I need info on installing 3 amps
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=41021
Printed Date: July 12, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Topic: I need info on installing 3 amps
Posted By: dubb
Subject: I need info on installing 3 amps
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 7:34 PM
I have a 2001 olds eighty eight. Two 15" kicker subs and also two 5-way pioneer 6X9's. I have two 2 channel 1000 watt amps, one for each sub and a 400 watt 2 channel amp for the 6X9's. How do i install these 3 amps. What do i need to purchase to install them were they will get enough power from the battery. please help
Replies:
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 7:52 PM
You might want to invest in a 4 ga. amp kit complete and at least a 1 1/2 farad capacitor. And a distro block too. Follow the instructions. Too much to list from here. just kidding. write back if you have more questions.
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:00 PM
do they make distro blocks that turn one four guage wire 3 4-guage wires . does this take power from the 4 guage wire like splittin the power into 3. do i need to go wit 0 or 2 guage.where is a good place to shop for this. I gotta thousand questions..bare wit me...
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:00 PM
i meant to put into 3 4 guage wires...
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:05 PM
yes you can use 0 ga. wire but I dont think you need that much. I think minimum 4 ga. should be ok. Yes there are distribution blocks that just split or divide the power equally from one wire to 2, 3, or 4 wires of the same guage.
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:09 PM
preciate it. how do capacitors install, considering i install the distro block.
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:11 PM
theres a couple of ways to do it but easiest is inline to the distro block with a short a ground as possible. All 4 ga. minimum.
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:14 PM
so my best bet would be a distrabution block that inputs one 4 guage wire and out puts 4 4-guage wires. 3 wires to 3 amps and the fourth wire to the capacitor.
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:20 PM
well thats not what I was trying to say but as a matter of fact that will work that way.,It might be confusing if you never done this before but I meant run the cable from the battery to the trunk and then right into the Cap. and from there go into the disrto. block and then to the amps. I dont mean to repeat myself but be sure to make good solid grounds on everything. Especially the Cap. Also you can buy a 2nd distro. block just to run all your grounds. Makes things cleaner and easier.
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:25 PM
hell yeah.i understand you. i appreciate all this info. ima go purchase the blocks, capacitor and some hott and ground 4-gauge wire tomorrow...  thankss
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:29 PM
You welcome and good luck. Take your time and get back with the 12volt if you need more info.
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:39 PM
i got another question about amp positioning....where can i install these 3 amps on the back of my box.
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 8:56 PM
Thats pretty much up to you and whats convinient or looks best. Are you going to face the subs towards the rear tail lights? Is there room on top of the box? Are you using a cross-over?
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 9:00 PM
yea the subs will be toward the rear lights..not sure but there might be some room on top i dont kno if der is room for three amps though. i want everything to look neat . whats an amp rack?
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2005 Ford 500 SEL. 3 Kicker CVR 15"s. 2000 watt Quantum Audio AMP.
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 9:07 PM
An amp rack is just simply a custom way of mounting amps in your car or truck. There again its up to you and your creativity and how you want it to look. The amps can be neatlt stacked , or have them offset from each other like a deck of cards. Amp rack is just a custom way of mounting them although i believe there might be a type of rack you can buy but Im not familiar with those. Pick up issues of "Car Audio and Electronics" or other Stereo magazines for idea's or go to Car Stereo compititions if you can. They are a great sorce of inspiration and idea's.
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 9:12 PM
whats the difference in boxes, enclosures. what box gives out the most bass. i have a regular $50 box right now. i been hearing alot about the enclosed boxes wit the plexi glass..
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2005 Ford 500 SEL. 3 Kicker CVR 15"s. 2000 watt Quantum Audio AMP.
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 9:18 PM
It depends on what kind of bass are you looking for. SPL or SQ. Ported boxes are uaually better for SPL while sealed boxes can give better SQ but it also depends on everything else such as your subs , trunk shape, amp,EQ and cross over settings. The Bandpass boxes with plexiglass are usually good for SPL but the plexi is just for show. Are those Kicker 15s the Comp VRs?
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 9:21 PM
yess CVR's what the hell is SPL and SQ.  I want the bass dat makes my fenders fall off...  .. ------------- 2005 Ford 500 SEL. 3 Kicker CVR 15"s. 2000 watt Quantum Audio AMP.
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 9:42 PM
Im sorry.......SQ is Sound Qualityand SPL is Sound Pressure Level which is obviously what your going for. 1,000 watts on each of those should make for just alot of that.......Sound Pressure Level.
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 16, 2004 at 9:45 PM
By the way......what Kind of thousand watt amps are those? What Brand and model number if you know it? How do you have the subs wired to the amps? ------------- 99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: pimpincavy
Date Posted: October 17, 2004 at 4:42 PM
Hell yeah!! Thats the kind of bass I like! 2 CVR 15" with 1000W of power should not dissapoint.
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Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 17, 2004 at 7:06 PM
i have 3 crunch amps. i came across a topic yesterday asking about the quality of the Crunch amps. The amps are a steal at the price they sell for. I have purchased 2- 1000 watt amps and one 400 watt amp for less then $250. To tell the truth i was lookin into buying a $700 kicker amp. Needed to save a lil more but i already had the 400 watt crunch amp so i decided to install it while until i could purchase the kicker. I was so amazed at the 400 watt amp i seen the 1000 watt on sale and i tried it out. The crunch amp handles the 15's well. The only thing i really dont like about the amp is that it doesnt come with the in car bass volume controll, but the Alpine deck has that built in and once before it overheated. More so due to my positioning of the amp.
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2005 Ford 500 SEL. 3 Kicker CVR 15"s. 2000 watt Quantum Audio AMP.
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 17, 2004 at 8:31 PM
Well as long as your satisfied with the Crunch Amps thats all that matters. I personaly would have held out for the Kicker amp. I have the newer 1,200 watt 1200d Kicker amp and have not been disapointed. I know theres better amps but for the money , I am impressed. As far as your Crunch overheating , be sure its in a well ventilated area and use at least 4 ga. ground as close to the amp as possible.
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 18, 2004 at 10:12 AM
Rushman i gotta question about the RCA jacks. the amps have the RCA input and output..i heard the output is used to connect one amp to another. so how would i wire all three amps with the RCA jacks. should i take my pair of jacks, by an upgrade that splits the one pair into three pairs and connect them to each of the amps RCA inputs or what? or do i connect my one pair to one amps input, one another pair from that amps outputs to the other amps inputs, and the same with the next amp..i hope im not confusing you mannnn.
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2005 Ford 500 SEL. 3 Kicker CVR 15"s. 2000 watt Quantum Audio AMP.
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 18, 2004 at 11:18 AM
No your not confusing me I got ya clear. Yes it is possible to use the RCA output on the amp to connect to another but I wouldnt suggest it. Your using the 1000w amps for bass and usually the full frequency is passed thru into the outputs. Not good if your only amplifying Bass freqeuncies. However if you have a crossover or can get one then you could use the output on one Crunch Bass amp to the input of the other for the Subs only. Or another way I believe the Alpine head unit has a set of RCA sub output that you could also run to one Bass amp to another. The 400w amp you need to keep totally seperate for the highs only. Only make the jump from one amp to another if your RCAs feeding them are sub level only. (im refering to the two 1000w Crunch amps feeding the two 15s) Otherwise you'll be putting highs and mids into your subs and thats not cool. The only other way is to do like you mentioned and get the Y splitter for RCAs on subs and take one to each of the sub amps. left and right . Meaning you will need two Ys , one for each I mean. Now am I confusing you?......ha ha. Get back if you need more help.
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 18, 2004 at 11:36 AM
so i buy two Y slitters one pair goin to the input of one 1000 watt amp and the other pair goin into the input of the other 1000 watt amp....now when i run my 6X9's off the 400 watt amp do i need rca jacks for that amp.u said keep it seperate do i need to run some totally different RCA's from the back of the head unit...i hope u dont say yess to the question i jus asked..lol..i dont like installin and uninstallin head units..hard work..
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2005 Ford 500 SEL. 3 Kicker CVR 15"s. 2000 watt Quantum Audio AMP.
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 18, 2004 at 12:10 PM
well..........Im sorry to tell you yes your gonna have to pull the head unit one more time , unless like I say you have a crossover but if not , go ahead and run the 2 extra cables. One set for the front and one set for the rear and then just hook them up the same to the amp. If I didnt say already , try to remember to run all your power wires down one side of the car and your RCAs down the other. Try to keep them as far apart as much as possible. This will help keep out altenator wine and other unwanted noises. So you should have a total of three (3) RCAs coming off the radio to the amps. One for subs which will get split , Second set for the front and third set for the rears. Are we cool so far?
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 18, 2004 at 12:14 PM
ok , I just remember the 400w is only a 2 channel amp. You will only need to run one extra set of cables to that amp unless you just want to run the third set anyway for future expansion. Sorry for the mix up.
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99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
Posted By: dubb
Date Posted: October 18, 2004 at 12:25 PM
check out dis blue print diagram..whats yur email so i can send it from my yahoo email......
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2005 Ford 500 SEL. 3 Kicker CVR 15"s. 2000 watt Quantum Audio AMP.
Posted By: Rushman
Date Posted: October 18, 2004 at 12:31 PM
Rushman69@aol.com ........$4.95 a minute.......just kidding ------------- 99 F-one fitty
Pioneer Premier H/U
Alpine EQ
Kicker 1200 amp
4 Kicker comp 10s
6 kicker SS65.2 components
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