Ram amp install

[2010 Infantry Vet]

So I installed my kicker KX650 4 channel component amp today...what a pain in the ass. Getting the speaker wire from the inside, and threw the doors was a nightmare. Total took about a day and a half.
If your thinking about installing your own amp, I reccomend paying someone.
I ended up doing the rear seat mod, and mounting the amp on the rear wall.
Amp is not small by any means. Just barely fit. I will post a pic tomorrow.

 

[JinxCanada]

you do know (well obviously not) that you could have just tapped into the speaker wires in the kick plates and B pillars rather than trying to get through the doors. Just so you know for next time. It honestly should be pretty easy unless you're doing an Alpine system. If you need more explanation let me know.

 

[adrianp89]

Yeah - you could have used 9 wire and got all the wire behind the head unit.... no need to run new speaker lines for that amp.

 

[adurm]

For future reference, a metal clothes hanger is a great wire guide. Just tape the end so its not so sharp. The driver side was my nightmare with that ebrake plate. Still easier than drilling out a Molex plug imo. But good job going the extra mile.

 

[2010 Infantry Vet]

200 watts requires between 14-16 gauge. With the amp being behind the rear seat, I had to run new wire anyway, and i didnt feel like splicing into the old speaker wire, and worrying about bad connections. I wanted it done right.
Not finished securing the wires and RCAs, and temporarily grounded the amp to the rear wall to make sure everything works before i put the back seat back in.

 

[2010 Infantry Vet]

you do know (well obviously not) that you could have just tapped into the speaker wires in the kick plates and B pillars rather than trying to get through the doors. Just so you know for next time. It honestly should be pretty easy unless you're doing an Alpine system. If you need more explanation let me know.

Im not a fan of connecting 14G wire to the tiny, brittle, crappy stock wiring. Tried it in the past and dont reccomend it. I prefer to do things the correct way.

 

[2010 Infantry Vet]

Yeah - you could have used 9 wire and got all the wire behind the head unit.... no need to run new speaker lines for that amp.

I tried using a coat hanger. Didnt help. The plastic piece attatched to the door the stock door wiring runs thru is tight, and has hard bends. I ended up having to cut the stock grommets to get the wiring threw. Glad its done. Next time i will pay someone.

 

[BWL]

I agree. You're running a bigger power amp it's worth running 14G from the amp to the speaker. Also less line loss from going the extra cable length to under the dash and then to the speakers. I would have done the same thing. On my 06 I drilled holes and put in new grommets and door looms rather than try to get through the factory one because of all the wires in the door harness.

 

[2010 Infantry Vet]

I agree. You're running a bigger power amp it's worth running 14G from the amp to the speaker. Also less line loss from going the extra cable length to under the dash and then to the speakers. I would have done the same thing. On my 06 I drilled holes and put in new grommets and door looms rather than try to get through the factory one because of all the wires in the door harness.

Wish I would have thought of that! Lol

 

[Witch]

How does it sound ?

 

[adrianp89]

Im not a fan of connecting 14G wire to the tiny, brittle, crappy stock wiring. Tried it in the past and dont reccomend it. I prefer to do things the correct way.

I am MECP certified with 10+ years of professional experience.... trust me you would have been fine and it would have been correct.

But for future reference - disconnect the molex plugs, unclip from the door/car, pull back the rubber grommet around them, use a long flat zip tie (1/2" wide, 2' long) to run the wire through each each grommet (one at a time). You can have all four doors done with panel removed and put back on and speaker install done in a hour. Your problem was trying to do it with the molex plug in place it sounds like.

 

[adrianp89]

Also the ground is poor ground. Go to the bottom of the chasis. Never ground to a portion of the car that has been welded on.

 

[2010 Infantry Vet]

I am MECP certified with 10+ years of professional experience.... trust me you would have been fine and it would have been correct.

But for future reference - disconnect the molex plugs, unclip from the door/car, pull back the rubber grommet around them, use a long flat zip tie (1/2" wide, 2' long) to run the wire through each each grommet (one at a time). You can have all four doors done with panel removed and put back on and speaker install done in a hour. Your problem was trying to do it with the molex plug in place it sounds like.

Thanks for the advice. Wish i would have thought of removing the molex plugs. Would have been much faster.

 

[adrianp89]

Thanks for the advice. Wish i would have thought of removing the molex plugs. Would have been much faster.

That is why people pay for experience! lol I often tell people they aren't paying me for an install, they are paying me for my knowledge and experience. The amount of tricks you pick up over the years is insane, and it's a lot of out of the box stuff you wouldn't normally come up with until you finally have enough of doing something the hard way.

 

[hunterco]

Yeah what Adrian said. These are actually really easy as far as door plugs go. They are nice and big with a lot of room on the bottom. I ran 2 16ga runs and still had plenty of room for a third if I wanted to move the 4” to the door.

 

[GRN69CHV]

Every time I've installed a bigger amp, I just reused the factory wiring. Once you cut off the very low frequencies the wattage that a speaker draws to produce any given sound level drops dramatically anyway. In basic systems that came with just door and dash speakers (the '15 Chevy Double Cab I just traded as an example), I added a 45x4 amp powering the doors and dash and a 10" sub powered by a 200watt amp. Doors were running a 60hz HPF. Not earth shattering power, but very loud and very clear. I'd bet those doors weren't seeing 30 watts rms at any given time.