How to Install Subwoofer in Car in 2024?
How to Install Subwoofer in Car: The music coming out of your car’s sound system may be weak and unimpressive without a subwoofer. Adding a subwoofer to your vehicle can make it more attractive and fun. It combines the bass with your music and makes your life in the car more impressive and comfortable, especially if you are a fan of low-pitched sounds.
The project starts with getting the ultimate subwoofer to enhance the sound system to your desired standards. Putting it up does not necessarily require the help of an expert because it is relatively fast and straightforward. And for that reason, you can do it yourself by following a few simple steps to save up on subwoofer installation cost. Here is how to install subwoofer in car.
Preparing the right tools and gear
you need to gather the right tools and wiring kit for the car subwoofer installation. You will need them to mount the subwoofer in an appropriate enclosure and connect it to the car music system. Some of the essential things that you need to include inside your car subwoofer installation kit are as follows:
- Screws
- Philips screwdriver
- Flat blade screwdriver
- Wire cutters
- Utility knife
- Soldiering wire
- Electrical tape
- Wire stripper
- Needle nose pliers
- Saw
- Electric drill
- Caulk
- Wrench
- Heat gun
- Socket
- Glue gun
- Wire ties
- Right angle Philips
Where to put subwoofer in car?
Before you begin the subwoofer car installation, you must know where you will install it. Picking the right spot should not be a problem regardless of the type or size of your car. Just make sure you put it up in a stable, well-ventilated part of the vehicle.
The trunk is the most common spot for installing a subwoofer in a car since it is spacious and well ventilated so that it helps cool the subwoofer when it gets heated. Its open and well-ventilated nature makes it suitable for this task. Also, it is spacious and fit for putting the subwoofer to avoid squeezing it in the limited space of a car, hence maintaining the interior space’s comfort.
You also need to know how to install a subwoofer with built-in amp. The subwoofers with built-in amp can be installed in the trunk or wherever you find suitable in the car without a problem. However, those that do not have an integrated amplifier should be installed closer to the external amp to get the best sound quality. In that case, you can fit in under the driver’s seat.
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Connecting power cable from battery to subwoofer
With the subwoofer placed at the chosen place within the car, you need to run a power cable from the car battery. However, before all this is started, you must first disconnect the car battery for safety purposes.
You can only be sure that you are safe to proceed with wiring and installation when you have shut off the car with the key in the ignition, popped open the hood and disconnected the red and black cables attached to the terminals. That is how to install subwoofer in car safely.
Once you have successfully disconnected the battery, you connect the battery and the subwoofer with the power wire. The wire will pass through an opening in the firewall as it flows through to the trunk. A firewall is a metal frame separating the engine section from the rest of the car. The compartment is enclosed but provides an opening to accommodate such installations. Therefore, the cable can pass through without a problem.
Look inside your car subwoofer wiring kit for a cable that is red and long. Pass it through the firewall at the compartment until it shows inside your car and then pulls it gently up to the subwoofers’ positions without connecting it yet. Rout the wire along one side of your vehicle so that it will not be exposed to damage.
Strip the insulation off the power cable at the end where it is connected to the battery, the wire the inline fuse to this end before you connect it to the battery though you should not connect it to the battery yet. Tape the place where the fuse is wired to insulate it. Now run the 16 to 18-gauge wire together with the RCA cables from the subwoofer’s position to somewhere closer to the back of the stereo head unit, leaving a little slack at both ends.
Wiring the audio and remote
Doing excellent wiring is how to install subwoofer in car correctly. Take out the stereo head unit and locate the two RCA connections at the back. You are supposed to plug in the RCA cables you had run from the subwoofer’s position after you have passed them through the center console. To wire the remote, you are required to run the 16 to 18-gauge wire through the back of the center console and connect it to the correct blue cable coming out of the end of the head unit.
Put the speaker in the box and wire up the amp
If the subwoofer is not ready-made, put the speaker in the box and make sure the connectors are wired to the speaker inside. Then use the holes on the speaker’s outside rim to screw it inside the box. Now that most of the wires are in place, wiring up the amp. Connect the power cable from the car battery into the right spot on the amp labeled B+, Power, Batt, Pos., or Pwr. Then Connect the 16 to 18-gauge wire to a place labeled Remote, Rem., or Ant. Connect the 3-foot, 10-gauge wire to the one marked B-, Neg, Ground, or Gnd.
Connect the speaker to amp and power up
The other end of the ground wire goes to a bolt connected to the body of the car. Connect the speaker wire to the amp at the – and + marked points. The other ends of the cables to the terminals on the speaker box. The last step of how to hook up subwoofer is to connect the power cable to the car battery.
Final Verdict
Now you have a subwoofer setup car. Lock the hood and lock the subwoofer in place, and you are good to go. The steps are as simple as you have seen. If I cannot do it on my own, I have the option of contacting a subwoofer installation near me for help. That is how to install subwoofer in car.