ok, my empeg is on its way :)
I was thinking about the installation, I have a Mazda 323 Hatch, '89 new shape.
Im going to do it myself, as I have done for everything else in my car, except for the AMP. I was wondering about the power cable, I want to run a wire directly from my battery, just like my AMP, through the firewall for the +12V for direct connection to the empeg... few questions...
1. What guage wire is suitable?
2. What 12V rating fuse (in amps)?, The amp power wire has a covered fuse, connected directly after the connection to the battery terminal.

Eveything else I've pretty much sussed out, however since my car had another aftermarket stereo in it, I'll use the wires which were already in place for that. I have'nt explored much to look for an ISO connector or anything. The other headunit didn't connect to it so don't know where it is? (Anyone know?)

Cheers,
Jaidev

Congratulations on your new toy!

Make sure to read through the FAQ entries here on the BBS, especially the ones about preparing your MP3 files and tags. There is more than one page of FAQs, make sure to scroll through all of them. Also read the FAQ entries on installation and wiring.

Regarding the battery wire: Actually, the wire going through the firewall should be for your amplifiers. The empeg will probably run fine from your in-dash wiring harness if you're lucky.

The only time you need to bypass the dash power wiring is if you're getting some kind of ground loop problem. I say, do the easy thing first (use the dash harness wires), and if there's trouble, then try the hard thing second (tapping into the amplifier's power feed).

The gauge of the wire that runs to your amp will depend on how much juice you're planning to pump through that amp. There was a recent discussion on the BBS where everyone whipped out their wire-gauge calculations... anyone have that link?

The main fuse, inline on the amp power wire, should be in a weatherproof enclosure in the engine compartment, fairly close to the battery. Its amperage will be determined by the amount of juice your amps are drawing. I am running two amplifiers driving four speakers and a subwoofer for a total potential of about 300 watts rms (I think). The 20-amp fuse in my engine compartment has never blown, even though my subwoofer amp went into protect mode once on a hot summer day. The fuse enclosure had come with a 60-amp fuse, and I deliberately lowered the rating because I want the fuse to blow if anything goes wrong.

While you're wiring the power to the amp, don't forget all the other wires you have to run. In my car, running wires through the floor tunnels is an extremely big hassle, and I don't like the idea of ever having to do it a second time. So make sure you run all the necessary wires the first time:

- Amp power
- Amp remote
- Heavy-gauge ground wire in case you need to troubleshoot a ground loop in the future
- RCA cables (either 2 or 3 sets depending on whether you intend to have a separate subwoofer level control up front somewhere)
- Speaker wires (as many sets as you think you'll need for future expansion).

Finally, make sure to run the power and audio signals down separate sides of the car so that you don't get inductive noise.

Good luck!

___________
Tony Fabris

Yea have read though the Faq's,
however, my AMP is already been wired, and I'm going to use my Pioneer head's AUX input for the Empeg, cause I found a way to mount both. However the Pioneer head and underseat cd changer are using one power wire. Can't find anymore, so should I also use this for the empeg? or tap into something else or just run a wire for it self, if I run a wire from the battery just for the empeg, what guage, Volt & amp rating should it be?...

cheers,
Jaidev

ohmigod.ohmigod.ohmigod! I think we have the same car!! does yours have popup headlights?

I found 7 guage wire to be HEAPS, in fact if your car is nerly identical there should be a wiring rubber boot coming through the firewall on the passenger side. My model has an extra plugged off nipple for some non-installed wires which is the right size for the 7 guage wire. Just cut off the end of the extra nipple (oww) and you'll need to use a piece of fencing wire to poke through the hole to draw through the power wire.
I have a fuse in the engine bay almost directly off the battery for the power wire, I forget what amp fuse I run though.
I take a feed off this in the passenger foot well for the empeg and alpine.
I run the power wire past the passenger to my 'amprack' mounted on the back of the rear seat.
The signal lines run down the middle of the car under the carpet.

Murray
I made a conscious descision in a semi-conscious state

Yo,
hehe, no actually it doesn't have popup headlights, that model here is called the Astina, I have a Familia, which is nearly identical, cept for the main body styling differences.
Could you find out what volt and amp rating fuse your using please?

cheers,
Jaidev

There was a recent discussion on the BBS where everyone whipped out their wire-gauge calculations... anyone have that link?

Try here

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

Dammit! you must have a model that didn't make it to Australia. Oh well.
As Tanstafl indicates, what I have in my car is no recommendation as to what you should hav in yours. I might have a smaller system and current draw and so whn you put those fuses in your car, they would always blow. I'm yet to blow one, touch wood, but I don't really want to either. It usually means much letting out of the sacred smoke from wires and paying lots of money to have it all put back.
The link above should give you a better indication of what you require.



Murray
I made a conscious descision in a semi-conscious state