what wires need ran for second amp?

[kustomciv 10+ year member]

hey guys,

I have an amplifier for my subwoofer and the rca cables were pre ran for it when I bought the car,

I'm wanting to add a second amp for my front door speakers, I know I need a distribution block to run power to the second amp, but what about the rca cables and the (I believe its a remote turn on wire?) that turns the amp on when the car comes on. how do I run those? is there seperate RCAs in the head unit for another amp? or is there a splitter ran off the original rca's?

also, will I just be running a speaker wire from the amp to speakers or do they have to be hooked up to the amp and the original speaker wires?

sorry for all the newb questions but I cant seem to find the answers in whole

thank you

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[benzmansl65amg 10+ year member]

How many amps does the first amp draw second amp draw. size of power wire. Remote can be split for two amps no problem. Rcas can be done several ways if there is an output on the amp you could do it that way but if your head unit has multiple outputs I would recommend running it that way. Factory head unit or aftermarket we need more info.

 

---------- Post added at 11:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:45 AM ----------

 

Speaker wire you can tap into factory or run them into the door.

 

[kustomciv 10+ year member]

I dont have the first amp with me, and I dont own the second amp yet because I was waiting to see how much work/money isntalling a second amp would be

I have an output on the amp I already own which is the amp that goes to my subwoofer, but I dont own the second amp yet

aftermarket head unit, but I have never had it out so I don't know what RCA hook ups it has other than the subwoofer amp output thats already hooked up (I bought the car with all of this already installed)

 

[kustomciv 10+ year member]

also,

are you saying I could run the rca from my subwoofer amps output into my new amps input?

 

[benzmansl65amg 10+ year member]

yes would be the easiest way. model number of head unit and first amp. may need to upgrade power wire...

 

[mikelaubach 10+ year member]

Ned the manufacturer and model of the current radio to tell you anything that will help, as Benz said.

Now here is why, use this to learn:

Some radios have sub-output RCA's in addition to "full range" RCA outputs. If yours has both, you WILL need to get behind the radio (ie - you got's to take it out) to see if it is installed in the sub-out port. The full range output RCA's will allow you to connect the RCA's to the FIRST amplifier (the door speakers) and then run the output of the first into the second amp (the sub amp). Most likely, the output from the sub amp won't be full range. So you can get away with using only one set of RCA's that are already installed, but ONLY if you use the full range output RCA ports, and run to the door amp, then the sub amp.

As for wire to the door speakers - RUN NEW. Don't use the factory junk 16-18 gauge (skinny) wire. It will be a headache trying to splice into it, and it will cause you untold headaches down the road when those connections get loose, or corrode, or whatever. AND it is EASIER to just run new wire!

Good luck.

 

[kustomciv 10+ year member]

thank you for the information,

I'm out of town thats why I cannot give you the headunit info but I'm attempting to call my home to have someone go look at the stereo and give me the information about it, the first amp (sub amp) is an audiobahn a8000t

I'm assuming the RCA's are plugged into the sub output cause there were subs in it and not a speaker amp.

what I meant about the speaker wire was, does the factory speaker wire coming from the head unit have to be hooked to the speakers AS WELL as the speaker wire coming from the amp

 

[mikelaubach 10+ year member]

what I meant about the speaker wire was, does the factory speaker wire coming from the head unit have to be hooked to the speakers AS WELL as the speaker wire coming from the amp

Negative big ben, negative. One OR the other, but not both. Both will make the smoke come out. Once the smoke comes out, you can't get get it back in. Seriously though, you will blow the amp, the headunit, or both if you connect both the stock wiring to the doors (fed by the headunit at this time) and the amp wires to the doors.

 

[kustomciv 10+ year member]

ohhh okay, I've never done this stuff before so I wasn't sure.

got the head unit information,

Alpine CDE-9874

Preamp RCA Outputs 2 Pairs (Front and Switchable Rear/Subwoofer)

(this is what the site says)

another site says:

2 pairs of Pre Amp Outputs (switchable to subwoofer mode with bass level control)

I def need to run an amp to the front speakers after looking at this head units wattage output

 

[mikelaubach 10+ year member]

I am presuming that you are using a 2-channel amp. If you are using a 4-channel amp, then you will need to run another set of RCAs so that you have all four channels going to the rear.

In 2-channel mode, you can run the RCA attached to the front or rear, and if the rear (where they are likely attached now), just change the setup from sub out to rear out (which will make it full range). Then run into the first amp, and connect the output of the first amp to the input of the second (sub) amp and set your frequencies on the separate amps. Set the head unit to only send out the rear ports (turn the fader all the way to rear), and you'll be good to go.

 

[kustomciv 10+ year member]

I have a mono amp for my subwoofer

I am wanting to run the second amp that I am going to buy, to my front speakers so I guess I will just need a 2 channel.

so it seems like the easiest/best thing to do is just run another set of RCA cables from the head unit now that I know it has another set for output