1. Disconnect the negative terminal from your battery — this allows you to run power cable through the vehicle without risking a dangerous short circuit. Remove the red power wire from your amp wiring kit (usually 16-20 feet in length). Locate a hole on the firewall of your vehicle; most cars will have a predrilled hole you can use. If not, you'll have to find a good place to drill one — take care not to drill through a gas line or electrical wiring!

For example, in a Ford with an automatic transmission (like the car pictured), there's a plate that covers the clutch pedal opening — you can drill through this plate without hitting anything. Once you've found or drilled a suitable hole, run the power wire through the hole into the engine compartment. (Install a rubber grommet in the hole to prevent damage to the power cable.)

2. Find a good spot close to your battery to place your fuse holder (included in the kit) — you'll want the section of power line between the fuse and the battery as short as possible (less than 6" is best). Cut a short piece off the end of the power wire (to cover the distance from the battery to the fuse holder location), and strip the insulation off both ends with a wire stripper.

Crimp the terminal ring (included in the kit) on one end of the short piece of wire, and crimp the fuse holder to the other end. Strip the insulation off the end of the red power wire that leads into the passenger compartment, and connect it to the other end of the fuse holder. (Note: in some wiring kits, the power wire may already have an inline fuse holder installed.)

3. Connect the ring terminal to the battery, and anchor the fuseholder to a suitable spot with a self-tapping screw (smaller fuseholders may not have to be anchored). Thread the wire loom (included with some kits) over the red power cable until it reaches the firewall and cut to fit. Thread another piece over the short power wire running from the fuse holder to the battery.

4. Remove the radio from the dash to access the turn on wire (usually a blue wire). Strip the insulation off a small section of this wire coming from the radio (as pictured), wrap the blue turn on lead (included with the kit) around it, and solder it.

Wrap the exposed area with electrical tape to guard against a short. Using wire ties (included with the kit) to secure the wire, route the blue turn on lead behind your dash all the way over to the place where the red power wire comes through the firewall.

5. Connect the RCA patch cables (included with most kits) to your radio's RCA preamp outputs (tape them together so they don't come apart), and route the cable (again, using the wire ties) to the OPPOSITE SIDE of the vehicle from the power cable and blue turn on lead. It's important to separate the patch cables from the power wires to avoid potential noise problems. Partially reinstall the radio in the dash (not all the way, in case you have to fix a problem later).

6. Remove the door sill trim panel (it pops off on most vehicles, but check for screws before you try) on both sides of the car. Route the red power wire and blue turn on lead under the carpet down one side of the vehicle, the RCA patch cables down the other side. Replace the trim panels, and route the wiring along the rear side panels (there's usually a good place to tuck it away), around the sides of the rear seat, and into the trunk (or wherever you've decided to mount the amp).

7. Remove a bolt near the planned amp location. Crimp a ring terminal (included with kit) to the short piece of black ground cable (also in the kit), and then bolt the terminal tightly to the vehicle's metal chassis. Scrape away any paint and clean the bolt location thoroughly (improper grounding is the #1 cause of noise problems). If you can't find a convenient ground screw or bolt, drill a hole for one — be careful not to drill into the gas tank or a gas or brake line.

Amplifier

8. Mark off the amp's location on the seat back (or wherever it's going), also noting the location of the power connections, speaker outputs, and preamp inputs. Make slits in seat back fabric, and run the power, speaker, and RCA wiring under the material to the appropriate slits. A wiring snake (available at hardware and auto parts stores) is handy here — insert the snake through the slit and reach to the bottom of the seat, grab hold of the wiring with the snake's grips, and pull it through. (No wiring snake? A coat hanger will do in a pinch.)

9. Install grommets and terminals (included in wiring kit) at the ends of the power, ground, and turn on leads, and connect to the amplifier. Hook up speaker wire and RCA patch cables to the amp. Turn on the radio, and the amp should fire up. Start your car, rev your engine, and listen for any engine whine coming through the speakers. If there are no noise problems, reinstall the radio and mount the amplifier in place with dry wall screws (type of screw may vary according to the mounting location).

10. Connect speaker wires to the subwoofer box (or speakers). Adjust the gain controls on the amplifier according to the instructions in your manual. If you're hooking up a subwoofer, turn up the radio to a healthy volume level, and adjust the gain controls so the bass is well-matched to the full-range speakers. A test disc (or bass-heavy CD) is helpful for making final adjustments.

11. Put the seat back up, clean up the mess, and rock out! A Dynamat license plate kit will cure any case of rattling license plate caused by massive bass output!

For more amp installation info, see our Amplifier Installation Guide.