How to run amp wires in your CB7

[sleepygreen]

The 6 RCAs are because I have amps for front speakers, rear speakers, and subs, so all my stereo's RCA outputs are being used. The 4 gauge is what I first ran to my 4 channel amp, but the 2 runs of 0 gauge are because I have 2 batteries in my trunk so one of them is going to the alternator and the other to the engine block. And once I get home I might take some pictures and show how its done.

so your deck has 6 outputs? please take pics...

[visualpoet]

so your deck has 6 outputs? please take pics...

Probably three pairs. I'm pretty sure my Pioneer has front, back and subs, but it's been a couple of years since I saw the back of it.

[Radioactive]

I would suggest that when you run wires thru the firewall, use a grommet and seal it to prevent water from entering the cabin. The factory grommet works great. Just drill or cut a hole in it for the wire.

[sonikaccord]

so your deck has 6 outputs? please take pics...

My eclipse has 12 outputs....6 pairs

[Jccck]

I went through the grommet, ran the power down the passenger side, and the amp wires down the centre.. It was too hard to get the wires over to the drivers side, and they have plenty of space as they are

[Sarthos]

Sorry, 3 pairs, which would be 6 wires.

[kkaiser7901]

have to admit I had no clue how to run my wires till i looked at this! As I read through it i realized that there was a few other things that i might as well do and this thread really helped me out!

[loud92CB7]

I managed to run two runs of 0 gauge and a run of 4 gauge wire from the engine bay to the trunk, along with 6 RCA wires and 12 gauge wire to all my speakers. If anyone needs to run a lot of wire like that I can explain it.

hmmm WHY would you want 2 runs of a 0 to the back??? if you wanna talk about running alot of wire i could take pics of all my wires currently in there with out subs and rear speakers. ur 2nd run of 0 gauge is pointless. the way your talking you already are over doing your self with that. u prob only need 4ga for your setup. do you even have an ALT that produce over 110amps at idle??

[Sarthos]

Nah, only 80 amps at idle. But overkill for your wires is always better than not using good enough wires. 2 runs is so I can have a positive from front to back and a negative from front to back.

[visualpoet]

Nah, only 80 amps at idle. But overkill for your wires is always better than not using good enough wires. 2 runs is so I can have a positive from front to back and a negative from front to back.

That's not overkill. Your negative run should be as short as possible. THe entire car chassis is a ground, so running back to the battery for ground is a waste of copper and worse for your amps.

[Sarthos]

the 2 runs of 0 gauge are because I have 2 batteries in my trunk so one of them is going to the alternator and the other to the engine block.

The amps are going to the batteries which are in the trunk, which is a short run for their grounds. The 0 gauge goes from alternator to batteries, and from battery negative to engine block. And although the entire chassis is a ground, it's not a very good one. And no, the rule isn't that the negative run should be as short as possible, it's that it should have as low of resistance as possible. And a 2 foot run of 0 gauge from the amp directly to the battery is gonna be 10 times better than someone else's ground going 1 foot to the chassis to the battery. The negative from the battery to engine is merely an improved engine ground.

[sonikaccord]

The chassis resistance isn't very high. It's actually a pretty solid ground, unless you ground to a welded spot or something.

[Highidlecb7]

Do not connect the power wire to the battery yet!!!!!!!

Ok, I hope this is going to get stickied. You have two choices when it comes to running your power wire in the cb7. If you have an automatic, you can drill the plate where the clutch cylinder would be in a manual, or you can just take the easy way and go through the grommet above the ECU. I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow.

After you run your wire through the firewall, decide which side of the car you are going to run your wires down. Your signal wires (RCAs) and remote wire should be on the opposite side of the car from your power wire. This is to prevent signal degradation and noise caused by the field generated by electrical current.
Once you get to the back seat (if you're mounting your amp in the trunk), you can either remove the side pad or the whole bottom section of the back seat. I'm telling you about both of them because they are the easiest/best ways to get your power wire into the trunk. you'll need a 10mm socket for both the seat bottom and the side pad. (I didn't put mine back - BITE ME!)


Now that you have your power wire in the trunk, the actual amp mounting location is up to you, but you do want to mount it to keep it from flopping around. The back of the backseat is perfect, regardless if it's up or down. If you have a quality product and it's wired properly, you won't have any heat issues unless you live somewhere that the temperature stays above 85 degrees F.

When grounding, there is a debate over whether to use the seatbelt mounts or to make a new dedicated ground location. I'm going to tell you that, whichever you decide, you should sand the area down to bare shiny metal so you'll have the best possible contact for the ground. After you have your ground tightened down and secure, either paint or apply anti-oxidant gel to the area to prevent rust (screw cancer).

After you have your ground finished and all the other wires are connected to the amp, head unit and subwoofers/speakers, then and only then, connect the power wire to the battery and enjoy your new system.
If a problem arises shoot me a PM or go back over the list and check all your connections. You'll almost always find the problkem yourself.


P.S. If you PM me, I'm going to start off by asking you the stupid things first and going from there. If you have a multi-meter or a DMM or test light, please mention it when you PM me.

nice run down..very detailed

[Abcdefranklin]

@sarthos I'm interested to see where your running wire. I'm doing 6 runs of 1/0 in my cb9 3+ 3-. I'm thinking about running underneath the car and drilling near the trunk not sure. If not I'll drill through the firewall.

[SPLCB7]

@sarthos I'm interested to see where your running wire. I'm doing 6 runs of 1/0 in my cb9 3+ 3-. I'm thinking about running underneath the car and drilling near the trunk not sure. If not I'll drill through the firewall.

There's 2 gromits along the back of the trunk on both sides you can run 3 0 awg out if you lift up the carpeting you can run it out there you'll have to drill the plastic tho or I run mine through the cabin and out the side behind the kick pannel because I don't have a heater in my car so it comes out behind the fender and dosnt get all messy in the bay....




And no messy wires coming out the firewall that way....