Ford F150 Build Log(Work In Progress)

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Part 4: More spending and more Planning

This weekend I have planned on removing the seats of the truck as well as the door panels and cleaning the vinyl floor as well as the door panels and get a general idea of how I would wire and route the wires that will be connecting my audio system as well as the wires that will also be routed for the interior LED light system. I have finished the orders for the headunit, component speakers, and the 2-Channel component speaker amplifier.

While the mono amplifier/american accesories(practice wiring) 4awg kit purchase had been paid off. The subwoofers/box/wiring/distribution block/krystal rca cables are still being paid off but should be shortly while no money has been set towards the third purchase which includes the headunit/amplifier/component speakers but they should be paid off in the next week or two.

But three new ideas have risen in my head.

1. The amplifier I had purchased to supply my two 12" shallow mount subwoofe

rs with their power would be powerful enough to supply the subwoofers with enough power to operate to their effeciency?

Well, to do so I would have to follow the diagram that shown how to wire your subwoofers to present a 1-Ohm impedance load on the amplifier that way each of my subwoofers would be getting 500w RMS worth of juice from the amplifier. But the diagram shown that the positive and negatives of one subwoofer's wire should be spliced into the positives and negatives of the other subwoofer's wire and the other subwoofer's wire would run directly to the amplifier.

The general idea would be to split the 1kw of power between the two subwoofers and hopefully that would be enough power to make the subwoofers "thump".

2. Wiring the entire system up could prove to be a bit mind blowing but this diagram wraps it up nicely with a few differences from my system.

Key differences would be the 4-Channel amplifier would be a 2-Channel Amplifier, the Mono-Amplifier would be powering two subwoofers, there would only be front speakers and there would be no capacitor(unless needed but I don't believe it would be needed).

So I was thinking about, before the initial installation of the system which would start with the removal of seats for easier maneuverability, I could try and see if possibly I could route the wires underneath the interior floor vinyl cover and possibly cut holes in the floor right next to the amplifiers and what so instead of having a large amount of slack wire coming from some corner of the floor where the interior vinyl floor ends(meets the wall) have it coming directly from a hole near(right next to) the port of the amplifier so that the only bits of wire that would be visible would be the small inches connecting to the amplifiers and the distribution blocks which I could also cut the appropriate size hole in the vinyl floor to screw the distribution block into the chassis of the truck.

3. The component system speakers are 6.5" and this is not ideal for the 6x8 speaker slots in the door so I have two options.

- Somehow manage to take an adapter baffle and cut it to fit a 6.5" speaker into a 6x8 slot or create my own baffle. This seems to be the most difficult option but probably the most logical.

- Or.... I could cut the 6.5' speaker into the door panel as I am doing the tweeter; this would probably the most "showy' of the two options and perhaps easier too with my limited experience in baffle carving. But the main problem concerning this option is what to do with the empty speaker slot or I could easily route my current Pioneer speakers as the rear output since the headunit seems to have a Sub output, rear and front output...therefore I would actually have three speakers in the door, the Pioneer 6x8's, the Phoenix Gold Midbass and Phoenix Gold tweeters.

Soo...

All in all, the pieces of the puzzles have been ordered and are being shipped and hopefully all goes well while I install it all next week. I just hope the amplifier will have enough juice and run the two 12" subwoofers at 500w.

JL Audio Wiring Kit has came in.

 

[troy_audi0 10+ year member]

cool..

I bet you get some with dis...

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

cool..I bet you get some with dis...

Huh?

Oh and I think you got your amplifiers mixed up in your signature.

Added new picture in above post and a question...

Would a capacitor advantage my system in any noticeable ways and will the 4awg wire be able to handle the power load going through the system?

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Bump, if anyone has any tips or answers to the above questions than go for it.

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Part 5: An overview of it so far.

As the final parts begin to ship:

- 2x 12" 2-Ohm Kicker CompVT Subwoofers

- 2.36cu ft Pre-Fab Subwoofer Enclosure

- Kenwood Excelon KDC-X791

- PHOENIX GOLD RSd 65cs 6½" 2-WAY RSd COMPONENT SYSTEM

- Profile AP1000 2-Channel Amplifier

- KnuKonceptz 4M Krystal RCA Cables

- Scosche Dash Installation Kit

I begin to total the costs of the current system which totals at: 1014.81

Not bad...

But then the question of upgrades that may be needed shortly after the installation of the system and several different upgrade options come to my mind.

1. Upgrading the the big 3 to eliminate any/all electrical problems I may encounter.

With this I would probably purchase:

2x Battery Terminals - KnuKonceptz

And a few feet of:

KnuKonceptz Kolossus Power Cable

I shouldn't need any ring terminals to hook up directly do the KnuKonceptz battery terminals but I would probably also need....

A Knukonceptz In-Line Waterproof ANL Fuse Holder and 25ft worth of split-loom for protection.

So that upgrade would total roughly at around: $85

2. This would consist of upgrading the wiring of the system from battery to distribution block to 1/0 gauge and moving the 4awg from distribution block to amplifiers.

This would also use thehttp://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KOL1/0BL power cable.

This upgrade would cost around: $65

3. The third upgrade would consist of buying a 4-Channel amplifier and bridging to two channels and using an active crossover to sort out the frequency to the different sound producing devices.

Though this upgrade is something I know very very little about, it seems pretty logical and would help perhaps supply the component system with a bit more power and also the active crossover would supply the system with more control over the sound production.

So I'm not exactly clear on what would be needed to be purchased to make this upgrade happen but I'm guessing a decent and bridgable 4-channel amplifier, a 3-way crossover and the wiring that may be needed to accompany either components.

4. This upgrade would consist of sound-dampening the doors of the vehicle and control the sound somewhat. Though I have no idea what equipment I would need for this upgrade besides the sound dampening mat and the various tools needed to properly install the mat inside of the door panel.

5. Upgrading or adding onto the amplifier powering the subwoofer, I could get another Class D Mono amplifier and overlook the original impedence altering wiring(positive on positive, negative on negative, one series of wire running to amplifier) and I wire the amplifiers so that each amplifier supplies each subwoofer with 700watts of power.

This upgrade would require several different things:

- An additional Hifonics Class D Titan Txi1008D Mono Amplifier

- A 3-way distribution block(2 KnuKonceptz 3-Way Dis. Blocks(GND and PWR))

- Additional wiring that may be needed.(Also KnuKonceptz)

6. Upgrade number six would look into the option of using a capacitor as a cheap and effective way to supply power to the amplifier(s).

I would be interested in a 2 Farad capacitor.

Well that basically covers all the possible upgrades that seem slightly reachable and affordable following the initial installation. Only thing left to upgrade after that would maybe a blowthrough to the bed and the installation of a couple 15"'s, some drycell batteries and a few mono amps to power them.

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Everything left should be shipping:

Jul-30-07

Aug-01-07

and... Aug 02-07

Just wondering since I am replacing the aftermarket stereo with another aftermarket stereo and replacing the speaker system completely....would I need another wiring harness?

 

[Atimm693 10+ year member]

I wouldnt think so, you will have to cut the harness you bought before from the previous HU.

You're not going to need a capacitor, it wont help with anythink except possible looks.

You dont need a ground block either, just scrape a ground spot and stack the two terminals on top of eachother.

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

I wouldnt think so, you will have to cut the harness you bought before from the previous HU.You're not going to need a capacitor, it wont help with anythink except possible looks.

You dont need a ground block either, just scrape a ground spot and stack the two terminals on top of eachother.

So the wiring harness should be included.

Only other things I think I may be missing for the installation(as in not ordered or bought yet) would be ring terminals which for some reason I don't think was included in the wiring package(havent opened it yet).

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Any tips on the installation process:

Like best ways to avoid problems or how to keep from damaging and potentially killing the equipment?

Also would the mini-ANL 30A size fuse on the KnuKonceptz distribution block be enough size?

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Tomorrow I begin the first part of the installation.

 

[Atimm693 10+ year member]

There should be ring terminals in the kit.

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Part 6 - First Day Of Installation(Wiring and Cleaning)

So I planned to begin a bit on the wiring for the sound system today with the help of a friend but first things first was to remove the seats and do a bit of cleaning.

Oh yes, very dirty.

And now clean....

Finally with the interior cleaned fairly decent we began to work on the 4 Gauge JL Audio power cable under the hood. Now unfortunately the work done on the power cable under the hood was not quite up-to-par as the work I did with the American Accessories one that I shown you in earlier pictures with it draping over the engine parts and whatnot.

But first things first, disconnect the negative of the battery and remove the 150A ANL fuse from the fuse chamber of the power cable under the hood. With this done we were ready to install the power cable underneath the hood.

The power wire was measured and applied so that it wouldn't be laying on any engine component, then it was wrapped in split-loom and electrical taped to help seal the split-loom, then I zip-tied of to any available cords or components to help support it and keep it from swinging and the movement of it to a bare minimal.

Then we began to feed the wire through the fire-wall and into the seat-less cab of the truck. The firewall hole is protected by a rubber grommet and foam and the cable drops in the floorboard of the driver's side of the vehicle for easy insertion underneath the interior flooring.

Shortly after that and measuring how much power cable we would need to get to the destination within the cab, I cut the power cable underneath the hook and attached it to the other side of the fuse chamber, split-loomed it, and took the electrical tape to it as well and proceeded to zip-tie it for support as well.

Proceeded to split-loom, electrical tape and zip-tie the power cable that was in the cab as well as it went under the interior flooring.

Then we decided the position of both the ground and power distribution blocks to be in the middle/under the seats near the back but slightly in the middle as well. Now was the part where we could fish the wire under the flooring and up through the holes that were established near the distribution blocks. Due to the lack of 2-Channel amplifier available to get an idea of how and where the holes would be on it; we just mainly took the wires and worked on the side under the seat where the mono-amplifier would be and cut the holes there.

****-erotic friends....

But yeah the distribution blocks split the 4 gauge into two 8 gauge cables but due to the lack of the 2-channel amplifier that was going to be installed on the right side of the truck and under the seat we just wired the ground and the power going to the mono amplifier through the hole that we cut near the area in which the amplifier's ports would be located.

Shortly after this was done it had started to get late and almost too dark to operate in with the dimmed garage lights and the single flashlight so we called it a night.

Tomorrow the subwoofer enclosure and the subwoofers should be coming and be ready to be installed(to an extent). Tuesday the component system/amplifier and headunit should arrive, dash installation kit/RCA cables should be shipping in wednesday.

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Part 7 - Problems/Adjustments/Problems...More Problems

Wednesday was the planned date that the amplifiers would be installed finally aswell as the subwoofers and the head unit. Leaving only the component system to be installed and wired to finish the project off completely with only minor tuning and adjustments. But unfortunately due to real life events, the seats would have to be re-installed back into the truck by Friday as well as the truck in working(driving) condition.

So the plan was to finish the subwoofers, amplifier installation and also the new HU installation and if all that went well then the component system could try to be installed the following day which may have rushed the installation or wait till the next time that the truck would be available to be worked on(with seats out and whatnot).

So Wednesday night, the subwoofers were wired and installed in their enclosure properly the last wire running to the amplifiers was being sorted, the remote wire. One strand of remote wire was running from the HU to the mono amplifier and then from the mono amplifier to the 2-channel amplifier. It was finally all in place the truck was ready to be hooked up to the battery and to see if all the wiring was properly in place and installed to power the amplifier.

Truck keys...ignition....starting....

Amplifiers - No response..... So we checked all the connections on the amplifier visually to make sure there were no loose wires and none was found but unfortunately it was late and my partners in crime soon left. It was shortly after they left that I took the circuit detector to the unresolved problem and found that the 4-gauge power cable was attached to the wrong coil(negative instead of positive); so immediately I attempted to correct that problem but unfortunately I did not have the tools available to do so.

Even worse, the package, the head unit, that was supposedly going to be delivered that Wednesday never came nor has yet actually been formally shipped by Fedex even though it has already been assigned a tracking number. Thus I slept till thursday and then I woke up early and finally got the proper tools to solve the power cable problem. That problem was solved and I also went out and bought a DMM and some ring terminals for future use...So now with the power cable properly hooked up....

Truck keys....ignition.....starting..

Amplifiers - No response

What could the problem be? Loose ground, loose power cable, distribution blocks not properly distributing power? I took the DMM to work and found that each amplifier was getting the proper voltage so the problem must be the remote wire. So I took a slack of remote and plugged on end in the 12v port and the other end in the REM port, the amplifier powered up. The morning continued to pass on and work time was slowly approaching as I tried to fix the remote wire going to the amplifiers from the headunit. Also at this time I discovered that the placement of the amplifiers left me very little room to actually wire the items with much ease.

Eventually the following events lead to the remote wiring working.

1. Removal of electrical tape(eventhough the HU remote wire and amp remote wire were still properly spliced into each other....)

2. Reconnections of remote wire to the amplifiers.

Now the amplifiers finally would come up....So now to place the large subwoofer + enclosure in their position and wire them up appropriately, all amplifiers were getting their proper voltage and were on, so things were looking up from their previous grim situation. The subwoofers were wired appropriately and now it was time to test the sound......no responses from the subwoofers......

For some reason the mono amplifier was sending absolutely no signal to the subwoofers, the problem was clear, the solution wasn't and my daytime job was upon me therefore I would not be able to deal with the problem until later that night.

It was that night that I performed several little diagnostic tricks to try and diagnose the problem concerning the mono amplifier, also to make matter worst, the remote wire was no longer sending a signal so I had to use the 12v + REM trick to keep the amplifier triggered on during my testing which including using different RCA-cabled devices such as my Ipod. It was also this time that I had to discard of the current placements and wiring holes and create new ones to better accommodate the amplifiers and make the actual wiring of amplifiers easier due to large space between the back of the amplifier and the back-hump. Meanwhile to test the remote signal from the head unit to the amplifier since the last one had died, I cut into the wiring hardness's remote wire and took the slack piece of the remote wire for the 12v + REM trick and connected them physically but still no response from the amplifiers.

So it was friday, no definite wiring problems could be blame for the current problem but for some odd reason the mono amplifier would not send a signal to the subwoofers or was not receiving a signal from the head unit, so could it possibly be the head unit that might be at fault with all the problems? I was on a quest to find out and the best way to do so was to contact someone else with a system and hook up the amplifier to his already existing and working wiring. So I did exactly that and still sent no signal to his subwoofers, so something was serious wrong with the amplifier and not my wiring.

The 2-Channel amplifier was also tested in his vehicle and worked fine. Sadly I do not know what could have caused such a injury on the mono amplifier but quickly I took it out and decided that since I had only until 4:00 to get the truck in semi-driving condition again with the seats re-installed that I would probably need to clean up the area and make do with the working equipment available so the plan was to wire the subwoofers to the 2-channel amplifier on the left side of the vehicle, but besides the fact that the remote wire was currently incapacitated for another odd reason, during the new placement of the amplifiers something must have affected the power flow because according to the DMM, there is a problem between the distribution block(which is getting and sending the proper voltage) to the 2-channel amplifier(which is not getting the proper voltage). Unfortunately, time is of the essence and I merely switched the amplifier to the other side(mono amp side: now absent) which was getting proper voltage but the remote wire that was originally routed underneath the flooring had been pulled out to be re-installed to hook up to the 2-channel amp on the passenger's side of the truck but that amplifier had been moved to the driver's side an I just simply spliced and electrical taped the remote wire behind the dash and didnt bother doing any fancy wire routing due to the lack of time.

Meanwhile, for some odd and miraculous reason...the remote wire was actually working. So with the 2-channel amplifier currently taking place of the mono amp and the subwoofers getting around 225w a piece pales quite alot in comparison to the previous planned 500w coming from the mono amplifier and sound quite well but unfortunately even with the remote not properly routed underneath the flooring to the amplifier, the subwoofer speaker wire still visible from amplifier to speaker and the fact that the mono amplifier is toast for some odd reason, things looked down as I was forced to re-install the seat until I find time iron out the multitude of problems in the system. The system still sound nice eventhough the installation process has been interrupted and currently a 2-channel amplifier is powering two 12" subwoofers.

The amplifier will be shipped off to be repaired hopefully since the warranty on the product disallows it to be returned in all the circumstances I placed it in. but I made a handy list of things that I need to do when the truck is available to be worked on again.

- Rewire remote wire for right side(go behind dash/under interior)

- Fix power/ground wire on left side(Get proper voltage)

- Ship hifonics amplifier off for repairs(get it repaired)

- Wire two amplifier back in previous order.

- Set up subwoofer speaker wire better.

- Install Component System

- Attach seats properly.

Cheers and wish me luck.

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

that's quite an ordeal... good luck, hopefully they can tell you how they think the hifonics amp stopped working... the remote wiring problems are weird though hopefully it's just the HU...

anyways good luck

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Oh yes, very complicated problems...

The amplifier will be shipped to a repair shop located a 4-hr drive away...Hopefully that problem will be solved around the same time as the headunit which hasn't even shipped in yet finally arrives.

With the amplifier and headunit available in working condition for installation I can followthrough with the original plan and concentrate on the component section of the system.