Car Stereo Amplifier Installation - Help with Electrics / Main Feed

[Dazza the Stag]

Afternoon all

Let me acknowledge that some may say that adding a amplifier to the Stag seems a little crazy given the gorgeous sound it makes, however I am trying to do away with a modern head unit ( which has the usual amplification built in ) and therefore I need a seperate amp, which I will probably mount in the boot which will drive the speakers. Is there anywhere in the rear of the car that I could take this feed from ? Im guessing not, so the second option in my mind would be to take a feed from the fuse box and perhaps install a new fuse dedicated to this feed - is that possible and if so how difficult is it ? And could this feed be switched so its only powered when the ignition is at least turned to the accessories option ? Many thanks in advance


The manual for the amplifier says

FUSE REQUIREMENTS
It is absolutely vital that the main power wire(s)
to the amplifier(s) in the system be fused within
18 inches (45 cm) of the positive battery post
connection.The fuse value at each power wire
should be high enough for all of the equipment
being run from that power wire. If only the
e4300 is being run from that power wire, we
recommend a 40A fuse be used.AGU (big glass
fuse) or MaxiFuse™ (big plastic-body fuse) types
are recommended.
No fuse is required or recommended directly
before the amplifier power connection. If one is
desired, we recommend the use of a 40A AGU fuse
or MaxiFuse™ type.

[mjheathcote]

I have a big amp mounted under the passenger seat.
it has a separate fused supply from the battery, and is live all the time.
I say live, but actually it has a built in relay that switches itself on and off via a signal wire from the head unit.

[Nambo]

Cant answer your question, but am interested to know what amp you have chosen.
I was in a car stereo shop yesterday that is closing down, got a pair of new 200watt pioneer speakers that where shop soiled for £20
As my stereo is only 50 watt, I was looking at his amps, the guy has offered me an old stock Pioneer amp at a good price, he claims modern smaller amps are not so warm sounding, thing is, its quite big and heavy.

[Escape]

40A is quite a lot, I would use a dedicated fused feed directly from the battery rather than start from the fuse box. And take care to provide a good earth as well.
If you want to make it switched, you can add a 40A relay and use the white white wire from the ignition to switch it (for position 2) or even better the switched radio feed (for position 1).

Filip

[Dazza the Stag]

Thanks for your replies, another member also PM'd me and said the same, in essence wire it back straight to the battery and fuse / earth it properly. In others words follow the instructions on the AMP. Why am i always looking to do things differently to the instructions

I looked at the Switched relay method and they seem quite expensive and as mjheathcote pointed out I can just run a 12v switched wire to the amp so it only turns on when I want it. I will probably run this from the electric aerial for the time being given that it already in the boot until I decide on a more permanent solution.

Nambo - the amp is a JL e4300, its one that I managed to purchase off my nephew for £30 and it will allow me to see what sort of sound I can achieve before I maybe invest a little more money in one that would look nice sat in the boot. Quite powerful I believe

[Escape]

Thanks for your replies, another member also PM'd me and said the same, in essence wire it back straight to the battery and fuse / earth it properly. In others words follow the instructions on the AMP. Why am i always looking to do things differently to the instructions

I looked at the Switched relay method and they seem quite expensive and as mjheathcote pointed out I can just run a 12v switched wire to the amp so it only turns on when I want it. I will probably run this from the electric aerial for the time being given that it already in the boot until I decide on a more permanent solution.

I am much the same, I usually do read the instructions but then immediately start to think how it could be done differently/better.

As for the relay, that shouldn't be expensive at all! A standard 40a car relay can be found for £2 and will (just) do, a high current 70A version is a reasonable £5.54 at vehicle-wiring-products.

Filip

[Dazza the Stag]

I am much the same, I usually do read the instructions but then immediately start to think how it could be done differently/better.

As for the relay, that shouldn't be expensive at all! A standard 40a car relay can be found for £2 and will (just) do, a high current 70A version is a reasonable £5.54 at vehicle-wiring-products.

Filip

Thanks filip - you have identified another one of my bad habits and that is just going onto eBay rather than looking properly! The only one that came up in the search seemed to be an old Lucas one for £40 plus.

i will have a look at your link as I have now realised that the 12v switch wire at the aerial is only live when the old radiomobile is on which isn't any good for what I need

darren

[steve.n]

Stereo Amp

Thanks filip - you have identified another one of my bad habits and that is just going onto eBay rather than looking properly! The only one that came up in the search seemed to be an old Lucas one for £40 plus.

i will have a look at your link as I have now realised that the 12v switch wire at the aerial is only live when the old radiomobile is on which isn't any good for what I need

darren

Regarding the amp location, many years ago I was into this stuff, I had a seven speaker set up. I mounted a 1/4 inch mdf board on the back of the rear seat supports with the amps & crossovers on this, there is enough clearance for the folded soft top provided you are careful with the unzipped window when folding the roof.
An alternative for a single small amp is on a board below the boot floor within the spare wheel, just leave enough free cable to move it for access to the spare.

PS, I now have a non functional 70's Radiomobile with no speakers. sounds much better.

[Dazza the Stag]

Regarding the amp location, many years ago I was into this stuff, I had a seven speaker set up. I mounted a 1/4 inch mdf board on the back of the rear seat supports with the amps & crossovers on this, there is enough clearance for the folded soft top provided you are careful with the unzipped window when folding the roof.
An alternative for a single small amp is on a board below the boot floor within the spare wheel, just leave enough free cable to move it for access to the spare.

PS, I now have a non functional 70's Radiomobile with no speakers. sounds much better.

Some great suggestions there - thanks, hadn't given a thought to either of those. Ive decided to put it in the boot for now as the easy option and then when its fully wired up and working I can think more about locations otherwise it might be in bits for too long and the suns coming out !!!

Im going for the best of all 3 worlds, a fully fitted and working Radiomobile 1070x in the proper place.........a hidden system run from my iPod......and of course the Staggggggggg V8