Quote:
Originally Posted by badninja99
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnung
Only you can decide if you are up for any task. Can't go by what someone else labels as "easy" or "difficult".
At first I talked to a few local car stereo shops. I had installed car stereos in other cars years ago but never touched a BMW. They all pitched that they had great experience but when I asked specific questions, they gave me answers that led me to trust them with my car less and less. They were all just going to tear apart my car trunk interior and wing it, and charge me a ridiculous amount of money. I decided that I could take my time and do a better job.
Instructions come with the AudioControl amplifier and a wiring diagram from Technicpnp that didn't come with the harness, but I contacted them through the website and they emailed it to me.
The BMW specific information I learned as I removed interior panels from inside my trunk to expose the HK amplifier in the left trunk alcove, the car battery in the right trunk alcove and the fuse box under the trunk floor panel that just lifts right up.
There is one BMW specific wire to run from the fuse box to the AudioControl amp to signal it to turn on/off with the car's ignition but that's plug and play by buying a couple small items from local stores. I can provide those details. And I have photos.
To wire everything in the trunk requires just a handful of items from the Internet and/or local stores like Lowe's, Autozone, Pep Boys, etc. Purists will tell you to solder everything, but you can buy/use simple crimp connectors.
Contact Technicpnp to get the latest wiring diagram for the harness and post a photo of it here. I've already posted a lot of detailed information on this installation but I haven't done it as step by step instructions. Maybe I'll try to write it up that way with the photos that I took.
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johnung I appreciate the help and the advice. How many spacer rings do I need? I ordered one pair(2 rings) do I need to order another?
I have spimp connectors and a crimper.
What other tools or parts will I need to complete the job?
Will I need to drill to hold the new amp in place?
I Just want to make sure I have everything to start this weekend
Here is the Diagram:
Attachment 2841183 |
I didn't have time to do a supper detailed installation guide but the attached photos show new wiring instructions and revised photos.
Buy full copper stranded wire. Watch out for cheap wire that's really aluminum with a copper coating. I got my best local price for some wire at Lowe's.
A couple items came from Amazon but I also found things locally at auto stores and Walmart.
Besides the Earthquake underseat subwoofer installation, everything is located in the trunk.
The AudioControl ACM-2.300 secondary amplifier gets installed on top of the cover for the BMW tool box in the right alcove of the trunk which is immediately above the car's battery.
All of the wiring runs begin in this area with connections from the AudioControl amplifier to:
1) Fused power supply wire to the car's wiring block next to the battery. See photos.
2) Ground wire connected to the car's ground wiring location between the battery and rear bumper. See photo.
3) On/Off trigger wire that connects to an Add-A-Circuit fuse that is connected to the car's fuse #146 in the fuse panel under the trunk floor panel.
4) Two pairs of speaker wire (4 wires total) that connect to the TechnicPnP harness (Connector "B") in the left trunk alcove which is connected to the HK amplifier. This connects the subwoofer speaker outputs from the HK amplifier to the LOC (Line Output Converter) that's built-in to the AudioControl ACM-2.300.
This is a special high voltage LOC because plugging in a low voltage LOC could damage the HK amplifier. Unlike many amplifiers, the HK amplifier does NOT have a line out connection to connect to a secondary amplifier. So the only way to obtain the subwoofer signals is to connect to the HK woofer speaker wires with a LOC between the HK and AudioControl amplifiers.
5) Two pairs of speaker wire (4 wires total) that connect to the TechnicPnP harness (Connector "A"). This delivers 150 watts each into 2 channels at 2-ohms from the AudioControl ACM-2.300 secondary amplifier to the car's stock underseat speaker wires that should now be connected to the upgraded Earthquake SWS-8Xi (2-ohm) underseat subwoofers.
It's best to buy 16g/18g copper stranded speaker wire that comes in a connected pair so that one wire is for speaker (+) and the other wire is for speaker (-). Be very careful to label the wires and jot down the colors of the wires at a) the underseat subwoofer connections, b) the TechnicPnP wiring harness, and c) the speaker wires connecting at the AudioControl amp. I did a table with three columns to make sure that the Left/Right speaker and +/- polarity were consistent in the connections.
Between the AudioControl ACM-2.300 and the TechnicPnP harness connected to the stock HK amplifier, there are (4) pairs for a total of (8) speaker wires running across the trunk floor (as per #4 & #5 above). To protect these wires I used cable ties to keep them in place. I ran them to the back of the trunk (nearest the bumper). It was simple to run them in the back corner of the trunk floor where the horizontal and vertical meet paralleling the bumper line. Then I ran a piece of duct tape to hold them in the corner. When the trunk floor panel goes on top, they are well protected.
This has been an overview. Please look carefully at the (14)attached photos for many more details.
Hope this helps!