Need advice on ICE

Naan_H · 13 Oct 2006 at 14:49

Hi all,

i have a '96 VW Polo and am embarking on my first ever ice install....but i dont have a clue what to do so need advice!

Im looking for a new headunit @ approx £100-£120 (or even cheaper if there is one available), preferably pioneer. It has to have an aux in for my ipod or any other mp3 device..

The unit will be connected to the standard component speakers at the front.

Now i have just purchased a stealth shelf with some infinity 6x9s for £50.

My car currently has no speakers in the back so there is no wiring to the shelf...how would i go about installing speaker wires to the rear of the car? Should i also amp these 6x9's? If i should amp the 6x9's, what functions does the head unit have to have to allow me to do this? If i dont amp now but i wanted to in the future would it be easy for me to do this or would i have to rip everything out again and install new wires etc?

im a complete noob to this but am willing to learn, so any advice would be appreciated. Are there are any easy guides to do such a thing? Sorry if im being too vague! i know what i want to do but have no idea how to do it!

glenimp617 · 13 Oct 2006 at 14:53

Its much easier to amp the 6x9 now while your doing it. If you cant afford to do it yet, then at least run a pair of RCAS when you run the speaker wire to save you later on.

so option 1 (no amp)

Run 2 pairs of speaker wire from the headunit to the 6x9s. I don't know the easiest way of doing it in your car but I had to pull the carpet up and run it under.

option 2 (amp)

You need to buy an amp wiring kit. Power cable from the battery through the bulkhead into the car, under the carpet to the amp. Remote switch lead from the headunit to the amp. 2 pair speaker wire from the amp to the 6x9. RCA cable from the headunit to the amp

:best piece of advice:
Find a polo forum and see if someone has created a step-by-step guide :-)

Naan_H · 15 Oct 2006 at 12:04

glen8 said:
Its much easier to amp the 6x9 now while your doing it. If you cant afford to do it yet, then at least run a pair of RCAS when you run the speaker wire to save you later on.

so option 1 (no amp)

Run 2 pairs of speaker wire from the headunit to the 6x9s. I don't know the easiest way of doing it in your car but I had to pull the carpet up and run it under.

option 2 (amp)

You need to buy an amp wiring kit. Power cable from the battery through the bulkhead into the car, under the carpet to the amp. Remote switch lead from the headunit to the amp. 2 pair speaker wire from the amp to the 6x9. RCA cable from the headunit to the amp

:best piece of advice:
Find a polo forum and see if someone has created a step-by-step guide

Thanks for that mate....why do i have to run 2 pairs of wire from the headunit to the 6x9's? Does each speaker require a pair of wires (i havent received my 6x9's yet so i dont know!)

Can you reccomend what kind of speaker wire i should use, or any brands?

I see there are different gauge wires but whats the difference between them?

Six6siX · 15 Oct 2006 at 12:37

Naan_H said:
Thanks for that mate....why do i have to run 2 pairs of wire from the headunit to the 6x9's? Does each speaker require a pair of wires (i havent received my 6x9's yet so i dont know!)

Can you reccomend what kind of speaker wire i should use, or any brands?

I see there are different gauge wires but whats the difference between them?

You need a pair of wires to each speaker - as you do with any speakers - one for positive and one for negative.

I dont think brands matter with such cabling, but don't get some really thin stuff if you plan on using it later with an amp. The thicker the wire, the more current it can carry (which implies a higher power output) - but since you are only running your speakers from the headunit, at the moment, it doesn't matter so much. Usually the gauges of wire become more important when you are choosing power cabling for an amp.

glenimp617 · 15 Oct 2006 at 13:14

Yes, the guage of power cable is very important, but no so when using speaker wire. To be honest, I use good quality speaker wire in mine but my mate decided to use cheap stuff. i can't tell the difference.

Naan_H · 15 Oct 2006 at 14:11

Cheers lads, looks like ill be getting the goods together in the next couple of days...doesnt sound too complicated...as my car is 10 yrs old i think i need to get an ISO connecter adaptor too...looking forward to doing this....feels like my first PC build...a bit nervous and a bit excited at the same time. Just hope the wiring to the back isnt too hard.

Naan_H · 17 Oct 2006 at 09:02

Ok guys gonna be installing this today....but i still have a few real newbie questions i gotta ask (i feel embarrassed to!).

I have removed my headunit and there is a brown connector which has the speaker connections on it (this is from the car and not the old headunit). As there are only front speakers in the car, only 4 wires are connected to this brown iso connector. Now if im gonna connect the 6x9s i am going to have to cut off the brown connector and re wire the front speakers to a new brown connector, along with the 6x9's. When re-wiring, is it ok just to twist the two ends of wiring together and then wrap it in insulating tape? The reason i have to cut it off is that i cannot find anywhere those female connectors which you find in the brown connectors.

The other question is regarding speaker wire...the speaker wire has two wires in it - am i supposed to separate these so that that one wire goes to +ve and the other -ve? say the distance from the front of the car to the back was 4 metres, do i run 2 x 4m of wire for each speaker or 1 x 4m of wire for each speaker?

I was under the impression it was 2 x 4m and then with each pair you twist the ends together and then attach to the respective +ve and -ve terminals in the brown iso connector and speakers.

Sorry for these basic questions but i wanna be sure before i start. Thanks for any help you can give.

monkeyspank · 17 Oct 2006 at 09:08

Each speaker wire should have 2 conductors, one for + and one for - for ONE speaker.

Run 1 speaker wire for each speaker. At the head unit end the wires are in single conductors but they are normally coloured in pairs, i,e Brown and Brown/Black. Those would be for the + and - of one speaker, respectively.

HTH

Naan_H · 17 Oct 2006 at 09:30

Cheers mate....

ok, the pic below is of the brown iso connector that will go into the headunit

The ends of the wire are bare.... when rewiring this connector to the speaker wire is it ok to twist the copper ends together to make the connection and wrap in tape or is it better to use dedicated connectors...and if a connector is better what type do i use?

The reason im doing this is that i cant find the female pins you find in the brown connector so i have to rewire a whole new brown connector to the car. which has all the pins already attached.

monkeyspank · 17 Oct 2006 at 10:06

Twisting and soldering is OK but just twisting is a bit dodgy.

If you don't fancy soldering then use connectors. Any sort really. These are readily available and work fine: http://www.on-shore.com/catalog4/es.jpg

or bullet connetors. Anything really.

In that pic you see the green and green/black wires? That's for one speaker. the black striped ones are for -

Naan_H · 17 Oct 2006 at 10:13

monkeyspank said:
Twisting and soldering is OK but just twisting is a bit dodgy.

If you don't fancy soldering then use connectors. Any sort really. These are readily available and work fine: http://www.on-shore.com/catalog4/es.jpg

or bullet connetors. Anything really.

In that pic you see the green and green/black wires? That's for one speaker. the black striped ones are for -

Mate you been a star...just realised i could use a terminal connector like that or bullet ones...thanks for your help