How To Add Amplifer To Honda Accord 2004

How to connect an amplifier to a factory stereo

Tips for using your motorcar'south mill wiring

Factory stereo speaker wires

Adding an amplifier to a factory stereo often requires running a lot of new speaker wire — from the stereo to the amplifier and then from the amp to the speakers. This tin can feel similar an impossible nightmare. Fortunately, nosotros have a mode to make it a lilliputian easier.

Notation: This article explains how to connect an amplifier to a factory stereo system that does not include a manufacturing plant amp. A Crutchfield article almost connecting an amp to a mill-amplified organisation will become available soon.

If you lot have an aftermarket stereo, you'll utilise a set of RCA cables instead of one of the nine-wire cables below. Refer to our commodity about calculation an amp to an aftermarket stereo for more details.

Crutchfield 9-wire speaker cable

Multi-usher cable to the rescue

Usually, y'all'll be installing a four-channel amplifier with speaker-level inputs. The best fashion to connect it to a manufacturing plant organisation is to tap into the stereo's speaker outputs for the amp'south input bespeak. Then send the amp'due south outputs back to the stereo's harness, and on to the speakers through the factory wiring.

"All-in-ane" Crutchfield 9-wire speaker cable makes this easier by including the wiring for 4 speakers and an amp plough-on atomic number 82 all in one cable. Run two of these cables from the nuance to your new amplifier. Y'all'll need ane for the amp's input and the other for its output. These cables will human action like a "T-harness" to connect your amp to the factory organization.

Remove the radio to go to the factory wiring

Behind the factory radio, you lot can access all of the speaker wires in one identify. The radio'south wiring harness delivers power to the radio and sends its output to the speakers. You'll need to place which wire goes to which speaker. Positive leads are usually solid-colored wires, while their accompanying negative leads tend to be the same colour with a stripe of a 2nd colour.

Please exist aware that these wiring colors vary widely from i automobile to the adjacent. If you buy your new gear from Crutchfield, our Tech Back up team can look up the wire colors for you. Give the states a telephone call before you tear apart your dash, so you'll know what to expect.

Connect the wires

Once yous've identified each of the eight speaker wires, cut each 1. Connect the terminate coming from the radio plug to a new wire going to the amp'due south input. Connect the cease going to the speakers to the advisable wire coming from the amp'south output.

That ways yous'll apply two of the nine-wire cables, one for the amp'due south input, the other for its output.

Amp wiring with 9-wire cable

Amplifier in/out via nine-conductor cables get to the right, radio plugs in at summit, and vehicle wiring goes left. (Even with my challenged eyesight and shaky hands it but took me about xl minutes to wire this harness for illustration.)

Forget the turn-on lead

Amplifiers that have speaker-level inputs likewise characteristic "signal-sensing turn-on." The amp turns on when an input betoken is present. This means y'all don't apply the 9th wire (the blue wire) of either cable for this installation.

Something you may need

Sometimes after you cut the factory speaker wiring, the radio will shut down, because it can't notice any speakers connected to it. To solve this outcome, y'all must install a load generating device on each output channel, so the radio volition operate properly.

Adept installation tip

Before you run these two 9-wire cables through your car, marking both ends of one cable with a piece of electric tape. That way, one time the cables are in place, you'll know which of those cables is for the amp inputs and which is for the amp outputs.

Some products to assist you do information technology

Our favorite option is the Crutchfield ix-wire cable shown above considering each fix of speaker wires is color coded. We also carry a selection of highly conductive, pure copper speaker wire, available past the foot, if you prefer that.

A multi-pack of Posi-Products Car Stereo Connectors could come up in handy hither. Y'all tin can make all the speaker connections without having to solder or crimp anything. One package will cover this task and requite you lot a few spares.

PAC Audio offers a few vehicle-specific T-harnesses that'll help you add together an amplifier to a select number of vehicles with non-amplified factory stereos. 9-wire cable will likewise come in handy for these installations, in guild to connect your aftermarket amp's inputs and outputs to the arrangement.

High power amps demand bigger wires

For amps with more than 75 watts RMS of output per channel, it might exist better to go ahead and run new 14- or 16-estimate speaker wires straight from the amplifier to each speaker.

Manufactory speaker wires are very thin, with high electrical resistance. They can cause noticeable power loss when college wattages attempt to get through. Just amplifiers of 75-watts or less aren't really affected by this. Running their output through factory wiring remains a practical and convenient solution.

Line output converters

Another pop manner to connect an amplifier to a factory radio is to use something called a line output converter. It connects to the factory radio'due south speaker wires and converts the speaker-level signal to a preamp-level signal. This lets yous use RCA cables to run that signal to your amplifier.

AudioControl LC6iB line output converter

A line output converter offers some advantages, like the ability to sum and command signals of a multi-channel factory organisation. So if yous're upgrading a complex system, using a line output converter might be your best option. The speaker wire solution nosotros've shared here is a simpler, less-expensive culling that will work for most people. Read more than virtually line output converters.

Allow u.s.a. know what you demand

This article focused on a way to simplify the speaker connections. For data about other aspects of amplifier installation, like ability and ground wiring, cheque out our Amplifier Installation Guide.

If you have any questions about connecting a new amplifier to your speakers, contact our advisors via chat or phone. They'll have the time to respond your questions and explicate the details, then become you gear up with whatever you need.