hey guys, i'm almost finished with my new setup... just need to get my sub and amp hooked up. I didn't want to fork over the mad cash the local shops wanted to install my stuff, and i wanted to learn anyway so i've got my new deck, front and rear speakers in and it sounds great -- thanks a lot for the help everyone!

the last thing i need help with is what im most foreign with, installing my amp / sub.

I have a MTX MZS1204 12" subwoofer (click for specs page)

and i also have a HERTZ EP2 amplifier .

What i'm wondering is how i go about starting all this haha. the sub box i have and my sub both have those 'push and insert' connections for the speaker wire, but im wondering what kind of speaker wire i use to connect them?

just 'regular' speaker wire, or the super thick 4 gauge crap i got in my install kit? i dont even think that will fit!



secondly, do I just run a piece of speaker wire from the positive on the sub to the positive terminal on the box, and the same with the negatives? and do i set it under these screws and tighten, or crimp it into a female connector and slide it over those little prongs?



i have my RCA plugs and my remote wire ran to the trunk, so I'm guessing i just plug the RCAs into the amp, and the remote wire -- do i set that under the screw on the amp and tighten or use a metal connector?

Im just really lost after this step... these are all the components i have here:




and here are the options my amp has:



so i'm really confused after this point.

I know i have to run wires from my amp to the terminals on the speaker box, but from which outputs on my amp? and do i have to wire it up something like this as someone else mentioned to get any sort of power to it?

so if i have to pick up a few more things that's not a problem, and i know im asking a lot, but if anyone could please explain how im supposed to utilize that huge wire and what not, that would be great!

thank you so much guys!!

 

No one?

 

Alright man this is simple. Run your RCA's from you headunit, sub woofer out to your amp, on the RCA's that say IN. Which i think you've done. Run your remote wire from your head unit to the terminal on your amp that says remote. Use that big power wire to your battery on the + side and also on the Big Plus side on your amp but put a fuse in there close to the battery. Also try to keep your power wires and rca wires on opposite sides of the car when running them, it helps cut down on unwanted noise. Next Run another piece of big wire from the - side, big terminal on your amp to a place on your car body, ex. a bolt on metal or something. Get some small speaker wire 12-16 gauge, around that size crimp the one end with female connectors and plug into the inside of the box, then plug the other side into your sub. Stick your sub in your box and you know. If you want to smooth out the sound you can use some poly fill in your box. Then make another run of that same size wire from ther terminal on your box to the terminal on your amp that says speakers outputs. ground to ground and positive to positive dont cross those. lol. Use the left speaker out puts on you amp and use the bridged lay out.

Alright man i went over all that briefly and maybe some parts more than i needed to but post up ANY ?'s you have and i'll halp ya out. If in any doubt just post up or shoot me a PM

 

OK
Firts off that thick 4 guage wire is power and ground for the amp.
Insert the fuse (splice it in) 6 inchs away from the end that is going to the battery (the red wire at the end where the ring is should whats going to hook up to the battery)
Then runn enough wire to get to the amp and hook that up (to the +BATT on the amp)

The clear wire is your ground and it should never be more than 2.5 to 3 feet in length, one end goes to the GRD on the amp and the other should go to the bolt thats beside the battery that the wire fron the Neg lead on the battery is running to. Or you can just go right to the neg lead on the battery.

The remote (on the amp its REM) come from the head unit, you have to run a wire from the blue and white wire coming off of your new deck to the amp in the trunk. You can just run it along side or together with the RCA's that have to come from the SUB or REAR out on the head unit.

Your sub is only single voice coil so that pic of the sub wiring does not apply, just go + to + and - to - from the sub to the terminal on the box. (either way you mentioned on how to hook it up top that terminal will work but female speaker connectors are the easiest.
Where the speaker outputs on the amp are there should be a line that says BRIDGED, and the l;ine should end at a + and - speaker output. Those are the + and - you want to use. The pic is blurry but I think you want the left + and right - . This will bridged the amp for the best output.
However your amp is only 190watts and the sub can handle 600 so its going to be greatly underpowered, look into a new amp soon.

The blue/red/black wire should be ignored its for high level imput but you have RCAS's so you won't need it
Thats all I got time for right now, I should get ready for work.
Good Luck .

BTW- There is a website called "The 12 Volt" go there its a really helpful website

 

Man guys, thank you so much!

I know it was a really detailed question so I really appreciate you guys taking the time out of your day.

I think I've got a good idea now. I have my remote wire and RCA wires ran to the trunk, those are straight forward.

so that thick as wire is power wire (), makes sense now. I'm running the red one from the BATT on my amp to the positive terminal on my battery -- but what do you mean about inserting a fuse? I seem to have a bunch of things I don't need in that case?

So, in a nutshell: Run big red wire to positive terminal, other end into BATT on amp, and the other wire goes to GND on my amp and I ground the other end? Using those two red / black pronged connectors.

Only thing I didn't get was 'insert a fuse about 6" from the end of the red power wire.'... how do I do that?

What do I use?



Also, one side of my amp says:

Speaker In:
+L- +R- (with a plug in for that little cable you said doesn't matter), PRE IN L / R (for my RCA's), then three turn adjustments "LEVEL" "X-OVER" "BOOST" and then there's a slider switch saying "X-OVER" with "HI PASS" "FULL" and "LO PASS" options.

On the other side, there's four 'screw in' connections, saying:


Then a "FUSE" in the middle, and than Batt, ground and remote.





No bridge? So that's the only thing I'm stuck on now... I've got powering my amp up, grounding it, attaching my sub to the box... just how do I go from amp to sub terminals, and what type of speaker wire do I use?

Thanks a lot guys!

 

the picture that you have the clear thing circled is you fuse holder and the little plastic and metal thing is the fuse itself leave the fuse out of the hold till you have everything completly done so you dont short anything out. but the fuse holder you gonna put in the power wire. the big sucka, about 6 inches away from the battery. to bridge you amp your gonna go from the looks on the last pic positive wire going from the sub box to the lef terminal saying + then the - wire coming from the sub box going to the other end on the connecter like far right were it says - PM me if you need any more help

so like this
`````````````````````````````````Mono
```````````````````````````````L+ L- R+ R-
positive wire from sub box goes here^ (empty) ^ negative wire from sub box goes here

 

haha awesome man thanks!

you've got PM's turned off so i'll just message you here... so I need two peieces of the red power wire right?

one going from the amp to one end of the wire (i just strip a 1/4" or so and put it in the end and tighten the hex screw, with the fuse in the middle) and then a 6" or so piece to go from the other end of the fuse box to the battery terminal?

Thanks man!

 

yea exactly just dont put the fuse in till your all done.put the holder together just leave the fuse out SAFETY FIRST pms enabled thanks for lettin me know lol

 

Looks like you should have it all under control now

 

About the X-over
Set the switch to Low Pass
Then the dial that says x-over goes from 40-400 with a 200 in the middle.
This is the freq. that the x-over runs at, its measured in HZ
You want to try and set that at about 80-90 HZ Just try and guess where you would think 80-90 is on the dial.
As for the gain (Level) you should start at about half and then with the music playing SLOWLY ajust it up until you hear it start to distort a bit. Then STOP, and turn it back a little bit so the distorting stops and thats it. But like I said the sub can handle more power than the amp can put out so you won't run to much power into it but if you run the amp at Full Gain then your amp life will go down in a hurry.

As for that damn bass bost, I personally hate it and dont use it but if you want to use it turn it all the way off then slowly turn it up and see how you like it, make sure you stop and listen to a bit of the song or even change songs a few times just to see the effects with different types of music/bass.

One last thing evenm though your under powering the sub, you should still break it in (if its new) so don't keep it cranked for long periods of time for the first couple weeks,

 

sounds like your all covered. i didnt read the long threads but i figured id pop in and let you know im here if need be

 

Hey guys, really appreciate all the help. I think I got everything set up properly, but I guess not.

Installed my sub in the box, and use speaker wire to attach it straight to the terminals using female spade connectors, then I ran a piece from the L+ from my amp to the positive terminal, and the R- to the negative, and no sound.

The amp powers up, so I'm thinking its wired in right... fuse about 6 inches from the pos. power terminal, and its grounded where the stock battery ground it.

I think it's the speaker wire I used, maybe? It's the multi colored crap, that's stuck together (I had to pull it apart)



Basically used the gold for positive feeds and the clear / silver for negatives. Problem?

Thanks guys!

 

make sure your using the speaker connections that say bridged. also are the rcas plugged in and everything?

 

i think its time to upgarde your amp

 

humm well sounds dumb but are the rca's hooked into the proper location on the deck? if so then other than that the only thing i can think of is the wiring from the amp to the sub. can you take more pictures of how you got it set up it's easier to see it to trouble shoot it good luck

 

I don't have a bridged option, there's just mono. Lol.

 

same **** *****... lol but check all those connections if its already mono. settings and such too

 

Like already stated check your RCA's.
What are you running for a HU?
Try and maybe open up the box and make sure the wires are still connected.
If your amp is lighting up (make sure its not the protection light coming on) then it shouldn't be a power issue, that leaves a signal issue or a "your amps pouched" issue. Lets hope its the first
Could just be a setting in the HU, post the make/model

 

H/U is an Alpine iDAX305.

That speaker wire makes no difference, right?

I'll double check all the RCA's and stuff today, but I'm almost positive they are plugged into the back of the deck, don't see how they came out.

IT's the power light coming on too, not the 'safe' light.

Thanks, I'll let ya know!

 

"I'll double check all the RCA's and stuff today, but I'm almost positive they are plugged into the back of the deck, don't see how they came out."

but make sure there in the right location. you should have a sub rca location on the deck.

pull your sub out of the box and check that everything is hooked up properly in there too. if all else failes get your hammer that otta work G/L man

 

just thought about it. make sure the sub out on the deck is on. sometimes they come off from the factory hence no signal

 

but if the amp is turning on wouldt that mean the deck is set up right. dosent the on/off feature on the deck just control the rem wire

 

depends on the hu really but yes it can be "on" and not have signal thru the rcas

 

didnt know that. thanks

 

remote wire is what turns the amp on

rca's basically tell the amp what notes to play