Here's a look at the installation process of a Kicker 100 watt amp. This is the perfect amp for someone looking for something basic that will add some extra power to your system.
The amp is a class D amp, and is stable at 1, 2, or 4 ohms. At 1 ohm it will put out 100 watts RMS, which is plenty of power for a single 10 or 12" inch sub (Unless you are a bass head, but then why would you even buy a 100 watt amp?) Typically the power of the amp decreases the higher the ohms are. The ohm of your sub can usually be found on the back of the sub on the magnet. So the key to any class D amp is low ohm loads. To get the most out of this amp you will want to hook it up to a 1 ohm load.
Please Read All The Way
Before Starting Installation:
The first thing I did was stip a little of the insualation off the end of each of the wires so it looks like it does to the right. Upon inspecting the amp you will notice this amp does not have RCA inputs as some amps do. |  |
This amp receives its musical signal from the speakers. So in the picture above you see the green and grey wires coming out of the wiring harness, one solid of each color and one with a black line of each. This is where I will hook up the speaker wire to in later steps. I first though run the speaker wire under the panels of the car to where the speakers are located and the other end where I want to install the amp. I always make sure I have more than enough length of wires. |  |
After I ran the wire from both speakers to the location I wanted to mount my amp, I attach the speaker wire to the terminals on the back of my speakers as pictured. I attached the 2nd pair of cables and installed the speaker wire right under the original pair. |  |
Now the amp needs power. I used a 10 gauge amp kit for installing this amp. I have heard of people running this directly to the back of the deck for power but I install them with a amp kit. Make sure you have a fuse on the power wire located within a foot of the battery. I used a 15 amp fuse The power is the RED WIRE.
I also need to get a solid ground for the amp. The metal body of your car is a ground so any part of the car that shows metal will most likely make a good ground. I usually us a seat belt bolt or seat bolt, but you want to make sure the ground is good. I usually scratch some of the surface paint away with a chisel or screwdriver to expose the bare metal. I am always very careful when I drill in a car as I always want to know what is on the other side of the panel I am drilling. Gas tank, brake line, etc. Again I use 10 Gauge ground wire for the ground. The ground is the BLACK WIRE.
Now that I have all of these wires going to where we want the amp installed, and can verify that they are all long enough to reach the desired location we will want to connect the wires we ran in the car to the amp. To do this I used barrel connectors, his will crimp the wires together. |  |
Now hook up the gray and black wires to the sub terminals. Black is negative, gray is positive. |  |
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This is meant for illustration purposes only. If you are unfamiliar with installing electrical components we recommend contacting your local professional car stereo shop.
Thanks
