Subwoofer to aux switch

[clmh]

Happy Sunday! I am going to have a Kicker under seat subwoofer installed and I am wondering if anyone has tied this into one of the aux switches. And if so, was it easier than going all the way to the battery? (I’m not handy with this stuff and want to sound reasonably knowledgeable when I talk to an installer. ).

thanks!

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[Dmorty217]

I think the largest aux switch handles 20 amps (maybe it’s only 15) which isn’t enough for the amp for said sub more than likely.

 

[Brian_B]

Depending on your amp / subwoofer, it will have an Amp rating, and that is very important when wiring it up. A 150W Kicker may only be 10A, but subwoofers get big in a hurry, and 30A and 50A are very common. If you ignore it, at best the sound will fade when your subwoofer is trying to hit, you will pop fuses often, and at worst you will melt a wire or catch something on fire.

Aux 1 is 30A, Aux 2 is 15A (could be upgraded to 30A). AUX 3-6 are 10A. The switch needs to be rated at least as large as the fuse on the amp.

That said, the upfitter switch distribution box is up ahead of the firewall, and if you are going through the firewall, you may as well just go straight to the battery with a fuse like a typical amp would anyway.

There are a few pre-installed wires that you could use, but you are going to have to re-route to your amp under the seat anyway, and they have amp restrictions as well - they are only really meant to carry 10A.

So, I'd say it's possible, but it won't save you any time or effort. Go to the battery with a dedicated fuse - the battery has extra terminals on it just for this purpose.

 

[clmh]

Depending on your amp / subwoofer, it will have an Amp rating, and that is very important when wiring it up. A 150W Kicker may only be 10A, but subwoofers get big in a hurry, and 30A and 50A are very common. If you ignore it, at best the sound will fade when your subwoofer is trying to hit, you will pop fuses often, and at worst you will melt a wire or catch something on fire.

Aux 1 is 30A, Aux 2 is 15A (could be upgraded to 30A). AUX 3-6 are 10A. The switch needs to be rated at least as large as the fuse on the amp.

That said, the upfitter switch distribution box is up ahead of the firewall, and if you are going through the firewall, you may as well just go straight to the battery with a fuse like a typical amp would anyway.

There are a few pre-installed wires that you could use, but you are going to have to re-route to your amp under the seat anyway, and they have amp restrictions as well - they are only really meant to carry 10A.

So, I'd say it's possible, but it won't save you any time or effort. Go to the battery with a dedicated fuse - the battery has extra terminals on it just for this purpose.

Thank you for a very detailed answer. Very educational for me and I appreciate it. Happy Holidays!

 

[brkdncr]

I would wire the amp power wire to the battery but the amp turn-on lead to an aux switch.

 

[Fishwrinkle]

Remote wire to the aux would be your best bet if wanting to do that. Why are you wanting to do that? Doesn’t the sub have a gain remote you can dial down when not wanting the boom boom?

 

[Rydfree]

I would wire the amp power wire to the battery but the amp turn-on lead to an aux switch.

You would most likely get a pop when the amp turned on if you wired it to a switch. Remote turn ons should be a soft turn on and not sudden. I used the factory remote turn on wire and speaker leads at the factory subwoofer location.

 

[clmh]

Remote wire to the aux would be your best bet if wanting to do that. Why are you wanting to do that? Doesn’t the sub have a gain remote you can dial down when not wanting the boom boom?

I believe it does have a remote. Waiting for the delivery truck to know for sure.

 

[TavisB]

I did with a little Kenwood under seat powered sub. No pops or blown fuses. Just temporary until I get some real subs wired in.

 

[jh3113]

Depending on your amp / subwoofer, it will have an Amp rating, and that is very important when wiring it up. A 150W Kicker may only be 10A, but subwoofers get big in a hurry, and 30A and 50A are very common. If you ignore it, at best the sound will fade when your subwoofer is trying to hit, you will pop fuses often, and at worst you will melt a wire or catch something on fire.

Aux 1 is 30A, Aux 2 is 15A (could be upgraded to 30A). AUX 3-6 are 10A. The switch needs to be rated at least as large as the fuse on the amp.

That said, the upfitter switch distribution box is up ahead of the firewall, and if you are going through the firewall, you may as well just go straight to the battery with a fuse like a typical amp would anyway.

There are a few pre-installed wires that you could use, but you are going to have to re-route to your amp under the seat anyway, and they have amp restrictions as well - they are only really meant to carry 10A.

So, I'd say it's possible, but it won't save you any time or effort. Go to the battery with a dedicated fuse - the battery has extra terminals on it just for this purpose.

How is Aux 2 upgrade-able to 30 A? I thought the fuses for these switches were in a non-serviceable box?

 

[Brian_B]

How is Aux 2 upgrade-able to 30 A? I thought the fuses for these switches were in a non-serviceable box?

So, I have to admit I do not have upfitter switches to go look at one, but…

Most fuses have some way to change them if they blow, and Aux1 and Aux2 both use the same wire size per the chart I linked.

So if they can’t be changed without just swapping the entire box … well, I’m sure that engineers have done dumber things before. And you could always take the input and output wires and install your own fuse and wire around the box… but that’s way outside the scope of this post.

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