Sub and Amp - Wiring

[iyrix]

Hey Guys,

Need a little help please, Is there an easy way to get power through the bulkhead? I want to fit 2 amp's in the back replacing the standard one. Only problem i have is getting power from the front. Has anyone done this?

Cheers
Graham

 

[Garfie]

It's not easy but I managed to get a 4 AWG cable through a grommet beside the battery and out behind the glovebox. You need to get a screwdriver or something through first though and make a hole on the sound insulation etc behind the glovebox. Glovebox will of course need to come out too but that's easy enough.

 

[J7USS]

As garfie says, through the bulk head near the battery. Be careful not to poke too much as there are wires underneath your glovebox.
I taped my Power lead to a 12inch thin rod and pushed it through gently till you can feel it under the footwell then simply pulled it through. a Doddle!!

 

[Nutkin]

how did you guys route it through the car? any tips for removing trim and such?


Also what about the earthing point in the boot any good choices?

 

[iyrix]

It's not easy but I managed to get a 4 AWG cable through a grommet beside the battery and out behind the glovebox. You need to get a screwdriver or something through first though and make a hole on the sound insulation etc behind the glovebox. Glovebox will of course need to come out too but that's easy enough.

Thanks,

Did you need to remove the battery? I have a 4 gauge cable, so its going to be tight i think. WIll remove the gearbox and have a look.

As for the cable route, i will just remove the passenger seat and see what space i have.

 

[Nutkin]

easy to remove a seat?

 

[chrisash32]

I ran my power lead through the ECU box, there is an extra bit in the grommet for another wire. Ran it through there and then it just drops into the drivers footwell, easy enough to run up the side of the car then.
Didn't know about that one next to the battery!

 

[Nutkin]

i wouldnt like to run a big power cable near my ecu tbh incase of emf.

 

[chrisash32]

tbh, mine isn't a big wire... no where near as thick as the one in the picture above! My amp is only tiny though

 

[Nutkin]

ahhh i got a full JL setup out of my last car that i want to put in the audi, but its 2000wrms so its a fair whack. might trim it down a bit.

 

[scott b]

i just went to the buz bar under the dash on the drivers side

 

[J7USS]

I took mine from the glovebox area down the passenger side floor trim (no need to remove the seat)...
All tucked nice and neatly and my amp earthed itself when I bolted it to the rear metal seat panel (through the carpeted backing).

how did you guys route it through the car? any tips for removing trim and such?


Also what about the earthing point in the boot any good choices?

 

[iyrix]

I took mine from the glovebox area down the passenger side floor trim (no need to remove the seat)...
All tucked nice and neatly and my amp earthed itself when I bolted it to the rear metal seat panel (through the carpeted backing).

Thanks, i might have a look at that too.

Job for next weekend now

 

[Garfie]

I routed mine through the car the same was as J7USS did. After removing the passenger side floor trim there is just enough room to route a 4 AWG cable through there.

Iyrix, no need to remove the battery either. It is tight but it is possible with that size cable. Just be careful of the gubbings behind the glove box as J7USS said.

As for an earth point I am always a firm believer that the earth cable needs to be the same size as the power cable and needs to be connected to the chassis in the best way possible. The usually used seat belt bolts are not the best as the bolt threads dont give the best metal on metal contact. The way I do mine is with an unfused metal power distribution block that I screw to the thickest bit of floor/chassis I can access in the boot. On the avant I had to use the inside of the spare wheel well as it was the only place I could see the opposite side of where I was drilling so I knew I was not going to hit something important. I ground the paint off to expose bare metal where I was mounting the distribution block then screwed the block straight down with big self tapping screws. Doing it this way gives you a great metal on metal contact and the distribution block allows you to run all your earths to the same point.

 

[Garfie]

Oh and another thing for those wanting to upgrade the door speakers and run them off an amp with decent size cables. Getting the cables through into the doors is a pain in the backside!! The door loom doesn't connect inside the car as it does in the Mk4 Golf, it actually plugs in in the door shut as you may have noticed. Because of this there are no openings in the door shut where you can run an additional cable into the door. The only way I managed it was to squeeze the speaker wire in alongside the connector in the door shut then pierce a hole in the loom gaiter between the connector and the door and run it into the door that way. Just to make sure I sealed it all afterwards with a bit of silicone.

 

[J7USS]

^^^ Thats a good way of doing it also!! I had no patients with mine so what I did was trace the Wires off the Bose amp for each speaker, identified the correct 2 per speaker and simply ran the fresh wires from the front (behind the headunit) to the rear (where the bose amp is) and connect the wires there then took the panels off and replaced the speakers that way and still using the original connections so If I was to reverse all that to put it back to OEM then Id just go back to the Amp (bose) and disconnect the wires Ive ran through myself and reconnect the original plug for the standard installation.....oh and of course replace with the original Bose speakers, seems quite a long process but once you get going theres no stopping.

 

[iyrix]

Thanks guys,

The plan for the weekend is to run the 4AWG and get the sub and amp working.

Im going to replace the front speakers, but not at the moment. Im just going to run front speakers for now. Dont really want rear speakers once i have a decent front set.

Thanks
Graham

 

[Nutkin]

Oh and another thing for those wanting to upgrade the door speakers and run them off an amp with decent size cables. Getting the cables through into the doors is a pain in the backside!! The door loom doesn't connect inside the car as it does in the Mk4 Golf, it actually plugs in in the door shut as you may have noticed. Because of this there are no openings in the door shut where you can run an additional cable into the door. The only way I managed it was to squeeze the speaker wire in alongside the connector in the door shut then pierce a hole in the loom gaiter between the connector and the door and run it into the door that way. Just to make sure I sealed it all afterwards with a bit of silicone.

im just gonna drill another hole with a gromit.

 

[Garfie]

After checking last night I need to edit what I stated above. For the front doors there is a gommet in the door shut below the door loom connector. I passed the new speaker cable through that then sealed it with silicone. It was the rears I had the problem with and had to do as above but had to compromise by using thinner speaker cable.

 

[iyrix]

It's not easy but I managed to get a 4 AWG cable through a grommet beside the battery and out behind the glovebox. You need to get a screwdriver or something through first though and make a hole on the sound insulation etc behind the glovebox. Glovebox will of course need to come out too but that's easy enough.

hey guys,
im stuck. Cant work out where the cable comes through the bulk head. I can see where it goes in... but nothing on the inside.

I have removed the glove box, can anyone help please

Cheers
Graham

 

[iyrix]

dont worry guys, popped it like a little cherry!

now for the running of the cables!