hooking up a stereo yourself... is it hard????

[mattymartin]

hey guys,

has anyone that isnt a auto electrician or sound specialist hooked up their stereo in the car before...
if so, which im sure it is... could you please give m some pointers before i get into a world of pain...

do i have to put wires down before carpet goes down, or can i get away with doing it after the carpet goes in ...

ps, my wagon is at the trimmers & was supposed to be finished last week but carpet still hasn"t arrived. i was hoping to get it to all holden day, but not going to happen now...

thanks
matty martin

[Brown Bear]

Matty!! great to see you back in town!

It's not difficult to wire up a stereo, just depends on how complex your system is and how good you are at joining cables.
A basic head unit usually has 1 earth lead, 1 constant power (batt), and 1 Switched power (ignition), then 2 cables per speaker. In a wagon, you can usually you can get away with running the speaker wires under the door scuff plates, then behind the wheel arch trim to the cargo bay where a pair of 6x9's will fit nicely.

If you're going for a bigger doof doof system, there's more than likely to be someone on here who has done it already and can give you a few pointers

Looking forward to seeing your wagon all done!

Matt

[Harv]

Matty,

Give it a go - it's not that hard. Some thoughts that may help:
a) Be careful where you run the two power leads as they come over from the fuse panel to the stereo - don't get them caught in pedal return springs, wiper arms or any other sharp edges. Cable tie them in place so they don't move around.
b) Put grommets anywhere a wire goes through body metal (aerial probably will be the only place) to stop water getting in and sharp esgdes cutting cables.
c) You'll probably use crimp connections - don't use the thin sheet steel "Supercheap" crimper - go to a Tandy/JayCar/DSE and get a ratcheting crimper. They cost about $35, but work a bazzilion times better than the thin ones, and are a tool you will use many times over the years.
d) Run some heat shrink over the terminal ends - looks neater and gives some mechanical strength when you plug/unplug them over the years.
e) Practice crimping and heat shrinking on some scrap cables before you start with the car.
f) Run the cables under scuff plates, tucking under the carpet edge.
g) Watch the +ve and -ve leads are on right (the cable will have a stripe on one wire).
h) Rear quarter panels in a wagon work great for speakers, but plan on running grille covers on them (your shopping bags will inevitably roll across the wagon floor and smoosh any exposed speaker cone ). Speakers here will need support - check your trimmer is using thick enough panels to mount a speaker on.

[matches]

Matty,

Give it a go - it's not that hard. Some thoughts that may help:
c) You'll probably use crimp connections - don't use the thin sheet steel "Supercheap" crimper - go to a Tandy/JayCar/DSE and get a ratcheting crimper. They cost about $35, but work a bazzilion times better than the thin ones, and are a tool you will use many times over the years.

solder the wires into the conections if your going to use male/ female connectors. after a bit of connect- disconnect they can work their way out. if your not worried and have a pair of sidecutters just solder the wires directly and you'll have a true connection with no loss of signal (which will cause crackling in your speakers ) you could get the trimmer to just lay 4 speaker wires under the carpet and out where your going to put your speakers and you can worry about hooking them up after you get it back.

[Devilrod]

After some of the other things you've done Matty I think you could do this really easily. Nothing more than what has been said above two power (constant for memory and accessories these can be the same source but run through a fuse) and an earth. Run speaker wires under scuff plates and your done! Mine is wired up to be always on, straight from the battery via a fuse.

[basic.green]

my to cents
put some rca wires in so down the track you can put a amp in. these are quite big so put them under the carpet now
and dose not hert to put a extra wire in under the carpet just in case. i have and now i am glad i did

[(AUST)Mod]

Run speaker cables and RCA cables on the opposite side to the amp power cable.

[parisian62]

matty martin...and here I was thinking you'd fallen off the face of the earth...

Matty!! great to see you back in town!

my thoughts too Matthew.

Havn't you finished that wagon yet MM???...

great post I'll need some help ont this subject too. In addition to Harv's suggestion on the placement of rear wagon speakers I've seen some mounted behind the rear quarters so they are not actualy mounte don the trim piece. You need to get some steel folded up to do this and then either spot welded, pop riveted inside the quarter.

Stewart

[Sputzwagon]

Matty...MAATE...
Good to hear from you...
I tend to be a bit 'old school' when it comes to wiring anything...
I tin each & every wire before I use connectors & then add solder inside the connectors and heat 'em up to join the wire BEFORE I crimp them together.
This way they have a perfect connection and never fall out or get pulled out.
As for adding before carpet...it's no necessary as all you have to do is unscrew the scuff plates and lift the carpet a bit to shove the speaker wire underneath.

Scotty.

[Ed]

Hey Matty,

Yeah put the wires down before carpet and as mentioned run your RCAS on the opposite side to power to avoid electrical noise. Plan where to put all your components and lay out your wiring then put it all in place.

I would also lay down some dynamat to reduce noise and panel drumming.

here are some pics of my old wagon install.

I had all amps under the rear floor, on a rack.


then I split the head unit and put the face in the armrest for a stealth install.


made some speaker pods




Cheers

Ed

[mattymartin]

Please forgive my EXTREMELY LATE reply,
Thank you to such well explained & detailed replies

I now have some time over next weekend to put into the stereo, hence
That I have reread all the helpful hint given above...

But I have just realized that the stereo is to big for the hole in the dash
I know some of you have put one in this spot, so some advice on how you got it in
There would be greatly appreciated...

(I dont want it in the glovebox)


Please help
MattyMartin

[Devilrod]

Unfortunately without hacking up the dash it won't fit. Which is why quote often they are in the glovebox. Other option is to get an under dash bracket. Or get really creative like ed did.

[mattymartin]

Hey DR,

Thanks for the reply mate, I'm ok with cutting up dash
As long as I don't loose the design lines...

Under dash bracket I find them UGLY, but that's just my thoughts
And we all know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

So I want it in that spot, but I held up the stereo to the area and it
Looks like it will stop me from opening the glovebox...


Thanks

Mattymartin

[Harv]

Matty,

Your'e right, there's not much room above that glovebox, even if you cut the dash a bit. Some options:
a) mount the whole lot in the glovebox,
b) mount the radio on the floor under the front seat. Works, but not the nicest of locations - the horsehair from the front seat will drop onto it, and it is hard to access whilst driving (a radio with a remote can help, point it under the seat and most will still work),
c) mount the radio anywhere you like, detach the face (needs to be a detachable face radio), mount the "face" anywhere you like (Ed had his on an armrest, but the back of a sunvisor works OK too... maybe even the factory radio position would work as you don't have the lump of the radio to locate), then connect the two with PC ribbon cable (bit fiddly but not impossible).
d) make up a console for the front of the car - many have done it, it gives you a place to store your sunnies, but makes it harder to put three people on the front bench,
e) plenty of spare room in the wagon rear quarters behind the trim panels... bit odd having a radio in the back though.
f) ditch the radio, wind down the windows and listen to the grey

Just my 2c worth.
Cheers,
Harv