Amp Install Journal

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timisu87
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Amp Install Journal

Post by timisu87 »

Well, me and my friend start @ 6pm last night trying to figure out how to get the rca cable all the way to the front of the car, we were all ready and took out the headunit and removed the side door sills so we could snake the wire through. Then we figured out at 8pm that we did not need to do that because the headunit did not have the inputs for the rca thats why i bought the high low converter. We were confused for a while where the high low would connect to the speaker wires and I forgot that I had a stock amplifier in the trunk of the z3.

After find that out we spliced the wire according to the colors, and hooked it up to the high low, then we made the power cable, and we were about to hook up the fuse and grounding it but it was too dark by then. So we're finishing it tonight. Without the ground it will not turn on correct?
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Post by eyesofra »

correct... :wink:
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Bfowler
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Post by Bfowler »

grounding the amp or the LOC?

the loc will work....just not as well. you should ground it to the same place as the amp if possable.
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timisu87
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Post by timisu87 »

But without it being grounded and connected to the fuse, it will not turn on correct?
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Bfowler
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Post by Bfowler »

which LOC did you get?
my ex-girlfriend said "its car audio or me"
i've had tougher choices at a soda machine...
timisu87
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Post by timisu87 »

The NE-7V
timisu87
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Post by timisu87 »

Now, I am having trouble finding the Remote wire from the wires. It is suppose to be purple/white for the switch 12v which is the remote wire I believe. But it is not back there.


Could it be another color? Do any of you guys know the wire color for the remote wire in a 96 Z3?
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AVICJR
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Post by AVICJR »

Look for a blue or blue/white wire.
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Post by fuzzysnuggleduck »

I've always known remote to be blue. That said, a manufacturer going non-standard isn't very hard to believe at all :roll:
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timisu87
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Post by timisu87 »

I am so confused because people on the bimmerforums said White for the OEM remote wire. There are two solid white wires, and the only reason why I think there are two is because one goes to my cd changer, and that gets powered, and for the stock amp.
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Post by Bfowler »

the blue/white standard is NOT a car manufacture standard, its the mobile audio industry standard.

if there are two white wires, one going to the amp and one going to the cd changer, i would say its a pretty safe bet.
my ex-girlfriend said "its car audio or me"
i've had tougher choices at a soda machine...
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Post by fuzzysnuggleduck »

Bfowler wrote:the blue/white standard is NOT a car manufacture standard, its the mobile audio industry standard.

if there are two white wires, one going to the amp and one going to the cd changer, i would say its a pretty safe bet.
Ah indeed.

I was going to say "but but but my 4Runner had stock blue remote wire" however that's a lie... the stock stereo didn't need remote as there was no external amp, processors or accessories.
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timisu87
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Post by timisu87 »

Is this dremel powerful enough to cut the necessary space for the metal kick panels from 5.25 to 6.5?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/custom ... s.start=11
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AVICJR
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Post by AVICJR »

It will cut threw thinner pieces of metal with the right attachment. How thick is the metal you are trying to cut? Try it, either it will or it won't, can't hurt to try. :wink:
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Post by timisu87 »

It is not too thick but the dremel is going up to 20000 rpm Bfowler said that might be enough to cut through. The thing is I have to spend money either way either on the dremel or on the tin snips. I want a good investment that can get the job done.
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Post by AVICJR »

Go Dremel then. It has all sorts of uses, and you can get one pretty cheap. Check Sears for Craftsman brand as it may be a little cheaper, especially for the accessories/wheels.
timisu87
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Post by timisu87 »

Ok! Here it goes, the amp is all plugged in and it was working fine, remote wire was in, speakers were in, high low connected, power in, grounded, crossovers were set right. The speaker was receiving power but it was still a little static, the bass was not all clean. So afterwards my friend plugged the other side of the speakers in. All we would hear is BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ from the rear 2.5 speaker, and tweeter.

The ground is into the metal of the body, I am 100% sure.
The connections of the wiring is good, my friend checked for 3 hours.
The high low is connected right.

The car did lose power during the initial time that it worked but I jumped the car and this started to happen, not sure if it was this exact time though. This is starting to piss me off.
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Bfowler
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Post by Bfowler »

wait, you are power in the rears from the tantrum amp?

are you sure the passive crossovers are hooked up right?

did you connect the factory amp INPUT wires to the LOC?
my ex-girlfriend said "its car audio or me"
i've had tougher choices at a soda machine...
timisu87
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Post by timisu87 »

I am powering the front of the speakers but the buzzing noise is coming from the rear speaker only. The crossovers are hooked up properly, and I did connect the factory amp to the input wires to the LOC.
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Post by Bfowler »

so might use the wires you spliced into as part of the rear signal (not sure why, but maybe)

try "y"ing of the input wires so they are still connected to the LOC AND the AMP
my ex-girlfriend said "its car audio or me"
i've had tougher choices at a soda machine...
timisu87
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Post by timisu87 »

I decided to just let the professionals take care of this. I think I might have shorted out something in the stock audio system. As with the amp and everything taken out, the buzzing is still there when it should go back to normal. I tried so many different methods, but I am bringing it to a shop that really knows their stuff. I might have wasted a little money but its in better hands now. :lol:

Will update after its done! I really liked the way the RSD sounded for the short while it was on, the midbass is incredible.
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Bfowler
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Post by Bfowler »

:wink: that was my next question. the rsd's really are amazing speakers for their pricepoint. at least they are sounding good.

how did the install go?

and the tweets went in fine?
my ex-girlfriend said "its car audio or me"
i've had tougher choices at a soda machine...
timisu87
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Post by timisu87 »

Tweets went in perfect, I left one of the stock tweeters in there. One more could not affect the sound staging so much.
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Bfowler
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Post by Bfowler »

you left it in hooked up or left it in as a hole filler?
my ex-girlfriend said "its car audio or me"
i've had tougher choices at a soda machine...
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