New amp help (Hope I didnt post this twice)

[justice 10+ year member]

ok so. I have 4 speakers wired to my head unit and I just got my 2 channel 400w amp. I am gunna wire that to my 2 10" woofers. Unfortunatly the manual that came with the amp isnt worth crap, completely unhelpful.

So, my head unit has 2 pairs of RCA cables but is also has a single RCA cable marked "SUBWOOFER CABLE". Should I plug the subwoofer cable in to one of the RCA ports or somthing?

Next. Basic Wires. I need to know what gage wire I want going to the main power and for the ground. The intructions say to wire it directly to the batterie but that seems like a bad idea. Shouldnt it be to the ignition or something?

Next. The remote turn on. My head unit doesnt have one. There is a buttoon to turn on Subwoofer out put but no amp turn on. So how do I wire that. THere is just one conector for the remote turn on so I dont think I can make a swich for it. Can I? Starting to worry that I may have no way of turning it on or off.

Last thing is once its installed how do I set it. I have a nob marked "Level" I have a switch marked "Freq" that has 3 settings "full", "lpf", and "hpf" and a switch marked "Bass Boost" with 2 setting "on" and "off". The manual doesnt even referance them. what do they do and what do I do with them?

Thanks for any help you can give.

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[eengrms 10+ year member]

OK....

First off the RCA wiring. You must have a front pre-out and a rear pre-out, and an old-style mono sub pre-out, hence the single cable. You will probably have to use the sub out if your rear speakers are still powered form the HU. Most likely you can't use the rear port and the rear part of the HU amp at the same time. Your best bet is to get a Y splitter for that single RCA line. Run a set of RCA's form the HU to the amp, but at the HU split that single out into two. Probably the easiest way. There are other methods, but again that's the easiest. That is if you want to wire your subs normally to the amp. If you are planning on bridging the amp you don't need to split it, just run the single RCA to the left input on the amp.

Next the power wire should go to a constant power source, unswitched. It can go directly to the battery if you want, there are differing opinions on the right place. My opinion is to go right to your steering column and find one of the +12V constant lines there. The wire gauge is usually big enough for a single amp and it saves going through the headwall. This wire should not be hooked to the ignition, although it could be if you really wanted it to.

The remote wire can just come from a switched power source, such as the switched power lead to your HU. That is a cracker-jack way of doing it, but it works. You might want to consider putting in a relay to avoid the amp coming on too quickly creating a "pop" sound from the subs. Your HU, unless it is real ancient should at least have a power antenna lead coming off of it you could use for a remote wire.

The "full" setting allows all frequencies through, the "lpf" is a low-pass filter, and the "hpf" is a high pass filter. For subs it should be selected to "lpf". The freq setting is what frequency the "lpf" is set at. This determines at what frequency the sound is cutoff. Usually for 10's I set it at around 80Hz, some like it a little higher though. If there aren't numbers on the scale you'll have to set this while they are going to determine where you like it. Bass boosts are good, although if the amp is good enough you shouldn't need it. Again this would be something you would want to experiment with on and off to see where you like it. "Level" is the gain control on the amp. Start with it about half way and then adjust while you are playing them. There will probably be a good spot to keep it for all types of music, usually around 40%. Again this is a per user preferred setting.

Good luck!

 

[justice 10+ year member]

Thanks man, you were alot of help

 

[eengrms 10+ year member]

No problem! Glad to help. Let us know how it all turns out.