5-Channel Amp Mounting Locations?

[LJGreg]

No f'n way! Finally, another TJ owner with an Audiotec Fischer amp/DSP. Do you have the P Six DSP MK2? What speakers are you running?

That is a sick amp/DSP if you have that one. I am using their M 5DSP(1.3” x 3.3” x 4.3"), smaller footprint and wattage than the Helix, and Match is their entry level brand, but this thing rocks with a 5 channel amp and 7 channel DSP. I stacked an arc audio mini 125x2 so I can have a fully active 7 channel system. I even relocated my Helix P235 tweeters to the a-pillars.

Ya I have a P Six DSP MK2, I haven't done the tune on it yet but with basic crossover settings it already sounds great. I only have Polk DB separates (fully active) and mounted them in the a-pillars using the pods below. Also put Polk DBs in the sound bar. I wanted it loud over quality but i could see myself upgrading to either Audiofrog or HAT Imagines which are apparently waterproof. I don't have a sub yet, still working through some ground loop issues before starting that part of my build.

https://www.ebay.com/str/valicarstuttgart
I have a few pics up on my build thread:

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/gregs-05-lj-build.13322/page-3#post-388879

 

[skrelnik]

Ya I have a P Six DSP MK2, I haven't done the tune on it yet but with basic crossover settings it already sounds great. I only have Polk DB separates (fully active) and mounted them in the a-pillars using the pods below. Also put Polk DBs in the sound bar. I wanted it loud over quality but i could see myself upgrading to either Audiofrog or HAT Imagines which are apparently waterproof. I don't have a sub yet, still working through some ground loop issues before starting that part of my build.

https://www.ebay.com/str/valicarstuttgart
I have a few pics up on my build thread:

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/gregs-05-lj-build.13322/page-3#post-388879

This is so eerily messed up, we have a few overlaps! When I installed my tweeters into the a-pillars, I also ordered the tweeter pods from Valicar, they will custom make them for you, as you know.


Do you have the Polk 6.5" coaxials in the overhead speaker pods? I used the Polk 6.5" component woofer and the tweeter is still in the box since I am using a Helix 5.25" and Helix 1" tweeter up front, with a Kicker 6.75" in the center console.

I also have been thinking of going with some Audiofrog speakers, possibly for another car, but I am itching to hear them.

And finally, I recently ordered a nutsert tool to redo my fender nutserts, only difference from you was the brand of nut setter I purchased.

 

[Akitadog]

I too mounted my Alpine PDX-6F under the wheel. Made 1/4" aluminum mounting plate with a couple angle clips.

 

[LJGreg]

This is so eerily messed up, we have a few overlaps! When I installed my tweeters into the a-pillars, I also ordered the tweeter pods from Valicar, they will custom make them for you, as you know.
View attachment 133100

Do you have the Polk 6.5" coaxials in the overhead speaker pods? I used the Polk 6.5" component woofer and the tweeter is still in the box since I am using a Helix 5.25" and Helix 1" tweeter up front, with a Kicker 6.75" in the center console.

I also have been thinking of going with some Audiofrog speakers, possibly for another car, but I am itching to hear them.

And finally, I recently ordered a nutsert tool to redo my fender nutserts, only difference from you was the brand of nut setter I purchased.

Funny! Yes, I have the 6.5" in the overhead pods. I 3d printed some rings so they sit flush (not recessed) but I think it looks pretty good. I am driving it by a Clarion M508 which is also marine grade. I'm thinking of doing a 10" JL Audio sub in a custom box hidden by something like this:

https://bit.ly/39PUuJt

I have an LJ so enough room in the trunk.

I love my Marson nutsert tool!

 

[TJosh02]

I am replying to this thread because I am doing the same and mounting a 5 ch Alpine amp under the steering column. I had seen it elsewhere but couldn't get a reply to how it was mounted, then I found this thread. Thanks for this to all. I'll post my results as soon as I finish.... I am more than half way there before I had to run to the hardware store for nuts/bolts.

I am curious whether everyone here ran new wire to the sound bar speakers from the amp, or tapped into the harness behind the HU. I was not really liking the idea of sniping the wiring harness but I am not sure how much of a PITA it is to run new wiring. Any suggestions welcome!

While these photos aren't exciting, I thought it might help others to see another perspective on how the plate (or board) is mounted. You can see two angle brackets hanging from either side of the steering bracket thing. I am probably going to only use the one on the right and then a bolt through the bottom of that bracket where there is a hole. That hole lines up with the hole in my aluminum mounting plate cut to roughly the size of my amp.

 

[skrelnik]

I am replying to this thread because I am doing the same and mounting a 5 ch Alpine amp under the steering column. I had seen it elsewhere but couldn't get a reply to how it was mounted, then I found this thread. Thanks for this to all. I'll post my results as soon as I finish.... I am more than half way there before I had to run to the hardware store for nuts/bolts.

I am curious whether everyone here ran new wire to the sound bar speakers from the amp, or tapped into the harness behind the HU. I was not really liking the idea of sniping the wiring harness but I am not sure how much of a PITA it is to run new wiring. Any suggestions welcome!

While these photos aren't exciting, I thought it might help others to see another perspective on how the plate (or board) is mounted. You can see two angle brackets hanging from either side of the steering bracket thing. I am probably going to only use the one on the right and then a bolt through the bottom of that bracket where there is a hole. That hold lines up with the hole in my aluminum mounting plate cut to roughly the size of my amp.

View attachment 163426

View attachment 163427

I am literally in there right now...but have not connected. Think outside the box, like, as an example, you could get a picture hanging kit, and attach the kits wire towards the rear of your metal board, and then attach to the upper rear bracket.

 

[TJosh02]

and attach the kits wire towards the rear of your metal board, and then attach to the upper rear bracket.

Not sure I follow the above portion.

 

[skrelnik]

Not sure I follow the above portion.

The pics above the amplifiers are placed upside down.

This below example is most likely how I will install but I am in the middle and will finish tomorrow or Saturday. This is a bad picture but see if it helps. Velcro the front and almost lasso the wire from a picture frame kit around the steering column but properly secured to your amplifier mounting board. You could even attach the hooks from the kit. Those picture frame kits hold a lot of weight, so a 3 pound amplifer is nothing.

My amplifier is 1.75" in height plus 0.50" mounting board.

 

[TJosh02]

I finished mounting the amp but it isn't working correctly I suspect the ground wasn't sufficient. Thought I'd share some more pictures just in case it was useful but it is like the rest here.

 

[skrelnik]

I finished mounting the amp but it isn't working correctly I suspect the ground wasn't sufficient. Thought I'd share some more pictures just in case it was useful but it is like the rest here.

View attachment 164693

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Some amps have a light that indicates, Green for working and Red for something bad. Does your amp have that? What model amp no is it?

What wire gauge is the ground, and also the power. Is the power running directly to the batter? Inline fuse in the power wire?

 

[skrelnik]

I finished mounting the amp but it isn't working correctly I suspect the ground wasn't sufficient. Thought I'd share some more pictures just in case it was useful but it is like the rest here.

View attachment 164693

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View attachment 164697

Great job with the bracket

 

[TJosh02]

Some amps have a light that indicates, Green for working and Red for something bad. Does your amp have that? What model amp no is it?

What wire gauge is the ground, and also the power. Is the power running directly to the batter? Inline fuse in the power wire?

View attachment 164701

Gauge for both hot and ground is 4awg. There is a blue light on the face of the amp but it doesn't come on with I turn the car on. I do hear a bunch of noise through the rear speakers (currently hooked to HU, not amp) when the power to the amp is connected but not when disconnected. Front speakers which are wired to the amp only hear nothing and the light doesn't turn on. I am 95% sure I wired the remote wire correctly to the HU's harness, I was pretty methodical, but can double check.

For the ground, I bolted it to the same ground that the HU is bolted to which is the ground wire that came with the stock stereo and it attached to the back of dash somewhere above the steering column. I suspect there is too much resistance from that point to the battery's ground, but yet to test resistance. I was going to take my DMM out next time. I also wanted to confirm that the remote wire should be ~12V above the Ground Terminal if it was getting the right trigger. I think that should be the value if it were operating correctly.

I got a really weird issue with the amp's positive terminal sparking a fair bit when bolting it to the battery's +. It has a 100 amp fuse in line and was part of the wiring kit that I bought from Crutchfield along with the rest. Amp is Alpine MRX-V70.

It has been years but I used to build vacuum tube amps from scratch, so I am not exactly a novice with electronics but not a lot of experience with low volts/high current situations (tube amps are the opposite).

 

[skrelnik]

Gauge for both hot and ground is 4awg. There is a blue light on the face of the amp but it doesn't come on with I turn the car on. I do hear a bunch of noise through the rear speakers (currently hooked to HU, not amp) when the power to the amp is connected but not when disconnected. Front speakers which are wired to the amp only hear nothing and the light doesn't turn on. I am 95% sure I wired the remote wire correctly to the HU's harness, I was pretty methodical, but can double check.

For the ground, I bolted it to the same ground that the HU is bolted to which is the ground wire that came with the stock stereo and it attached to the back of dash somewhere above the steering column. I suspect there is too much resistance from that point to the battery's ground, but yet to test resistance. I was going to take my DMM out next time. I also wanted to confirm that the remote wire should be ~12V above the Ground Terminal if it was getting the right trigger. I think that should be the value if it were operating correctly.

I got a really weird issue with the amp's positive terminal sparking a fair bit when bolting it to the battery's +. It has a 100 amp fuse in line and was part of the wiring kit that I bought from Crutchfield along with the rest. Amp is Alpine MRX-V70.

It has been years but I used to build vacuum tube amps from scratch, so I am not exactly a novice with electronics but not a lot of experience with low volts/high current situations (tube amps are the opposite).

Right off the bat that ground wire is connected to a stock size wire and then going through the stock wiring. That ground should attach directly to the body, look at my post/picture above for a good spot. 14mm deep socket or wrench gets the bolt off.

Relocate the group and see how that goes.

 

[TJosh02]

I would agree with your initial assessment, which was my own as well. The grounding isn't sufficient. This is a measurable condition in this case if I could find leads to run to the battery's neg terminal, the DMM should show that the resistance isn't small. Still it is a pretty obvious thing to fix.

My logic was related to lowering noise by grounding it to the HU's ground since the HU > amp uses RCAs which are prone to ground loops depending on the grounding schemes. Obviously that backfired, but I wasn't expecting outright failure more as not operating ideally.

Unless the dash ground is somehow decoupled from the chassis ground, I could still tie that ground to the amp's chassis ground via some wire to form a local star ground and avoid ground loops. Using the chassis for ground in audio electronics is kind of a weird thing in my previous experience. That isn't ideal for noise suppression as the current loops are not deliberate paths but rather haphazard through the chassis. This would be considered extremely bad design practice in hi-fi electronics.

 

[skrelnik]

I would agree with your initial assessment, which was my own as well. The grounding isn't sufficient. This is a measurable condition in this case if I could find leads to run to the battery's neg terminal, the DMM should show that the resistance isn't small. Still it is a pretty obvious thing to fix.

My logic was related to lowering noise by grounding it to the HU's ground since the HU > amp uses RCAs which are prone to ground loops depending on the grounding schemes. Obviously that backfired, but I wasn't expecting outright failure more as not operating ideally.

Unless the dash ground is somehow decoupled from the chassis ground, I could still tie that ground to the amp's chassis ground via some wire to form a local star ground and avoid ground loops. Using the chassis for ground in audio electronics is kind of a weird thing in my previous experience. That isn't ideal for noise suppression as the current loops are not deliberate paths but rather haphazard through the chassis. This would be considered extremely bad design practice in hi-fi electronics.

Using the chassis to ground has proven to be an effective choice for the TJ. There have been very few reports of distortion/noise being introduced through this grounding method.

While in high end audio this may not be the most effective, if noise is introduced then a separate run for the ground to the battery may help out. But for our Wrangler, our steel sheet metal is perfectly okay.

I ran two amps that were both grounded to the chassis, no issues. I would give it a try and listen to your system and if not resolved then move to the next step.

 

[TJosh02]

The first picture shows the factory stereo ground wire that attached to the back of the factory HU. The other end is up near the back of the dash meters. The second photo shows how I attached to the HU to this end with a bolt (HU works perfectly btw). I also had attached the amp's ground to this and covered it in electrical tape to avoid accidental problems. But maybe this isn't enough (as we both suspect)...

 

[skrelnik]

The first picture shows the factory stereo ground wire that attached to the back of the factory HU. The other end is up near the back of the dash meters. The second photo shows how I attached to the HU to this end with a bolt (HU works perfectly btw). I also had attached the amp's ground to this and covered it in electrical tape to avoid accidental problems. But maybe this isn't enough (as we both suspect)...

View attachment 164740

View attachment 164741

Add up what if there is a bad connection because you are laying the amps terminal with the head units terminal.

Is that head unit friend strap attached on the other side, is it a good connection. Lots of little questions about the ground, as we suspect. What's your next move?

 

[GaTechTJ]

Gauge for both hot and ground is 4awg. There is a blue light on the face of the amp but it doesn't come on with I turn the car on. I do hear a bunch of noise through the rear speakers (currently hooked to HU, not amp) when the power to the amp is connected but not when disconnected. Front speakers which are wired to the amp only hear nothing and the light doesn't turn on. I am 95% sure I wired the remote wire correctly to the HU's harness, I was pretty methodical, but can double check.

For the ground, I bolted it to the same ground that the HU is bolted to which is the ground wire that came with the stock stereo and it attached to the back of dash somewhere above the steering column. I suspect there is too much resistance from that point to the battery's ground, but yet to test resistance. I was going to take my DMM out next time. I also wanted to confirm that the remote wire should be ~12V above the Ground Terminal if it was getting the right trigger. I think that should be the value if it were operating correctly.

I got a really weird issue with the amp's positive terminal sparking a fair bit when bolting it to the battery's +. It has a 100 amp fuse in line and was part of the wiring kit that I bought from Crutchfield along with the rest. Amp is Alpine MRX-V70.

It has been years but I used to build vacuum tube amps from scratch, so I am not exactly a novice with electronics but not a lot of experience with low volts/high current situations (tube amps are the opposite).

If nothing is lighting up on the amp, it sounds like the amp is not turning on.

I would start testing with a multi-meter. With the radio on, check that you are getting 12 volts from the remote signal (One lead on remote wire, other to the frame of the jeep.)

Another option to force the amp "on" for troubleshooting purposes is to jumper from the remote contact to the power contact on the amp. This should only be temporary since it leaves the amp on all of the time.

 

[TJosh02]

Well it would seem I did the worst and most brain dead thing of all time. I was meticulous in my wiring of everything except for the power which I reversed at the amp. My amp seems fried. I am going to see if it is easily serviceable but it looks like I screwed the pooch.

FWIW, the remote signal was good.

 

[skrelnik]

Well it would seem I did the worst and most brain dead thing of all time. I was meticulous in my wiring of everything except for the power which I reversed at the amp. My amp seems fried. I am going to see if it is easily serviceable but it looks like I screwed the pooch.

FWIW, the remote signal was good.

Oh no, you had the power into the amps ground and vice-versa? You had a nice Alpine amp as well. Ouch! Hopefully it was not a new amplifier. Did you look at the amp's two 30A fuses to rule that out?