Did I do this wrong??? Wiring Kicker to fusion amp on sub delete

[David J]

I wanted to keep things as easy as possible, so bought a factory fusion amp and a 6.75 kicker to replace my amp and sub delete.

I see that there are two positive and two negative wires to the factory sub from the factory harness.

I re-used the factory harness which plugs perfectly to the fusion amp and wired the two positives and two negatives to the Kicker Sub as well, but I see some people have only wired one positive and one negative to their sub...

Did I do this wrong???

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[bradcd]

https://www.kicker.com/comp-rt-8-2-ohm-subwoofer

This Comp RT8 is a dual voice coil, which is the reason for the two sets of terminals. Check the link below for example wiring. You may have to click the "Dual Voice Coil Wiring Options" link on the page to load it correctly....Kicker's site won't let you link directly to it.

https://www.kicker.com/wiring-diagrams#DVC

I'm no expert either so I'm hoping others can provide more info as I'd like to do the same swap in the future. What are the specs of your new amp?

 

[David J]

https://www.kicker.com/comp-rt-8-2-ohm-subwoofer

This Comp RT8 is a dual voice coil, which is the reason for the two sets of terminals. Check the link below for example wiring. You may have to click the "Dual Voice Coil Wiring Options" link on the page to load it correctly....Kicker's site won't let you link directly to it.

https://www.kicker.com/wiring-diagrams#DVC

I'm no expert either so I'm hoping others can provide more info as I'd like to do the same swap in the future. What are the specs of your new amp?

I do not know, I was just following what some others were doing. This is a first for me and car audio is not in my wheel house... I got the fusion amp:

FoMoCo FP5T-18C808-AB Audio High Performance Sound System Amplifier for Ford Fusion FP5T18C808AB

 

[Turner00]

I plan to do mine this weekend. I was also planning on mirroring the factory wiring, using both coils with the existing wiring…

Not sure if that is the correct approach.

 

[David J]

I plan to do mine this weekend. I was also planning on mirroring the factory wiring, using both coils with the existing wiring…

Not sure if that is the correct approach.

I will Forscan it today and let you know how it goes.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Use both factory wires. Without an extension you will have to orient the terminals vertically for the wires to reach and the Kicker logo will be sideways. However since the logo is behind the factory grille it does not matter.

 

[Owl]

I assume if you use only one wire-set... that you are getting only one channel (or) that the two channels are blended beforehand... which they could be on the Bronco (don't know).

The two wire-sets really keep each channel isolated, and allows one woofer to operate with a 2-channel (stereo) system.

If you run one set of wires... but run an extra set in-parallel to the other wires on the speakers... then you cut the ohm-value on the woofers in half. As long as your amp can handle the ohms cut in half (i.e. more amps produced)... no problem. You get more power. If the amp isn't made for that (read the specs)... then you might cause a problem for the amp, and the single wires themselves better be able to handle the additional load (basic electronics). What gauge wires are used from the amp to the speakers?

Bottom line... if you know how Ford did it -- follow that methodology.

Notice that in the illustrations above the amp is labeled "mono amp" (i.e. not stereo).

If it were me... I'd be using two wire sets connected to each half of the woofer. You are using the amp as intended (unless you have mono-amp), and the amp-load on the wires is probably correct.

Electrical formula... AMPS = Volts/Ohms. If you wire the voice-coils in parallel and that results in a "1 ohm" speaker load... then you'll need to make sure the wiring can handle a 1-ohm load for whatever amp you are using (check its specs and plug in voltage... then consult load for gauge of wire in use).

Sorry for the long-winded post. Hope it made sense.

 

[David J]

I assume if you use only one wire-set... that you are getting only one channel (or) that the two channels are blended beforehand... which they could be on the Bronco (don't know).

The two wire-sets really keep each channel isolated, and allows one woofer to operate with a 2-channel (stereo) system.

If you run one set of wires... but run an extra set in-parallel to the other wires on the speakers... then you cut the ohm-value on the woofers in half. As long as your amp can handle the ohms cut in half (i.e. more amps produced)... no problem. You get more power. If the amp isn't made for that (read the specs)... then you might cause a problem for the amp, and the single wires themselves better be able to handle the additional load (basic electronics). What gauge wires are used from the amp to the speakers?

Bottom line... if you know how Ford did it -- follow that methodology.

Notice that in the illustrations above the amp is labeled "mono amp" (i.e. not stereo).

If it were me... I'd be using two wire sets connected to each half of the woofer. You are using the amp as intended (unless you have mono-amp), and the amp-load on the wires is probably correct.

Electrical formula... AMPS = Volts/Ohms. If you wire the voice-coils in parallel and that results in a "1 ohm" speaker load... then you'll need to make sure the wiring can handle a 1-ohm load for whatever amp you are using (check its specs and plug in voltage... then consult load for gauge of wire in use).

Sorry for the long-winded post. Hope it made sense.

Sounds like you know what you are talking about. Thank you for your help

 

[CitadelBronco]

I connected both sides just like the dummy speaker was, and it sounds great.

 

[David J]

I connected both sides just like the dummy speaker was, and it sounds great.

Ok that's exactly what I did, I will Forscan later today. I also put that foam circular ring that came with the fake speaker back on too, I thought maybe it would help with any vibration from speaker grill cover. Did you cover anything else? I hear people covering openings and stuffing things inside. Did you do any of that?

 

[CitadelBronco]

Ok that's exactly what I did, I will Forscan later today. I also put that foam circular ring that came with the fake speaker back on too, I thought maybe it would help with any vibration from speaker grill cover. Did you cover anything else? I hear people covering openings and stuffing things inside. Did you do any of that?

I also put the foam circular ring back on with the same thought, but didn’t do the cutting of the metal part on the dummy speaker like that guy in the main thread did.

I think some people who did the 2ohm kicker are closing off the port of the sub. Really that’s personal preference on how you want it to sound. Stuffing the port might make it sounds “cleaner”, but it will also make it quieter. I kept it open. I’m not an expert on that, but was what my understanding of it was.

I also didn’t add any sound deadening or anything else in there, and so far no rattling or anything.

 

[JJCastle]

What forscan settings are you going to use? Im putting the same setup in my Bronco (I already replaced the 4 inch speakers) and am wondering which to use in the back - speaker/sub, tweeter/sub or speaker and tweeter/sub.

 

[BigHoof]

I wanted to keep things as easy as possible, so bought a factory fusion amp and a 6.75 kicker to replace my amp and sub delete.

I see that there are two positive and two negative wires to the factory sub from the factory harness.

I re-used the factory harness which plugs perfectly to the fusion amp and wired the two positives and two negatives to the Kicker Sub as well, but I see some people have only wired one positive and one negative to their sub...

Did I do this wrong???

Is the OEM wire with the stripe the positive lead? Would be the opposite of the Kicker and possibly why some have issues if they are following the OEM exactly.

 

[David J]

What forscan settings are you going to use? Im putting the same setup in my Bronco (I already replaced the 4 inch speakers) and am wondering which to use in the back - speaker/sub, tweeter/sub or speaker and tweeter/sub.

6 - tweeter / sub.

Thank you Ragnar.Kon!!

Is the OEM wire with the stripe the positive lead? Would be the opposite of the Kicker and possibly why some have issues if they are following the OEM exactly.

The one with the stripe appears to be the negative.

 

[JJCastle]

Thanks!

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