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Having never installed an amp before, I want to make sure I don't screw anything up... But I do want to do it myself (seems easy enough, and I like doing things myself if possible).

Based on recommendation from the Crutchfield amp wiring video, I'm going to find some amp wiring kit with everything I need in it. I read on some site that sells it that my amp (MTX Thunder404) requires 4-guage power and ground leads.

So, is there anything else in particular I should look for (other than 4-gauge power/ground)? Are there particular kits I should look for? For example, I found this on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...094875692&rd=1

Is there any reason to avoid random sellers of amp kits on Ebay, or are they all pretty much fine?

Thanks for any help... I know much less than I'd like to about electrical stuff.

 
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After doing some reading, I found that I need to use the right fuse ("don't over-fuse" one guy was told on a newsgroup). So how do I know what fuse to use?

The specs on the amp say something about a 2x25 fuse rating. What does that mean, and does it have anything to do with what fuse I need to get...? I can't seem to find anything about "2x25 fuses" on Google.

Thanks again. Sorry if these are dumb questions...

 
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Go out and buy a bunch of bulk 4 awg wire. Enough to wire your car with a bit of leftover just in case. You can get all one color or red and black if you wish, it makes no difference but it's up to you.

Go buy some good 4 awg ring terminals, and if you have a cap (.5 farad for every 500 watts RMS), get some nice gold ring terminals with set screws for wiring your cap.

Get about 20-25 feet of 16-18awg blue wire for your remote turn on lead, might as well go with 16, the bigger the better.

Go out and buy a nice thick set of RCA cables that you think will be long enough... maybe 15-17 feet. Maybe you can measure. Remember you get what you pay for if you go for the cheap cables.

Get about 15 feet of 10-12 gauge speaker wire. If you are building your box, you will need a good amount of it to wire the inside of your box as well as from your amp to your box.

Get a fuse holder with an ANL (wafer type fuse). You want a 50 amp fuse (in case you aren't skilled in the ways of multiplication, 2x25=50). Mount the fuse less than 18" away from your battery. On a related note, make sure your ground wire is no longer than 36".

As far as connecting power to your battery, it's probably easiest to use the stock terminal, take off the nut off completely and slip a ring terminal around the bolt. You do not need to touch any other wiring under your hood (thanks goes to Mystic3030 for proving this one). Connect everything up with your fuse out of the holder, connect the battery back up with your amp power wire attached, and then PUT YOUR FUSE IN LAST. If there is a wiring fault, this way is probably the safest as you will just blow a fuse instead of something more valuable.

If you notice dimming in your lights, upgrade your battery.

If there is anything else you need to know, let me know.

 
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Thanks! A bunch of this stuff I figured out from various places, but it's nice to have it all in front of me now. Plus, there are a few things I couldn't figure out (like the 2x25 amp fuse thing).

I bought a 4 guage wiring kit from http://www.knukonceptz.com after reading a few good things about their stuff. I also guessed I needed a 50 amp fuse and got one of those, too. Figured if I was wrong, I'd only wasted 89 cents. Any idea why they say 2x25 instead of just 50?

Also, is there a reason to use ANL over AGU? I noticed Knukonceptz had both, so I did a search on Google, and the only thing I could come up with is that ANL can go higher... I couldn't find any good reason not to use AGU (I don't need a fuse out of AGU range), so that's what I've got coming. But I'll run out and grab an ANL holder/fuse if there's some reason I should.

Thank you for the help!

 
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I think ANL are better but I cannot provide an explanation as to why.

You made a good choice with Knuconceptz.

They say 2x25 because your amp has 2 25 amp fuses

 
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If you're that worried, just go to circuit city and buy an amp install kit from Monster cable. Has everything you need and is easy to hook up.

 
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for just subs, you can buy the cheapest wiring kit out there and it will sound just as good as the $80+ ones...

14 gauge speaker wire will be plenty. i think my remote turn on wire is like 20 gauge, it's split to 2 amps, and works fine. it came in the good old wal mart amp kit.

if you plan to run another amp for in cabin speakers, consider a good set of RCA cables. but please don't waste money on a premium amp kit unless you just want to impress stupid people with your premium wires. my .02