novice needing advice on amp install please - United Bimmer Community

**320de46m47** · 11-26-2007, 11:58 AM

I have bought an Alpine MRV F400 V12 amp off fleabay and really dont know how to go about connecting it to my door speakers. I assume I must disconnect the speakers ISO plug from the back of the HU (Alpine CDA-9856R) and hook up to this? I cant be ahrsed with running wires through the door jam holes or should I? What gauge speaker wire, power cable etc do I need. im running standard speakers at the back (touring) and ive bought 2 morel pulse 6 speakers for the front doors. can that lot handle the alpine amp?
http://i18.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/a9/05/4c6d_1.JPG
also ..what on earth do i do with the 2 crossover boxes? duh!!

many thanks simon

**320de46m47** · 11-26-2007, 02:23 PM

i have literally been searching the web for hours and can find no reference to how one connects an aftermarket amp to door speakers via the detached ISO plug. seems to me all 8 connections are there in one handy place. do i really have to run a pair of wires into each door?

**elsabor67** · 11-26-2007, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 320de46m47

also ..what on earth do i do with the 2 crossover boxes? duh!!

You hook them up to the tweeter and woofer on the pic, DUH!!

Just Kidding............

Really, you need the crossover's to be able to get the most decent sound possible. Crossovers work by having set frequency cuts so your speaker or tweeter don't fry when you pump the music thru them (specially the tweeters).

If you want the amp to run your speakers,

yes, you have to connect the head unit to the amp by way of RCA cables. Your head unit should have RCA outputs in the back, and.......

yes, you have to run speaker wire from the amp to the crossover and then from the crossover to the speakers. You also want to make sure that you do not place the woofer and tweeter so far apart that the sound is not blending so it sounds natural(i.e, woofer in the kick panel and tweeter on the dash) Speaker wire gauge from 16-12 is fine for your speakers on the doors and panels since I don't think you will be pushing over 500 watts/channel to the speakers. Also depending on the output power on your amp you can go with a 10-8 gauge power and ground. Your ground cable should be short so you don't run the risk of feedback (noise) thru your stereo. I would not recommend though that you run your factory speakers off your amp. They are made to handle wattage from the factory headunit and not power from an aftermarket amp.

If you want, send me some pics on PM of what you want to hook up and I can do you up a diagram to help you out some. Good Luck

**Dudesky** · 11-26-2007, 03:05 PM

This won't be an easy job, especially for a novice. But if you really wanna give it a try, here ya go . . .

This is the basic configuration for the E36, but it may vary slightly through the years. You'll want to test and confirm connections carefully with a meter.

**320de46m47** · 11-26-2007, 03:07 PM

Thanks for the reply ...the first and Ive been posting this question all over the place and waiting and waiting and waiting!!
my question was really about connecting the door speakers to the new amp. i dont want to run new wires through the doors so i want to know if i can disconnect the 8 pin (4x2 wires for each speaker) ISO plug from the back of the head unit and connect the speaker wires from the new amp to this?

**320de46m47** · 11-26-2007, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dudesky

This won't be an easy job, especially for a novice. But if you really wanna give it a try, here ya go . . .

This is the basic configuration for the E36, but it may vary slightly through the years. You'll want to test and confirm connections carefully with a meter.

thanks for that but i think i havent made myself clear

i have an aftermarket alpine HU with 2 ISO connectors. one is for power the other speakers. its just simply a question of whether i can connect the speaker outputs on my new amp to the speakers in the four corners (ie 8 wires) via the speaker iso plug ...you know the 8 pin plug with green, green/black, white.white/black, gray.black/gray, yellow/black,violet wires

**320de46m47** · 11-26-2007, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elsabor67

If you want, send me some pics on PM of what you want to hook up and I can do you up a diagram to help you out some. Good Luck

many thanks will do

**320de46m47** · 11-26-2007, 03:59 PM

**elsabor67** · 11-26-2007, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 320de46m47

The amp you mention does not have connections for just connecting the factory cables coming out of the ISO plug, therefore, you have to use the head unit's preouts to connect to the amp via RCA cables. The crossovers go connected from the front output of the amp, then from the crossover you connect the front speakers (mid, tweet) to their respective connection on the crossover. Gimme a little time and I will have the sketch done for you by late evening (I'm in Germany) so you can understand better.

**320de46m47** · 11-28-2007, 02:47 AM

Hi there

Thanks for all the help!

Basically I'm wanting to connect the speakers via the ISO connector on the HU. The amp will be connected via the RCA cables. I suppose it might be considered cheating but I can't see how to run proper speaker wires into the door.

I envisage it like this finally (i bought the infiinity basslink powered sub which i want to add too)

**320de46m47** · 11-28-2007, 02:57 AM

does 16ga wire for the speakers and 8ga for power and ground sound right?

**elsabor67** · 11-28-2007, 03:49 PM

16 Gauge for speakers and 8 for Amp is good enough since you won't be pushing alot of wattage. I do recommend howeverthat you don't hook both the amp and headunit to power the speakers at the same time(distortion and eventual speaker failure can happen). If you are going to use the ISO plug to pass the sounds from the amp to the speakers, that won't be a problem. Make sure you know which ones are + and -.

That sketch is what I was planning on doing to send you. Good luck and shoot some pics as you go along. It could benefit alot of people here.

**320de46m47** · 11-29-2007, 02:30 AM

yes, no intention of connecting the speakers to the HU!

I think I'm almost there..
what size fuse goes on the Alpine amp?
the infinity basslink comes with its own so thats ok..

**elsabor67** · 11-29-2007, 02:55 AM

40 AMP from the battery to the amplifier should be good. On the amplifier itself, it should have at least 2-3 slots for blade fuses and they should be any where from 15-20 amp. Your best bet would be to do a search for the specs sheet of your amp online so you're on teh safe side.

**320de46m47** · 11-29-2007, 10:39 AM

many thanks!!!!!!
http://222.234.2.25:8081/board/PDS/d...400-manual.pdf.

this is the amp manual
im a bit confused with the choices
i have a speaker in each corner...is it best to go 4 channels?

speakers are all 4 ohms
i have 3 RCA outputs on the HU

oh hang on a minute 2 channel mode means mono right?

**elsabor67** · 11-29-2007, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 320de46m47

i have a speaker in each corner...is it best to go 4 channels?

speakers are all 4 ohms
i have 3 RCA outputs on the HU

oh hang on a minute 2 channel mode means mono right?

Yes, it is best to go 4 channels. That way you still have the capability to fade f/r and l/r. On the 3 outputs from the head unit you can run the amp and the basslink without having to worry of using the non fading preout from the amp. Your choice. And yes, 2 Channel mode is mono and you normally use it like that when running subs because your power doubles.

**320de46m47** · 11-29-2007, 01:17 PM

these are the speakers going into the front doors
http://www.rmdaudio.co.uk/item--More...-0044-006.html
at the moment im planning on using the existing bmw speakers in the back although i have no idea of their handling ..?

can anyone tell me what these are for in laymans language?

**320de46m47** · 11-30-2007, 02:58 PM

I have the above question answered so please ignore

BUT ive got another question about my infinity basslink which arrived today
http://manuals.harman.com/INF/CAR/Ow...sLink%20om.pdf

its a powered single subwoofer and amp all in one plastic box
thing is it has 4 RCA inputs (front left and right and rear left and right) the manual says these are there for head units with "four line level (RCA) outputs" why on earth do i need 4 RCA inputs for one speaker?

it then says you use only front left and front right for headunits with 2 dedicated subwoofer RCA outputs which makes more sense i think.

my head unit has three pairs of RCA outputs the first pair are labeled "front" the second pair are labeled "rear" and the third pair are labeled "subwoofer".

does this then mean i effectively only have 2 subwoofer outlets and i should follow the wiring plan for HUnits that have 2?

what about using the 2 RCA (right/left) outputs on the alpine amp to provide a signal to the Infinity basslink? good idea? they are not labelled subwoofer as the HU outputs are

I just do not understand this at all

why would i connect speaker AND line level inputs to a subwoofer?

CONNECTING BASSLINK TO:

1.Head units with dedicated subwoofer outputs
(line-level): Connect the subwoofer output from
the head unit to either the front or rear line-level
inputs.

2.Head units with four line-level (RCA) outputs:
Connect the four line-level outputs to the four
line-level inputs on BassLink.

3.Head units with two line-level outputs and two
(or four) speaker-level outputs: Connect the two
line-level outputs from the head unit to either
front or rear line-level inputs on BassLink.
Connect two speaker-level outputs from the
head unit to the Universal Interface inputs on
BassLink, which correspond to the unused linelevel
inputs.

4.Head units with four speaker-level outputs:
Connect the four speaker-level outputs from the
head unit to the four Universal Interface inputs
on BassLink.

5.Head units with only two speaker-level outputs
or two line-level outputs: Connect the two
outputs to either front or rear inputs of
corresponding type.

No 3 . confuses me!

**elsabor67** · 11-30-2007, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 320de46m47

I have the above question answered so please ignore

BUT ive got another question about my infinity basslink which arrived today
http://manuals.harman.com/INF/CAR/Ow...sLink%20om.pdf

its a powered single subwoofer and amp all in one plastic box
thing is it has 4 RCA inputs (front left and right and rear left and right) the manual says these are there for head units with "four line level (RCA) outputs" why on earth do i need 4 RCA inputs for one speaker?

it then says you use only front left and front right for headunits with 2 dedicated subwoofer RCA outputs which makes more sense i think.

my head unit has three pairs of RCA outputs the first pair are labeled "front" the second pair are labeled "rear" and the third pair are labeled "subwoofer".

does this then mean i effectively only have 2 subwoofer outlets and i should follow the wiring plan for HUnits that have 2?

what about using the 2 RCA (right/left) outputs on the alpine amp to provide a signal to the Infinity basslink? good idea? they are not labelled subwoofer as the HU outputs are

I just do not understand this at all

why would i connect speaker AND line level inputs to a subwoofer?

CONNECTING BASSLINK TO:

1.Head units with dedicated subwoofer outputs
(line-level): Connect the subwoofer output from
the head unit to either the front or rear line-level
inputs.

2.Head units with four line-level (RCA) outputs:
Connect the four line-level outputs to the four
line-level inputs on BassLink.

3.Head units with two line-level outputs and two
(or four) speaker-level outputs: Connect the two
line-level outputs from the head unit to either
front or rear line-level inputs on BassLink.
Connect two speaker-level outputs from the
head unit to the Universal Interface inputs on
BassLink, which correspond to the unused linelevel
inputs.

4.Head units with four speaker-level outputs:
Connect the four speaker-level outputs from the
head unit to the four Universal Interface inputs
on BassLink.

5.Head units with only two speaker-level outputs
or two line-level outputs: Connect the two
outputs to either front or rear inputs of
corresponding type.

No 3 . confuses me!

WOW, this is long, but i'll keep it short.

You can use the sub output for your basslink from your head unit. You will use your front and rear for your alpine and use the sub out for the basslink. The speaker levels are for when your head unit does not have rca preouts. If you connect the output from the amp to the basslink, you will not be able to adjust the sub level and crossover settings on the radio. Go the simple route.

**320de46m47** · 11-30-2007, 03:53 PM

ah i see but what does no 3 mean ? it refers to using bothe speaker level and RCA?