DOHCRagtopguy Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 OK, I have what may be seen a dumb question to ask. On my Cutty ragtop I'd like to buy a subwoofer and stick it in the trunk because my stereo just does not have very good bass. So if I got one of those subwoofers that have the amp built in, how would I hook up the wires? Could I hook the hot wire up to my power antenna wire and then just run two wires to one of my rear speakers? I'm not really electronically oriented, so maybe one of your younger audioheads could explain how this thing gets hooked up. I was looking at one of those built in amp subwoofers on Crutchfield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 I would still run the power wire from the battery with an inline fuse. You could definitely use the rears speakers for the inputs though, but I would also recommend RCAs off of an aftermarket deck too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksyde Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 I would still run the power wire from the battery with an inline fuse. You could definitely use the rears speakers for the inputs though, but I would also recommend RCAs off of an aftermarket deck too. If your buying a powered sub , do not hook the rear speakers into it unless you are forced to due so because of having a factory head unit. The responce is crappy. Def. hook the + (red)side to the battery with a inline fuse. Your remote wire, typically a blue wire can go to either the amp. line on your aftermarket HU or the power antenna wire on the HU. The - (black) can go to a close spot to where u plan on mounting the unit itself. Any clean metal will do. Just my $.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOHCRagtopguy Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Thanks for your replies. I am keeping the factory stereo (gotta have my wheel controls) so that's why I wanted to know about hooking into the rear speakers well actually the wire leads coming into them. So would I hook up to both of the rear speaker leads or is just one side of them good enough? Here's the subwoofer I'm thinking of buying. What do you think? http://www.crutchfield.com/S-iMvWWXWhYB9/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=51000&I=037ATB8AT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksyde Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Well you can do 1 of 2 things.....If you have no intention of keeping your rear speakers you can use the wires from them for the amp leads. If you want to keep the rears for some sound you can dbl up the wires and also run them to your sub. But make sure you have a exterior sub control or else the sound isnt going to be what your looking for. I have more reasoning behind all this.....other may have other ideas.....this is just mine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOHCRagtopguy Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 I believe the unit comes with a remote control to the subwoofer. Would that be good enough? I'd like to keep the rear speakers, I'd just double up on the wires like you said. So I would need to hook up to both rear speakers then? I'm just looking to add some thump to the bass, the rear speakers are an upgrade over stock, up front in the dash I still have the stockers. I'd really like to find a set of door speakers someplace, there was a set along with the brackets on e-bay last year but I didn't have the bread to pick them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 There are some inline things you can install that will convert your rear speaker signals to RCAs...and maintain the speaker line as well, so you have created RCA connections, plus you get to keep your rear speakers...that might be an option. FYI - for power you can run a power wire from the battery, and use the power antenna wire as the remote turn on for the amp.....also, my friend had one of these in his cavalier, and since we were in a hurry we just wired the power lead to the rear tailights....worked perfectly, just had to keep the lights on for the sub to have power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 I believe the unit comes with a remote control to the subwoofer. Would that be good enough? I'd like to keep the rear speakers, I'd just double up on the wires like you said. So I would need to hook up to both rear speakers then? the sub controls should be sufficient and I would run it from both rear speakers, although I would imagine the you could run it from one and still have it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToroToro Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Yeah, I would do it from both. That's how I've got mine wired, and it sounds good. As far as the RCA converters, you probobly dont need them. I'm pretty sure most of these "add on" packages have amps with speaker level inputs, so you wont have to worry about that. And Ragtop, if you want, I can get you some factory UQ3 door speaker mounts and grills from the JY, since I know verts never had that option.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOHCRagtopguy Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Hey Toro, that would be real righteous of you to do that for me. If you could get them for a decent price I would be most appreciative! I never realized that you couldn't get the door speakers with a ragtop. That seems kind of stupid. So I would assume that they would get wired to the dash speakers up front when installed. Then my stereo would sound as good as the Sebring's. That one kicks ass! We got Gilmour's new CD and it sounds fantastic in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToroToro Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Yeah, I should be able to get them real cheap. I'll grab them on my next trip, assuming the car hasn't been crushed yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmebert Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 I just got my 10" Powered Audiobahn Subwoofer in from Crutchfield today. I hope to be putting in tomorrow once the ex-wife pics up my son. I'll give you some "real-world" feedback on it once I get it installed. If I remember correctly you're the guy that lives in Oley, PA right? We could always meet up so you can hear how it sounds before you spend your $$. The 10" is $30 more than the 8" you're looking at. Audiobahn recommends running the "Hot" wire to the battery. One of the nice things about the Audiobahn setup is that it comes with ALL the wiring needed to do the install. No need to buy an amp install kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOHCRagtopguy Posted March 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 I just got my 10" Powered Audiobahn Subwoofer in from Crutchfield today. I hope to be putting in tomorrow once the ex-wife pics up my son. I'll give you some "real-world" feedback on it once I get it installed. If I remember correctly you're the guy that lives in Oley, PA right? We could always meet up so you can hear how it sounds before you spend your $$. The 10" is $30 more than the 8" you're looking at. That sounds cool. I'd like to hear that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 good point on the 10" sub over the 8" one....especially in a convertible.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmebert Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 DOHCRagtopguy, I sent you a PM........ I got my subwoofer installed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEddie Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 DOHCRagTopGuy, you could also buy a steering wheel control adapter..bought one for my 96 GP SE for 12 bucks shipped off of the glorious ebay, search around if you're interested, I cant seem to remember the name.. sound something I'm pretty sure.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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