rear mounted speakers and cd player

[Rob]

I am planning on building a custom box to put 2 6x9's and a sony explode cd player in. The box should go on the rear deck area(below the spare tire flap) I know i can wire the speakers into the deck, but i am not sure what to do with the powersource...everything is going to be in the back, and i have seen ppl wire things directly to the battery, but i assume this is a bad idea, but i dont know where to do it. Also roughly what size wiring should i use to power the cd player/box? I plan on making the box self contained so all i am really worried about is the power source.
Thanks in advance!
-Rob

[opelgtmaster3]

what i did when i hooked up my stereo is, i wired the constent power wire to the constent power on the fuse blook. then i wired the switch power to the swicht power of the fuse blook. the wire i used to power the deck (stereo)
was 16 guage wire. i have a jvc kamelan deck, legacy equalizer, mtx 404 amp 450 watts for my infinity speakers, an a mtx 4122 amp 200 watts for my two 10 inch fosgate subs. and a fosgate capaciter 1 fared. if you have any more questions about steroes let me know.

[Rob]

Ok, i got the ol wiring harness out to look at all the wires so i could figure out where they go...my cd player (sony explode cdx-4000x) a plethera of wires. so i was wondering where the constant power and switch power fuses are. Also the wiring harness has a positive/negative dimmer/ illumination type thing, so i was wondering where that goes too. Lets see...the sony is a 4x50 watt type and i am planning on running two 6x9 pioneers that i got with a set of 4 or a pair of 6x9 sony explode 2-ways...so i was wondering if this should be enough power to run the two of them?
Thanks,
Rob

[Scott McDonald]

If you must wire anything to the fuse block, clean it well. If this means removing the block, so be it.
Then, make doubly sure that your current connections are good and tight upon reconnection.
Finally, check to make sure- ALL YOUR FUSIBLE LINKS ARE STILL UNDER THE HOOD!!! If they are missing, promptly replace them. No good can come, running unprotected juice from the alternator, to the fuse block. Trust me on this. :o

The fuse block has an accessory output for the original radio that is fused.
Finally, I would get constant power from the battery, through a fused line. I would not go smaller than 16ga., but that's me.

But, if it were me, I would buy a smaller fuse block and supply it with constant power and accessory power. Then run my radio, etc., from this new block.

The last thing you want is to start a fire in your dash when you turn-on the radio...and it doesn't take much resistance to "carbecue" a ride.

[opelgtmaster3]

all i did was touch the swicth power wire to the fuse to see if it would turn on.
but the car has to be off. if the radio turns on when you touch the wire while the car is off then thats consent power. then hook up the consent power to that part of the fuse block. then hook up the swicht power wire to the part of the block that didnt turn on when the car was off. consent power wire is for the memory of the stereo, like the clock, or the settings you have on the steroe. swicht power turns the radio off when you shut the car off. and turns on when you turn the car on. you will still be able to shut the stereo off manualy when you please. the illuminating wire is to dime the steroe when you turn the headlights on. i didnt hook my up because i did care if it dimes or not. 4x50 means the stereo has four channels, one channel per speaker. the 50 mean you have 50 watts per channel. which is good for that type of speaker. some people make the mistake of thinking that the speakers are 200 watts and my stereo is 50 watts so i should buy an amp for them. then they go off and blow the speakers. ive seen it happen. the reason i have i an amp for my speakers is because my equalizer is a pre amp, so i do need an amp for them. or there will be no music.

[Rob]

Sounds good...now about that custom box...
Thanks guys,
-Rob

[opelgtmaster3]

if i were you i would go buy a box or have one made. go to any car audio shop to get or have one made. but dont get a box that is ported.(a box with a hole on the top) get a sealed box. if you get a ported box it wont sound good at all the bass will only hit on some songs with a lot of bass. i had a ported one and it sounded like crap. i have a seald one know. dont make one by your self, for the speaker to sound good it needs the right amount of air space in the box.

[opelwasp]

i build custom boxes as a hobby. ported boxes are awsome if you know how to build then tune them. each box, ported, sealed, or even a passive radiator must be designed around the speaker. or even a $1000 custom box will sound like crap. www.crutchfield.com has some fantastic reading material on building your own boxes. it is all in the quality materials and tunning. i can put a $30 JBL 10" in a properly made box, and it would sound way better than a 10" POLK in the wrong box for its specs. box building is not for the faint of heart.

[Rob]

Thanks for the website Chris, do you have any recomendations for which of the books to buy? I thought the Car Audio Cookbook looked pretty promising. Anyhow, thanks again,
Rob

[opelwasp]

yes that sounds like a good book. the chapter on sub boxes will be very informitave. remember though you will need the Thiele/Small parameters. to be able to properly build. this will come with the driver, or get it from the manufacturer. also beware, whan putting the speakers, subs, and head unit all together in the same place, it will give theives the ability to yank all your stereo stuff in less time(expierience talking here).