help fitting amplifier in my mk3 ibiza cupra

[Big_A_Cupra20vt]

hi i have just been given an amplifier from someone and have bought a wiring kit for it but not sure how to fit it i have a mk3 ibiza cupra 20vt and just wondered if there are any good guids about? (not even sure how to get behind the head unit as it is one of those inbuild console ones. the idea is to use the amp to power my rear 6x9's. any help would be great cheers.

 

[davidol]

your going to struggle here by the sound of it, the ibizas standard headunit does not have any preouts to feed the audio signal to any external amplifiers, adaptor's can be brought but its not as simple as plugging it in.

The headunit unit can be removed by undoing the two small screws on the bottom lip of the fascia then pulling it to unclip it from the top, after that the bulk of the unit is held in with four screws, be careful not to damage the ribbon cable joining the fasica to the bulk of the unit.

 

[andycupra]

ok a very basic guide would be:

1 you will have problems with the stock head unit as you will need pre outs, im doubt full the stock unit with have these.
The amplifier needs to be connected the the head unit to receive a signal to amplify. the pre outs are sockets on the back of the head unit that theses wires plug into.
so unless you have an amplifier that can use high input (ie basically the wires going to your rear speakers) then you will need a new head unit, or high to low converter.

it will also be unlikely the have an amp remote wire (this is basically a wire running from head unit to amp which signals the amp when the head unit is on) however there are other means.

2. the amplifier will need to be fitted someone securely and then earthed.
basically you will need to run the earth wire from the amp to the body work. (scrape of paint etc as you need a good contact. a good earth is important, usually bolted to car body)

3 then run speaker wire from the amp to the speakers, making sure + & - are the right way around.

4 have amp in place with good ventilation as it can get hot when used.

easy to install an amp if the head unit has appropriate connections.

 

[Big_A_Cupra20vt]

the bloke that i bought the car from said that he did have an amp set up at one point and he gave a some kind of adaptor and said that if i wantted to install another amp i would need it, ill have to dig it out but its onle small and has 2 wires coming from it i think about 7inches long, maybe that the head unit adaptor? ill apologise now as i know pretty much nothing about car wiring.

 

[andycupra]

it it has two wires coming out of it and then two round (female i think) sockets in it then it may be a high/low adapter. although would have to see it to be sure.

this basically connects to the existing wires from the head unit that would go to the speakers which have been aplified by the head unit.
it them converts this signal to a low power signal suitable for connection to the amplifier.
not the best way to do things but if you stick with the stock head unit its just about all you can do.

where you planning on putting the 6x9s? how powerfull is the amp?
do you have max and RMS output figures?

 

[Big_A_Cupra20vt]

the amp is 2channel 600w max if bridged or something, the 6x9's are 300w infinity's and the wiring kit i have is 700w so i think it should all work together. i have found the adaptor and it must be a high/low adaptor as it has the 2 female sockets (i take it i connect the rca amp cable the the femal connctors) then it has 4 wires other end 2 for left 2 for right, so what wires behind head unit do i connect these 2? thanks for your help so far i think im starting to get it.

 

[andycupra]

certainly sounds like a high/low converter.

the four wires basically connect to the wires that currently go to the speakers.
now, you can get to the back of the head unit and connect there.
but if your just amping the rears and you currently have rear speakers, then you can connect the rear speaker wires there to the high/low converter then into amp and save yourself the hassle.

the only other reason you may want to get to back of head unit is to get am remote, (ie to turn amp on / off with head unit) although you could bodge this by running off a wire elsewhere.

oh year and i forgot the most important thing, you need to run the big fat red wire from amp in boot to the battery! this will be the most dificult bit with this job for you i think. dont forget to fuse this and dont be tempted to bodge it when trying to get through from cabin to engine bay. worth taking time to get it sealed / protected properly.
if you can find a grommet big enough then great. it not good luck.
tip, connect power cable to battery last after you have checked and double checked other connections

 

[Big_A_Cupra20vt]

what else can i connect the remote cable to that will turn the amp on when keys are in ignition? and obviously turn off when i turn engine off? and also if i use the high/low adaptor in the boot where my 6x9's are and not in the head unit wont the head unit still use it own amp on them?

 

[andycupra]

the head unit amp will always work.
when i have said connect behind the head unit you would basically be doing the same as connecting to the speaker wires in the boot. (there is no plug or wire in the head unit for this) the converter does not turn off the amp or fit in the head unit, its 'in line'.

the high/low converter is exactly for this reason, ie it receives amplified signals, it then converts these down to unamplified signals.
so whether this is done behind the stereo or just before the amp, its makes not too much difference. as long as you get low power to the amp.
ive eddited my last post as it wasnt clear on that. you want the rear speaker wires to go out of head unit, and instead of going to the rear speakers they go to the high/low converter. the low out put (RCA) then goes to amp.


as for connecting the remote wire... well, there is two routes hear, one would be to connect the any wire in the boot that only works when ignition is on. this would mean amp is on when ignition is on rather than when stereo is on.

if you wanted it to operate when stereo is on/off then you need a stereo wire. the only ones in the boot would be the speaker wires. this would be a bit of a bodge, ive never tried it and i would imagine it could cause interferance. however it may not.
other wise connect it to the switch live in back of stereo.

 

[Big_A_Cupra20vt]

ok i think i get it (only thing is ok this probably sounds really dumb but i dont want to f##k anything up, so what wires could i connect remote cable to in boot? thanks again for your help.

 

[Icecavern]

http://www.icecavern.com/howtos/ampinstall/main.php

 

[andycupra]

that guide is great, sounds like the only difference between that and yours is your amp doesnt have high level input. (thus you have the converter)

so install as per icecaverns guide, but have the speaker wires go into the high/low converter and then from the converter by way of the rca leads into the sub.

good luck

 

[Big_A_Cupra20vt]

my amp has a 4 pin socket with high level above it is that a high level imput? would that make it easier to install?

 

[Big_A_Cupra20vt]

what in the boot can i connect remote cable to? as if i can avoid playing around in back of head unit (console) then that would be great.

 

[UncleFester]

Remote cable has to come from the headunit otherwise the amp won't turn on and off with the headunit. If the headunit doesn't have a 'remote out', the electic ariel feed works just as well.

The high level input on the amp is for speaker wire signal input.

 

[davidol]

where you too? if your local i could do the job...

 

[Big_A_Cupra20vt]

i take it if i have no remote cable set up then ill have to turn the amp on and off myself?