I am picking up some subs and an amp over the weekend from a friend. I have never wired my own subs, and I refuse to pay someone to do it so I will be attempting it on my own. Is this diagram going to be correct for me to follow?

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../Wiring1-2.jpg


And also, is there anything that I absolutely need to know before doing this to make sure i'm not destroying either my battery/alternator or the sub/amp package?

I'm also looking to find what kind of wiring kits are recommended.. The subs are already wired to the amp, so I still need whatever wires to connect to the battery and head unit.

 

Just get some #6 AWG THHN wire and a fuse/fuse block to feed the amp from the battery

Blue (recommended but any color will do) #16 will do

And a RCA cable long enough to go from the head unit to the amp

 

ground ground ground.. make sure you groung to the body. i tried grounding to the seat frame and cooked an amp.. fml. so much for my first attempt at a sound system.

 

I was able to use the bracket on the floor where the back of the jack case is as a good ground for mine

 

you can pick up a wiring kit at advanced auto or auto zone. comes with 6 awg wire for power(red) and ground(black), 16 awg for the remote from unit to amp, i believe a 20 foot rca, fuse block, and connectors. i've used it in both my car and truck, and a few of my friends vehicals

 

I also did what the last guy did and used the tire jack as a ground so far has worked great for me and if you want I built a box for mine that is also great for storage

 

Is there a way to test whether or not something is a good ground?

Does a kit like this have everything I need? If i have researched correctly all I should need is a power cable, fuse/fusebox, RCA and a ground cable. Correct?http://www.bestbuy.com/site/DB+Link+...kit&cp=1&lp=11


//benefits and negatives about going through the firewall?

 

That pretty well set you up with everything you need

As for going through the firewall, there are several holes in the firewall that are just plugged, there is a straight shot through the firewall in line with the steering column, i just cut a small X in the plug and pushed my power wire through that

 

Make sure the power of your amps match the power of your subs. Or else you will either blow up your subs with too much power, or have a ****ty sound for not having enough power.

I also recommend a capacitor if your running a decent sized amp. It basically helps your battery by having a constant medium draw, instead of just hard draw, nothing, hard draw, nothing, hard draw, nothing etc. Here is a picture of one. And you just wire it in between your battery and amp. This one also has a blue LED readout of what it's drawing. And looks kinda cool if you mount if nicely and gives you a nicer sound. This one costs like 100 bucks in walmart.

http://img2.shoptoit.ca/images/detai...0/27629456.jpg

Also, you don't have to wire it parallel. You can also wire it in series if that works better for you. Here is a website that will give you the layouts for if you have 1,2 or 4 amps with 1,2 or 4 subs with the different ohm loads.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-zJVDR3H...rs_wiring.html

And finally you might want to upgrade your grounding wire from your battery if you're running a big amp. The big 3 would be a good thing to do.

https://www.f150forum.com/f75/how-big-3-upgrade-46822/

 

that sounds about like everything you need that these guys have told you, just when you hookinh it up make sure you disconnect your battery an take the fuse out the power wire when hooking it up. don't out the fuse back in until you are completely done an have connected your battey back up. then turn you ignition on the off then out the fuse in an it should come on.