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gonna wire up a box and amp to factory head unit, any suggestions? exactly what warranty coverage will be voided if i do this???
plan on doi it in 2 days so please respond soon if you have any ideas, it is greatly appreciated... thanks guys...

 
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I don't see why your warranty would really be voided on anything but possibly the rear speakers, but even that is a stretch. I'm assuming your'e using a line level convertor from teh rear speakers.
-Ed

 
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You shouldn't void any warranty.

Since you're using the factory HU, you need a few things... Check if your amp has speaker level inputs. If it doesn't then you'll need to get an RCA converter.

When you say "box" you mean a sub, right? If you're doing that with the factory HU, just use the rear speakers for inputs (for your amps speaker level inputs or RCA converter).

Other than that... you should be good to go.

 
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is that the best way to get signal to the amp, i never wired an amp to a brand new car before so i want to make sure i'm doin it perfect, is a line level converter what would splice into the speaker leads and converting them to RCA? if you have the time could you please explain what you would do... or direct me to any resources that have step by step instructions? you have no idea how much i appreciate your help!

 
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well, what kinda amp is it... or you dont need to tell us, just does it have high level inputs... if you dont know, then tell us what kinda amp it is... now if you dont have high level inputs, you buy a line level converter... that converts inputs from your rear speakers to rca... now if you do have high level inputs, then you just take the signal from your rear speakers and run it into the high level inputs, and then you dont need RCA's

 
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i dont even know what kind it is (i know, i know... i'm sorry guys...) it's an amp and box that my friend at werk had in her new montero, she got her whole system redone by her boyfriend and she's givin me these since she got hers for nuthin (lol, yeah i'm laughin too...) anyway, i dont know it it has speaker level inputs, but she did say i needed to buy an amp kit and a line level RCA converter... if it has both is the RCA a definite better way to go? will the DIY section hace step by step on how to get all the interior out of the way to get the power lines run? and actually i want to make sure, i HAVE to run power from the battery? how would you guys get power to the amp? please be specific...

 
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oh and by the way, you guys are like life-savers, i swear, it is so cool to have cool people help me out, thanks!

 
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I don't know exactly about the soudn quality difference between a line level convertor or using the high level inputs, but if she said that you will need a convertor, you should get one to be safe, you could always return it. You'll need that and a amp install kit. Depending on teh wattage, you'll probably need a 4 or 2 gauge wiring kit, but in your case, you won't need the RCAs that usually come with the kit. What you need to do is connect the long power cable to your battery, then run it through your firewall and send it to the trunk from teh passenger side plastic mouldings to the trunk and connect it to the amp. you'll need to connect a ground wire also, you can bolt thato your car anywhere you sand down the metal, the seatbelt bolts are a good place.

 
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i'm writing down what you say to do, i'm just curious why the power down the passenger side, is the battery on the passenger side or are the speaker leads on the driver's side? just curious, to connect to the battery should i buy a battery connector (terminal) or splice into the existing wire?

 
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Hmm... yea, if she says you'll need a RCA converter then you should probably get one. The sound quality will probably be the same either way.

You're gonna need an amp wiring kit. The wattage of your amp will decide the size of the power lead you'll need to run. Here's the general rule that I follow:
Up to 200 watts run 10 ga.
Up to 350 watts run 8 ga.
Up to 600 watts run 4 ga.
2 ga is really big and probably unneccessary for what you have but I could be wrong. Check out the wattage that the amp puts out. Make sure it's RMS and not peak. RMS is the constant amount of watts put out and peak is the maximum.

There is a DIY on how to run the power lead in your car. On the passenger side there is a rubber gromet that is located behind a panel at the top of the floor mat. Run the power lead through there. Once you get it in from the engine compartment, run it under the side trim to the trunk.

For the ground wire, find some place where there is metal exposed to attach the wire to. Hopefully you can. In my car, I sanded off some paint in the back off my spare wheel well and drilled a hole and screwed it down. The exposed metal is the most important part of finding a ground!

Once you've done that, you'll need to splice the RCA converter to your rear speaker wires. There should be a diagram that comes with the converter. Make sure you connect the positives and negatives of both channels correctly. There is a wiring diagram in the DIY section also that tells you which wires are positive and negative on yoru rear speakers.

I don't have my digital camera on me right now otherwise i'd show you pics of how I did mine. I know that pics would help a lot. I'll try to get a camera and take some pics and put them up for ya before you start it but I might not have time, nor find the camera.

The DIY's are pretty helpful, check them out cause they actually have pictures. GOOD LUCK!

 
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warrantee is void on any problems caused by what you did. if your radio suddeny gets no reception, they arent gonna fix it, blaming it on the amp.

if you get a check engine light, good luck to them to prove the stereo did that. they will warrantee that. (should) Just like they should fix yoru stock stereo if it breaks and you have an aftermarket intake. that didnt cause the damage.

that is how the honda warratee works, or at least my dealership [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG] ive heard some really bad dealership stories up in here.......

 
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hey guys , just wanted to thank every one of you who actually took the time to read my post and write back a response!
well tomorrow is thursday and she's bringing me the stuff, i think she said it was a jensen amp (350?), does that sound good? or decent atleast?
and yes, i am so sorry but i do have one more question, what would be the best wire to splice into for the remote line? i read some of the other threads and most people are saying the cigarette lighter wire is the best bet, what do you guys think? thanks again for all the info!!!

 
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yup, best bet. id also put a switch in there, so that you can turn the amp of, even if the car is on. otherwise the amp will be on as long as the car is on.

 
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thanks for the info on the switch, i was thining of putting a switch in for those seldom moments that i dont want it on, i can put the switch where the fog lights would have been, i never got them installed, so the switch space is empty, eventually i want to relocate the sunroof switch to near the cig lighter and put the amp switch over by the cruise control, but for now i''ll leave it like that. so what are your opinions on the JEnsen? is it decent? or do you need more info on what model it is ?

 
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i ran an amp wid a sub on a factory HU............ its real bad......... there's sooo much bass it drowns the treble..... especially if u sit in the back..... all u hear is thump thump thump..... replace the speakers too!

 
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all about install. I put a shiva in a stock mustang, playing only his front stock 5x7's and the shiva on 500 watts in his trunk, on a stock deck. sounded great. later, he upgraded to a pioneer 6400, and to this day runs his stock fronts on deck power. still sounds great.

as to the jenson, power is power, at this point. as long as it suits your purpose, who cares that its not a JL or mcintosh amp? i have run everything sony in my car, at one time or another, and i cna tell you its all trash. yet building a stage for my buddie's 4runner, we used a sony amp. his stage sounds so awesome its unbelieveable the price he paid to get everything. unreal. every equipment has its proper use. I have a rockwood crossover. best paperweight ive ever used. nothing else can hold down stuff quite as well as it!

that jenson amp may be exactly what you need as far as equipment is concerned, might not be. but if it is, why spend twice as much getting something else with too much power or more features than youll ever use?

 
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i agree with the money aspect. i'm not an all out audi enthusiast (yet!) but i do want something more than what i have now... what it is exaclty is a bass reflex box, you think i should disconnect the rear speakers? i dont understand that, will i really only hear the bass and nuthn else in the whole car? if so do i turn the amp down or just deal with havin nuthin but thump? i'n getting discouraged now... [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG] i guess if i cold i could disconnect the rears and only run the box and the 2 tweeters and the 2 in the doors, but will it be worth it? please explain, oh, and where should i mount the amp? i really dont want to mount it right on the box itself (have been told that the vibration from the box is not good for the amp) i was thinking in the pass side corner by the taillights? anyone and everyone that has an idea please feel free to let me know, it's all greatly appreciated!!!