8th Generation Honda Civic Forum - View Single Post - Amp/Sub Installation Guide (on factory HU)

pirate0 · 09-11-2008, 08:45 PM

There have been a couple of guides about wiring and such but no full guide about hooking up an amp and sub to the stock non-navi head unit, so I decided to go ahead and make this.

Some specifics about my particular Civic:
-07 EX Sedan
-Factory non-navigation head unit
-6 speaker, 160watt sound system (non-premium) (I switched out the fronts though)

Anyway, onto the actual installation

Battery Wiring

I highly recommend taking a look here to see the guide I followed on running power from the battery. I'll put my own here though.

First, remove the wire from the negative of the battery.

You'll have to remove a panel under the steering wheel. This is what it looks like;

Simply turn the turn thing (not sure what to call it) and then pull the panel off. There are two clips, one all the way to the left of the panel and another on the far right.

Now, crawl under there with a flashlight or something and look for a little rubber cover. Alternately, you can just feel back around there and you'll probably find it. Here's a picture of what it looks like;

Pry it out. The big gray box on the side is the interior fuse box, if that helps give you an idea of where the cover is.

Next, you'll have to cut a hole in that rubber cover to fit your battery wire through. Put the wire through it after you make the hole and get a straight wire hanger to tape the wire to. Something like this;

Now stick the wire through the hole where the cover used to be.

Open the hood and remove the panel covering the right side, where the wheel well is. You'll see the wire tool in there.

Pull it through carefully, then remove the hangar from the wire.

I put some wire covering (not sure what it's called, but it's the black ribbed stuff that you put over wires for some protection) on the wire and slid it down before putting that cover back on there. Sorry, I didn't take pictures of the panel on the right inside the hood or the covering I used at this stage in the install, but you probably can figure out what I'm talking about and you can see them in later pictures.

Connect the wire to the positive of the battery. I have a fuse holder in my wire, but I haven't connected it yet in this picture;

The last step would be to put the fuse in, at the very end after connecting everything.

Some extra pictures of wiring

Those last two were from when everything was done.

Amp Mounting

I'm not going to exaggerate here, this is probably the easiest part. However, you should be careful or you may drill your screws through into the backseat armrest, like I did

Just measure carefully before drilling and it should be fine.

Line Out Converter

This step can be a little troublesome, especially if you're a taller or bigger person. You'll have to get in the trunk and work with your speaker wires. You basically just have to connect your LOC's speaker wires to your rear speaker's speaker wires.

I called up my local Honda dealer's service department and they told me that the brown and blue wires were positive, leaving white and orange for negative. Follow your LOC's specific directions on which wires to connect.

I'm not very informed about Line Out Converters, but I think most will have to connect to your amp's constant power and then have a ground wire also.

That's what mine looks like.

If your amp has speaker level inputs, you won't need a LOC. Your amp should come with a little piece which you would wire the same way though and then connect it to the amp. However, I've heard that LOC's put out better signals if you're wiring an amp. I don't know how true that is, so if anyone knows please post.

Amp Wiring

This is pretty easy too, but I'll split into some smaller sections.

Ground
I couldn't find any bare spot in my trunk, so I sanded down a spot myself and drilled a hole. Just use some sandpaper and sand it until it's very shiny. You'll probably want to wear some goggles or big glasses while sanding and drilling so you don't get anything in your eye(s). Anyway, just put your wire on there and hand drill a screw in so that it's tight. Don't go too far or the screw might be loose, but make sure it's tight and you can't move the ground connection. If your LOC has a ground, go ahead and connect it here too.

Power
Just run the wire from the front seat back here. I personally didn't run it under the sills or the base carpet. I just ran it along the edge, under the floor mats. But you can run it back and if you lift up the back seat a little, you can get the wire up under there and in the trunk.

It's really not too visible, you can see it a little bit on the back right along the edge there. If that doesn't bother you, it works fine.

Remote
This is another thing I didn't do like most people, but it's what I needed. I ran my remote wire from my amp up to the front next to the driver seat and connected it to my power wire then put a switch on the remote. I'm not sure where else you can connect the remote wire to, I don't think the HU has a remote out on the back. But you may be able to find more info elsewhere, sorry.

It's just a simple switch, on and off. Just make sure to turn it off before leaving the car, heh. Switch cost 2 or 3 dollars from Radio Shack.

Other Wires
You'll have to connect speaker wires from the amp to the sub enclosure and then the RCA cables(or speaker wire adapter) from the line out converter to your amp. Simple enough.

You may also need to connect the LOC's power wire to the main power wire.

Putting the Sub and Box Together

Another easy one. Just make sure you connect some speaker wire from the sub to the box so that it'll actually make sound. Take care when drilling to make sure the sub fits in well and can be screwed down all around.

Final Steps

You're almost done. Make sure all your wires are connected well first. If you put in the switch, make sure it's off. I would also recommend tying up your wires and keeping them together nicely. Now simply put the fuse into your power line and connect the negative on the battery. Start up your car and you'll probably get a bad surprise.

The head unit will be locked and it will tell you to enter a code.

I had to look in the manual to try and figure it out. You were supposed to get a card with the info on it to unlock your HU, but if you didn't or you lost it, it'll say that you can go to your local Honda dealership and they can get you your code using the serial number located on the back of the unit. Seemed like quite a bit of extra trouble, so I called in and after parts told me I had to remove it, I went ahead and called into service. All you have to do is hold one(1) and six(6) and then turn on the power. Your serial number will show up, and it should be 8 digits long. Call in and tell them this number and they can get you your code.

All set.

Now play your music and check that it's working. If everything is fine, good job! Go enjoy your new upgrade. If not, double check your steps. Maybe you missed something. Or maybe something is broken. I couldn't tell you.

Thanks for reading and I hope this helps.

Special thanks to WVUeers and 08CivicSiGG for the info on how to wire to the battery. Also Duce2k for some info about LOCs.

09-11-2008, 08:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
pirate0 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bremerton, WA Posts: 135 Andrew	Amp/Sub Installation Guide (on factory HU) There have been a couple of guides about wiring and such but no full guide about hooking up an amp and sub to the stock non-navi head unit, so I decided to go ahead and make this. Some specifics about my particular Civic: -07 EX Sedan -Factory non-navigation head unit -6 speaker, 160watt sound system (non-premium) (I switched out the fronts though) Anyway, onto the actual installation Battery Wiring I highly recommend taking a look here to see the guide I followed on running power from the battery. I'll put my own here though. First, remove the wire from the negative of the battery. You'll have to remove a panel under the steering wheel. This is what it looks like; Simply turn the turn thing (not sure what to call it) and then pull the panel off. There are two clips, one all the way to the left of the panel and another on the far right. Now, crawl under there with a flashlight or something and look for a little rubber cover. Alternately, you can just feel back around there and you'll probably find it. Here's a picture of what it looks like; Pry it out. The big gray box on the side is the interior fuse box, if that helps give you an idea of where the cover is. Next, you'll have to cut a hole in that rubber cover to fit your battery wire through. Put the wire through it after you make the hole and get a straight wire hanger to tape the wire to. Something like this; Now stick the wire through the hole where the cover used to be. Open the hood and remove the panel covering the right side, where the wheel well is. You'll see the wire tool in there. Pull it through carefully, then remove the hangar from the wire. I put some wire covering (not sure what it's called, but it's the black ribbed stuff that you put over wires for some protection) on the wire and slid it down before putting that cover back on there. Sorry, I didn't take pictures of the panel on the right inside the hood or the covering I used at this stage in the install, but you probably can figure out what I'm talking about and you can see them in later pictures. Connect the wire to the positive of the battery. I have a fuse holder in my wire, but I haven't connected it yet in this picture; The last step would be to put the fuse in, at the very end after connecting everything. Some extra pictures of wiring Those last two were from when everything was done. Amp Mounting I'm not going to exaggerate here, this is probably the easiest part. However, you should be careful or you may drill your screws through into the backseat armrest, like I did Just measure carefully before drilling and it should be fine. Line Out Converter This step can be a little troublesome, especially if you're a taller or bigger person. You'll have to get in the trunk and work with your speaker wires. You basically just have to connect your LOC's speaker wires to your rear speaker's speaker wires. I called up my local Honda dealer's service department and they told me that the brown and blue wires were positive, leaving white and orange for negative. Follow your LOC's specific directions on which wires to connect. I'm not very informed about Line Out Converters, but I think most will have to connect to your amp's constant power and then have a ground wire also. That's what mine looks like. If your amp has speaker level inputs, you won't need a LOC. Your amp should come with a little piece which you would wire the same way though and then connect it to the amp. However, I've heard that LOC's put out better signals if you're wiring an amp. I don't know how true that is, so if anyone knows please post. Amp Wiring This is pretty easy too, but I'll split into some smaller sections. Ground I couldn't find any bare spot in my trunk, so I sanded down a spot myself and drilled a hole. Just use some sandpaper and sand it until it's very shiny. You'll probably want to wear some goggles or big glasses while sanding and drilling so you don't get anything in your eye(s). Anyway, just put your wire on there and hand drill a screw in so that it's tight. Don't go too far or the screw might be loose, but make sure it's tight and you can't move the ground connection. If your LOC has a ground, go ahead and connect it here too. Power Just run the wire from the front seat back here. I personally didn't run it under the sills or the base carpet. I just ran it along the edge, under the floor mats. But you can run it back and if you lift up the back seat a little, you can get the wire up under there and in the trunk. It's really not too visible, you can see it a little bit on the back right along the edge there. If that doesn't bother you, it works fine. Remote This is another thing I didn't do like most people, but it's what I needed. I ran my remote wire from my amp up to the front next to the driver seat and connected it to my power wire then put a switch on the remote. I'm not sure where else you can connect the remote wire to, I don't think the HU has a remote out on the back. But you may be able to find more info elsewhere, sorry. It's just a simple switch, on and off. Just make sure to turn it off before leaving the car, heh. Switch cost 2 or 3 dollars from Radio Shack. Other Wires You'll have to connect speaker wires from the amp to the sub enclosure and then the RCA cables(or speaker wire adapter) from the line out converter to your amp. Simple enough. You may also need to connect the LOC's power wire to the main power wire. Putting the Sub and Box Together Another easy one. Just make sure you connect some speaker wire from the sub to the box so that it'll actually make sound. Take care when drilling to make sure the sub fits in well and can be screwed down all around. Final Steps You're almost done. Make sure all your wires are connected well first. If you put in the switch, make sure it's off. I would also recommend tying up your wires and keeping them together nicely. Now simply put the fuse into your power line and connect the negative on the battery. Start up your car and you'll probably get a bad surprise. The head unit will be locked and it will tell you to enter a code. I had to look in the manual to try and figure it out. You were supposed to get a card with the info on it to unlock your HU, but if you didn't or you lost it, it'll say that you can go to your local Honda dealership and they can get you your code using the serial number located on the back of the unit. Seemed like quite a bit of extra trouble, so I called in and after parts told me I had to remove it, I went ahead and called into service. All you have to do is hold one(1) and six(6) and then turn on the power. Your serial number will show up, and it should be 8 digits long. Call in and tell them this number and they can get you your code. All set. Now play your music and check that it's working. If everything is fine, good job! Go enjoy your new upgrade. If not, double check your steps. Maybe you missed something. Or maybe something is broken. I couldn't tell you. Thanks for reading and I hope this helps. Special thanks to WVUeers and 08CivicSiGG for the info on how to wire to the battery. Also Duce2k for some info about LOCs.
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