Thread: How to wire up my current system and what else do I need

Sounds like you have it all covered, nothing else needed. There are various other tricks you can do with the rear speakers, but what you propose is how a typical OEM radio is set up. If you wanted to create a matrix surround type of effect, maybe the soundcard drivers can do that.

Cool. Do I not need a cross-over? Not sure what it is actually used for :S

The only issue I see might be the electrical system of the Mini if you work those amps very hard. I'm guessing your alternator has an output of 65a or less and the one Kenwood amp is capable of drawing upwards of 40a all by itself plus you have a second amp plus the PC. If you don't crank the system for long periods of time, your likely OK. But if you want to have that Mini "bumpin" down the road, you may have to look at some electrical upgrades. When you get started putting it together be sure to start a worklog, we love worklogs here
They are located here: http://www.mp3car.com/worklogs/

Ditto.

I was going to suggest an upgrade to an alternator with an integral voltage regulator. (Forget old external regulators - even if electronic - they have too many issues.)

You should find many from the 1980s & 1990s that are suitable. The electrics is nothing - usually (preferable) just an S = Sense wire to the battery +12V, and an L = chargeLamp wire to the dash's charge lamp. (That can also energise a relay to interconnect 2 or more batteries if you decide to add them for your systems...)

It's the physicals that are the issue, but many have the same pivot radius and similar front-mount to center-of-belt offsets and similar "inter flange" mount distances - else can be shimmed etc.

I had to offset my mounting radius (older 1960s Jap vehicles) but can now chose a selection of modernish 75A to >100A alternators instead of my standard 23A-35A mechanical regulated alternators.


BTW - definitely upgrade your earth/ground wires as well as +ve distribution - see "The Big 3".
I also recommend a voltmeter to monitor across the battery. I prefer a 3-digit digital - backlit LCD else LED. (Forget ammeters!)

totally off topic but f-yeah! im looking forward to an old school install like tihs! can't wait to see a non touchscreen input.

have you ever thought about using a 1x20 vfd display?

Thanks guys for the replies!

My knowledge of car mechanicals is VERY limited so half of what you said OldSpark flew right over my head but some of it sunk in I bought the car from someone else a few years back and im pretty sure the alternator is not original as it looks very new. Im wondering if I could look for specs written on it for its amps output. Ill see in the morning. We have replaced and redone ALL the wiring in the car so im hoping it will be ok, I guess I will have to install it before these bugs appear. Since I have no remote lines from a head unit im going to be using a PIC and write some code to sense the ignition and turn on the amps followed by the pc to avoid this horrid thump everyone talks about

I bought a a barebone mini itx pc. It came in a very sturdy small black case, non-branded. Its got a separate power supply to provide the 12v it needs to operate similar to a laptop power brick. At first I thought I could bypass the adapter and wire 12 volts straight into the pc, but the mini has no sort of regulator so its basically coming straight off the battery which is more likely 14v so now im afraid this wont work. The power supply inside looks very similiar to the ones sold in the store for Car PCs. I just can't be sure. Maybe I can buy a universal car laptop charger and set it to 12v to power the pc..

I've never considered it Scott, what would be the advantages over a standard LCD with a HD44780? I like the HD44780 since its so easy to interface!

you might need to connect all the amps to the front(green) output. with only a 2 channel audio source, many boards will not output a signal on the rear, or center/sub jacks.

in this case, you would need to use a external crossover, or the crossovers on the amps to control the sound.

there are certain boards that are configurable, so in any case, check your board, and make sure of which direction you'll need to go

Originally Posted by ross135

...the alternator is not original as it looks very new. Im wondering if I could look for specs written on it for its amps output.

FYI - Keep in mind that more Amps is ok. You can't "push" Amps into a system as long as the voltage is compatible. (Like a huge lake/reservoir cannot overflow a tube-connected glass if the glass top is above the lake's water level.)
IE - for 12V vehicles, it doesn't matter if it's a 20A or 1,000A output alternator - it will regulate up to 14.4V (long-term; typically 14.0-14.2V; it used to be 13.8V) and the currents look after themselves.

Mind you, there might be issues with re-wound and super-huge alternators, but "standard" alternators designed for their outputs (whether 20A or 500A) should be fine.


Otherwise as long as your voltage regulator is built into the alternator rather than older vehicles that have the regulator separate to the alternator. (And provided it isn't a Lucas! Though Lucas were probably the first with integral regulators in the late 1970s. And not that I like Bosch either.)


Hopefully your rewiring will include blade fuses and plastic flinks (fuse-links) instead of the older glass or (perish the thought..) ceramic/Bosch fuses. And circuit breakers for headlights....
(Yes, there have been some wiring improvements except - in some cases - for the addition of flinks between the alternator and battery!)



PS...

Originally Posted by OldSpark

FYI - Keep in mind that more Amps is ok. You can't "push" Amps into a system as long as the voltage is compatible.

How obvious! We add bigger or more batteries and don't blow our equipment. Why would bigger alternators be different? (It's all about volts.)
I was preempting possible concerns...
I also have bad memories of multi PM exchanges involving thousands of words trying to convince someone of the same. (Another Aussie idiot who - after 4-5 pages of public forum exchanges - found that the first reply (mine!) was correct!. His car almost burnt in the process.)

Remember - our charging systems are constant voltage systems based on battery (voltage) requirements. The Amperes look after themselves (else the voltage drops).

Originally Posted by ross135

Cool. Do I not need a cross-over? Not sure what it is actually used for :S

a crossover is used to split up, or block certain audio frequencies from going to certain speakers.

a good example of this are these little tweeters:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=264-804

these are only designed for high frequencies, so they wouldn't be able to reproduce the very low rattle-your-trunk noise subwoofers are used for.

so you would use a crossover to block all the low frequencies that the speaker can't correctly reproduce.