Installing multiple amps

[chinson2005]

I have a '17. I've searched youtube, google, here, and I can't find a clear answer. I've done plenty of installs over the years but never on a factory radio. I'm running one of the all in one underseat subs right now tapped off of the rear speakers. I've got some speakers left over from my last car that I'm wanting to put in this one now, front and rear. I want to run a 4 channel amp on those, and I want to remove the underseat and install some shallow mount 10's in the hatch along with a monoblock amp. I don't know how to go about installing both amps. My understanding for the 4 channel amp, I'll need to tap the front and rear speakers from the HU for the signals. So how do I get the signal for the mono amp? Can I just jump the tap from the rear speakers to it? I'm planning on using the LC7i, but it has the 3 inputs, and that's what is throwing me. I don't know how to get the 3rd for the sub. If this has been answered before I apologize, but I couldn't find a clear answer for this. Thanks in advance.

 

[FocusedSlayer]

When I do multiple installs with several amps , I piggy back the signal from 1 amp to the other on the remote turn on . And also use a fuse block for the extra amps . But I'm not sure about the Fiesta because I have yet to fool with mine and I have left over amps and speakers from several of my other installs. So I'll be watching this close to see how it works out .

 

[chinson2005]

I understand powering them, I just don't understand how to get the speaker signal to all of them since I have 1 channel for front and 1 channel for rear. I don't know how to get a third speaker signal unless I can tap the fronts or rears more than once.

 

[maestromaestro]

When you say you plan on "tapping" the head unit for the 4chan amp, I am assuming that you mean that you will be rerouting the signal through the amp and connecting the output to the new set of speakers...

 

[chinson2005]

Exactly. So front left/right and rear left/right will be ran into the 4 channel amp. I don't know how the get a signal to the mono amp since those will all be used, unless I can just jump the front or rear signals from the 4 channel to the mono. I know how to put the 4 channel amp in with no issue. I just don't know how to get a second amp in and get the speaker signal it since the 4 channel is already using both front and rear.

 

[maestromaestro]

You are planning on using the monoblock for the sub, correct? How is the sub wired now? Where does it get it's inputs? From tapping (not routing) one or more of the rears?

 

[chinson2005]

Yeah mono for the sub and a 4 channel for the doors. The sub I have now is one of the pioneer ones that goes under the seat. Pretty much the same as the kenwood one that the write up was for. So it's just tapped off of the rear speakers, left and right. But when I change the speakers and put in the 4 channel I'll have to use the rear signal as well as the front signal for it. So where would I get a signal for the mono amp from?

 

[PunkST]

Each amp should have red and white in and a pre amp out. You can just daisy chain them that way

 

[chinson2005]

That just feeds the signal over to the other amp and will still allow me to use controls on both amps separately right? That was my initial thought, but I was thinking it would make the second amp a slave of the first. I've never used the line out of one before. Thanks. Sorry for being so complicated.

 

[PunkST]

You should be able to control each amp and its settings differently.

 

[chinson2005]

That's what I needed to know. Thanks guys

 

[Jaeantonio]

https://www.audiocontrol.com/car-audio/factory-system-upgrade/lc7i/ ----------https://www.audiocontrol.com/downloads/car/current/lc7i/lc7i-user-manual.pdf

Try using this. I might be a little late here but want to put in my 2 cents. With this you can plug in your front for channel one and your rear for channel 2. it converts them into RCA so you can connect them to the amp. as for the mono block you can use the 3rd channel and do not need anything feeding it in order for it to work. this is what i am going to do with my install. I have included a PDF of how it should be installed.

 

[chinson2005]

That's what I ended up going with. Looking back now I didn't actually need it. I ended up buying all new everything. I originally had an audiobahn amp and a kicker amp from a few years back. The kicker didn't have a line out, but the audiobahn did. I'd never used the line out section of an amp so I didn't know exactly how it worked. I ended up going with a new pioneer amp for the doors and a new alpine amp for the sub, both with line outs. I also left my underseat sub under my driver's side for times when I need to take out the sub for the trunk space. It's been a while since I've used anything new so I was unaware that amps these days automatically detect whether you are using high or low inputs. So I used an lc7i.. The main output I used for channel A on my door amp, which were the fronts. The 2nd output I used for channel B (backs). I then ran the line out from that amp to the under seat sub. Then I ran the 3rd output from the lc7i to the sub amp. I just bought a shallow box from amazon and put a shallow mount skar 12" in it. Had to use a spacer ring to keep it from bottoming out. I also got a grill so I can lay stuff on top of it if needed. Amps are on the back seats so to get the sub out all I have to do is disconnect the speaker wire from the box and I have my trunk space back. Probably didn't need all this detail, but just in case anyone else is still about 12 years behind like me, here you go lol. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[Jaeantonio]

Ok so now i need your help with this. i have gotten everything ready now i am at a stop. I have ran a 9 conductor wire to the head unit to get the to the speakers from there. based on the diagram i found none of the colors match. after a little research i am now starting to hear about a stock amp that might be somewhere in my car. what and where did you tap into to get the wires back to the LC7i controller.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Why are you trying to pack so much stereo into a little car? Wouldn't something bigger be a better platform? I'm not trolling - yes, adding weight to a FiST seems wrong *to me* but it's not my car - but in terms of the stereo, wouldn't a larger vehicle make a better platform for a rolling boombox? If you get too much stereo in a FiST it might compact you into a little ball of mush in the middle

 

[Jaeantonio]

its not that big of an upgrade. just upgrading to a 12 inch sub and upgrading all speakers to 6.5 in component speakers. its just complex when you want all the sound to balance out

 

[Clint Beastwood]

its not that big of an upgrade. just upgrading to a 12 inch sub and upgrading all speakers to 6.5 in component speakers. its just complex when you want all the sound to balance out

I can get on board with balance

 

[Jaeantonio]

I will post pics when its all done

 

[chinson2005]

There's no amp in the fiesta. The colors matched.. kind of. They seemed a little washed out, but I took a meter and just checked continuity from the back of the radio to the speaker plug and did it all that way. There's two plugs in the back of the radio if you have the one with navigation. I'm not sure about the one without. All the speaker wires are in one of the plugs. If I remember right it was the flatter plug. I cut the wires for the front speakers to get the signals for the for the lc7. I added wire to the other end going to the speakers to reach the amp. For the rears I got the signal from the pillar between the front and rear doors and then ran the end of the wire going to the speakers to the amp. To check for continuity in the plug behind the radio I just stuck some solder in the hole because I couldn't fit the tip of the meter in. But that's the easiest way just put one end on one of the wires on your front speaker and start probing that plug until it beeps. I left the lc7i in the middle position on all the dials and turned the accubass and threshold all the way down. Everything sounds great with a little shallow mount 12 in the hatch and new speakers all around. I used kicker components up front and the tweeters fit perfectly in the hole where the factory ones were. Maybe this all made sense to you. It was quite a learning experience for me. I'm used to the old days, but with radios the way they are now it's quite a bit more complicated.

 

[Jaeantonio]

i got that figured out. where did you run your remote wire?did you run it to the fuse box like everyone else