Amp was jacked, need some help putting in the new one

[Samuel Lee 10+ year member]

Only one amp was stolen from under my seat, leaving the other amp and head unit in tact. They clipped and yanked the wires out leaving a bit of a mess so I need help wiring it up again if anyone is willing.

First, I know the big red wires are for power/ground, but I don't know which of the two is hot and which is ground, and I don't have a volt-meter and I would prefer not ripping the carpet up to hunt for where the ground is bolted in so I was wondering if it was safe to guess, and have it not fry anything if I'm unlucky the first go. If not I'll just go buy a volt meter.

My system is custom and has quite a few speakers and I'm thinking they all just hook up to the same speaker input but I don't know if the wires are have to be put in specific slots. Obviously split, but I guess I'm asking if it just needs to complete a circuit, or if there is a specific pos/neg connection to note for the input. I didn't notice any distinction on the wire pairs though unless I missed something. I think the two subs are connected to the intact amp and this one drives all the mids. There's at least 6 pair of blue wires.

This amp has rca inputs and outputs and I don't know which is which but I'm thinking guessing on this is safe enough yeah?

Well if anyone could help me out on this I'd appreciate it greatly. I've been without tunes for months.

Click to read more...

 

[sobe3yourself. 10+ year member]

Before i read further! Cover them both up with whatever you have. Do not let them touch any metal while you are driving around!

 

[sobe3yourself. 10+ year member]

pictures would help a lot.

dont know if it is because i skipped a few parts, but i didnt really understand what you were trying to say.

 

[sacsking916 5,000+ posts]

Pics, list of items? Something to reference

 

[benzmansl65amg 10+ year member]

buy a voltmeter they are nice to have.

 

[Samuel Lee 10+ year member]

I will try to get pics but to put my main 2 questions more plainly:

1. Is it safe to hook up the power/ground without knowing which is which or will it fry it? (or have a 50/50 chance of doing so anyway)

2. The wire pairs for the mids; does it matter how they are hooked up to the inputs?

 

[IonRL205 10+ year member]

I do not recommend guessing on the positive/ground wires, you could easily **** some things up by plugging in the wrong wires. Also cover the ends up so they don't touch metal, cause that can **** some things up too.

It depends on what speakers you have and their impedance. Are you trying to connect these to the amp that's powering your sub?

You plug your RCAs into the input slot on the amp.

 

[Samuel Lee 10+ year member]

Alright here's what I'm working with. Pic of the wires, and front and back of the amp.

So there are 5 pairs of speaker wires, 2 power/ground wires, and 2 sets of RCA.

On the other amp, not pictured, the remote is a single blue wire, and I dont see it anywhere. It either got ripped out or it never had one.

 

[Samuel Lee 10+ year member]

So the speaker input has + - marked... Is there any obvious way to tell which is which for the wire pairs? And does anyone know if a remote wire is required for both amps or just one?

 

[Epic0318 10+ year member]

to be honest a volt meter will be ur best bet to figure out which is which without running the risk of ******* **** up. if you connect them backwards the least you could do is fry your fuse on your power wire but i wouldnt risk it. just take the time to see where one of them leads if you dont want to buy a volt meter.

 

---------- Post added at 02:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:48 AM ----------

 

o and you can connect a wire from the remote from the other amp to this amp.

 

[Samuel Lee 10+ year member]

I did get a voltmeter. Didn't come with batts but I can figure it out now.

Thx for the remote tip.

Is there any way to distinguish pos/neg on the bundle of speaker wires?

 

[Samuel Lee 10+ year member]

I just took a closer look at the wires. I found the remote wire afterall, it was under the carpet.

And there are 6 pairs of speaker wires in total. Makes more sense as there are 6 mids (3ea in each front door.. which doesn't cover for the one in each back door.. hmm)

Anyway, 4 of the 6 pairs have one wire marked with + signs the length of it, so that makes things easier, but two of the pairs have white lines down the length, does this normally mean one way or the other, or is it different for every installer?

 

[Bassin Buick]

I did get a voltmeter. Didn't come with batts but I can figure it out now.Thx for the remote tip.

Is there any way to distinguish pos/neg on the bundle of speaker wires?

Yes , take a AA battery and connect it to each set of wires and watch each speaker , if they suck in just flip the wires over and re connect , now whichever wire was on the positive terminal of the battery when the speaker moved upward is going to be your positive.

 

[Samuel Lee 10+ year member]

killer tip, thanks, I'll go try that.

 

[Bassin Buick]

No problem. I use that trick during every install , just in case i managed to goof up a wire or two.