Autotek ATA800.2 - General Installation Procedure

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GENERAL INSTALLATIONPROCEDURE

SystemDesign

Thesuccessofanycarstereosystemreliesonseveralfactors,suchasthesystemdesign,executionoftheinstallation,andsystemsetup.Please

rememberthatanysystemisonlyasgoodasitsweakestlink.

Pleaserememberthathigherpowersystemsarenotnecessarilyusefulpurelyforhighsoundpressurelevels,butalsotoestablishaheadroomcapability,to

reproducemusicalpeakscleanlywithoutdistortion.Lowerpoweramplifierswillclipearlierthantheirmorepowerfulcousins,andcauseloudspeakerfailurewhen

overdriven,duetotheharmonicsgeneratedbyaclippedsignal,thusoverheatingvoicecoils.

Amplifiersshouldbemountedwiththefinsrunninghorizontallyforbestconvectioncooling,tominimizeoverheating.PurchasethebestqualityRCA cablesyoucan

afford,forreliabilityandlessenginenoiseinterferenceintheaudiosystem.

General:

Powerandgroundconnections :

TIP:

Safeconnectionsequence:

Powerupthesystem:

RunthewiringsothatRCA cablesareatleast18“ awayfrompowerandspeakercables.KeepRCA cablesawayfromelectricaldevicesinthevehiclethatcancause

electricalnoise,suchaselectricfuelpumps,emissioncontrolmodulesandotheron-boardelectronicmodules.

Useasufficientgaugepowercableandgroundcableusingthechartbelowasreferencetowhatsizewireyourequire.StreetMachineseriesamplifiersrequireat

least4gaugepowerwire.Inamultiamplifiersystem,addthetotalvalueofthemanufacturerecommendedfusingtogetyourtotalsystemamperage.Some

applicationsmayrequiremultiplerunsofpowerwiretomeetthesystemrequirements.Inmultiamplifiersystemsitisadvisabletomountalargeenoughfuserightat

thebattery,andrunoneormultiple+12voltpowercablestoafuseddistributionblockneartheamplifiers.Itisthenasimplemattertoconnectthe+12voltterminalof

eachamplifiertothedistributionblock.Duringthisprocess,pleaseensurethatthemainpowerfuseisremovedtoavoidshortingtheelectricalsystem. Themainfuse

mustbewithin12” ofthevehiclesbattery.

Groundeachamplifierwithasshortagroundleadaspossibledirectlytothevehiclechassisusingatleast4gaugewireorequivalenttothesizeoftheamplifiers’

powerwire.Useagrounddistributionblock,ifyouwish,butitisextremelyimportanttokeepthemaingroundleadfromthisdistributionblocktothechassisasshort

aspossible,notmorethan12“. Thegroundconnectionintegritytothechassisisveryimportant,andthebestwaytoachieveagood,solidelectricalandmechanical

contactistousealargeroundcrimplug,crimpedandsolderedtothegroundcable. Thenextstepistoscrapethepaintoffthevehiclechassis,slightlylargerthan

thegroundlug,attheconnectionpoint.Drillaclearanceholeinthechassis,thesamesizeasthelughole,anduseabolt,springwasherandnuttosecurelyfasten

thegroundlug.Usepetroleumjellytocoatthebolt/lugconnection,topreventoxidizationwithtime.

Usethesameapproachwheninstallingheadunits,equalizersoranyaudioequipmentforthatmatter-runshortindividualgroundsfromeachpiecedirectlyto

thevehiclechassis,tominimizegroundloopsandsystemnoise. Allpower,groundandspeakerconnectionsshouldbecrimpedandsolderedforreliability.Makesure

thatnoneofthecableinsulationcanchafeagainstexposedmetalinthevehicle,causingshortcircuitstothechassis.

Afterallcablesarerun,connectspeakerwirestothespeakersandamplifiers,thenrunandpluginRCA cables.Next,connectallpower,ground,andremoteturnon

leads.Nowconnectall+12voltcablestotheamplifier/sanddistributionblocksandfuseholders.Finally,connectthemain+12voltcabletothebattery,withthemain

fuseremoved,andwearealmostreadytopowerupthesystem.

Thefollowingproceduremayseemlikeoverkill,butthereisnothingmorefrustratingwhenturningonasystemforthefirsttime,anditdoesnotworkproperly

immediately.

First,makesuretheheadunitisoff,andturnalllevelcontrolstominimum(counterclockwise),includingtheheadunitvolumecontrol.Setallequalizersto0dB(no

boost),andallcrossoverfrequencycontrolsatapproximatefrequencies,asrecommendedbytheloudspeakermanufacturer.Setallinputselectorandcrossover

switchesasrequiredfortheapplication.Removeallamplifierfuses,andinsertthemainfuseatthebattery.Ifthefusedoesnotblow,youcaninsertthefuseinoneof

theamplifiers,andwearereadytoturnonthesystem. Turntheheaduniton,insertaCD,orselectaradiostation,andincreasetheheadunitvolumecontrol.Ifthe

systemsoundsfine,turnofftheheadunit,andinstallfusesintheremainingamplifiers,onebyone,tillthecompletesystemispoweredupandfunctioningproperly.

(seethefeaturesmatrixonpage7forpropergaugecablesperamplifier)

NOTE:ThisMatrixisageneralrule

ofthumb.Pleaserefertothe

manufacturersspecific

requirements.Specifications

canbefoundonpage7.

7-10ft. 10-13ft. 13-16ft.

16-19ft. 19-22ft. 22-28ft.

SYSTEM

AMPERAGE

35-50

50-65