CarAudioFabrication for the 2 subs you use a stereo amplifier use a 8inch sub for tight bass and 10inch for deep bass you will have a very immersive experience and with a dsp you might be able to touch like 20-25hz have tested it you dont even need high power amps or subs
Would just like to say I am a long time viewer but in regards to the hardwiring a head unit into a car, sometimes that is unavoidable. There's no dash kits or intall kit to put a head unit into a 1974 Chevrolet Vega hell, most people that aren't into drag racing don't even know what it is, they think it's an old Corolla lol. Everything else was spot on but don't forget that there are those of us out here with 30-70 year old cars that have been restored.
@damien Obviously there are cases where it may be required, but how many newbies are installing into classic cars? For 99.9% of cases there is going 5o be a harness
I've been doing this since I was in high school, I'm 29 now. I have learned a lot just from watching these videos. One thing I learn is that gain is not volume nor does it mean the amp is not working it's full capacity. I've never blown subwoofers but I have blown plenty of midranges. My most recent screw up was I plugged my positive power into the ground connection on my amp and my ground into my positive. This got a bit heated. I just didn't look what wire I was plugging into what hole.
The worst I think is installing a system without sound absorption/deadening. The horrendous rattling and vibration ruins the sound regardless of cost of components used.
Aswell as his not condescending in his way of teaching which makes you feel so much more confident and interested in every single thing that mark says. I’m a mark fanboy 🙏🏼❤️
@@seanmichael2777 yes, he doesnt make you feel like your a complete idiot for the stupid things you did as a teenager with a brand spanking new license.. a honda civic hatch with the muffler cut off and a big air filter strapped straight to the intake.. cause race car stuff duh lol... he much more tells you in a way that its obviously has been more than just myself doing all this... get a set of subs grab the biggest amp u can come across slap it all in with a cut up drop cord lol... and blast it pissing off the entire neighborhood at 2am while every other speaker in the car have been so fried that the cloth screen from the factory has even came apart from the cones slapping against them... but yes we were "the shitz" back then... now days it's all about how clean it all sounds together while ur bumping some old jackson 5 at the red lights and the older people looking over and giving you a big 👍👍👍😎🤣🙃
Years ago I helped a friend install a sub and new tweeters. We ran power through the door and mounted the tweeters under his dash using duct tape. Wires were connected by twisting them together and wrapping in electrical tape. Fortunately I did insist on properly using fuses right off the battery and there were ultimately no issues, but I'm proud to say we have sinced fixed all these mistakes and the car sounds great now!
As far as I'm concerned this is one of the best channels on here for car audio design and installation if not THE best and I can't thank you enough for all the great videos. I think that one of the car shows on TV should pick you up for a design and installation show or at least a segment. Good Luck!
People also forget that speaker sensitivity is as useful a measurement as power handling. As sensitivity rises, power requirements decrease for a target SPL.
I spent several months and a little extra cash trying to rid my system of unwanted noise. Everything from alternator whine to power window and a/c blower noise coming from my amps. After trying a few things I learned from your videos, I have finally gotten rid of 95% of the noise. THANKS DUDE.
Mistake I made when I was in high school was using entertainment wire for the power wire. I was broke I spent all my money on the radio, amp and speaker. The wire melted like after a couple of songs lol. Another mistake my senior year of high school was putting in a 5,000 watt system into my car with all the right wiring but no capacitor and destroyed my battery lol. It would only play like 2 mins of a song and shut off and then when it had enough power kick back on and play two more mins lol.
Absolutely imperative for any success installing a system. Respect brother. Your doing it right, and just fine. Of course, nobody wants to think they are completely ignorant and I wish you could reach more folks but to do so you would actually have to bait them by providing a much desired byte of info mixed in with the don'ts. These days, those same ones who need it wouldn't have the patients to watch the entire video. Again, your doing great, keep it up.
funniest one i seen was a guy whos amp keep cutting out, only to find he filled up his spare tyre well with dirt to "earth" his ground cable. he obviously thought it was the same concept as house wiring
ClearAlpha I watched a video where a woman walked around her tesla for ten minutes looking for a fuel port thinking her car ran on gasoline so yes even with internet this can happen easily
My first mistake, using a battery isolater. Don't need that, wire amp fuse block/wire direct to back of alternator or battery. I always use a fuse as close to power source as possible. Great tips, thank you.
I was brand new to car audio. Bought an 18 inch RE Audio sub with 5k watt apm, Made my own box with correct dimensions and had professionals install it into my vehicle. That thing worked flawlessly! I did exactly what you said lol. But it sounded perfect
I got my M.E.C.P. in '96. I have seen alot of these so called "how to" videos on mobile electronics installations & these have been some of the best. Glad to see people who know what they are taking about before teaching others. Keep up the good work!
When I was about 17 (1990) I had an '85 Ford ranger, absolutely no room behind the seat.. anyways, I had 2-12" Kicker separates.. so I built a box out of 1/4" masonite, and liquid nails to specs, and thought I was gonna save some space... the box flexed more than the subs 😑
Funniest thing I’ve read always use wood glue and ALWAYS have a fuse under the hood or near the amp as well never turn all of the gains to right lol unless you want high frequency distorted bass
Great video. I used to work as a Hyundai dealership technician and we once had a car come in with a massive audio system. The customer picked up the car after the routine maintenance and recalls were completed. Low and behold, car gets towed back, no start issue, no electrical power whatsoever. Well his amp power wire came loose just before the fuse and grounded on the PCM, absolutely frying it to smithereens. He tried to blame it on us. It was clear to us his audio work was performed at an unqualified shop.
Overpower the speakers? It's always better to have a bigger amp than needed than a too small amp or a "just big enough" amp.. And orginal speakers can handle ALOT more power when you use the high pass filter. So often you don't need to upgrade the speakers unless they are really crap and have bad sound. That's something I have learned after years of working with stereo upgrades.
absolutely - bass takes way more power to produce, if you reduce the bass on the factory speakers 25-40w rms of mids/tweets can easily keep up with 300w of bass. selling someone a amp they dont need is a sales tactic hahaha
My 96 ford TBird LX was a fun project. I actually just did my first system in. And what a car to do said tasks. Ford premium sound had to go. Running power wires from the engine bay to the trunk (passenger side) . Audio wires from the trunk to the dash ( factory amp bypass) under the back seat and carpet through the center console. And RCA are ran on the driver side under the kick panel. 1 million miles of wire later the sound system in the almost 30 year old girl sounds damn good. Allot of info retaining and gathering later, all thanks to the wonderful RUclips!!!!
Yes, that discussion about fuses, types of fuse holders for the location (engine compartment or interior/trunk), circuit breaker style fuses and so on. That would be great. Thanks for always be so informative in the videos.
You are my favorite audiophile on RUclips, man. Your so professional, knowledgeable, and helpful. I love EXO and Soundman and Steve is king shit and everything but those are just vlogs, you make tutorials and that's what these new audio enthusiasts need! My Build: 09' Pontiac G5 Coupe -SUBWOOFERS/AMP- - Custom Design Enclosure - 2x Rockford Fosgate P3D4 12" - Rockford Fosgate R1200-1D Mono -SPEAKERS/AMP- - Rockford Fosgate T1650 6.5" Coaxial - Rockford Fosgate T1692 6" x 9" Coaxial - Rockford Fosgate R300X4 4-Channel -HEAD UNIT- - Sony XAV-AX100 -BATTERY- - HO3209 3200w Power Cell -EXTRA- - Fully Dynamatted - Big 3 Upgraded - Cosmetic Amplifier & Battery Racks
If you're going to do a fuse video I'd love to see a "fuses tested" video to show how long and at what current different fuses blow. See if buss fuses are faster than ATC, see if cheap ANLs take longer to blow than expensive name-brand ones, etc.
I actually made the mistake of building a subwoofer box that was too big to go into my trunk years ago. Since then, and this is just a suggestion but yet it has worked for me many times since my boo boo back then...I determine the size of enclosure I need to work for the sub or subs, then I'll take oversized sheets of plain cardboard, measure and cut them to the size the actual box will be, then make a "dummy" model out of the cardboard to the exact size specs, then check the fit. If the "dummy" cardboard box will go in without fail, then I'm good to go with my final build. If not, then back to the drawing board. Thanks for your videos, you have been a lifesaver, (and money saver) many times!!!
Larry if your using a dsp you set it on the dsp and leave the head unit and amp on full range. If the dsp doesn't have a subsonic filter set it on the sub amp.
A buddy of mine went to "tune" his sub set. Has only the factory deck and doors, but has 3 12's and a 5000 RMS amp. He just cranked the gain all the way til it stopped the bass boost til it stopped and thought it sounded great. What I heard was a train wreck. I tried to actually tune it but over the next week he just took it back to his. Now they are blown and can't even move the sub's without coil rub (sounds more like they are clawing the inside of the motor apart) they are just begging to die but he keeps pushing them like that.
I like how you try to teach newbies the correct building techniques. Some will never learn because they was told other wise by someone they know.Heck I been building systems for over 30 years and I still learn new and tricks of the trade. I have learned how to make the aesthetics of the system look very unique. This kinda makes a signature mark for your builds. A bit like my favorite saying (by JL audio) this is how we play, every know thats JL's trade mark. Thanks for all the info I have learned Mark
Great information! I'm glad I stumbled on your channel. Nice to see someone big in the industry sharing instead of hiding all the secrets. I have a question. I drive a sedan. I have plans to replace all OEM parts, front to back. I like full spectrum sound quality. I have no plans to make anything competitive. It's just for my listening enjoyment. I have a 10", 4 component separates, and a head unit while looking for amps. I wanted to use the 10" but also use an 8". No pairs of either, just one each. If I use a separate amp for each and sealed each chamber for the 8" and 10" so no air is shared could I still incorporate them into the same box, side by side? After seeing this video, you make me skeptical this is a good idea.
Jason Moriset make sure you run them of separate amps. but you can build a box to house diff size speakers. but chambers have to be different sizes for each size sub required. it's a bit harder box to build
Unless you have the boxes fabricated exactly, the amplifiers are exactly in-phase, and the reflections do not cancel each other, yes go ahead..............but good luck making that a reality. Some systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars to design fall short. Now, once in a blue moon someone gets lucky and then they get people to believe them and the cycle of ridiculousness is continued.
Yeah Mark thanks for all your informative videos you really know your stuff I've been doing this for 35 years and I still learn things from you everyday I watch a video. So for all you know it all's out there huh I suggest you keep watching Mark he's not perfect but I can guarantee he's better than 95% them out there. Thanks again my friend.
Would be interested in a video about fusing. Till now all my amps have had internal fuses. I have a typical scenario, so it would make a good video topic. I have one amp for mid/hi, which has internal fuses and one amp for subs which requires external fuse. What's the best way to fuse this setup, and what should the fuse ratings be 1) at the amp and 2) at the battery. Thanks!
My all time fav. The guy who took 4 12 gauge wires twisted them together, used four crimp on ring connectors, attaches those to the battery each one has a 30 amp fuse then stretches them he length of his big ass Lincoln town car and hooks them to a thousand watt amp. His theory was he met the fusing requirement and the four wires would carry the current since the same wire carried 480 volts for a industrial motor he uses at work.
Holy Sh**..........that's funny. Do people really not understand that's 3 Phase with a ground? Also, in electronics the higher the voltage, the lower the current if everything else is equal. Basic electronics, some of these comments are truly unreal.
I'd even recommend starting the hole in the firewall with a step drill because the step drill is easier to control. A typical fluted drill bit is designed to pull material out of the hole it's drilling. Once you break through sheet metal the drill bit is going to pull the entire length of the drill bit through the hole potentially puncturing something on the other side.
People who think the gain adjustment on an amplifier is a volume knob. People who buy powerful amplifiers and still have the stock alternator and battery. People who think capacitors actually fix their voltage problem. People who use speaker wire as power wire. People who think plugging up a ported box makes it a sealed box. These are the most common car audio mistakes I've witnessed people do that I dont think was mentioned in this video. That I can think of off the top of my head.
Random Tube - I’m slowly purchazing a new audio system, I bought the Rockzford r-1200 and next the 2 12” P3’z, what battery should I get and how many amps should my alternator have? Thankz.
Shit I'm running 3 skar ddx 12' s, a sundown u series 15 , 4-- 4x6 Rockford's, 2 3.5" Rockford tweeters and 2--1.5" jl tweeters when was I supposed to get a new alternator or capacitor...??? I bought a $100 deep cycle amg battery from O'Riley's built and carpeted a little box that's attached to encloser not a single light flickers done this with every install I've ever done with more then a single 10" sub. As long as you understand the correct way to install and wire all your components in the vehicle car audio falls under the k.i.s.s. guidelines keep it stupid simple !!!
I'm getting myself a 10.000WRMS 15" Ground Zero sub shortly. the amp is roughly 10.000W mono. I'm changing my main battery, and i'm adding another battery to keep beneath my trunk just for that amp. Supposedly it's no need for a new alternator.. but we'll see about that :P
@@b.myhrer2427 It just depends on how many amps your alternator produces and the drain on your battery(ies). Not too hard to figure out if you know what you are connecting. For example, if you alternator pushed 40 and between the two batteries you are pulling 41, eventually one, if not both will fail overtime. Add up the amp hour ratings and you are done. Just keep in mind amp hours are determined by draining the whole battery. If you want to start your vehicle every time need to complete some research on your batteries to find out how many amp hours are stored before falling below the cranking amperage needed to start.
Here may be a few Mark.. The gain nob isn't a volume nob ( you may have mentioned this in your previous video). A ported enclosure reduces the RMS of the sub by almost half power. A 1000 watt RMS sub will blow if you try and run a 1000 watts of RMS power in a ported box.
On my first car when I was 15 I didn't know how to pull the deck, so with my amp install I crawled under the dash and plugged in the rca's blindly. Then I ran some really cheap 8ga Radio Shack power wire to a really cheap rocker switch and used the switch to turn my amp on and off. It worked but I can't believe I didn't set my car on fire.
i got lucky and when i went to the junk yard to get speakers for my car, I ended up noticing that the JBL upgraded audio system that was an option for my car from factory, they just made an adapter for their speaker, so after a very small amount of manipulation and a little wiring as the plugs on the JBL unit were different from the one in my car, I have factory adapters that make it all look original besides the speaker that I have installed at that time. It worked out great.
I'm new to car audio. I mean I had systems in my car as a teen but ended up having kids as a teen so now that my kids are all grown up I've gotten back into car audio again.
I've seen a guy use a plywood sheet to mount the sub and use 2x4's as legs. This is not a box. It was his first sub so I had to build an enclosed box for him.
That last part is so true. I very rarely hear professionals bring this up about mix & matching subs & sub boxes. I would also like to add that doing this can also create major phasing issues amongst the things that you mentioned & a few others
Vance wanless Hi. I just had a JL audio 750/1 amplifier installed to power a Jl audio 12W6v3-d4. I have a RLC bass controller knob in my dash that is running to jl HD amplifier. I have an in-line acu fuse that is rated at 80 amp. For some reason when I turn the bass knob to about over 60 percent the fuse blows. Do you have any idea why this occurs? I was considering getting an ANL FUSE at 150 Amps. Noob here thanks
Tip 3 I upgraded my door speakers with 6.5 midrange woofers. And the back 6.5 full range speakers in the trunk. But I still get some distortion at higher volumes.
John Smith technically, current does flow from the “negative” which is actually positive but we keep it that way to respect the man who caught electricity in a bottle...
Power wire can't continue to short out if the ground circuit is broke. 🤷♂️ so technically fusing the ground ... if that run is the only ground feed to the battery would work, but positive is usually more dedicated.
Another mistake is when tightening power wire connection it is not one and done. Tightening, wait a moment for the wire and terminal to cool down (yes it does produce some heat during tightening believe it or not) then ensure it is still tight and doesn't require a little bit more. I have seen cables come out from not being properly tightened.
I always liked the idea of having two different sized subs, a 8 for the punchy fast stuff and a 12 for the actual bass, I feel like someone could get better sound with both if done right. Like you said though, the would need separate signal and power supply to be done right. Luckily I'm indecisive and have studied way way more into understanding stereo equipment than I've needed for the projects I've done LOL!!!
If you are ever in a situation where either your fuse blows or your breaker trips then one of the following is going on. #1. Undersized fuse/breaker and most likely undersized wiring. #2. A short. #3. faulty equipment. These three situations SHOULD be RARE so their is no need to use anything but a fuse. Besides Fuses trip twice as fast a breakers do on a DC system and 8 times as fast on an AC system.
@@brianhummel8659 Your comment is ridiculous. The trip times are well known and thoroughly established facts. Different type fuses just like breakers have different trip times however in most cases my figures are the accurate.
I would love a how to on fuses and battery application. I'm not a super savvy internet person. I've been looking for something along those lines for a while. I have 3 batteries, 2 under the hood and 1 by the amps. I'm a little foggy on how exactly to install the wiring, fuse placement, and fuse size.
James Miller a good car mechanic shop can trace what's what in the harness. depending what car it is it's pretty simple to trace positive.negative and rest of the wires needed to swap after market CD player.
@@detox2778 If there's a harness, that harness had to plug into a radio at some point. Like JTW said, unless it's from the 40s or 50s I would bet money some company or junkyard has the connector.
As long as you know what your doing cutting a harness to modify it for your needs is totally fine. I sell LS swaps and I literally cut and modify engine harnesses for a living.
when drilling a hole through a firewall if using 2 people make sure you are both synchronized in which is left and right, Ive seen someone drill through a wiring harness because they were not NSYNC (lol) seriously, a 2017 pickup it was for a plow addition
Another reason for purchasing an after market harness instead of cutting the factory harness is more and more vehicles are using the stock radio for secondary functions such as door chimes, power door locks. Also another consideration some stock systems do not make use of a switched auxiliary to power on the head unit.
Look how far you've come bro, your shop looks amazing. I remember watching your Kerfing wood video years ago. As always Mark your videos are incredibly useful. I watch them whenever I'm beginning a new project. Keep up the good work bro. And thanks again.
@@TheSpazzattack95 Yeah I think buying a 40 dollar "adapter harness" instead of doing 10 minutes of soldering and heat shrinking, is being a "more money than brains" noob. The only usefulness of them is for people who literally have no idea what wire goes to what.
Back in 1987, I had a Suzuki Samurai and was deciding if I wanted a large sub box with a single 15" sub in the back or retain the back seat and use Bazooka Bass tubes behind it. I was driving around with the large box in when someone pulled out in front of me and I had to slam on the brakes. Even thought the box was fairly heavy, it slid forward and pinched the power wire into a hook that held the seat in place when folded up. Sliced right through the insulation and since I hadn't installed a fuse, the wire got red hot and melted the carpet. Luckily, the wire burnt through and broke before the whole car caught on fire. After buying a new carpet, I went with the Bazookas :D
Really diggin these videos. I got a nice sub that my brother gave me, and also a bunch of wires (not even sure if it's ok to re-use that kind of stuff). So I want to upgrade my door speakers and buy an amp. But I don't know the first thing about this kind of stuff. So a lot of this is helping me understand what to look for when buying equipment. I'll be honest. It's getting more confusing as I go on, lol. I just want to listen to my metal and hip hop music loud and clearly, lol. But it's really helping. At the point I'm at, I can only hope the people at the audio shop don't try to sucker me. One thing I wanted to do was use two different quality subs for the reason you stated here. Now that I know that's not a good idea, I'm thinking of asking the whoever at the audio shop and seeing what he says to test him. I'm not trying to enter competitions or nothing. And it's only one 12' sub. So hopefully I won't need nothing too crazy.
Something that I've done before is underestimate box bracing. Doesn't matter if it's a small box or a big box, it needs to be braced. Last time I didn't brace the box because it was a relatively small 65L box thought it didn't need it, I had a hell of a time trying to figure out what that knocking sound was, luckily it was the box resonating and not the speaker being faulty.
Ohms are important! My buddy had two Klipsch floorstanding speakers in his room connected to an Onkyo receiver. If he turned up the volume too high, the receiver would cut out, and it would get HOT. I looked at it and noticed the speakers were rated at 8-Ohms, which the receiver did not support. Luckily there were two sets of speaker connections on the back, wired them in parallel for 4-ohms and connected to the receiver, problem solved.
@@GlycerinZ Any amp will support a higher impedance load. There was something else amiss in your description. A higher impedance always means less overall current (and less heat) not more.
One of the best "mistakes" that I heard, was when I was planning an 18 speaker in stall into a totally fiberglass car. No chassis. I was told that because I could not use the body as the earth, it would not work. What I did was to match the grade of wiring from the battery at the front of the car to the distribution points at the rear of the car. Positive side has the primary fuse next to the battery, and then a fuse distribution blocks at the back. The head unit and DSP on the dash picked up their power from there as well at the 4 Alpine V12 amps at the back. All the units using power were returned on the earth side to more distribution blocks mounted at the rear and then returned to the battery just like the power side. Worked at treat. Was safe and gave a great sound no issues.
I have been learning about car audio for about 4 years but the silly thing I cant grasp is how to figure out wire gauge.. Its hard for me to figure out how much current is flowing through my wires so I dont know what gauge to use. Or even when powering amplifiers.
Look for the amount of amperes the piece equipment you’re installing pulls. Then refer to an amp chart, which will give you the proper gauge wire for the distance. Most amps and stereos will give you the average amp current and then the recommended fuse to use.
R3MIX MODZ look up the ohms law equatio and use the power ratings of the amps etc for the math. Ohms law will give you amps, volts, and wattage depending on how you enter the info. Also you are usually safe using this rule of thumb use 8awg for up to 800 watts total system power, use 4awg for up to 1500 watts and 1/0awg for up to 3000 watts. Over that then you need to start making multiple runs of 1/0awg. Fusing you need to use 10 amps of fuse for every 100 watts of system power. I hope this helps you.
Use the biggest wire your amp can handle, a normal car audio install has roughly a 17-22' power wire length if the battery is up front, my rule of thumb is under 500 watts 8 gauge and 500-1200 4 gauge and anything over use 1/0
Y'all are more generous than me haha it's 1/0 to me if it's 1000+ system power. In my next set up I'll have 1500 for the sub and 250 for the doors I'll use a single 1/0 to the amp rack then 4 gauge to the amps from a distro block roughly 6 inches away.
I have learnt something today, and proudly so. The mistake I made is installing the wire fuse far away from the battery, so the short end in closest to the Apmlifier!!!!! but after what I have learnt I will make a plan to avoid catching a fire; thank you for this informative video.
I hate to admit this but what the hell I'm old. I've been a journeyman electrician for 25 plus years. I can wire anything a/c. When it came to rewiring a boat I had I decided to wire it a/c. I'll tell you what I was popping fuses everywhere. My wife came out and started to say something and I just looked at her and she asked...do you wire the boat and a house the same way? I looked at her and said thank you baby you just solved the problem. Wow I felt stupid. I now can work d/c almost as well. Thanks for the videos. About to install a system in my son's truck.
Been closely following your videos; very informative and now my friends are also very much interested. For Pioneer GM D9701 , which sub is better in terms of very deep bass and durability; TS D12D4 or TS W3003D4? Thanks.
When I was in high school in the 90s, I made so much money fixing people's stereo systems after they tried to install it themselves. Cutting the harness was a big one, but I've also had people kill their tail lights, blower motor and horn trying to install a head unit.
My best car audio install was 4= 12" subs 4= 10" subs 6= 6.5 mids 4= 3" super bullet tweeters, amps 800w 4ch rms @ 40hz, 2= 300w 2ch rms @80hz, 1= 280w rms 4ch @ 450hz, 120w 2ch rms @ 1khz 4ch electronic x-over 10 band passive EQ! best sound system I ever installed. It was a big difference with the 10" subs added. I inquired a car audio shop before the install they said the 12" subs would cause the 10" subs to distort and sound like crap but after the install I took it back to the shop and showed the guy his jaw dropped and said he don't know how I pulled that off but it sounds really good.
Regarding boxes fitting through the trunk opening, I have learned this the hard way, one time. My preference these days is to make a cardboard mockup of the box, pod, bracket, or amp rack, and use that to check fitment. It's cheap, fast, and easy.
Installing new speakers replacing old oem speakers and setting polarity by hearing. After 1 year i bought polarity checker and found out I had them wrong... Well, now it sounds way better.
I made the mistake of not measuring the trunk door area and it didn’t fit in that way but luckily I was able to fold the seats down and slide it in they way
I jacked into the factory speaker wire with lower gauge wire from Amp under seat... it sounds great...would going for lower/thicker gauge wire from Amp directly to speakers make that much of a difference? The hardware: -Kenwood KDC-X704 head -Kenwood XR401-4 75w RMS 4 ch Amp -Doors (x2) Soundstage CPT 6.5" component (tweeters in the dash) -Soundstage HPT 6.5" coaxial behind seats. -Speakers are 100wRMS/150wPeak -14gauge wire from Amp to dash... -Might be 16 or 18 gauge factory speaker wire in 2005 Ram 1500.
Thank you for everything that you taught me and done and don't worry about them other RUclips guys that's hating on you keep on doing what you doing you're doing a great job PS thank you for everything
I just go to stereo shop and let them do the install! Fuse blower on power wire. Simple replace 100 amp fuse and all's well! I mow carry a spare! 4 years and one blowed fuse! Props to Sounds good car stereo! Jimmy's the man in my area!
My biggest newbie mistake- using T-taps to install an alarm/remote start. I had no clue why my alarm wouldn’t work for weeks at a time then would magically start working again. Lol.
Remember the speakers that were used for drive ins? First time I used this idea was to hang speakers from the tailgate of my old GMC Jimmy, I didn't want them mounted permanently or rolling around on the floor somewhere... SO, I made brackets and hung them from the rear tailgate. Same principle in my extended cab pick em' up truck. I made tabs (brackets) and hung them from the rear window. Opened up a lot of floor space and I don't have to really worry about anything sloppy juice getting spilt on them. Made a cheap speaker grill outta decorative, perforated sheet metal (sometimes used for home radiator covers) so I don't stick a fishing rod or rifle barrel through my gorgeous handiwork.
Can't believe after 10, you still haven't hit my biggest one when I started, understanding ohms and how to connect DVCs or multiple subs to a monoblock amp
when i first started i remember one of the big mistakes i made. took 2 amps blowing to realise. i bought an amp that matched my sub ohms, but i had 2 subs, and bridged it.... blown amp after playing for a few minutes.
Hey guys! What other common mistakes do you see made by those that are new to car audio??
CarAudioFabrication for the 2 subs you use a stereo amplifier use a 8inch sub for tight bass and 10inch for deep bass you will have a very immersive experience and with a dsp you might be able to touch like 20-25hz have tested it you dont even need high power amps or subs
Would just like to say I am a long time viewer but in regards to the hardwiring a head unit into a car, sometimes that is unavoidable. There's no dash kits or intall kit to put a head unit into a 1974 Chevrolet Vega hell, most people that aren't into drag racing don't even know what it is, they think it's an old Corolla lol. Everything else was spot on but don't forget that there are those of us out here with 30-70 year old cars that have been restored.
@damien Obviously there are cases where it may be required, but how many newbies are installing into classic cars? For 99.9% of cases there is going 5o be a harness
I've been doing this since I was in high school, I'm 29 now. I have learned a lot just from watching these videos. One thing I learn is that gain is not volume nor does it mean the amp is not working it's full capacity. I've never blown subwoofers but I have blown plenty of midranges. My most recent screw up was I plugged my positive power into the ground connection on my amp and my ground into my positive. This got a bit heated. I just didn't look what wire I was plugging into what hole.
The worst I think is installing a system without sound absorption/deadening. The horrendous rattling and vibration ruins the sound regardless of cost of components used.
I love how he doesnt bash but instead constructively explains why not to do stuff a certain way. great channel !!! thank you
Aswell as his not condescending in his way of teaching which makes you feel so much more confident and interested in every single thing that mark says. I’m a mark fanboy 🙏🏼❤️
@@seanmichael2777 yes, he doesnt make you feel like your a complete idiot for the stupid things you did as a teenager with a brand spanking new license.. a honda civic hatch with the muffler cut off and a big air filter strapped straight to the intake.. cause race car stuff duh lol... he much more tells you in a way that its obviously has been more than just myself doing all this... get a set of subs grab the biggest amp u can come across slap it all in with a cut up drop cord lol... and blast it pissing off the entire neighborhood at 2am while every other speaker in the car have been so fried that the cloth screen from the factory has even came apart from the cones slapping against them... but yes we were "the shitz" back then... now days it's all about how clean it all sounds together while ur bumping some old jackson 5 at the red lights and the older people looking over and giving you a big 👍👍👍😎🤣🙃
Years ago I helped a friend install a sub and new tweeters. We ran power through the door and mounted the tweeters under his dash using duct tape. Wires were connected by twisting them together and wrapping in electrical tape. Fortunately I did insist on properly using fuses right off the battery and there were ultimately no issues, but I'm proud to say we have sinced fixed all these mistakes and the car sounds great now!
As far as I'm concerned this is one of the best channels on here for car audio design and installation if not THE best and I can't thank you enough for all the great videos. I think that one of the car shows on TV should pick you up for a design and installation show or at least a segment. Good Luck!
another newbie mistake is that people are worried about peak power rather than RMS power
TRUE STORY!!!!!
This is very true
suprised he missed that one
People also forget that speaker sensitivity is as useful a measurement as power handling. As sensitivity rises, power requirements decrease for a target SPL.
Yes! I was definitely part of this when I first got into audio!
Whatever you do don't let the smoke out of your wires or componants, very hard to get back in.
that stuffs magic, seems to not work after it escapes
I spent several months and a little extra cash trying to rid my system of unwanted noise. Everything from alternator whine to power window and a/c blower noise coming from my amps. After trying a few things I learned from your videos, I have finally gotten rid of 95% of the noise. THANKS DUDE.
When yo dad went out to get milk 20 years ago so now you rely on RUclips videos for car advice.
Ahahahaha , RUclips has more knowledge anyways
Newports @ Budweiser
Nah youtube just knows more
That's just ignorant
Mine never got milk. He just never knew shit 😕
As somewhat of a noob to car audio I'm glad my battery is in the trunk of my car from factory. It makes the wiring so much easier.
Mistake I made when I was in high school was using entertainment wire for the power wire. I was broke I spent all my money on the radio, amp and speaker. The wire melted like after a couple of songs lol. Another mistake my senior year of high school was putting in a 5,000 watt system into my car with all the right wiring but no capacitor and destroyed my battery lol. It would only play like 2 mins of a song and shut off and then when it had enough power kick back on and play two more mins lol.
how about mistakes made by pros that just wanna make a quick dollar
Absolutely imperative for any success installing a system. Respect brother. Your doing it right, and just fine. Of course, nobody wants to think they are completely ignorant and I wish you could reach more folks but to do so you would actually have to bait them by providing a much desired byte of info mixed in with the don'ts. These days, those same ones who need it wouldn't have the patients to watch the entire video. Again, your doing great, keep it up.
Newbie mistake: turning up everything on the amp
skim the channel OMFG YES
That has to be the most common mistake above them all.
skim the channel Another great point. . !
Me af 😂😂
Gain = "louder" haha
funniest one i seen was a guy whos amp keep cutting out, only to find he filled up his spare tyre well with dirt to "earth" his ground cable. he obviously thought it was the same concept as house wiring
lmfao this cant be true
No way 😂
I can't believe this. Nobody can be that dumb. That had to be pre internet right?
ClearAlpha I watched a video where a woman walked around her tesla for ten minutes looking for a fuel port thinking her car ran on gasoline so yes even with internet this can happen easily
I CALL BULLSHIT
My first mistake, using a battery isolater. Don't need that, wire amp fuse block/wire direct to back of alternator or battery. I always use a fuse as close to power source as possible. Great tips, thank you.
Good info. Plenty of newbies just want to shove a big 'ol woofer and get frustrated when it does not sound great
I was brand new to car audio. Bought an 18 inch RE Audio sub with 5k watt apm, Made my own box with correct dimensions and had professionals install it into my vehicle. That thing worked flawlessly! I did exactly what you said lol. But it sounded perfect
I got my M.E.C.P. in '96. I have seen alot of these so called "how to" videos on mobile electronics installations & these have been some of the best. Glad to see people who know what they are taking about before teaching others. Keep up the good work!
When I was about 17 (1990) I had an '85 Ford ranger, absolutely no room behind the seat.. anyways, I had 2-12" Kicker separates.. so I built a box out of 1/4" masonite, and liquid nails to specs, and thought I was gonna save some space... the box flexed more than the subs 😑
Sinister hahahahahahahhaha young and dumb..... I def had an engine fire at 17 due to no fuse.... Never again..... Now its a father and son Hobbie
I cut a triangle box down some so it would fit behind the seat of an regular cab f150 for 2 12's.
josh33025 did it work?
Funniest thing I’ve read always use wood glue and ALWAYS have a fuse under the hood or near the amp as well never turn all of the gains to right lol unless you want high frequency distorted bass
Justin Ornelas did it sound good is what I meant
Great video. I used to work as a Hyundai dealership technician and we once had a car come in with a massive audio system. The customer picked up the car after the routine maintenance and recalls were completed. Low and behold, car gets towed back, no start issue, no electrical power whatsoever. Well his amp power wire came loose just before the fuse and grounded on the PCM, absolutely frying it to smithereens. He tried to blame it on us. It was clear to us his audio work was performed at an unqualified shop.
I saw a Chevy Tahoe were someone cut the wires On the obd2 plug to power their head unit and grounded the speakers to the seat belt bolt.
What's wrong with that? Sounds like a standard operation. 😂
Lol that is funny
wow, shit I couldn't even imagine in my head until I read it!
That's custom right there ...
I love that you had a GXP for the vid. I have a 5.3 Monte and literally ran my power wire the same way you just showed!
Overpower the speakers? It's always better to have a bigger amp than needed than a too small amp or a "just big enough" amp.. And orginal speakers can handle ALOT more power when you use the high pass filter. So often you don't need to upgrade the speakers unless they are really crap and have bad sound.
That's something I have learned after years of working with stereo upgrades.
I like how good factory speakers can sound with a crossover and high quality amp.
absolutely - bass takes way more power to produce, if you reduce the bass on the factory speakers 25-40w rms of mids/tweets can easily keep up with 300w of bass. selling someone a amp they dont need is a sales tactic hahaha
My 96 ford TBird LX was a fun project. I actually just did my first system in. And what a car to do said tasks. Ford premium sound had to go. Running power wires from the engine bay to the trunk (passenger side) . Audio wires from the trunk to the dash ( factory amp bypass) under the back seat and carpet through the center console. And RCA are ran on the driver side under the kick panel. 1 million miles of wire later the sound system in the almost 30 year old girl sounds damn good. Allot of info retaining and gathering later, all thanks to the wonderful RUclips!!!!
another mistake is maybe miss calculated budget it ends up costing more then they thought..?great videos..
Yes, that discussion about fuses, types of fuse holders for the location (engine compartment or interior/trunk), circuit breaker style fuses and so on. That would be great. Thanks for always be so informative in the videos.
You are my favorite audiophile on RUclips, man. Your so professional, knowledgeable, and helpful. I love EXO and Soundman and Steve is king shit and everything but those are just vlogs, you make tutorials and that's what these new audio enthusiasts need!
My Build:
09' Pontiac G5 Coupe
-SUBWOOFERS/AMP-
- Custom Design Enclosure
- 2x Rockford Fosgate P3D4 12"
- Rockford Fosgate R1200-1D Mono
-SPEAKERS/AMP-
- Rockford Fosgate T1650 6.5" Coaxial
- Rockford Fosgate T1692 6" x 9" Coaxial
- Rockford Fosgate R300X4 4-Channel
-HEAD UNIT-
- Sony XAV-AX100
-BATTERY-
- HO3209 3200w Power Cell
-EXTRA-
- Fully Dynamatted
- Big 3 Upgraded
- Cosmetic Amplifier & Battery Racks
If you're going to do a fuse video I'd love to see a "fuses tested" video to show how long and at what current different fuses blow. See if buss fuses are faster than ATC, see if cheap ANLs take longer to blow than expensive name-brand ones, etc.
Can you hook up 2ohm and s 4ohm sub to s mono amp their in the same box
I actually made the mistake of building a subwoofer box that was too big to go into my trunk years ago. Since then, and this is just a suggestion but yet it has worked for me many times since my boo boo back then...I determine the size of enclosure I need to work for the sub or subs, then I'll take oversized sheets of plain cardboard, measure and cut them to the size the actual box will be, then make a "dummy" model out of the cardboard to the exact size specs, then check the fit. If the "dummy" cardboard box will go in without fail, then I'm good to go with my final build. If not, then back to the drawing board. Thanks for your videos, you have been a lifesaver, (and money saver) many times!!!
Requesting a how to video on how to match frequency with head-unit, crossover/dsp and amplifier with the frequency range on inside speakers/subs
Larry agree
Larry if your using a dsp you set it on the dsp and leave the head unit and amp on full range. If the dsp doesn't have a subsonic filter set it on the sub amp.
Jim Elam thanks , so it is better to let the dsp do all the work rather that match the frequency with all three units. Radio, Dsp, Amp
Larry roberto
A buddy of mine went to "tune" his sub set. Has only the factory deck and doors, but has 3 12's and a 5000 RMS amp. He just cranked the gain all the way til it stopped the bass boost til it stopped and thought it sounded great. What I heard was a train wreck. I tried to actually tune it but over the next week he just took it back to his. Now they are blown and can't even move the sub's without coil rub (sounds more like they are clawing the inside of the motor apart) they are just begging to die but he keeps pushing them like that.
I can't count how many times I've tuned people's shit for them only to have them fuck it up again. I don't even try anymore.
I like how you try to teach newbies the correct building techniques. Some will never learn because they was told other wise by someone they know.Heck I been building systems for over 30 years and I still learn new and tricks of the trade. I have learned how to make the aesthetics of the system look very unique. This kinda makes a signature mark for your builds. A bit like my favorite saying (by JL audio) this is how we play, every know thats JL's trade mark. Thanks for all the info I have learned Mark
Great information! I'm glad I stumbled on your channel. Nice to see someone big in the industry sharing instead of hiding all the secrets. I have a question. I drive a sedan. I have plans to replace all OEM parts, front to back. I like full spectrum sound quality. I have no plans to make anything competitive. It's just for my listening enjoyment. I have a 10", 4 component separates, and a head unit while looking for amps. I wanted to use the 10" but also use an 8". No pairs of either, just one each. If I use a separate amp for each and sealed each chamber for the 8" and 10" so no air is shared could I still incorporate them into the same box, side by side? After seeing this video, you make me skeptical this is a good idea.
Jason Moriset make sure you run them of separate amps. but you can build a box to house diff size speakers. but chambers have to be different sizes for each size sub required. it's a bit harder box to build
Unless you have the boxes fabricated exactly, the amplifiers are exactly in-phase, and the reflections do not cancel each other, yes go ahead..............but good luck making that a reality. Some systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars to design fall short. Now, once in a blue moon someone gets lucky and then they get people to believe them and the cycle of ridiculousness is continued.
Yeah Mark thanks for all your informative videos you really know your stuff I've been doing this for 35 years and I still learn things from you everyday I watch a video. So for all you know it all's out there huh I suggest you keep watching Mark he's not perfect but I can guarantee he's better than 95% them out there. Thanks again my friend.
This video is better titled “mistakes we made in high school to our first car”. I think I’ve done all of these in my first car back in the day.
Would be interested in a video about fusing. Till now all my amps have had internal fuses. I have a typical scenario, so it would make a good video topic. I have one amp for mid/hi, which has internal fuses and one amp for subs which requires external fuse. What's the best way to fuse this setup, and what should the fuse ratings be 1) at the amp and 2) at the battery. Thanks!
My all time fav. The guy who took 4 12 gauge wires twisted them together, used four crimp on ring connectors, attaches those to the battery each one has a 30 amp fuse then stretches them he length of his big ass Lincoln town car and hooks them to a thousand watt amp.
His theory was he met the fusing requirement and the four wires would carry the current since the same wire carried 480 volts for a industrial motor he uses at work.
Nothing wrong with that. 1. Its a Lincoln. 2. its okay if it burns 3. refer to #1
Holy Sh**..........that's funny. Do people really not understand that's 3 Phase with a ground? Also, in electronics the higher the voltage, the lower the current if everything else is equal. Basic electronics, some of these comments are truly unreal.
@@brianhummel8659 i am people could you elaborate
I'd even recommend starting the hole in the firewall with a step drill because the step drill is easier to control. A typical fluted drill bit is designed to pull material out of the hole it's drilling. Once you break through sheet metal the drill bit is going to pull the entire length of the drill bit through the hole potentially puncturing something on the other side.
People who think the gain adjustment on an amplifier is a volume knob.
People who buy powerful amplifiers and still have the stock alternator and battery.
People who think capacitors actually fix their voltage problem.
People who use speaker wire as power wire.
People who think plugging up a ported box makes it a sealed box.
These are the most common car audio mistakes I've witnessed people do that I dont think was mentioned in this video. That I can think of off the top of my head.
Random Tube - I’m slowly purchazing a new audio system, I bought the Rockzford r-1200 and next the 2 12” P3’z, what battery should I get and how many amps should my alternator have? Thankz.
Shit I'm running 3 skar ddx 12' s, a sundown u series 15 , 4-- 4x6 Rockford's, 2 3.5" Rockford tweeters and 2--1.5" jl tweeters when was I supposed to get a new alternator or capacitor...??? I bought a $100 deep cycle amg battery from O'Riley's built and carpeted a little box that's attached to encloser not a single light flickers done this with every install I've ever done with more then a single 10" sub. As long as you understand the correct way to install and wire all your components in the vehicle car audio falls under the k.i.s.s. guidelines keep it stupid simple !!!
I'm getting myself a 10.000WRMS 15" Ground Zero sub shortly. the amp is roughly 10.000W mono. I'm changing my main battery, and i'm adding another battery to keep beneath my trunk just for that amp. Supposedly it's no need for a new alternator.. but we'll see about that :P
Stock alternator and battery performance can be GREATLY improved with larger diameter alternator/charging and grounding wires.
@@b.myhrer2427 It just depends on how many amps your alternator produces and the drain on your battery(ies). Not too hard to figure out if you know what you are connecting. For example, if you alternator pushed 40 and between the two batteries you are pulling 41, eventually one, if not both will fail overtime. Add up the amp hour ratings and you are done. Just keep in mind amp hours are determined by draining the whole battery. If you want to start your vehicle every time need to complete some research on your batteries to find out how many amp hours are stored before falling below the cranking amperage needed to start.
Here may be a few Mark.. The gain nob isn't a volume nob ( you may have mentioned this in your previous video). A ported enclosure reduces the RMS of the sub by almost half power. A 1000 watt RMS sub will blow if you try and run a 1000 watts of RMS power in a ported box.
On my first car when I was 15 I didn't know how to pull the deck, so with my amp install I crawled under the dash and plugged in the rca's blindly. Then I ran some really cheap 8ga Radio Shack power wire to a really cheap rocker switch and used the switch to turn my amp on and off. It worked but I can't believe I didn't set my car on fire.
i got lucky and when i went to the junk yard to get speakers for my car, I ended up noticing that the JBL upgraded audio system that was an option for my car from factory, they just made an adapter for their speaker, so after a very small amount of manipulation and a little wiring as the plugs on the JBL unit were different from the one in my car, I have factory adapters that make it all look original besides the speaker that I have installed at that time. It worked out great.
My dad literally has installed many many many car decks, just cutting the harness, it’s so much better when you know how to do it
I read that you should add 60% for cheap wire. Mybe add that ofc wire vs coated aluminum wire.
Vernon Williams is a great resource
I mixed 2 12's in a bandpass and 2 10's in sealed, with separate amps. Sounded good.
Ok man enough hating on my system!!
Yachty Team real talk 😭💀
I'm new to car audio. I mean I had systems in my car as a teen but ended up having kids as a teen so now that my kids are all grown up I've gotten back into car audio again.
I've seen a guy use a plywood sheet to mount the sub and use 2x4's as legs. This is not a box. It was his first sub so I had to build an enclosed box for him.
It's good of you to do that for him, I just built my first ported box for my 15 and I'm pretty happy with it
Nice information !! love your videos !! awesome !!
That last part is so true. I very rarely hear professionals bring this up about mix & matching subs & sub boxes. I would also like to add that doing this can also create major phasing issues amongst the things that you mentioned & a few others
What about when someone keeps blowing fuses so they just put larger ones in there!! Ahhwww my God don't do that ever!!!!!!
Vance wanless I hate that so much. I seen installs 10gauge wire with 100amp fuse. And wondering why the amps don't sound good or keep cutting out.
Funniest fuse fail I've witnessed was a bolt in place of a 10A glass fuse. I've also heard stories of people using 22LR shells after blowing fuses.
Don't forget about the ever so handy tin foil wrapped around the fuse after it has blown!! Cringe.....
Foil out cigarette pack wrapped around fuse!
Vance wanless Hi.
I just had a JL audio 750/1 amplifier installed to power a Jl audio 12W6v3-d4. I have a RLC bass controller knob in my dash that is running to jl HD amplifier.
I have an in-line acu fuse that is rated at 80 amp.
For some reason when I turn the bass knob to about over 60 percent the fuse blows. Do you have any idea why this occurs?
I was considering getting an ANL FUSE at 150 Amps. Noob here thanks
Tip 3 I upgraded my door speakers with 6.5 midrange woofers. And the back 6.5 full range speakers in the trunk. But I still get some distortion at higher volumes.
I had a mechanic tell me that my fuse setup was wrong and that it should be on the negative side of the battery 😂
Lol. I had a Mechanic tell me my wire was "too large" and I needed a capacitor.
John Smith lol now that’s a good one!
John Smith technically, current does flow from the “negative” which is actually positive but we keep it that way to respect the man who caught electricity in a bottle...
Power wire can't continue to short out if the ground circuit is broke. 🤷♂️ so technically fusing the ground ... if that run is the only ground feed to the battery would work, but positive is usually more dedicated.
Mrcaffinebean no...
Another mistake is when tightening power wire connection it is not one and done. Tightening, wait a moment for the wire and terminal to cool down (yes it does produce some heat during tightening believe it or not) then ensure it is still tight and doesn't require a little bit more. I have seen cables come out from not being properly tightened.
"start on fire"
My newbie mistake: overlapping the 0 gauge ground wire and the power wire. Distortion and weaker power delivery were very noticeable.
I kept blowing my fuse on my SoundStream amp for my subs. So I went to the store and cut a 3/8 bolt the size of my fuse. Never blew again. 👊😎👍
currently running a 10" rockford fosgate sub and a 10" Kicker sub. was aiming to build a punch system. turned out pretty well.
I always liked the idea of having two different sized subs, a 8 for the punchy fast stuff and a 12 for the actual bass, I feel like someone could get better sound with both if done right. Like you said though, the would need separate signal and power supply to be done right. Luckily I'm indecisive and have studied way way more into understanding stereo equipment than I've needed for the projects I've done LOL!!!
Why aren't we talking about 12v circuit breakers instead of fuses?
If you are ever in a situation where either your fuse blows or your breaker trips then one of the following is going on. #1. Undersized fuse/breaker and most likely undersized wiring. #2. A short. #3. faulty equipment. These three situations SHOULD be RARE so their is no need to use anything but a fuse. Besides Fuses trip twice as fast a breakers do on a DC system and 8 times as fast on an AC system.
@@Veritas-invenitur No offense, but this is complete bs. It all depends on the curve of the CB. To make a statement of definitive 2x 8x is ridiculous.
@@brianhummel8659 Your comment is ridiculous. The trip times are well known and thoroughly established facts. Different type fuses just like breakers have different trip times however in most cases my figures are the accurate.
I would love a how to on fuses and battery application. I'm not a super savvy internet person. I've been looking for something along those lines for a while. I have 3 batteries, 2 under the hood and 1 by the amps. I'm a little foggy on how exactly to install the wiring, fuse placement, and fuse size.
What if they don't sell a after market wiring harness for what I drive
Some company somewhere makes harness adaptors for 99.9% of all makes and models...
James Miller a good car mechanic shop can trace what's what in the harness. depending what car it is it's pretty simple to trace positive.negative and rest of the wires needed to swap after market CD player.
I would just solder in pigtail wires to the current ones and leave the factory plug in place.
@@jtwmadman2854 that's not true at all , the isnt one for my car either
@@detox2778 If there's a harness, that harness had to plug into a radio at some point. Like JTW said, unless it's from the 40s or 50s I would bet money some company or junkyard has the connector.
As long as you know what your doing cutting a harness to modify it for your needs is totally fine. I sell LS swaps and I literally cut and modify engine harnesses for a living.
That's a very different situation! & get them all mixed up, frying something in the process!
When people only twist the wires together then use electrical tape.
Sure fire there, it happened even on my motorcycle, a guarantee it would on 100+ amps..
Connor Carrell I did that on my speakers lmao
when drilling a hole through a firewall if using 2 people make sure you are both synchronized in which is left and right, Ive seen someone drill through a wiring harness because they were not NSYNC (lol) seriously, a 2017 pickup it was for a plow addition
Idk how to do any of this so I guess I’ll just take it to a professional
It's actually pretty easy once all the info clicks in your head. Just keep watching until you understand, then you can do it yourself!
Any specific videos recommended?
Another reason for purchasing an after market harness instead of cutting the factory harness is more and more vehicles are using the stock radio for secondary functions such as door chimes, power door locks. Also another consideration some stock systems do not make use of a switched auxiliary to power on the head unit.
Build your box WxLxH, out of cardboard then test.. Dont waste the wood....
Look how far you've come bro, your shop looks amazing. I remember watching your Kerfing wood video years ago. As always Mark your videos are incredibly useful. I watch them whenever I'm beginning a new project. Keep up the good work bro. And thanks again.
I cut my harness.
Fite me.
A noob if u dont cut it hardwire is the way to go
@@TheSpazzattack95 Yeah I think buying a 40 dollar "adapter harness" instead of doing 10 minutes of soldering and heat shrinking, is being a "more money than brains" noob. The only usefulness of them is for people who literally have no idea what wire goes to what.
@Chad Wilkins I agree with you
Back in 1987, I had a Suzuki Samurai and was deciding if I wanted a large sub box with a single 15" sub in the back or retain the back seat and use Bazooka Bass tubes behind it. I was driving around with the large box in when someone pulled out in front of me and I had to slam on the brakes. Even thought the box was fairly heavy, it slid forward and pinched the power wire into a hook that held the seat in place when folded up. Sliced right through the insulation and since I hadn't installed a fuse, the wire got red hot and melted the carpet. Luckily, the wire burnt through and broke before the whole car caught on fire. After buying a new carpet, I went with the Bazookas :D
The worst mistake is owning a system and not owning Killer Quad: The Best of Newtown Vol. 1
Kickin' it old school yo. Techmaster P.E.B is the best.
Really diggin these videos. I got a nice sub that my brother gave me, and also a bunch of wires (not even sure if it's ok to re-use that kind of stuff). So I want to upgrade my door speakers and buy an amp. But I don't know the first thing about this kind of stuff. So a lot of this is helping me understand what to look for when buying equipment.
I'll be honest. It's getting more confusing as I go on, lol. I just want to listen to my metal and hip hop music loud and clearly, lol. But it's really helping. At the point I'm at, I can only hope the people at the audio shop don't try to sucker me. One thing I wanted to do was use two different quality subs for the reason you stated here. Now that I know that's not a good idea, I'm thinking of asking the whoever at the audio shop and seeing what he says to test him.
I'm not trying to enter competitions or nothing. And it's only one 12' sub. So hopefully I won't need nothing too crazy.
The common fault when buying equipment would be sticking on a brand[Alpine lover here], hahahaha
Something that I've done before is underestimate box bracing. Doesn't matter if it's a small box or a big box, it needs to be braced. Last time I didn't brace the box because it was a relatively small 65L box thought it didn't need it, I had a hell of a time trying to figure out what that knocking sound was, luckily it was the box resonating and not the speaker being faulty.
Newbie mistake is not understanding ohms!
I don't even want to! I hate ohms
I don't!!!
ohmmyGod...
Ohms are important! My buddy had two Klipsch floorstanding speakers in his room connected to an Onkyo receiver. If he turned up the volume too high, the receiver would cut out, and it would get HOT.
I looked at it and noticed the speakers were rated at 8-Ohms, which the receiver did not support. Luckily there were two sets of speaker connections on the back, wired them in parallel for 4-ohms and connected to the receiver, problem solved.
@@GlycerinZ Any amp will support a higher impedance load. There was something else amiss in your description. A higher impedance always means less overall current (and less heat) not more.
One of the best "mistakes" that I heard, was when I was planning an 18 speaker in stall into a totally fiberglass car. No chassis. I was told that because I could not use the body as the earth, it would not work.
What I did was to match the grade of wiring from the battery at the front of the car to the distribution points at the rear of the car. Positive side has the primary fuse next to the battery, and then a fuse distribution blocks at the back. The head unit and DSP on the dash picked up their power from there as well at the 4 Alpine V12 amps at the back. All the units using power were returned on the earth side to more distribution blocks mounted at the rear and then returned to the battery just like the power side.
Worked at treat. Was safe and gave a great sound no issues.
I have been learning about car audio for about 4 years but the silly thing I cant grasp is how to figure out wire gauge.. Its hard for me to figure out how much current is flowing through my wires so I dont know what gauge to use. Or even when powering amplifiers.
R3MIX MODZ follow online chart. Go with OFC wire, double size for CCA.
Look for the amount of amperes the piece equipment you’re installing pulls. Then refer to an amp chart, which will give you the proper gauge wire for the distance. Most amps and stereos will give you the average amp current and then the recommended fuse to use.
R3MIX MODZ look up the ohms law equatio and use the power ratings of the amps etc for the math. Ohms law will give you amps, volts, and wattage depending on how you enter the info. Also you are usually safe using this rule of thumb use 8awg for up to 800 watts total system power, use 4awg for up to 1500 watts and 1/0awg for up to 3000 watts. Over that then you need to start making multiple runs of 1/0awg. Fusing you need to use 10 amps of fuse for every 100 watts of system power. I hope this helps you.
Use the biggest wire your amp can handle, a normal car audio install has roughly a 17-22' power wire length if the battery is up front, my rule of thumb is under 500 watts 8 gauge and 500-1200 4 gauge and anything over use 1/0
Y'all are more generous than me haha it's 1/0 to me if it's 1000+ system power. In my next set up I'll have 1500 for the sub and 250 for the doors I'll use a single 1/0 to the amp rack then 4 gauge to the amps from a distro block roughly 6 inches away.
I have learnt something today, and proudly so.
The mistake I made is installing the wire fuse far away from the battery, so the short end in closest to the Apmlifier!!!!! but after what I have learnt I will make a plan to avoid catching a fire; thank you for this informative video.
Thanks for all the tips. Your channel is awesome. All love
I hate to admit this but what the hell I'm old. I've been a journeyman electrician for 25 plus years. I can wire anything a/c. When it came to rewiring a boat I had I decided to wire it a/c. I'll tell you what I was popping fuses everywhere. My wife came out and started to say something and I just looked at her and she asked...do you wire the boat and a house the same way? I looked at her and said thank you baby you just solved the problem. Wow I felt stupid. I now can work d/c almost as well. Thanks for the videos. About to install a system in my son's truck.
Loving that ti-83plus silver edition calculator! Mine finally fried after 20+ years
For me? It's the general knowledge about the audio upgrades I want to do; increasing my knowledge daily✔
Been closely following your videos; very informative and now my friends are also very much interested.
For Pioneer GM D9701 , which sub is better in terms of very deep bass and durability; TS D12D4 or TS W3003D4?
Thanks.
This was a very educational video just put my first one yesterday only did one of these things 😂
When I was in high school in the 90s, I made so much money fixing people's stereo systems after they tried to install it themselves. Cutting the harness was a big one, but I've also had people kill their tail lights, blower motor and horn trying to install a head unit.
My best car audio install was 4= 12" subs 4= 10" subs 6= 6.5 mids 4= 3" super bullet tweeters, amps 800w 4ch rms @ 40hz, 2= 300w 2ch rms @80hz, 1= 280w rms 4ch @ 450hz, 120w 2ch rms @ 1khz 4ch electronic x-over 10 band passive EQ! best sound system I ever installed. It was a big difference with the 10" subs added. I inquired a car audio shop before the install they said the 12" subs would cause the 10" subs to distort and sound like crap but after the install I took it back to the shop and showed the guy his jaw dropped and said he don't know how I pulled that off but it sounds really good.
Like your videos. I'd love to see you dive more into detail on some of these topics like line resistance.
Regarding boxes fitting through the trunk opening, I have learned this the hard way, one time. My preference these days is to make a cardboard mockup of the box, pod, bracket, or amp rack, and use that to check fitment. It's cheap, fast, and easy.
Installing new speakers replacing old oem speakers and setting polarity by hearing. After 1 year i bought polarity checker and found out I had them wrong... Well, now it sounds way better.
I made the mistake of not measuring the trunk door area and it didn’t fit in that way but luckily I was able to fold the seats down and slide it in they way
I jacked into the factory speaker wire with lower gauge wire from Amp under seat... it sounds great...would going for lower/thicker gauge wire from Amp directly to speakers make that much of a difference?
The hardware:
-Kenwood KDC-X704 head
-Kenwood XR401-4 75w RMS 4 ch Amp
-Doors (x2) Soundstage CPT 6.5" component (tweeters in the dash)
-Soundstage HPT 6.5" coaxial behind seats.
-Speakers are 100wRMS/150wPeak
-14gauge wire from Amp to dash...
-Might be 16 or 18 gauge factory speaker wire in 2005 Ram 1500.
Enjoying your videos bud... they're a big help!
Don't forget if your rear seats fold down check the height and width of that as well because sometimes it is larger than the trunk access.
Thank you for everything that you taught me and done and don't worry about them other RUclips guys that's hating on you keep on doing what you doing you're doing a great job PS thank you for everything
I just go to stereo shop and let them do the install! Fuse blower on power wire. Simple replace 100 amp fuse and all's well! I mow carry a spare! 4 years and one blowed fuse! Props to Sounds good car stereo! Jimmy's the man in my area!
Looked at getting a harness. Wasnt spending $300 when i could slice some wire. Harness was out of the question for all 3 of my vehicles
300 for a harness? What do you drive, a Bently? They make $30 harness kits for nearly everything on the road.
My biggest newbie mistake- using T-taps to install an alarm/remote start. I had no clue why my alarm wouldn’t work for weeks at a time then would magically start working again. Lol.
Remember the speakers that were used for drive ins? First time I used this idea was to hang speakers from the tailgate of my old GMC Jimmy, I didn't want them mounted permanently or rolling around on the floor somewhere... SO, I made brackets and hung them from the rear tailgate. Same principle in my extended cab pick em' up truck. I made tabs (brackets) and hung them from the rear window. Opened up a lot of floor space and I don't have to really worry about anything sloppy juice getting spilt on them. Made a cheap speaker grill outta decorative, perforated sheet metal (sometimes used for home radiator covers) so I don't stick a fishing rod or rifle barrel through my gorgeous handiwork.
Can't believe after 10, you still haven't hit my biggest one when I started, understanding ohms and how to connect DVCs or multiple subs to a monoblock amp
when i first started i remember one of the big mistakes i made. took 2 amps blowing to realise. i bought an amp that matched my sub ohms, but i had 2 subs, and bridged it.... blown amp after playing for a few minutes.