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New Amp and Sub Addition

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Posted by: poacheggs413

I was wondering if it was possible to get speaker to line level converter, tap off of the rear speakers and feed my audiobahn amp. From the amp I would feed my 10" MTX sub. If this is do-able can someone please tell me what wires to tap off of. Also is a good or bad idea to hook up a toggle switch in line with the 12v line to the amp so I can turn the sub on and off. I have an 02 LSE with the Alpine system, 6 cd changer built into the dash. Thanks in advance for your time!

Posted by: chickenviii

should work (never did a sys in a ls, but lots of others) as for your switch, put it on the "remote" (or turn on) wire not the 12v from the battery, that way the amp will power down correctly instead of abruptly cutting off the 12v source

Posted by: RollinLS

You can wire an aftermarket amp off your factory Alpine headunit. I forgot exactly how it is done. BUT several members here have had it done. I am running a Memphis amp and two 10"s off my factory Alpine headunit.

Posted by: poacheggs413

Thanks for the help guys. I did the install today and followed chickenviii's advice and ran the remote lead to a switch. After reading all the past posts on this I found hooking up the LOC to the rear speakers to be easier and save alot of time, rather than behind the head unit. All in all aside from the amp and sub the whole install cost me maybee $15 for the switch and LOC and took like an hour to complete. So i once again have the bumps in the trunk and with the remote wire on a switch I can turn the bumps off when the wife is in the car.

Posted by: chickenviii

glad i could be of assistance, where is your remote wire ran from? i did the same setup in my old truck (years ago) and ran the remote wire from the HU and spliced the switch in line, this worked flawless, as opposed to just running the remote to the batt (also seen done) only down side to this is the amp could be left on accidentally

Posted by: poacheggs413

I ran a 3 lead wire from the switch and just put it into the same +12 and ground terminals on the amp. The remote input is in the middle of the two so for neatest look i figured that was the way to go. For what it is I have no complaints. I didnt really know what to expect as far as how it was going to sound but there definalty is that extra bump. Thanks again for your help.

Posted by: tooserious4u79

I have that same 800 watt rms amp. It is a very powerful amp you may need a cap for it. Also I tried to put a kill switch on my amp but kept getting a popping sound when I turn it back on. What I eventually ended up doing was getting a new head unit with built in eq and subwoofer level adjust. As for my remote I used the orange wire running of the back of the radio plug.

Posted by: xTHANATOPSISx

Not bad, but PLEASE, make a couple small slits and run the wiring under the carpet. It will look SO much better and be safer for the wiring.

You did good makeing the wiring neat, now you just need to make it disappear.

Posted by: xTHANATOPSISx

Quote:

Originally Posted by tooserious4u79

I have that same 800 watt rms amp. It is a very powerful amp you may need a cap for it. Also I tried to put a kill switch on my amp but kept getting a popping sound when I turn it back on. What I eventually ended up doing was getting a new head unit with built in eq and subwoofer level adjust.

He won't needs a cap for that. Caps are NOT the fix all most people believe them to be. That amp shouldn't draw enough current to hurt anything.

He'd be better off upgrading the charging and major ground wires than adding a cap and would probably have half the cost invested in doing so.

Posted by: BigBHolt

He's right. Just make sure that if you are upgrading your alternator that you get one with idle performance. Most people just get theirs rewound, that doesn't help. It only gives you performance around 2,000 RPM. You need it at idle.

Posted by: chickenviii

what gage speaker wire is that? it looks really small

Posted by: poacheggs413

It's 16 gage, but its plenum rated to meet builiding code. I work for a high end audio visual firm, I had it laying arround from an old install.

Posted by: xTHANATOPSISx

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickenviii

what gage speaker wire is that? it looks really small

It's more than enough since that amp only makes about 400 watts RMS at best, and depending on how its actually loaded down. It just doesn't have 3/32" of insulation around it to make it look huge while still only being 16ga.

Frankly, anything more than 14ga is overkill with less than 1000 watts RMS real power.