Don’t touch the negative lead to the positive terminal since you could create a spark or shock yourself.
Avoid mounting amps vertically or to speaker boxes since they may jostle around more and get damaged. Make sure the place where you want the amp has good airflow because the amp will generate heat that could damage the internal electronics if it gets too hot.
You can drill directly through the carpeting in your vehicle.
If the mounting screws came with rubber washers, put them on the screws before securing the amp to prevent it from moving around. Don’t leave the amp unmounted since it will move around while you’re driving and get damaged.
Buy pry tools from an automotive store. If you don’t want to remove the trim pieces, you can use the trim pry tool to push the wires underneath the panels instead.
The number of panels you need to remove to take out the stereo head depends on the make and model of your vehicle.
Installation kits usually cost around $15–20 USD. The installation kit will include a red power cable, black ground cable, blue remote wire, RCA cables, in-line fuse, and connectors for all of the wiring. It does not matter what kind of stereo you use the amplifier with. You can use the stock car stereo or use one that’s after-market.
If you don’t see a hole in the firewall, use a drill bit made to bore through metal and create a new hole. Make sure there isn’t anything in the engine bay where you plan on drilling the hole.
The color of the power cord may vary depending on the installation kit you purchased. The power cord is the only wire that goes through your vehicle’s firewall.
The remote wire turns on the amplifier when your stereo starts so it doesn’t drain the battery. The remote wire may also be called the turn-on wire.
Don’t pull the wires tight since you’re more likely to damage them. If you didn’t remove the trim pieces, use a pry tool to push the wires underneath the trim.
Don’t run the RCA cables on the same side as the power cable since you may pick up audio interference when you’re running the amplifier.
You may need to remove additional trim pieces to hide speaker wires running through your vehicle. Your installation kit may or may not have speaker wires. If it doesn’t get a roll of speaker wire from your local hardware or electronics store.
Be careful not to cut or damage any of the wires, or else you may need to feed new ones through your vehicle.
Make sure none of the exposed wire sticks out from the amp since it could create a fire hazard.
The ground cable will allow the current to travel through the amp so it doesn’t shock you when you use it.
There may be separate speaker ports for front and rear speakers, but it can vary depending on the amp.
If there’s anything attached to the bolt, be sure to support its weight when you attach the cable so it doesn’t fall and break.
The installation kit should come with butt connectors, but you can buy them at a hardware store if yours doesn’t.
If your stereo doesn’t have RCA ports, then plug them into a line output converter, which changes the signal coming from your stereo. Follow the wiring diagram on the output converter to connect it to your stereo system before plugging the RCA cable into the ports.
You can buy fuses and fuse holders from a hardware or automotive store if your installation kit didn’t have one. Don’t install an amp without a fuse, or else you could create a fire risk.
Your installation kit will come with ring terminals, but you can buy them at automotive or electronics stores if you need to.
You can also attach the terminal to the nut on the side of the positive lead if the ring terminal doesn’t fit over the battery port.
If you don’t see the power light turn on, shut off your vehicle and disconnect the negative terminal before checking all of the power connections.
The gain controls how loud the amp will output the audio from your stereo.
You can also use the radio, but make sure the station comes in without any static, or else it can be hard to tell if it’s caused by the amp.
You won’t hear the music start playing yet since the speakers run through the amp and the gain is turned down.
Whenever you want to make volume adjustments after setting the gain, you can use the knob on the stereo head.
