Quick Run Down

Ok so just a little run-down of a stereo system. Surprisingly a lot of people dont know this, and rely completely on an installer to troubleshoot their system if something goes wrong. Hopefully at least one person will see this and will have a headache avoided (and save some $$$ and time).

First of all there's the Headunit. This is the radio/cd player/mp3 player/dvd player. All the audio signals come from this. Most have an internal amplifier already inside, usually connected to the stock car speakers with the wiring harness. The wiring harness is the plastic thing in the back of the headunit with all the wires coming out of it.

When you have external amplifiers, they are connected to the headunit using RCA cables. This basically sends the signal to the amplifier telling it what frequencies to play.

The external amps are then connected to speakers or subwoofers (a sub is really just a large low playing speaker) with speaker wire. The amplifier takes the signal and amplifies it (hence the name) and carries the signal to the speaker, giving it the appropriate power to drive it and create sound. When wiring a speaker to an amp, you need to make sure you have the proper impedance wired. Ill get into this more in the next post.

So the wiring should go something like:

Headunit----[RCA]----Amplifier---[Speaker Wire]----Speakers/Subwoofers

Theres more to it but thats the general gist of it.

Some things that can cause problems:

Loose/unsecured RCA cables - If your stock speakers work but your externally amplified ones dont, this may be the culprit. Make sure all RCAs are secured to both the headunit and the inputs on the amp.

Loose/unsecured ground - Make sure the amplifier's ground wire is secured tightly to the chassis of the vehicle. If it comes out youll break the electrical circuit running through and powering the amp, and get no output.

Loose speaker wire - Make sure the speaker wires are secured in the terminals of the amp and the speakers. Sometimes they like to come loose no matter how well we think we may have fixed them. Its always worth going over at least one extra time just to make sure.

There are also a few other variables, but there are the most common ones and easiest ones to fix.

First Post

Hey everyone, and welcome! Im going to start off by introducing my car stereo installation. This has been a huge hobby of mine for years, and I know more than a few people are impatiently awaiting my install log after a delay of a couple years lol. Anyways everything is going smooth so far, so expect more posts coming in the near future!