My 2005 Trailblazer install

[Duct Tape 10+ year member]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum and what better way to say hello than to share my work with you guys. This is an install I did in my old Trailblazer last year. I have since traded it in for a Silverado. Hopefully I will get around to installing all this stuff in there soon.

This is a copy of my thread in CarAudioForum.com.

The goal of this system, is to be able to remove it all when i trade in the vehicle and minimize the number of holes left from pulling out the system. I'm trying to keep the factory look. I may have to cut in the tweeters or build some sort of A-pillars depending on where they sound best to me.

Head unit: Pioneer Premier DEHP840mp

Front speakers: Cadence CWM6

Rear speakers: Stock or none, havent decided yet

Front amp: Zapco Reference 350

Subwoofer: Idmax12d2 first generation

Sub amp: Zapco Reference 750

Alarm/Remote starter: Clifford concept 600 with intellistart 4

Overhead dvd/monitor: DEI 10.4"

________________

Sunday June 3rd

It was a rainy day today, so I havent got much accomplished. I have the amps laid out, and the box mounted, and I started on the front components.

Here are the pics from today...

I was hoping to keep things hidden, but unless i want to build up the floor, there really wasnt much room for the amps. I could have hid the smaller one, but the sub amp is just too big to fit anywhere. So they both ended up on the back of the rear seats.

Amp Layout

Sub box

Back of box showing hinges

Box folded up

Reference 750 mounted

MDF board under amp i always mount amps to a board to provide a level surface. in this case i just peeled up the carpet, ran a few screws through the wood into the metal of the seat, then mounted the amp.

Here is the start of installing the front components.

I noticed that the woofers were gold, so is the car...how cute

Passenger side tweeter test location

driver's side tweeter test location

tweeter under factory grill if they stay here, i will probably get some grill cloth to hide the tweeters a bit better.

crossovers mounted behind glove box i was able to zip tie the crossovers behind the glove box. the tweeter adjustment can be accessed by removing a plastic panel on the side of the dash.

well, thats all ive got so far today. if the rain lets up, i will open up the door panels and figure out how i want to mount the woofer.

__________________________

Monday June 4th...Update

Tonight I finished wiring the sub amp, and ran my power wires to the battery.

Sub amp wiring #1

Sub amp wiring #2

For the power connections, I crimped and soldered on the 4 gauge fork connectors. I then covered the connector with heat shrink.

Sub Amp Power Connections

I also made my own Rca cables by using some shielded RG59 and some Tributaries brand rca connectors that I use on the boats at work.

Sub amp rca connections

Here is the 4 ga and 8 ga wire runs to the battery on the driver's side. I zipped the wires to the factory wiring about every 6 inches. I also used some split tubing to protect the wires from some bolts that hold in the factory wiring.

front door sill

Rear door sill

I used a factory rubber grommet to feed the wires into the engine bay. I didnt finish up under the hood. The wiring will be covered in split tube and properly secured.

Interior shot of wires passing through grommet

Firewall from engine bay

And thats about when i got tired and quit for the night. hopefully i will be able to power things up tomorrow. I will retake these pics tomorrow with some better light, they didnt turn out that great.

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Tuesday June 5th -- Update

I was able to finish the wiring at the battery and the connections at the head unit. This allowed me to fire up the sub amp and see how it sounds.

Mounted fuse holders under hood

Dressed wiring with split tubing under hood

Power Connections at Electrical Center There is about 6 inches of 8 gauge wire from the battery positive to the connection at the fuse box, so instead of using an annoying side post adapter, i went straight to the fuse box. I will upgrade the wiring to 4 gauge, when i upgrade the big 3.

I had to trim the cover for the fuse panel to fit them over the battery connections

Wired door chime interface

Wired radio harness

Passenger front door sill wires

Passenger rear door sill wires

Mounted head unit

I also took pics of the step by step process that i use to make an rca cable. The connectors are from a brand called Tributaries

RG59 cut to length

Spin the coax strippers around the wire a few times

Wire after stripping

Push on center pin and peel back outer shield

Crimp with Tributary die crimper

Finished Rca connector

Thats it for today, tomorrow i wire up the front stage amp and hopefully cut some baffles for the 6.5s.

________________

June 6th ---- Finished...for now

Today I finished wiring up the front stage amp and the crossovers. I also mounted the woofers in the doors. I ended up being able to use the factory brackets, that made the job very easy. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

Factory Speakers

Cheap Factory woofer

removed factory bracket

I had to remove some plastic to fit the larger woofer. I used a Japansese Pull saw, which made very quick work of it. took me about 2 mins per bracket //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

Cutting away plastic #1

Cutting away plastic #2

I also had to trim some of the hole to make it wider, I just used a jig saw

Finished cutting factory bracket

Mounted Speaker

Door put back together

Next I mounted and wired the front stage amp and crossovers

reference 350

Crossovers

edit: here are some pics of the install for the lazy people that dont like to click...

Click to read more...

 

[bhsdriller 10+ year member]

uhhh, do something else with the pictures so we don't have to click on each one. It's annoying as ****

 

[andrewmoore13 10+ year member]

saw this thread over there awhile back.

looks good. gotta love the trailblazers. i love my '04

 

[skittlesRgood 10+ year member]

i remember you from CAF. i remember this thread too. haha welcome to ca.com. its much better here than CAF. moves a lot faster.

 

[Duct Tape 10+ year member]

uhhh, do something else with the pictures so we don't have to click on each one. It's annoying as ****

sorry, i am only allowed 10 images per post. you are going to have to deal with it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[Duct Tape 10+ year member]

saw this thread over there awhile back.
looks good. gotta love the trailblazers. i love my '04

i remember you from CAF. i remember this thread too. haha welcome to ca.com. its much better here than CAF. moves a lot faster.

thanks guys. CAF will always be my home, but lately ive gotten sick of all the spam. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/verymad.gif.3f39c5c2fd57527b671fad3efdfac756.gif

 

[Ali1 10+ year member]

nice install

you should have just put 10 pics per post. You are allowed more than 1 post //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Duct Tape 10+ year member]

nice install
you should have just put 10 pics per post. You are allowed more than 1 post //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

thanks. i just added 10 of the more important ones. i was a bit annoyed after changing 22 links to pictures only to find out i was wasting my time //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/verymad.gif.3f39c5c2fd57527b671fad3efdfac756.gif

 

[Fiercetimbo17 10+ year member]

I remember you from there too, havent been there in a while way to slow. This forum is always good for a laugh.

 

[WOT]

That sub grill is SICK, where did you get it?

 

[Duct Tape 10+ year member]

That sub grill is SICK, where did you get it?

i got it when i worked at Circuit. it is a Fishman grill made by Metra. here is a 15" version.

http://www.electronicexpress.com/product?prod_id=8768&refer=6&cpc=6&utm_campaign=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle

it was a bit of a trick to get it to fit. i had to drill and tap the plastic ring of the subwoofer with 10/32 screws.