Having trouble installing subwoofer, HELP!

[R.J]

Hi everyone!
Got an active subwoofer today and tried installing it. I ran the 8AWG power wire from the + side of battery through the bonnet release grommet under the trims and to the subwoofer in the boot. i have done the same with the RCA cables and the remote wire. I have a feeling the issue is with the earth/ground point, i have used the bolt securing the bar in the boot (under the plastic cover) i sanded the paint of and clamped it down but when i start the car up the subwoofer doesn't seem to be getting any power (no lights on or sounds) Am i correct in thinking the ground has to be connected to complete the circuit and provide power? Im using an after market head unit and SUB Mode is on (i have a 2003 1.2 16v clio)

Any help would be fantastic!
Sorry if the answer to my problem is really simple! Didn't want to give halford's £40 extra for fitting it, wish i had now though!

PS Its not the subwoofer that is broken because i tried connecting a Vibe CBR12 i had that was gathering dust and that didn't work either! Help!

Thanks
-R.J

 

[Dymanique06]

When I installed my edge 10" active in both my t reg and my mk3 06 clio I used one of the bolts at the back of the rear seats, I've never had to sand any paint away etc, try some different points etc see if you can get power from any of them, also does your power lead have a fuse near the battery as it is supposed to? Not blown?

 

[R.J]

yeah i put a fuse in the power cable about 9 inches away from the battery. So frustrating, should be such a simple install but i cant seem to get it working! The inline fuse isn't blown either, have a spare one in my garage so could try that out but i don't think its that but if no one else has any suggestions i will give it a go!
Thanks for the quick reply mate!

 

[Dan@SJM]

Did you connect the blue remote cable?

 

[R.J]

yeah the remote cable is all connected and heat shrinked up. stumped as to what the problem is! wishing i had just got halford's to install it now! haha

 

[Dymanique06]

Nah you don't want those monkeys doing anything to you car! Haha
Bit puzzling really, can't really think what else to suggest, I guess I would connect the sub to a battery outside of the car so your earth is directly attached the negative terminal rather than relying on finding an earthing point, at least that way you eliminate it being the earthing point, I think if that didn't work I would be taking it back for a replacement, presumably you bought it from halfords? Which one did you get out of curiousity?

 

[R.J]

i actually bought the subwoofer online but didnt get the install kit so got one from halfords. they apparently have the same subwoofer in stock and offered to install it for me but i said i could do it myself. i got the bass face 12.2 active subwoofers (twin sub enclosure at 2600w peak and 1300w RMS) although those numbers i can assure you are way over the true rms and peak! thinking i will try earthing it at the earth point in the boot for the rear lights see if that works. if not i will re check all my wiring. as for the subwoofers i will review them and make a video of them because i couldnt find any reviews online. thanks for the help

 

[Dymanique06]

Yeah sound idea hooking onto the rear lights let us know how you get on, curious as to why you can't get it working, I bought mine from halfords, got the 10" Edge active one and I would recommend it to anyone! I could never buy a double unit, just too much space and weight, but that's just my opinion I get more than enough bass from my little one

 

[R.J]

yeah i had a vibe black air v12 in my car before and that kicked hard! These new ones should be alot better and although its a double unit its sits against the back seats very well and only fills half the boot, i normally use my rear seats as the boot anyway. will keep you informed! i really hope i can sort it out tomorrow, just hoping the weather is nice!

 

[Dink]

if you got a multimeter that will measure current (over 10A ideally most do) you can find out if its your earth

put it in current mode (highest setting) and change the leads to current. turn head unit on with volume on 2-4 then stick one probe on the earth terminal on the amp and stick the other on a bare bit of metal (try a couple of places) if the amp fires up it's your earth, if not it's some thing else

 

[R.J]

brilliant idea mate! hadn't even thought of that, if i haven't solved the problem before monday i will borrow one from work. Thanks for the advice Dink

 

[skinz]

+1 from multimeter, some wiring kits have s##t remote wires so possibly overstretched/ damaged?

Check '+' and remote for 12v, then if they're fine its your earth, personally i lifted carpet, drilled hole, sanded, bolted & silicon seal = bangtidy

 

[levaz]

I tend to use seat belt mounting points as earths for amps, nice strong connections.
definately wired up correctly on the positive side?

 

[R.J]

yeah think so but im going to double check everything today. will find out if its the earth point or not later. Thanks for all the help guys

 

[benn j]

For mine in my 1.2 I ran the earth wire under the boot carpet and use the bolt for the boot lock hook thing (technical term )

 

[R.J]

alright benn j i will give that a go as well. thanks mate!

 

[R.J]

just found the ground point in the boot. still nothing i have connected/ heatshrinked the remote wire to the grey wire in the black harness at the head unit after seeing a post about it on here, alot of other people use it as well.
Any ideas?
Using a ring terminal thing to connect to battery . fuse isnt blown

(on the positive side atleast i now know its not the ground thats the problem!)
Thanks
-R.J

 

[Adam D]

To test it's not your earth loop a wire from the 12v cable from the battery to the remote. Both are 12v so if it powers on you know it's the remote wire that's the problem.

 

[R.J]

good idea mate. will have a go now, fingers crossed!

 

[R.J]

Its the remote wire! thank you so much mate. and jesus do those things hit hard! haha
anyone know why the remote wire from my headunit wouldn't be working? or are there any wires in the boot you can splice into to get the 12v REM?
Thanks again for all the help
cheers adam!
-R.J

 

[levaz]

Why not join the remote to the +12v on the amp to test its not the remote line itself?
if your happy with the main line in and the earth, thats the only thing left

 

[R.J]

Don't worry! fixed it. The light on the sub came on using the REM wire i have but it was really dim. re connected and heat shrinked it and now it working fine! Next job is to fit my new 17inch alloys! Thank you so much for the help everyone, couldn't have done it without you!
Thanks again
-R.J

 

[Feates172]

A sub, and 17' alloys? Oh dear. Dont suppose you own a pair of nike TN's as well?

 

[Dymanique06]

Glad to hear you sorted it!

Just please say the alloys aren't made by Ripspeed or anyone similar?

 

[R.J]

haha it sounds bad but the alloy's aren't ripspeed or anyother cheap halfords sh*t got them from a friend who had them on a 182 but needed the cash so i gave him £270 for them. He originally paid £699 for them and they are in pretty good condition so im really happy with them! normally i wouldn't go for 17's but they dont look too bad, will post some pic's soon. Oh and i don't own any nike TN's (had to google those) much prefer adidas
Thank's again for all the help guys!
-R.J

 

[Feates172]

Haha good lad. Look forward to the pics

 

[R.J]

yeah will have them up tomorrow evening! That's if the rain hold's off tomorrow!
-R.J

 

[Dymanique06]

Phew

Sod the rain! Get out there and do it Dedicated

 

[R.J]

haha yeah! according to bbc weather im going to be needing a rain coat and wellies if i do it tomorrow

 

[helloimjammie]

Hey man getting my active sub at the weekend could you give me a mini tutorial on how to install? like best earthing point in boot, where to run power cable and how to hook it up to the battery? Cheers

 

[CRS-Mike]

try having one of these in ya boot, fills the whole thing lmao. i wired a kettle lead into mine so a nice easy plug and play! 2 minutes later, ready for the shopping at b and q lmao:

Power Output: 1800 watts (600W RMS) OHHHH YERRR



one thing that does piss me off is the light in the boot is on the left and the dials are on the right. going to fix that soon tho


i wired the earth onto that boot bolt too mate, went direct from the battery, no faffing about then with lights an shizz

 

[levaz]

I use the seatbelt mounting bolts, wont get a better earth than that in the boot.
running 2 alpine type r 2ohm dual voice coils in mine with a vibe slick a7. That gives some serious thump

 

[helloimjammie]

How do you attach the earth to either the seat bolt or boot bolt? Sorry for really noob questions I probably sound like an idiot I know. Where can I pass the power cable thought to get to the battery, nd how does it attach to the battery. Probably dumbest questions ever to guys like you that have done it probably many a time before lol

 

[levaz]

starting at the battery end:

you'll probably want a ring connector on your power cable, to attach to the + terminal on the battery (once the rest is done), give yourself about 7 inches of cable, then fit an inline AGU fuse holder, (they look like giant household plug fuses). Find an access point or grommet you can feed the cable through (on my 172 I went under the coolant bottle behind the carpet, there an unused grommet that comes out in the passengers footwell.

Run you cable along to the boot, under the carpets / along the trim panels / under the back seat.
I run my remote lead along this side aswell.

RCA's should be run along the other side of the car to avoid interferance.

Connect to your amp.

Find one of the seatbolt mounting bolts (17mm black bolt iirc) remove, ring connector on your earth lead, thread bolt through ring connector, re-fit bolt. (its quite long, about 4 inches i think)

Connect to amp.

Connect power cable to battery.

Job done.

 

[helloimjammie]

Ahh brilliant mate thanks alot! I'm getting it delivered sometime next week so finger crossed I can get it sorted, if I have any issues can I pm you a few questions instead of clogging up the thread?

 

[levaz]

yea, not a problem.

Doing mine the biggest headache was getting to the grommet to pass the power cable through, i had to remove both the coolant bottle and the pas bottle to be able to move the carpet enough.

apart from that, took about 45 mins in the dark.

 

[helloimjammie]

Aha I see! Do you need to remove the glove box for the RCA cables out the back of the HU? Or is there a space there?

 

[levaz]

if you take the headunit out theres plenty of room behind there to be able to feed the RCA and remote down, i tend to go across the driver side, then down along the doors to the boot there for the RCA and take the power and remote along the passenger side.

 

[helloimjammie]

Awesome cheers bud!

 

[levaz]

Not a problem, if you get stuck, pm me, or shout here, im sure someone can get you through it!