Newbie here, Installation question

[ex0r 10+ year member]

Okay, I am a complete newb to the car audio scene, but I got 3 10" subs and a 600watt amp on a trade so I want to put them in my expedition.

Here's the deal:

Ive got a 97 expedition, with the mach audio system and 6 disc changer. I am going to keep the stock head unit and disc changer, so this is what I researched to do:

Hook up to the rear speakers, an in-line convertor that outputs to low-level RCA and hook that up to my amp. The rest is all easy enough //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Now, my question is, what is the best/safest combination to hook the speakers and amp up to get the best out of my system. It's not anything extravagant or an expensive system at all, but it's still something I want to check out, and possibly upgrade later on.

It is a 600 watt sony xplod amp, model number XM-554ZR (It says 4/3 channel on the amp).

The speakers are 10" pioneer speakers. I am not sure of the model. Two of the speakers are the same and look like this one:

View attachment 26525535

and the other one is a blue pioneer one, that looks like this one:

View attachment 26525536

What is the best way to hook all three up (Or even the two that are the same up), so that I don't fry the amp, but still get good quality?

I don't understand ohms and all that other stuff when it comes to car audio, so I am not sure how hooking them up in parallel will be as opposed to in series.

If somebody could help me out, please do so!

Thank you,

Ex0r

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[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

Just do the 2 matching...

 

[ex0r 10+ year member]

Thats most likely what I am going to do, but what do you recommend doing for the configuration? It looks like from looking online, those are 800 watt subs, but can I run them in parallel? I heard that gives you amazing bass. Will the amp be able to handle both of them running in parallel?

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

the amp can't run them in parallel, it's not a monoblock amp. you have a 4 channel amp. refer to the owner's manual for wiring instructions for two channel bridged mode. you'll bridge channels 1&2 to one sub, bridge channels 3&4 to the other sub. set filters to LPF.

 

[ex0r 10+ year member]

I don't have the owners manual. I got it on trade. there are two sets of 4 speaker hookups, 1 for front 1 for back. I'm assuming that's the four channels. there are also 2 switches for hpf lpf.

 

[grandam888 10+ year member]

the amp can't run them in parallel, it's not a monoblock amp. you have a 4 channel amp. refer to the owner's manual for wiring instructions for two channel bridged mode. you'll bridge channels 1&2 to one sub, bridge channels 3&4 to the other sub. set filters to LPF.

this^^^

use the matching sub only, bridge a sub to channels 1-2 and bridge a sub to channels three and four.

ignore everything to the right of the rca's. this would be for a different amplifier.

also here is the specs of the amp

4-Channel Class AB Car Amplifier

RMS Power Rating:

4 ohms: 55 watts x 4 chan.

2 ohms: 65 watts x 4 chan.

Bridged, 4 ohms: 130 watts x 2 chan.

Max power output: 150 watts x 4 chan.

MOSFET power supply

LED power and protection indicators

Bridgeable operation

Speaker-level inputs with signal sensing for automatic turn-on

Toroidal transformer

Chrome-plated RCA level inputs

Chrome-plated screw terminals

Fixed high-pass filter (80 Hz, 12 dB/octave)

Fixed low-pass filter (80 Hz, 12 dB/octave)

CEA-2006 compliant amplifier

Frequency response: 5-50000 Hz

Dimensions: 18.5"L x 13.5"W x 4.5"H

8-gauge power and ground leads recommended. Contact us for information regarding a discount on a select amplifier kit when purchased together.

 

[ex0r 10+ year member]

hmm I. onto see a 2/4 switch anywhere. it does look like 2 y adapters are required though in order to do it, one splitting each RCA channel into 2.

 

[grandam888 10+ year member]

hmm I. onto see a 2/4 switch anywhere. it does look like 2 y adapters are required though in order to do it, one splitting each RCA channel into 2.

lol that's why i said IGNORE EVERYTHING TO THE RIGHT OF THE RCAS.

the most important thing in that picture is the way the subs are connected to the amp. and unless your getting a 4 channel LOC, or running 2 loc's, you will need to split the rcas.

 

[ex0r 10+ year member]

yea, sorry about that. didn't see the note on my phone. thanks for the info!!

 

[ex0r 10+ year member]

I guess I have one more question. do you know a lot about the 97 expedition with the Mach audio system? I have a line level filter for the rear speakers, but all the wiring diagrams I am finding are coming from the amplifier which isburied behind the dashboard and you can't get to it. do you know what color the wires coming from the radio to the amp are? they are a different color. or perhaps the best way to tie into the rear speakers without having to run wire all the way around the truck from left to right.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Yes, you can tie into the wires at the rear speakers, that is usually the safest bet. Be sure to get polarity correct or the signals will be out of phase.

Thanks for the diagram! Owners manuals are available online.

 

[ex0r 10+ year member]

okay, last question. do they generally one speaker wires along one side of the car or both sides? wanting to make sure I get all my supplies while I am out so I don't have to run back out.

yes, thank you for the diagram!

 

[ex0r 10+ year member]

I got it all hooked up! now to find out why it keeps cutting off. the power protection light is likes very dim green and the woofers wont to. not sure what's up with them. they hit for a few minutes than cut out. now they wont do anything.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I suspect Wiring between subs and amp. No wire strands should be exposed or visible. Likely you have a slight short in your speaker wiring.

 

[ex0r 10+ year member]

would that cause the problems I'm having? thought power protection was only related to power side of it. I did notice that it started doing it after I turned the radio volume up to a certain level. the light turned red than I had to turn the car off and back on for it to go green again.