This is just an idea of what is involved in a general upgrade to a standard sound system. Most people install a new radio, speakers, subwoofer, and an amplifier to power the subwoofer. I will make another post about more complex installations later.
First I will go over what equipment is generally used and what its functions are. Radio/Headunit- This is the starting point for your entire system. The H/U "plays" the music and sends the audio signal to the speakers and amplifier. Speakers- Takes the audio signal and reproduces it to the music you hear. With a typical speaker used in this type of install(2-way) there is a mid-bass woofer and a tweeter. The midbass woofer reproduces the middle frequencies and the tweeter reproduces the higher frequencies. Most speakers ,especailly non amplified speakers like the ones i'm covering in this install ,generally cannot reproduces low bass frequencies. Even if they can play some low frequencies they will never have the same emphasis or impact a dedicated low freqeuncy driver would. This is where a subwoofer comes into play, but I will cover those later. Amplifier- Takes input signals, amplifies them(hence the name amplifier) then sends the signal to the equipment connected to it. Subwoofer- Subwoofers are drivers designed to reproduce low bass frequncies only. Wiring- Most people over look this step or dont think about it till the last minute. Adaptor harness to connect aftermarket raido to the factory radio harness. Some vehicles require an antenna adaptor. Power wire to hook the amplifier to the battery. A ground wire to ground the amplifier. A remote turn on lead to tell the amp when to turn on and off. RCA's(also called patch cables) to send the signal from the rca outputs on the headunit to the amplifier. Speaker wire to send the singal from the amp to the equipment hooked up to it. I cant stress enough the need to FUSE the amplifier. The fuse should be as close to the battery as possible. Your amplifier manufacturer will specify the proper size fuse to use. Picking the correct power and ground wire size is also important.
Please use the guide here http://www.bcae1.com/wire.htm to pick the correct size. You will also more than likely need a dash adaptor kit. This takes care of that big gap in your dash, due to factory radios being bigger than aftermarket radios are. Don't forget the little crimps,butt connectors, male and female connectors and ring terminals you might need!! Subwoofer Enclosure- Please read the sub enclosure topic.
Now that we have the equipment we need its time to install it!!!! Most installations only require a screw driver, socket wrench, tool to take the door panels off, Soldering gun and solder, electrical tape or heat shrink tubing, and some wire strippers. First I splice the factory adaptor harness to the aftermarket radio harness. Now you can either just use some crimp connectors or solder the connections together. Soldering is a better way to do this, but if you dont want to or dont have a soldering iron and dont feel like buying one its not the end of the world. If at all possible use heat shrink tubing, not electrical tape. Next bend the metal tabs on the radios metal cage to secure it into place in the dash kit.
Second step is to take the dash off and get the crappy factory radio out of there. Next hook the remote turn on lead to the harness and run it and the rca's through the dash to the floor. Lock the radio into the cage, hook up the harness,rca's, antenna, and screw the dash kit into place. Make sure the radio works before reinstalling the dash.
*Before you take the dash off unhook the positive battery terminal*
Third step is to install the new speakers. You may or may not have to take your door panels off. If you do jst pop the crappy plastic connectors off with the door panel tool and use new ones when you re-install the panel. Next take the factory speaker out and install the new ones. Make sure the speakers work before you install the door panels. You dont wanna put them back on and find out the speakers dont work.
Forth step it to get all the connections ran to the amplifier. You will need to route the power wire from your battery THROUGH THE FIRE WALL NOT THROUGH THE DOOR JAM!!!!!!!!!!!! to your amplifier. Dont connect it to your battery yet. Run your power wire and remote turn on lead down one side of the car and your rca's down the other. Find a good bare metal connection for the ground, give it a rough up with some sand paper and secure it into place.
Fifth you need to install the subwoofer. Connect the sub to the terminal cup on the inside of the box. Secure the sub to the subwoofer box and position in vehicle. Make sure you use some L brackets or something to stop the box from slidding all over or even worse flying into the back of your head incase of a wreck!! Connect the speaker wire from the amp to the box and bam your almost done.
Sixth step is final check and system set-up. Make sure all amp connections are secure and the fuse is in place. Connect the positive battery terminal back up and start the car and let it idle for a few minutes. Last step is to set up the radio and amp settings how you like. Please dont jst crank all your settings to the highest they will go. Put your low pass filter on about 100 hertz. Set your radio eq how you like it. Turn the volume up to about the loudest you will ever want to listen to it, then turn the input sensitivity on your amp up until you hear distortion then back off it a tad bit. If your amp has bass boast please dont turn it all the way up! Now you can enjoy your new set-up and post some pics of the install!!!
**I will try to get some picks up to make this a little more easy to understand. Any ?'s pm me or post it up.**
This ad is not displayed to registered and logged-in members. Register your free account today and become a member on Dodge Forums!
System Upgrade Install Info
