Wiring a sub

[solboy]

I want to fit a sub and understand you need the live cable to be taken from the battery. I have looked in the engine bay and cant see an obvious route to pass the cable through the bulk head. Can anyone advise on this as the engine bay is so cramped i dont fancy chancing drilling a hole from the inside out as i bet i will hit something.

 

[CupraTurbo81]

I want to fit a sub and understand you need the live cable to be taken from the battery. I have looked in the engine bay and cant see an obvious route to pass the cable through the bulk head. Can anyone advise on this as the engine bay is so cramped i dont fancy chancing drilling a hole from the inside out as i bet i will hit something.

There is a large rubber grommet on the passenger side of the bulkhead. I just used a sharp screwdriver to punch a hole in it then used a bit of metal rod to feed the wire through. It comes into the passenger footwell behind the glove box but there is some trim down there you will need to remove first.

 

[Seatmann]

If you follow the wiring loom in the engine bay there's usually another rubber grommet close by, just poke a hole in it and use a piece of stiff wire to pull the live through. It's usually on the passenger side and should come out behind the glove box I think.

Lol you beat me to it

 

[CupraTurbo81]

By seconds lol.


At least we gave him the same answer!!

 

[ste_v]

I found this on here when doing mine, hope it helps.

 

[solboy]

so if i take out the glove box will the grommet be visable from inside the car?

 

[ste_v]

i just reached up behind the glove box and it was there, was a pit of a pain getting it through the bulkead though, took a while from what i remember

 

[solboy]

where did you run the ground to?

 

[Steely]

IIRC under the drivers side dash where the fuse box is located,

x3 live blocks are there which are capable of running a sub live from,

 

[ste_v]

i use the seat belt bolt under the rear seat, you'll need to sand the paint around the bolt for a good connection or i believe there is an earth point behind the plastic trim on in the boot on the passenger side, dont quote me on that, sure i remember reading it somewhere on here ages ago though

 

[solboy]

Steely - i thought about connecting to the live blocks inside the car - how do you get to them? If its a case of removing the lower dash i have tried to do this twice already to remove my Smartnav. I just cant seem to get it off even though the bolts are all removed.

 

[Seatmann]

I just wired my earth in with the tail lights as the sub's in the boot anyway and it saves you having another cable running the length of the car.

 

[ste_v]

Id still recommend going straight from the battery and grounding to the chassis, will be a good connection, Probably the best way if your cables are big, either way you do it though it will work

 

[solboy]

cheers fellas. i am thinking about a Vibe Lite Air 12 £160ish or a MTX RT8 £90 (on sale from £150). I know the 12" will give deeper base but i am a bit of a tight ba@#?!d.

Does anyone have any views on which is best as its impossible to get a demo locally.

 

[Seatmann]

To be honest most of the 10's I've heard still pack a mean punch, my 212 is overkill

 

[ste_v]

id say 12'' if you want deep bass, the 8'' is gonna be punchy

 

[ste_v]

a mate had a 10'' vibe a few years ago that was deep so can only guess what the 12 will be like, id say 10'' is a good all rounder

 

[solboy]

Just had the glovebox out and found a new/spare grommet. Its located up high and comes through in the plenum chamber i think (if thats the right terminology). From here i could run a cable in the wiring loom housing behind the air filter - result!

 

[solboy]

Got the sub today and looked at the wiring diagram. I need to pick up a remote feed (a feed that will turn the sub on and off with the head unit). Can i pick this up from the back of the ISO connector and if so which lead is it?

 

[sambryant]

on the back of my head unit was a blue and white wire with a remote tab stuck to it. i connected the amp to that, then added a inline switch.