Amp/Sub Installation Guide (on factory HU)

[pirate0]

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.

[hieg]

I just did a very similar setup. I was trying to wedge in the remote wire to the "ACC" fuse and the "ACC socket" fuse but both of them turn on the amp even if the car is off, does anyone know another fuse or cable that will work for the remote?
The switch you have is a great idea but I think i might forget to turn it off when getting off the car.

[pirate0]

Yeah, I tried to connect it to a fuse, but it didn't work out that well. I'm sure you'd get used to turning off the switch though, especially if you mounted it in a easy to see area.

I've heard you can wire to a 12volt socket, dunno if it works or not though.

[bsbabcock]

Might help for you non-premium guys assuming the head unit does NOT have a remote turn-on 12v such as the premium unit which is how the premium turns on the oem amp.

I've seen guys in here tap into the fuse box to an accessory out.. Might work nicely as a turn on lead for your aftermarket amp.

Alternative is a think called a trunk-loc by pac which serves as a loc and also has a 12v out to turn on your amp.

nice diy!

[pirate0]

Originally Posted by bsbab****

Alternative is a think called a trunk-loc by pac which serves as a loc and also has a 12v out to turn on your amp.

nice diy!

That's actually the one I have. I hooked it up so that it was supposed to turn my amp on as per the directions, but the amp never turned off when I turned off the car so I just wired it with a switch. Maybe I just got a defective one, dunno.

And thanks.

[hieg]

Im using the Drivers power window fuse, turns on and off with the car and works fine

[stevyachshuv614]

CAR: 08' Civic, LX

ok! so I just spent 5 hrs on my installation (I can get meticulous about these things).

I am running the 12v power wire from the hood around drivers side through an plug i found in near a pedals. I continue it under the carpet to the center console and then run it under the center console, under the carpet going up into the seat (that move was real *****). i take it under the seat and into the truck and finally into the amp.

my ground is connected to this metal cross beam type thing which can be easily seen by just pulling out the caper in the trunk (there are two screws going into this beam and its located where the snaps for the carpet "click in."

I am using an LOC Rockford Fosgate® - IECAULOC, that one precisely and spliced it in with no problem and and then ran RCA's in my trunk from the LOC to the amp. I wired in the 10's and everything was set.

however, to avoid the power on\off problem temporarily i put a small wire looped from the remote to the 12v slots on the amp (i did this bc i was using this AMP inside at one point) and although the amp will now be "always on" bc of this, i just took out the fuse for the night and will cont. to until i decide if i want a switch or to try a splice.

I was very maticulous and worked slowly to make sure it was done right, the first time. I turned on my car and all looked well. windows worked. lights worked (including all dash lights), no funny crap on the dash like check engine etc.

OK! so now for my problems.
#1 did you people find that the LOC bass| treble was controlled by the HU bass| treble?
(when i turn the bass on the deck up, bass on subs goes up and when i turn bass down, subs bass goes down too... etc... i had assumed that the RCA out would not be controlled by the HU, am i missing something on my LOC settings? or is this just the way it is?

#2 for some strange reason (and this is why i gave the particulars of my procedures), when i turn the car off, and only when i turn my car off... totally (i.e. if accessories are on or if radio is off, but car is on, this does not occur) I GET REDICULOUSLY LOUD and annoying feedback... its like the bass is on full blast and its just feed back. this is causing me to leave the car on when i park, get out, pull the fuse and then turn off my car! PLZ HELP!

*** I was just wondering why splicing the remote wire into one of the rear channel speaker wires wouldn't work.... i dont wanna try it if im just wasting my time... please advise.

[sk8blink4life33]

Originally Posted by hieg

Im using the Drivers power window fuse, turns on and off with the car and works fine

K I don't know much about my cars electrical but how did you do this? d oyou simple place the wire in fuse box?

[stevyachshuv614]

Originally Posted by sk8blink4life33

K I don't know much about my cars electrical but how did you do this? d oyou simple place the wire in fuse box?

It really just is as crazy as it sounds. I actually found a magic fuse... #35, its the radio\acc fuse... so just strip your REM wire and then either (a) hold it in the empty fuse slot and then jam #35 back in over it or buy something called a "fuse piggy backer" or something from a car parts shop, its like a dollar, and it will let you attach it to that fuse in a cleaner more permanent way. right now im just jammed in myself.

[stevyachshuv614]

ok! so here is an interesting one. I am using a lightning audio 2 channel amp. i believe its the la1.150.2 and i just went to tune the gain and saw only 1 sub was bumping. i immediately thought, OH **** i must have blown one!, nope!
I switched the wires from the right sub to left and then it worked, PHEW, the sub is ok. but then why isn't the sound working?!

I thought maybe it would be an issue of the +/- but nope, flipping the left channel +/- wires does nothing.... so maybe the left channel outs are broken on my amp! "oh no!" im thinking, but then i did a bridge from the + (left) to the - (right) and that worked, so that leads me to think that the left channel is ok, unless specifically the - (left) is broken...

please advise on this issue as i would like to be able to use both subs!?
thanx!

** one thing i noticed and you should probably know was that when i plugged in the left + and right - to bridge, the bass did not hit as hard as when i just used the right channel to power one sub alone... so maybe the left terminal is fu*ked!?

right now im just running the right sub off of the right channel and disconnected the other wires. is this ok?

[BLACK_LX]

there is actually an easier way to piggy back a power wire for the REM wire... under the dash there is a cluster of wires coming from the fuse box.. open it up and look for a red or orange wire that are thicker than the rest... take a knife and make a small incision into the RED wire and force the REM wire into then you can wrap some electrical tape around it to seal it off

i attached a switch to it to turn my subs on and off for when my daughter is in the car as well which i twist-tied to the brake switch wiring

i used a high/low converter and quick-splices to the left
rear speaker to get the inputs for my amp


i ran the wire under the door sil paneling and tried to hide it all the way to the back

finished product with 90% wires hidden

[bitchigan]

I have a 2009 Civic LX sedan with a basic 4 speaker stereo. I want to add a blaupunkt powered 8 inch subwoofer under passenger seat for a little extra thump. I know I have to run a power wire to the battery...but how do I make the unit communicate with the stock, non-premium receiver? Is there a preamp out the back of the factory unit? Do I splice into one of the speaker wire sets?

[BLACK_LX]

Originally Posted by bitchigan

I have a 2009 Civic LX sedan with a basic 4 speaker stereo. I want to add a blaupunkt powered 8 inch subwoofer under passenger seat for a little extra thump. I know I have to run a power wire to the battery...but how do I make the unit communicate with the stock, non-premium receiver? Is there a preamp out the back of the factory unit? Do I splice into one of the speaker wire sets?

if u want to keep the factory unit you're gonna have to use a high/low converter which basically splices into any of your speakers and your speaker wire now becomes the input for the amp

[BLACK_LX]

i have a pic of my converter in my DIY

[Strate L O S S]

gotta say, these are some pretty ghetto setups and will eventually lead to problems, nice pics tho

Originally Posted by stevyachshuv614

ok! so here is an interesting one. I am using a lightning audio 2 channel amp. i believe its the la1.150.2 and i just went to tune the gain and saw only 1 sub was bumping. i immediately thought, OH **** i must have blown one!, nope!
I switched the wires from the right sub to left and then it worked, PHEW, the sub is ok. but then why isn't the sound working?!

I thought maybe it would be an issue of the +/- but nope, flipping the left channel +/- wires does nothing.... so maybe the left channel outs are broken on my amp! "oh no!" im thinking, but then i did a bridge from the + (left) to the - (right) and that worked, so that leads me to think that the left channel is ok, unless specifically the - (left) is broken...

please advise on this issue as i would like to be able to use both subs!?
thanx!

** one thing i noticed and you should probably know was that when i plugged in the left + and right - to bridge, the bass did not hit as hard as when i just used the right channel to power one sub alone... so maybe the left terminal is fu*ked!?

right now im just running the right sub off of the right channel and disconnected the other wires. is this ok?

a few things, your radio controls your amp settings because your are using a line out converter. therefore w/e signals your sending to your REAR speakers adjusting bass/trebel, your amp is recieving the same signal. if your amp had built in line connections i dont think this would be a problem, it wasnt for my kia a few years back.

also that loud thump thing your getting is either from the way your remote is connected and definately from an improper ground, you are hearing the power being thrown around to your speakers. next time your listening to the radio as your car is on, shutoff the car withoout opening the doors, put on the radio and see it if continues, if so just open the door the radio should shut off. if the sound goes away you have a bad remote, if it continues you have a bad ground.

as for your amp i think you have a dead channel, lightning audio and boss audio and all these brands are real shoddy quality and burn up from bad ground real easily


good luck with your install, i wish i had some pics for you, but my fg1 has the stock everything in it and all my input is from my previous cars and friends cars just dont want you to take it the wrong way

[Togish1]

Originally Posted by BLACK_LX

there is actually an easier way to piggy back a power wire for the REM wire... under the dash there is a cluster of wires coming from the fuse box.. open it up and look for a red or orange wire that are thicker than the rest... take a knife and make a small incision into the RED wire and force the REM wire into then you can wrap some electrical tape around it to seal it off

i attached a switch to it to turn my subs on and off for when my daughter is in the car as well which i twist-tied to the brake switch wiring

i used a high/low converter and quick-splices to the left
rear speaker to get the inputs for my amp


i ran the wire under the door sil paneling and tried to hide it all the way to the back

finished product with 90% wires hidden

not to burst ur bubble or anything, but u have dual voil coil subs...there not hooked up right from what i can see

[BLACK_LX]

Originally Posted by Togish1

not to burst ur bubble or anything, but u have dual voil coil subs...there not hooked up right from what i can see

blew a coil so i rewired and turned the power down... gettin mmats soon ^_^

[flushdereal87]

subscribed

[Emerican]

is this the same for a coupe? beacuse there is no way i can put anything through the plug i found for my coupe. It is really pissing me off aswell.

[CANTHONYMVE]

Does anyone know the part number for the factory radio wire harness???