hey i just got a new sony 800w amp and 2 12" sony subs for my 2001 ford focus zx3. i was going to have the stereo shop install it, but they charge 100 bucks, so i figured i could do it myself and save some money. i have a couple of questions though.
1. the wiring kit they sold me has 8 gauge wire. the instruction book says to use 4 gauge, but the guy at the shop said they always use 8 gauge when installing this amp. will the 8 gauge work?
2. the wiring kit didnt come with speaker cables. what size wire should i run from the amp the the subs? i was thinking 10 gauge.
3. i am using the stock head unit for now until i get my new HU. where should i run the remote turn on lead to? will any switched fuse at the fuse box work?
4. my amp has speaker level inputs and rca inputs. the guy at the shop told me not to use the ones on the amp and buy a line output converter. i bought that, but should i use it or was this guy just trying to sell me more stuff? i would think the speaker inputs on the amp would do just fine.
5. whether i use the line converter, or run straight to the amp speaker inputs, how do i get to the back speaker wires? is there any how-tos that show how to get the back panel off to get to the wires(i have a zx3 focus)? and do i have to take both back panels off and tap into the left and right speakers or can i just say tap into the left only?
thanks in advance for your help
1) I would recommend a 4 gauge wiring kit. You can use the American wire gauge chart to determine the correct cable size for you application https://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp
2) I would use 12 gauge speaker wire but 10 won’t hurt
3) Yes any fused switched + 12 volt will work
4) You will get a cleaner signal if you use the low inputs (rca) vs. high inputs.
5) There should be 2 channels on your high to low converter so you will have to tap both rear speakers.
10 gauge speaker wire is a lot bigger than you need. 12, 14, or 16 will work fine for those subs.
Which model # amp is it? Cuz the way to tell what size power cable you need is to look at the amp's specs for current draw as well as its fuse rating.
I always recommend using an external line output converter because they're compatible with more vehicles' stereo systems than the speaker-level inputs available on most amps. When an amp has speaker-level inputs that basically means it has a line output converter built in to it, but these unfortunately are almost always not as good as using a dedicated external line output converter.
You're going to have to get a switched +12v signal from the head unit for the sub amp so you'll already be working on wires in the radio's harness. It would be easier to just grab your signal there by tapping in to the speaker wires corresponding to this diagram. Any of the ones with plugs that look like yours will work cuz they all use the same speaker pinouts even though they may be different vehicles.
If you tried to tap into the rear speaker wires you'd have to take the whole rear side panel off to get to the speaker, and then you'd have to remove the speaker to get to its wires. Just a lot easier to make you hookups at the back of the radio. Make sure that you run the RCA cable from the line output converter to the amplifier, down the side of the vehicle opposite the power wire (i.e. keep them as far apart as possible).
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Ethan
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"Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success"
Donate to the12volt.comhey guys thanks so much for your help. the amp model is the sony xm-d400p5. heres a link: https://www.xplodsony.com/products/?CATEGORY=Amp/EQ&MD=XM-D400P5
and the subs i am using are sony 12's that are 4 ohms and have an rms of 200watts. so my amp will be putting out 4 ohms at 200 watts so that should be perfect.
You should be fine using the 8 gauge wire, As far as the subs go are they DVC or SVC do you have model # for the subs?
the subs are sony XS-L1200B. heres a link:
https://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-e2We1SlY9NP/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=10&g=67700&I=158XSL1200&o=m&a=0&cc=01&avf=N
i dont know if they are dual or single voice coil. in fact i dont even know what that means. im assuming dual is better. these subs and amp were a package deal on sale for 200 for everything. they said they have sold tons of these packages the last week so i would assume this stuff should all work together
Each sub is SVC(single Voice coil) 4ohm. You will want to wire your subs in parallel https://www.jlaudio.com/tutorials/wiring/index.html#2svcp for a 2 ohm load on the amp. The amp will put out 400 watts total 200 to each sub.