Automotive topics, like no other, are especially close to most of the male population of our vast Motherland. Many of us spend a lot of time and money, bringing our "iron friend" to the highest possible perfection. This is especially true when it comes to car music and acoustics. In addition, we always want to try to somehow save money by doing at least part of the work with our own hands. Especially since everyone is doing something for the first time. But once again we remind you that it is better to measure seven times before doing something. This approach will save you a lot of time and money.
Today we will talk about how to connect an amplifier in a car. We believe that this topic will be of interest to you.
Assume that you have already managed not only to choose the right model, but also to clear a place for installation in your car. Now we have to dogood wiring to power the amplifier, then connect it to the acoustics, and also throw the cable to the radio itself. However, let's talk about everything in more detail.
Powering the amplifier
Newbies who encounter car audio for the first time are amazed to the core by the thickness of the wires, which is rarely seen in everyday life (well, unless you are used to using welding machines or something similar in your work - then you parameter will not surprise).
Contrary to common misconceptions, amplifiers consume a decent amount of current from the on-board network. So, a four-channel device of 50 W per channel will consume almost 17 A. Not bad, isn't it? Of course, for the power supply, you will have to use wires with a really large cross section. So before connecting the amplifier in the car, visit speci alty stores.
Classic
Let's analyze the classic connection scheme. In this case, the wiring is directly connected to the car battery. It's no secret that in most cases the battery is under the hood, while the amplifier is located inside the car. Accordingly, the positive cable goes through almost the entire interior of the car. Therefore, it is extremely important to protect the wiring with a high-quality fuse, and it should be located no further than 30 cm from the battery.
So before you connect the amplifier in the car, also visit the electronics store and buy a normalfuse.
A little about isolation
Also, don't forget to additionally insulate the cable, since 17 A jokes are bad. Particular care should be taken to protect the place between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment, since the cable is very often frayed there. As a rule, there is a rubber gasket here, but there are exceptions. If this is the case, it does not hurt to use plastic bushings made of durable and thick enough plastic. Responsibly approach this issue, since it is clearly not worth letting a bare frayed cable into the metal of the body!
The wire must also be pulled through the cabin, preventing it from falling under its moving parts. There have been cases where people have run a cable under the seat skis. What consequences this may lead to, you can think for yourself. So how to connect an amplifier in the car?
Choose cable
Don't forget the golden rule: the fewer connections, the more secure! The abundance of wires with different cross-sections is fraught with high energy losses, and from the point of view of fire safety, this does not look the best way.
In addition, the cross section of the negative wire must be equal to that of the positive cable. The current in the network is one, its value is constant. If the wires have a different cross section, they will overheat, which again is fraught with a fire in the car.
Recall again that thin cords mean high resistance. In no case do not skimp on the cables that go from the battery to the amplifiers, as we have alreadythey talked about the strength of the current that passes through them.
A little bit of physics and mathematics
First, let's check what is the maximum current consumption of the amplifier you are using. To do this, look at the fuse (or fuses). Suppose that your amplifier can theoretically withstand 100 A at once. It is better to place it in the trunk. For a typical passenger car, it is preferable to take at least five meters.
I=100 A; L=5 m.
Even with the maximum use of current, the voltage drop at the positive end of the wire should not exceed 0.5 V. Recall the simplest school formula for calculating resistance, after which we carry out a simple calculation:
R common=U/I=0.5V/100A=0.005 ohm.
Thus, the resistance of the cable should not exceed 0.005 ohm. Since we plan to use five meters at once, it is necessary to calculate the resistance in a segment of a meter:
R Meter=R Common/ L=0.005 / 5=0.001 Ohm.
As you can see, we need a wire with a linear resistance not higher than 0.001 Ohm/m. And now you can take the catalog of any manufacturer, and then choose something suitable.
Connect cable
After you lay the wire in the cabin, you can connect it to the positive terminal of the amplifier. The negative cable is connected directly to the body, and for this you need to use an instance with the same cross section as the positive one. In no case do not resort to the help of self-tapping screws! It can be fixed only with bolts, and the connection point must be of the highest qualityclean from traces of paint and other contaminants.
The positive wire from the battery should be connected to the +12V terminal, and the negative wire to GND (ground). Before connecting the amplifier to the radio, find the remote contact, because it is designed to hook the wire that just comes from it. It is in it that those same 12V appear, and therefore the radio tape recorder can control the functions of the amplifier. Most often, this cable is blue (or blue with a white stripe). It would be nice to install a capacitor in the system as well.
We pull the cable from the radio
We continue to analyze the question: "How to connect an amplifier to the radio?" Now we need to lay a cable through which the signal will go from the player to the amplifier. It usually comes from the Line Out, indicated by the bells on the rear panel.
Please note that radios of different models and from different manufacturers may have a different number of line outputs. Most often there are three pairs, but in professional players there are more. These are the following outputs: Front, Rear and Sub, designed to connect front, rear sound systems, as well as a subwoofer. Which one you need depends on which car amplifier you purchased.
All this is connected by an interconnect cable, which is distinguished by reinforced shielding. In fact, the choice of such a wire is quite drawn to the topic of a separate article, so in ours we will limit ourselves to one piece of advice. By no meanssave on it, purchase products only from well-known and reliable suppliers.
Before you connect the amplifier to the car radio, it will not be superfluous to also read the instruction manual. This will help you avoid many problems.
Connect the cable to control the amplifier
We have already said that it is necessary to lay wires to control the amplifier itself. By the way, it is advisable to do this by laying the interconnect wire. Moreover, in many models there is a special cable for this purpose. At one end it is attached to the amplifier (again, we remind you that it is painted blue or blue-white), and the other - to the radio. Tip: when buying an amplifier in a car, be sure to purchase all the wires with it, as it is better to immediately consult the seller about them.
It is not necessary to buy a large cable, as it will carry very small currents.
Very important notes
Extremely important note: in no case lay the interconnect wire near the power cables! For example, if the power wiring is on the right side of the cabin, then the control wires should be on the left, as long as possible from the power!!!
In addition, you can stretch them under the floor mats, as in this case the maximum probability is created not to “catch” interference. If you decide on the world's stupidity, laying all the wires back to back, then when the engine is running, you will listen to cods, howls and other noises in the speakers. Any other way thancompletely redo all the work, in this case will not. Since connecting an amplifier to a car is a long and tedious job, you should not rush.
In especially severe cases, the wires do have to be pulled under the ceiling, masking them under the upholstery. This is especially true for ultra-modern cars, which are literally "stuffed" with all sorts of electronics. In this case, there is so much interference that sometimes you have to use special shielding.
Differences in connecting different types of amplifiers
If you are installing a two-channel amplifier, then you need a similar interconnect cable. If four-channel - a pair of double wires, or a special four-channel.
And how to connect the amplifier to the radio, if it has only a couple of linear outputs, and the amplifier itself is four-channel? In this case, special Y-adapters (splitters) can help you. The cunning Chinese have created a device that gives a pair of outputs for each input. Thus, from one stereopair we get two at once. Fine, don't say anything. Of course, you should not do this with acoustics of the highest price category, since the sound quality is noticeably reduced.
There is another way. All normal models of modern amplifiers (Audison, for example) are equipped with an internal parallel distribution of inputs. In a word, in this case, you will not need any splitters.
If your radio has no line outputs at all, then it can be connected to the speakers directly (highlevel). Almost all normal devices nowadays have corresponding terminals (Hi level input). For connection, the most ordinary speaker wires are used, and it would be better not to mix up the poles.
Connect a single-channel amplifier (aka monoblock)
Single-channel amplifiers have only one function - connection to a subwoofer. They have a very decent power, and also have the ability to work under low-resistance loads. What is it, by the way? In conventional car acoustics, the impedance is only 4 ohms, and all other equipment has much lower characteristics (3 ohms, 2 ohms, 1 ohms). This is called a low-resistance load. All of these amplifiers are Class D.
Today they all have a built-in LPF filter that cuts all frequencies above those that you set as maximum for the subwoofer. The scheme of its connection is outrageously simple. Subwoofers are connected in parallel or in series, or only one speaker is mounted. It is possible to connect even more than two woofers in parallel at once, but it is important to consider that not all subwoofer models can cope with a significantly increased impedance.
Let's give the most simple and common installation scheme. The linear signal from the radio goes to the amplifier, is summed up and amplified. Refer to your manufacturer's instructions for the wiring diagram for control and transmission wires.
How to connect a two-channel amplifier?
And now we will learn how to connect the amplifier to the radio, if it is a two-channelmodel. Devices of this type are for many a launching pad in the world of car audio. This is explained not only by low cost, but also by simplicity. These amplifiers are often used to connect to a front speaker system or subwoofer. Let's talk about each of these options.
Connecting front speakers
If you plan to use the amplifier to "drive" the front or rear speakers, it is connected in stereo mode. So, how to connect a two-channel amplifier?
The signal is either low or high. It is advisable to connect a low-pass filter (HPF), which is especially important for this installation scheme. In this case, the load on each amplifier can reach up to 2 ohms. Thus, one 4 ohm speaker system can be hung on each channel.
Connecting a subwoofer
Very often there is a device connected by the so-called "bridge" option. Before connecting a subwoofer to an amplifier, make sure the device is “fresh”: almost all new models use this mode perfectly. Accordingly, their instructions contain detailed diagrams that clearly demonstrate where and how to connect the positive and negative wires. In this case, the power is summed up, and the sound is richer and richer.
In addition, there are icons on the rear panel indicating connectors for the power cable, grounding cable, as well as a compartment for wires to the speakers. It's easy to understand. Here's how to connect a sub to an amplifier. Nottoo problematic, isn't it?
Other models have a special switch that can be used to switch equipment to mono mode. Very important: when using the bridge mode, remember that in this case, almost all "amps", with rare exceptions, will not work under a load of less than 4 ohms! Before connecting the subwoofer to the amplifier, the LPF must be turned on on the latter. Otherwise, all frequencies above 50-100 Hz will go to the subwoofer, and this will hopelessly ruin the sound. This will certainly not please even people who are not all right with an ear for music.
Four channels
And how to connect a 4-channel amplifier? In general, and in this case there is absolutely nothing complicated. We pull the positive cable from the battery, following the instructions described above (we take the wire thicker and as high quality as possible).
There should be four line outputs on the radio (RCA - tulips). If there are 2 of them, we buy a splitter, which we have already talked about above. Linear connected to the player and amplifier. If you are going to connect the amplifier to the standard radio, do not forget to disconnect the battery, as you can burn the fuses. Then the control cable (remote) is pulled between the audio recorder and the amplifier. As we have already said, it is very thin and in dire need of high-quality shielding. Then the acoustics are connected, it is configured.
How to connect a single-channel amplifier?
This kind of technique is the actual connection in one housing of single and dual channel models. Accordingly, to himyou can connect several subwoofers, and “hang” front and rear speakers on the remaining outputs (marked with the corresponding icons).
How to mount multiple amplifiers?
And how to connect two amplifiers? If you plan to install several units of this nature in the car at once, there are two ways to do this. The first is to simply run one thick cable from the battery, and then run current through the splitter to the amplifiers. Note! If the wires are longer than 40 centimeters, and also have a smaller diameter (compared to the main cable), then it is extremely important to protect them with fuses.
Option number two. Pull as many wires from the battery as you have installed amplifiers. Despite the apparent technological complexity of such a solution, in practice it is not so scary. The fact is that it is much easier to throw a couple of relatively thin wires than one thick one. And most importantly: in this situation, you only need to think about how to connect 2 amplifiers. And you don't have to worry about fuses at all.
Pull the wires to the speaker system
Let's talk about the features of connecting amplifiers and speakers. As we have repeatedly mentioned, this requires the use of special wires. They can be pulled without fear of interference from other electronics in the car. But on crossovers it’s quite possible to catch acoustic “picks”, so the cable should be placed as far as possible from the sourcespossible interference.
There is only one difficulty. It's about pulling the cable through the door. So how do you connect an amplifier to speakers? In most cases, manufacturers do not forget about consumers, leaving special connectors for laying cable channels or embedding rubber sleeves under them. But often this kind of gifts from the auto industry is not expected, and therefore additional holes have to be drilled.
Don't forget to remove the battery terminals before work!
Other tips
If you carefully read the article, you probably saw more than once the mention of fuses. Which models are best to use to protect the system?
The head unit can be protected from burning with a conventional fuse box. Since it is located directly under the hood, it is necessary to buy a holder in the most moisture-resistant design. For medium power systems, AGU type fuses are excellent, having a characteristic appearance resembling large round cones.
But it is much more expedient to protect powerful acoustic systems with ANL elements (they are flat, in the form of tablets). As an alternative to such devices, you can take circuit breakers that will immediately de-energize the system in the event of a short circuit or a sharp increase in voltage. By following these tips, you will keep your equipment in top condition!
So we looked at how to connect an amplifier to speakers. Read the instructions carefully and choose the right wires! Good luck!
