[Automaggot]

I've had an Eclipse EA-3532 installed for a while with hopes of it pushing fronts, rears and a subwoofer. Stupidly, I was using the power wire for the optional 3rd amplifier in the 13/300 system and when I installed a subwoofer a while back, it decided to shut off. Since the sub channel is 2 ohm stable and that's what the sub was wired to, I figured the amp must've been choking from a lack of substantial power.

I just got back from college yesterday and running new wire was my first priority. For those who haven't done so, but want to, it's pretty easy. There's a huge grommit right in between the pedals that you can reach from the engine bay, past and below the battery. Here's a picture of the wire going from the battery to the hole... you can kinda see it (it's the black split-loomed wire):

Here's a picture of where I zip-tied the inline Fuse. I got it for free from a hookup at Best Buy... woot.

This is a shot of the rubber cover that goes over the grommet. My friend, who actually crawled under there, used a knife to slit the grommet and we passed the wire through with a coat hanger...

Making the amp pretty with new split-loom (I never used RCA cables, just direct speaker-level inputs. It sounds fine and there's no noise)...

Now I just need to buy a subwoofer that sounds good with about 200 watts RMS. I'm thinking of a 10" IDQ from Image Dynamics or a 10" Resonant Engineering RE.

Oh yeah, I can't forget a shot of the garage!

 

[Irishfred]

that looks great

Nice job. That's a hell of an amp. I hope that it sounds good.

Make sure that the wire does not chafe and wear in any places - you are running 12v+ and that entire firewall is - (especially where you ran that wire through the firewall, it looks as if it is touching the steel in that pic). I am a little anal about having those wires wear from friction.

Let us know how that thing rocks once finished.

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

is that 4awg or 8awg? I wanna run 2 awg to the rear as soon as I start my install, not sure where I'm gonna run it though once I get it in the cabin, figured it be to large to run under door sills?

 

[Automaggot]

It's 8 gauge wire. The only thing I would worry about with 2 ga. is tucking it under the panels... the middle pannel where the side air bag is housed is REALLY tight. You'd probably have to pull the seats out and get it under the carpet. I laughed when I saw the power source I tagged from the 3rd amp wire; it's so tiny. I can't believe I used that thing in the first place.

After taking the car out for a long spin last night, it seems like the bigger power wire is helping the amp out. I didn't touch any of the settings and at higher volumes, the 6x9s seem to play tighter. The true test will be when I hook up the subwoofer and see if the amp can handle it again. As for now though, the system absolutely screams. I have the gains turned down quite a bit so that the 6.5's in the doors can still carry through with some midbass.

This amp can be had on Ebay for under $200, so if anyone is looking for an all-in-one solution, this could be a winner.

 

[Automaggot]

A couple more pics: