Hooking up a sound system, help.

[Explor2Exped]

So I'm new to the whole subs & amps stuff. What am I going to have to do to get my subs working?

Can I just unplug the wires from the factory amp & run them into a 1200 watt amp?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[JDMitchell]

I would not run an aftermarket amp through the stock wiring, you would probably end up burning something up. Imagine trying to run a marathon only breathing through a coffee stirrer straw.

You will need a dedicated 12v power wire preferably 4 guage or larger hooked directly to your battery with an inline fuse (close to the battery) rated 40 amp or higher. Then you will need to run a 12v remote wire from your head unit to tell the amp when to power on. Then a short ground wire hooked into the chassis. If you have never done anything like this before I highly suggest you get a friend that has done this a couple times to help you out and make sure that you don't fry a perfectly good amp or mess up your expy. You can buy an amp wiring kit that will include everything you need to include all the connectors, just make sure it is at least 15 foot or longer since the expy is a long vehicle.

 

[Explor2Exped]

I would not run an aftermarket amp through the stock wiring, you would probably end up burning something up. Imagine trying to run a marathon only breathing through a coffee stirrer straw.

You will need a dedicated 12v power wire preferably 4 guage or larger hooked directly to your battery with an inline fuse (close to the battery) rated 40 amp or higher. Then you will need to run a 12v remote wire from your head unit to tell the amp when to power on. Then a short ground wire hooked into the chassis. If you have never done anything like this before I highly suggest you get a friend that has done this a couple times to help you out and make sure that you don't fry a perfectly good amp or mess up your expy. You can buy an amp wiring kit that will include everything you need to include all the connectors, just make sure it is at least 15 foot or longer since the expy is a long vehicle.

Am I going to have to strip off the panels & drill holes to run the wire from the battery?

 

[JDMitchell]

Yes, you will need to remove trim pieces to run the cable from the battery to where your amp is mounted. Unless you would rather have exposed power cable laying on the floor of your vehicle. You should be able to find a spot to run the cable through the firewall, but if you can't then you can drill a hole but make sure you put in a grommet to keep the cable from rubbing bare metal.

 

[Explor2Exped]

Yes, you will need to remove trim pieces to run the cable from the battery to where your amp is mounted. Unless you would rather have exposed power cable laying on the floor of your vehicle. You should be able to find a spot to run the cable through the firewall, but if you can't then you can drill a hole but make sure you put in a grommet to keep the cable from rubbing bare metal.

Is there an easy way to remove the trim because when I was removing the dash I snapped a bolt holder on the left side.

 

[JDMitchell]

On an older vehicle the trim and clips have probably become brittle. Just take your time and pull the door sill trims pieces and if you break some clips don't worry about it, you can buy a pack of 25 for like 5 or 10 bucks at your local AutoZone or Oreilly's. The B-pillar (that covers the front seat belts) trim won't need to come out since you can just tuck the cable underneath it without removing it. It really isn't a tough task just a little tedious.

 

[FtLaudBlkGT]

You need a dedicated amp cable from the battery that is fused, then a high level to low level converter to convert speaker leads to RCA. Also, to resolve the "remote" wire issue, get an amp with auto sensing.

 

[99 Expy]

Its pretty simple to wire, but I'm horrible at tuning audio. This picture shows you pretty much everything you need to hook it up. Make sure to run the RCA cables and remote wire on separate sides to eliminate static. And the panels pop off fairly easy, and like JD said, you can get new clips at the auto store. You can bring the cable from the battery in through the firewall, or there might be plugs in the floor somewhere if you look, that's where I've brought them in on other vehicles, but never messed with an expedition. When I did my uncles truck a few months ago, I popped the floor panels off by the door and ran the wires through there and it worked great.

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/images/how_to_install_a_car_amp.gif

 

[Explor2Exped]

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it.

 

[panda24619]

heres whats the easiest to do. get a new deck!!! that will help a lot! then on the driver side of the firewall theres a big grommet that you can push the cable threw. all my wires go threw there. the new deck will allow you to run rcas and the remote cable with out haveing to buy other stuff. it will help a lot and money in the long run. i would use at least 4 gauge if not 0 gauge cable. and i mean real. dont go cheap like i did. what amp you trying to run? 1200 watt. i would do 4 gauge, but you will hear a difference with the 0 gauge. i only have an 8 gauge cable right now to my amp, and im saving up for the kicker 0 gauge kit. i also have 10 gauge speaker cables. haha i ground my amp to the middle seat. i undo a few bolts slide it between the plate and floor and bolt it back down. ill take some pics for you.