway you might as well run the speaker wires there too. That's how I have done it.

k1prototype

ok, cool thanks for the suggestion Interlagos

Dave 90TT

iTrader: (4)

No, you really want to seperate all power lines from any RCA or speaker lines.

On my G, I ran all power lines down the passenger side door sill, all RCA's down the middle, and all speaker wires down the driver side (the front right speaker crosses over in fornt of the dash) It's a pain in the *** to do this, but worth it, especially considering I took out both front seats and the rear seat and laid a good bit of dynamat in the process.

Dave

Lsmith9523

In my Z, I ran all my power wires down pass. side....ran my RCA's down the middle of arm rest, but to the left of the emerg brake...I ran my speaker wire down the middle and to the right of the emerg brake....I have no noise,,what so ever....Alpine amps in cubby behind driver.

16psibrick

iTrader: (10)

i have run speaker wires right along with poewr cable for about 10 years of installing and NEVER had a noise issue with out it. it is the RCA cable you MUST keep away from the power cable.

basically think about it, typically, you are sending 50 or 100 or even more watts of signal through your rca cable, that equals a VERY VERY strong signal, i cant do the onversion in my head but something more or less like 20 or 30 or 40 volts? there is virtually no chance of noise from the power cable making any kind of audible difference by injecting into the speaker cable.

rca cables on the other hand, at the most usuually carry only 2 to 5 volts of signal from most headunits, so their chances of being affected by noise is much higher

b

wleehendrick

P=IV and V=IR, So 100W into 4Ohms, for example, is 20V. </dork_mode>

I agree with you, but it's not the amount of power the cable carries. Even with nothing playing (zero power and volts) you can have noise issues, obviously. The critical factor is the input impedance on the output end of the interconnect which determines how susceptible the path is to interference. The voltage spikes in the power cable can inductively couple into nearby conductors. The low impedance of speakers means that the small induced voltage is not likely to create enough current (and power) to be heard. The RCA cable, on the other hand is only a few volts, and the high input impedance of the amp means that any small induced voltages will be amplified. This is why RCAs are shielded and speaker cables are not. (plus shielded speaker cables would have variable capacitances that would interfere with the crossover and foul up the speakers frequency response)