Beware now that car audio amp installation can be very tricky especially for those who do not have much electronics experience. All sorts of wires are involved and specific panels must be removed and replaced. The process is lengthy and is one that will require step by step directions that you will want to follow. If you look over the directions and are not familiar with the process, terminology, or do not have the required tools, you might want to pass this job off to the professionals.
One of the most important things that you must remember is to make sure that your components are configured with RMS power compatible specifications. Get all of the necessary tools together which is quite a hefty list. Multiple size screwdrivers, both Phillips and flatheads, a soldering iron, electrical tape, wire cutters, crimpers, and strippers, angled screwdrivers, various wrenches, pliers, and socket sets, multimeter (VOM), metal saw and drill, hot glue gun, razor knife, hammer, flex tubing and shrink wrap insulation, some extra hardware, fuse puller and extra fuses, wire ties, small light source, and a tape measure. So,now you have read the directions fully and have gathered all of your tools too.
Now, disconnect the negative connection to your battery so you do not hurt yourself, your car or your equipment. Remember that when you are finished, you will have to reset all of the settings back to where they were just as if you had bought the car new. You want to place the amp in either the trunk or under a seat because that is where you will get the best circulation. The disadvantages of putting it in the trunk are that you will lose some cargo space and you will have to use longer wires and patch cords. The disadvantages of putting it under the seat are that you will have to remove the seat to do so and if your amp is larger, than it will not fit. Regardless of where you decide to place your amp, just remember that there has to be circulation and as much coolness as possible.
Here are a few tips followed by a few warnings that have been passed down from others who have successfully installed their own car audio amp: The CD player that sits in the dash of your car is called the “head unit”, you probably will not have RCA outputs in the back if your head unit is either old or stock so you will need an amp that has speaker level inputs, and make sure that you read in its entirety the manual for your amplifier. Also, if for some reason the amp will not turn on, before anything else, check to see if you have a bad ground and if you do then just move the connection to a different location. Finally, a couple warnings: do not use stock speakers as they are not designed to handle the power put out by an amplifier, never work on the electrical system of your car while the ground wire attached to the battery, and never let your speaker wires run near your amp’s power cables and if absolutely have to then in one spot only cross them in a perpendicular fashion.
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