51 replies to this topic

[matty1275]

maybe a stupid question. Do most have holes to drill into or do u use glue, could be some other method?

[new_zealand _minis]

i have selected the floating method .. just stick it in the boot. haha . na sometihng i need to sort out aswell

[Ruckus]

maybe a stupid question. Do most have holes to drill into or do u use glue, could be some other method?

Bolt it down. Some where safe. not the petrol tank! Make a amp board if you like from MDF or other wood.

Matty do you think you could start a help thread and keep all you questions in that. We seem to be getting a new thread every few hours from you with little questions... lol

[pbrain]

to be honest Matty, i reading your posts i highly recommend you get someone to install your gear. Installing ICE is not everyone's cup of tea. I just think you'd be safer taking it to a proper installer...

If YOU make a mistake, you could end up with destroyed speakers, amplifier or even a burnt out car! (insurance will probably NOT pay out either)

If an INSTALLER makes a mistake, they've got to replace or put the job right.

[matty1275]

heheh pbrain u may be right, but my dad is an electrician and he would help me to install everything. I just like to know exactly what im doing befor ei start something. Even if something sounds stupid, i would rather be posative. Its not just ice i that i dont know anything about. I just happen to be tihnking about it atm. Hopefully my questions will help someone and sorry if u are getting annoyed with all my topics haha.

good point though pbain, if they make a mistake it wont cost anything to put right, they will have to do it.

and ruckus how would i do that

[satvinder]

if you lived closer to milton keynes id say pop over and ill do it all for you. it is very very simple to do. you cant really mess it up
id start with the amp many people just bolt the amp to the sub. if your amping speakers get some one elce to do it as that can get a bit more confusing. but wire you am to the sub on the output side of the amp. a nice cable straight off the positive of the battery, with a fuse in it. make sure the fuse is out untilled everything is wired up. then run a wire from your headunit off the remote which is a small voltage to tell the amp to turn on. there will be a wire of the headunit harniss that says remote. that goes onto the amp. and also run your rca leads which again go on the back of the headunit to the amp. once your all done put the fuse in turn the car on and then get playing around to tune it in.
simple!!!

[pbrain]

heheh pbrain u may be right, but my dad is an electrician and he would help me to install everything. I just like to know exactly what im doing befor ei start something. Even if something sounds stupid, i would rather be posative. Its not just ice i that i dont know anything about. I just happen to be tihnking about it atm. Hopefully my questions will help someone and sorry if u are getting annoyed with all my topics haha.

good point though pbain, if they make a mistake it wont cost anything to put right, they will have to do it.

and ruckus how would i do that

the problem is, there are people willing to give inadequate advice. 'put some wire from here to here' is not good. Cable choice is one of the last items to buy and depends upon amplifier, speaker(s), location etc. Amplifier fitting also needs careful consideration, where to put, cooling aspect, vibration, access to controls etc.
Speakers need to match the amp, is 1 battery enough? is the alternator up to the job? (i've been stuck miles from home due to a fried alternator!)
Once you've done the wiring, then you need to test the connections & resistances. (no good, wiring the system to turn on and watch a puff of smoke coming from the headunit or amp)
I'm not knocking your dad (i'm a qualified 17th edition sparky as well!), but a lot of electricians don't understand car audio. I'm still learning (just come across AP boxes...thanks to Ruckus)
I've learned car audio the hard & expensive way...hands on, i've destroyed expensive amplifiers with simple mistakes and invisable faults.
To do ICE properly you need to have electrical, engineering, carpentry, mechanical & problem solving skills...plus artistic & innovative skills will make you an admired installer!

All i'm saying is, get help from someone who KNOWS car audio, watch what they do and ask why they do something you don't understand.

[Ruckus]

You know (except on his tweeter setup ) I agree with everything pbrain says.

I wanted to say about 3 questions ago (but didn't have the heart to) I didn't think Matty should be doing this install with some of the common sense type questions you are asking. I things like how mount an amp surely are just obvious and if there not use your google-fu. Don't expect to be spoon fed everything!

And spot on, a sparky (even the best one in the world) is not necessarily going to have the first F-ing clue about 12volt car audio.
Try now and ask your dad about sound stage setup or audio linearity, or simple stuff like the big 3 upgrade or the basics of running cable in an automotive enviromemt..

spend some time, do some research. Your lucky when i started building systems the web wasn't there as a resource.

[matty1275]

u right about everything, it seems there is more to ice than first thought. I would have probably still blown the amp even with all ur help. I will definitlely get somwone to do the insrall. Ice needs someone with experoence and total knowledge on the subject even on a simple install, not me. Thank u for pitting up with the qustoins, looking back some were very stupd. Perhaps they will help other people lile me who thounght ice was siple to relise it aint. I have learn alot about ice , maybe only the basics but still it will be a help to me im sure. Thanks for your time, i think there will be less new topics for now thanks again matt

[pbrain]

u right about everything, it seems there is more to ice than first thought. I would have probably still blown the amp even with all ur help. I will definitlely get somwone to do the insrall. Ice needs someone with experoence and total knowledge on the subject even on a simple install, not me. Thank u for pitting up with the qustoins, looking back some were very stupd. Perhaps they will help other people lile me who thounght ice was siple to relise it aint. I have learn alot about ice , maybe only the basics but still it will be a help to me im sure. Thanks for your time, i think there will be less new topics for now thanks again matt

don't get us wrong Matty, we don't want to put you off, we're just highlighting the fact that a little knowledge is dangerous (& costly!). It would be a shame for you to spend your hard earned wonga on some nice gear then watch it go bang. It's a sickly feeling when a £700 amp is smoking...believe me!

get a notepad and write down/draw what you'd like to have installed, put down all the tech details (name,model no. watts, amps, ohms, sizes) and draw the cabling, i used to love designing systems this way...you used to see these system diagrams in FastCar magazine (i remember drooling over John Fakuda's system back then with 8x 1000wRMS amps & 16x 12" subs).

This way you can see what you'll need, get an idea where parts of the system can go and total the cost. When you've got that sorted on paper, check with an audio geek or paste it here for a check over (make sure components are suitable). You'll also be able to use it to show an installer or a helper what you want to achieve.

[matty1275]

sounds like uve had a few things go bang in your time
I have done a few wiring diagrams, it is quite fun. Ilike panning out stuff i have a basic cost but thats without wire. I know what i want, i havnt quite decided on the head unit but everything else is sort of desided. although i am a libra and i do change my mind alot.

so component speakers: http://caraudiosecur...ts_id/4582.html
amp: http://caraudiosecur...ts_id/4634.html or http://caraudiosecur...s_id/11478.html depending on whether i want to bridge 2 channels and have a sub
head unit: http://caraudiosecur...s_id/12905.html although im a little lost with head units, they all look the same to me and there are so many, only want a simple one that can play CDs
if i get a sub: http://caraudiosecur...ts_id/8725.html not to sure on this either

Edited by matty1275, 02 June 2011 - 06:05 PM.

[Ruckus]

You will need a TalkAudio Account...

Headunit
http://www.talkaudio...ine-cda-9812rb/

Amps

http://www.talkaudio...69-cheap-items/
IF you buy both you could run the front comps active! and Still under £90!


And i think that Focal Sub with Box is a GREAT choice for a starter system.

I also think the Focals are a good set of comps to start with, but do have a look through the TA Classifieds (go back a few pages) as there are always some nice comps for sale a bargain prices.

[pbrain]

sounds like uve had a few things go bang in your time
I have done a few wiring diagrams, it is quite fun. Ilike panning out stuff i have a basic cost but thats without wire. I know what i want, i havnt quite decided on the head unit but everything else is sort of desided. although i am a libra and i do change my mind alot.

so component speakers: http://caraudiosecur...ts_id/4582.html
amp: http://caraudiosecur...ts_id/4634.html or http://caraudiosecur...s_id/11478.html depending on whether i want to bridge 2 channels and have a sub
head unit: http://caraudiosecur...s_id/12905.html although im a little lost with head units, they all look the same to me and there are so many, only want a simple one that can play CDs
if i get a sub: http://caraudiosecur...ts_id/8725.html not to sure on this either

the sub & the amp are fairly well matched, the amp is a bit overpowered...but that's not a bad thing.
Those focal speakers on the other hand, might be a bit needy for the headunit, you'll probably get away with them. Also consider the size...6.5", where are you going to fit them?

All in all, not a bad selection and you shouldn't need to upgrade the alternator or battery to run it.

now you need to find the cables or a cable kit.

PS: The amp that went up in smoke was a brand new, very nice DLS CA1000. I had installed everything correctly, but i didn't do a ground resistance check. The bolt i used for the amplifier's negative cable had rust on the thread, which made the resistance 10 ohms, this was enough for the voltage to drop and the current soar when turned up. (DLS CA1000 was running 1000wRMS into 1 ohm)

Edited by pbrain, 02 June 2011 - 07:50 PM.

[Ruckus]

PS: The amp that went up in smoke was a brand new, very nice DLS CA1000. I had installed everything correctly, but i didn't do a ground resistance check. The bolt i used for the amplifier's negative cable had rust on the thread, which made the resistance 10 ohms, this was enough for the voltage to drop and the current soar when turned up. (DLS CA1000 was running 1000wRMS into 1 ohm)

I think worst and closest shave was wiring the power in to a brand new Rockford 1000.2 (RRP £2K!!) the wrong way around!
The Amp was installed Inside the box, so it was a tight fit and i had to lean in via the top of the box. as the amp was mounted already i couldn't see the markings but I had the wiring diagram... i just forgot I was upside down!
BIG ba-da-boom amp was fine though. Old skool Rocky's nothing built like them! I was lucky there.

[pbrain]

I think worst and closest shave was wiring the power in to a brand new Rockford 1000.2 (RRP £2K!!) the wrong way around!
The Amp was installed Inside the box, so it was a tight fit and i had to lean in via the top of the box. as the amp was mounted already i couldn't see the markings but I had the wiring diagram... i just forgot I was upside down!
BIG ba-da-boom amp was fine though. Old skool Rocky's nothing built like them! I was lucky there.

i had a similar situation when i worked for a local car audio shop, a bloke bought his car into the fitting bay and wanted various parts fitted. There was already 2 guage cable coming into the boot...a red & a black one.

Luckily, i decided to check the earthing connection...the owner of the car thought it was cool to have the 12v going through the black wire & ground going through the red!!!

The policy of the workshop is, if i break anything...it comes out of my pocket! Probably the same as your Rockford Ruckus, this amp had no internal blade fuses...instant amp death