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mariooncrack
Dec 27, 2008
It doesn't look like the wirecutter suggested HUs are available anymore.

FWIW, I have a Sony headunit in my Pilot and it works fine. I mostly just use bluetooth though. I don't have any amps or subs either.

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randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

I was considering Sony, but it seems like they're very low end when it comes to car audio these days (FWIW, my first aftermarket head unit was Sony, but that was in 1995). I want something that'll last awhile, has a 3-5 band EQ to deal with the crappy stock speakers, and obviously A2DP + phone call support. Hopefully obvious, but also the ability to navigate the phone book on the phone via the stereo when you want to make a call would be nice too (my current Pioneer does this, but it only works half the time, and it's very sluggish when it does work). I don't give a poo poo about texting from the HU or voice commands.

Pioneer's build quality on my last few HUs just seemed.... so-so as well (particularly the harness - super thin wires, but the displays have been lackluster as well compared to older Pioneer HUs), though all but the current one have been low end units (the current one was fairly high end for a single DIN at the time, but still has ~20 gauge wire for everything).

My go-to back in the day was Clarion, but it seems like they only do marine and OEM now.

Kenwood and Alpine were the direction I was leaning. I know Kenwood is still good, I have no idea how Alpine is today. I've owned a few JVCs in the past too (and still have an early 90s JVC home receiver that still kicks rear end as my garage stereo), but it seems like JVC is a bit downmarket now.

Godzilla07 posted:

I haven't had any issues with BT phone call quality on two Pioneer HUs now. FWIW, Wirecutter now recommends Kenwood where they once recommended Pioneer for single-DIN stereos.

If you don't mind sharing, which model HUs, and what phones?

The models I can recall off the top of my head are a DEH-6400BT (2011 or 2012?) and a DEH-X8600BH (2014, HU I have now). Phones I recall using with them are a Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6P, Moto X 2014, Moto X 2015, and Essential PH-1.

My issue with call quality is a bit of choppiness - like, the voice from the other end cuts in and out, and they complain that my outgoing volume is low. I also get ~1 second pauses now and then when streaming via A2DP, regardless of app (Google Play Music, Slacker Radio, SiriusXM, etc etc etc) - neither phone or HU show any indication anything has happened. All of those phones run pretty much vanilla Android; not sure if that's related or not. I'm not sure if it's the microphone Pioneer uses being overly sensitive to wind noise (and thus triggering noise cancellation on calls) or the phones; I have a sunroof that causes a lot of wind noise even when closed (because :laffo: GM build quality) with the mic on the A pillar.

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 10:52 on Jan 1, 2019

Shai-Hulud
Jul 10, 2008

But it feels so right!
Lipstick Apathy

Aeka 2.0 posted:

Update. It works now. I don't know why, but it does. Weblink and Android Auto.
Weblink's Waze app is scaled wrong so I'm using AA.
One thing that's odd is that the resolution is not as high with AA than the native OS.

Try activating the developer options in the Android Auto app and switch on 720p or 1080p video output. No guarantee that it will change anything (I think the HU needs to support it) but maybe it helps.

Don Dongington
Sep 27, 2005

#ideasboom
College Slice
JVC seem to have bought Kenwood, so while they had some awesome value products around 2006 or so, JVC seem to have moved back to the entry level, while Kenwood has all the bells and whistles head units. Even then the price difference is tiny.

I honestly don't rate alpine or pioneer very highly anymore. If you want android auto or carplay you're looking north of 500 bucks and the cheaper stuff isn't that good. I have an Alpine double din Bluetooth unit and it is pretty flakey. It randomly factory resets when you hang up a call and to be honest the equivalent Kenwood I helped a mate install 6 months later has better features and cost less.

I've talked to a few ex-competition and installer guys now working retail flinging car stereo and electronics gear and they all seem to love it for the price.

Apparently the Sony 7" touch screen head units are pretty good value too. The main thing to look out for with cheap head units is the preout voltage if you're looking to amplify down the track. 2V is garbage, and some amps won't even be able to compensate for the low signal with the gain control maxed. 4v is pretty standard, and 6v is very good. Even then, most amps come with speaker level inputs now so you're not turbo hosed if you change your mind.

Razzled
Feb 3, 2011

MY HARLEY IS COOL
oh i forgot to ask, does it matter what brand of sound deadner you use? also should i just order dynamat off amazon or go to a local car audio store (which always look skeevy to me)

um excuse me
Jan 1, 2016

by Fluffdaddy
If the materials are the same it doesn't particularly matter which one you use. Physics doesn't care about brands. I used the Nioco brand stuff, I've used the Dynamat Xtreme and have not noticed a quality or result difference.

snugglz
Nov 12, 2004
moist sod for your hogan

mariooncrack posted:

It doesn't look like the wirecutter suggested HUs are available anymore.

I believe the 322 has been succeeded by the 522, which I installed in my truck about a month ago. I’m not impressed by the bluetooth audio quality, but I never am — I got it because it has front and rear USB ports, which sound great. can’t speak on it’s AA functionality as I use apple currently but my partner uses a pixel; I’ll plug it in sometime and repot back. sound is good, better than the older Kenwood it replaced, RCA outputs are 4V, display is very good. only real complaint is the rotary knob/volume control is kinda twitchy, can be hard to select settings blind.

jiggerypokery
Feb 1, 2012

...But I could hardly wait six months with a red hot jape like that under me belt.

I want to be able to stream audible and spotify through my 2010 Opel Vivaro's radio. I assume I need a bluetooth and/or usb radio installed.

I know that I need a new radio and fascia kit. If I want to keep using steering wheel controls, do I need to buy anything there or can I just connect the old ones?

Any recommendations on what exactly I need? (total moron here)

Don Dongington
Sep 27, 2005

#ideasboom
College Slice

jiggerypokery posted:

I want to be able to stream audible and spotify through my 2010 Opel Vivaro's radio. I assume I need a bluetooth and/or usb radio installed.

I know that I need a new radio and fascia kit. If I want to keep using steering wheel controls, do I need to buy anything there or can I just connect the old ones?

Any recommendations on what exactly I need? (total moron here)

Is there no aux in? They were pretty much becoming universal by 2010. Sometimes they're hidden away, but if all you want to do is connect your phone audio that will be significantly cheaper.

If you want track skip and play/pause though, you're probably going to be spending some money.

Either way, the Crutchfield website will tell you what you have and what you might need to get where you want to be.

jiggerypokery
Feb 1, 2012

...But I could hardly wait six months with a red hot jape like that under me belt.

There is a hidden aux in which I tried but it isn't balanced so you hear the phone charging when it is plugged in to the cigarette lighter usb adapter. It also has poor SNR. This is unacceptable. I'll check that site, thanks!

Nostalgia4Infinity
Feb 27, 2007

10,000 YEARS WASN'T ENOUGH LURKING
I'm buying a 2014 Chevy Impala with the 8 inch MyLink system on it. Anyone know if there's an easy way to get CarPlay on it? I know GM started offering it in the 2016 model year.

Don Dongington
Sep 27, 2005

#ideasboom
College Slice

jiggerypokery posted:

There is a hidden aux in which I tried but it isn't balanced so you hear the phone charging when it is plugged in to the cigarette lighter usb adapter. It also has poor SNR. This is unacceptable. I'll check that site, thanks!

Yeah gently caress that. Throw the lot in the bin. You should be able to find all the integration gear you need, although it may limit you to pioneer and alpine, which is fine tbh because at the point where they allow steering control they're generally pretty good.

MonkeyFit
May 13, 2009
I have a 2010 Chevy Impala that I upgraded to a Sony XAV-AX100 for that sweet Android Auto. I'm looking to upgrade my stock speakers and was hoping you guys could help me with getting the best bang for my buck. I don't need audiophile grade speakers, and I don't even really want to waste space with a sub. I'm just looking for better sound at an affordable price.

Front - 6½"
Pillar mounted tweeters
Back - 6x9"

Thanks for any help, advice, and tips you can give.

intheflesh
Nov 4, 2008

MonkeyFit posted:

I'm just looking for ~better sound at an affordable price~



What's your definition of an affordable price?

Cheap-ish option
Just over $300
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BF6HYBG/ref=dp_cerb_2
Rockfrord Fosgate 4 Channel Amp 300Watts RMS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007SNMQDQ/?coliid=I1IFBPIQAM14VS&colid=GD55CETFVH4O&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Component Speakers for the Fronts
https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-REF...T3285N8BHZ&th=1
6X9" for the rear

More expensive
Same brands but the next product line up
$530
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BF6HZ6K/ref=psdc_2230642011_t4_B00BF6HYBG?th=1
Fosgate 4Channel 400 Watts RMS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DH2XYSI/ref=psdc_2230642011_t3_B007SNMQDQ
Infinity Components
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FPU50NW/ref=psdc_2230642011_t3_B007SNMQDQ?th=1
6X9s

You could likely just replace your speakers, but you have to make sure that your car doesn't have any funky proprietary amps/speaker setups. If you can, go to a car stereo shop (not best buy/big box store) and give a listen to a couple different brands. Most speaker brands have a bit of a 'signature sound' and whatever somebody says is a good brand on the internet may not sound good to you.

MonkeyFit
May 13, 2009
Thanks for the advice. Both of those options are in the price range I've been looking at in my preliminary window shopping.

Are there other brands that are known for decent quality (not just sound but build also) in that price range?

I'll look into whether my car has some weird amp setups but I don't think so. I've heard the bose systems usually do but my car doesn't have that. Thanks.

falz
Jan 29, 2005

01100110 01100001 01101100 01111010
Unsure if acceptable here, but I have an old school Rockford Fosgate Punch 200dsm amp from 1993 or so (no xover).

I had it recapped about 10 years ago but haven't had it hooked up since then. I'll probably toss it in ebay but if anyone in here is in to this type of thing let me know and I'll toss up a SA mart link.

intheflesh
Nov 4, 2008

MonkeyFit posted:

Thanks for the advice. Both of those options are in the price range I've been looking at in my preliminary window shopping.

Are there other brands that are known for decent quality (not just sound but build also) in that price range?

These are all good mainstream brands. The car stereo world is much like the home audio universe, where there is crap, entry level, good stuff, then hundreds of super high end brands that are impossible to keep track of. For the speakers, try before you buy if possible.

For speakers:
Polk
Infinity
Focal
Alpine

For amps:
Rockford Fosgate
JBL
Alpine
JL Audio
Kenwood

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

So was asking about stuff for GF's car.

I went against advice and ordered from Crutchfield. The lowest end Kenwood receiver that had the features she wanted was more expensive on Amazon, and didn't include a harness or mount kit. It's a $90 receiver, mostly around $90-100 everywhere. Crutchfield throws in the basic harness and mounting kit. That and some crimps are all I need.

(now taking bets on how pissy she gets on me getting the cheapest good name brand thing that does what she wanted... the odds are basically "I will definitely lose").

intheflesh posted:

These are all good mainstream brands. The car stereo world is much like the home audio universe, where there is crap, entry level, good stuff, then hundreds of super high end brands that are impossible to keep track of. For the speakers, try before you buy if possible.

For speakers:
Polk
Infinity
Focal
Alpine

Having used Polk, Infinity, Alpine, and Pioneer speakers, I would also suggest trying Pioneer speakers (only higher end ones; their low end stuff is hot garbage).

I wasn't thrilled with the Alpine speakers I tried, but that was... uh.. before some, maybe most, of the people here were born (it was their original Type R component line I think, around 1997).

I've been really happy with Polk and Infinity.

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 09:22 on Jan 17, 2019

Don Dongington
Sep 27, 2005

#ideasboom
College Slice
My understanding of things is that Alpine gear is good when you want a lot of SPL without going deep into the abyss of enthusiast/competition car audio (much like Kicker). You're not gonna win an SQ competition but you probably won't blow it up by running it way too loud either.
Pioneer and Kenwood are good options when you're budget conscious and want to spend exactly the amount of money you have, because they have a million options at various graded price points, and the mid-high tier pioneer stuff is actually good value.
Focal is entry level to mid tier SQ gear and by all rights very good for the price,
Polk, Hertz and Infinity are good quality and often available cheap on sale,
and Morel and Boston Accoustics are for audiophiles with too much money.

VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

Don Dongington posted:

My understanding of things is that Alpine gear is good when you want a lot of SPL without going deep into the abyss of enthusiast/competition car audio (much like Kicker). You're not gonna win an SQ competition but you probably won't blow it up by running it way too loud either.
Pioneer and Kenwood are good options when you're budget conscious and want to spend exactly the amount of money you have, because they have a million options at various graded price points, and the mid-high tier pioneer stuff is actually good value.
Focal is entry level to mid tier SQ gear and by all rights very good for the price,
Polk, Hertz and Infinity are good quality and often available cheap on sale,
and Morel and Boston Accoustics are for audiophiles with too much money.

The Rockford Fosgate mono amps represent a really good deal also. I'm using a 500w one in my car.

Don Dongington
Sep 27, 2005

#ideasboom
College Slice
I have one of the pioneer monoblock class D ones, and they're insane value for money.

They actually make the advertised power into 1/2ohms too. Bit over according to a youtube dyno test I saw.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Don Dongington posted:

Pioneer and Kenwood are good options when you're budget conscious and want to spend exactly the amount of money you have, because they have a million options at various graded price points, and the mid-high tier pioneer stuff is actually good value.
Focal is entry level to mid tier SQ gear and by all rights very good for the price,
Polk, Hertz and Infinity are good quality and often available cheap on sale,

I'm really impressed with the HU I ordered for GF. It's a low end Kenwood, but has a 13 band EQ, digital time alignment, and supports pairing to 2 different phones at once. None of which my higher end (for a few years ago) Pioneer supports (5 band EQ, the rest is a solid no). If it supported HD radio, it'd be on my shortlist for my next head unit, but we only have a couple of HD stations here anyway (DFW had a few that I listened to; here, AFAIK here it's only KOOP, and only after they go off the air on their normal frequency). We'll see how impressed I am once it shows up, but reviews are pretty solid. Only 2V preouts, but she's not ever going to hook an amp up. At best, she might replace her front speakers at some point.

I've always thought Focal was one of the best affordable brands, Infinity a solid middle of the road option, and Polk the cheapest "good" brand, personally (which is why my home speakers are Infinity, car speakers are Polk). My positively ancient Polk DXi sub has taken some serious abuse over the years, and just keeps coming back for more.

MikeyTsi
Jan 11, 2009

STR posted:

So was asking about stuff for GF's car.

I went against advice and ordered from Crutchfield. The lowest end Kenwood receiver that had the features she wanted was more expensive on Amazon, and didn't include a harness or mount kit. It's a $90 receiver, mostly around $90-100 everywhere. Crutchfield throws in the basic harness and mounting kit. That and some crimps are all I need.

(now taking bets on how pissy she gets on me getting the cheapest good name brand thing that does what she wanted... the odds are basically "I will definitely lose").


Having used Polk, Infinity, Alpine, and Pioneer speakers, I would also suggest trying Pioneer speakers (only higher end ones; their low end stuff is hot garbage).

I wasn't thrilled with the Alpine speakers I tried, but that was... uh.. before some, maybe most, of the people here were born (it was their original Type R component line I think, around 1997).

I've been really happy with Polk and Infinity.

I still have a set of DDDrive speakers.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

poo poo, now that I think about it, I think that's what they were. In fact I'm almost positive.

It was the mid 90s, so maybe before the Type R line?

I wasn't impressed with them to be honest. I went back to some brand I can't remember that a local high end car audio shop recommended in 1995 or so. The bass sounded okay on the Alpines, but highs were just... ehhhhhh. I liked the crossovers on the Alpines better tho.

MonkeyFit
May 13, 2009
So I stopped in to Fry's to listen to some Infinity speakers. I ended up getting the 6530CX component speakers for the front and 9633IX speakers for the rear of my 2010 Impala. I didn't bother with an amp since my Sony deck puts out 20W RMS and 55W peak per channel. After some misadventure on my part, I used the stock wire that was already routed, 3D printed some retaining brackets for the tweeters, and got everything hooked up and working.

The difference is incredible. Thanks guys for the advice.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Got the new Kenwood deck installed in GF's car. Record time even. Bezel just yanks off, unplug a few switches, then four 10mm bolts to pull the HU out. I like you, Toyota. I like the Metra mounting kit too - it includes a trim ring for the front, and the included trim looks a little better (IMO) with this stereo. Leaves just enough room to remove the faceplate too, or if you're using ISO mounting (which I did.. makes it a little harder to steal), you can scoot it back a little bit to make it flush.

Then realized, after I'd finished patting myself on the back, that I forgot the microphone. :shepicide: So I get to tear it apart again tomorrow, and probably figure out how the A pillar comes off on a Matrix/Corolla (guessing it's just clipped in, since no side airbags on hers).

I was less than impressed that the new deck lacks a dash illumination wire to dim the display with the lights (I knew low end Pioneers ditched the wire, didn't know Kenwood did too), but there's a setting to have it dim itself during certain times, along with a dimmer button on the stereo, so that helps. She leaves for work at 4:30am, so "not retina searing" would be nice. New HU has a surprising amount of options for a bottom of the line CD/Bluetooth HU.




I'm impressed enough with this head unit that my next one will probably be Kenwood. UI is similar enough to make an easy transition, but adds a few more features (2 active phones at once, for example, plus a 13 band EQ if you turn off "easy EQ" mode), and the included harness seems like it uses thicker wires. Has settings for car size, speaker size, and if you want to really get fancy, you can measure the distance from each speaker to the driver's seat and put that in. Not a bad head unit for $90 (including mounting kit and adapter harness).

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 07:50 on Jan 23, 2019

The Door Frame
Dec 5, 2011

I don't know man everytime I go to the gym here there are like two huge dudes with raging high and tights snorting Nitro-tech off of each other's rock hard abs.
I've noticed that if I have my subwoofer turned up high, rear defroster on, wipers on, and the cooling fan switches on, I get huge voltage dips, a pulsing idle, and my wipers move really slowly

The 3 possible fixes are a getting stronger main battery, secondary battery, or higher output alternator. Ideally I'd do all 3, and I plan to eventually do them all, but what would be the most cost effective order to do them in?

Humbug
Dec 3, 2006
Bogus
Is the voltage drop at the battery terminals or on your instruments? Just making sure it's not bad wires or connections. I would say new battery if your charging system is working properly. Have you measured the amp pull of your amp?

The Door Frame
Dec 5, 2011

I don't know man everytime I go to the gym here there are like two huge dudes with raging high and tights snorting Nitro-tech off of each other's rock hard abs.

Humbug posted:

Is the voltage drop at the battery terminals or on your instruments? Just making sure it's not bad wires or connections. I would say new battery if your charging system is working properly. Have you measured the amp pull of your amp?

The volt gauge goes from 14.5 to ~12 and then jumps back immediately up once I turn off the defroster, headlights, or wipers, or the fan turns off. I didn't even think to check at the battery terminal, but I did an amperage draw check when I installed my about amp a year ago. I remember it was somewhere around 24 amps, and my alternator is rated at 70 amps

um excuse me
Jan 1, 2016

by Fluffdaddy
70 Amps is pretty small compared to my car's (current gen WRX) 130A. I sort of assumed most cars were around a hundred or so.

The cost effective solution to me is to just get a better battery. Optima Yellow is supposed to be good for mixed use stuff.

For a dual system you're supposed to use Red (starter) and Blue (accessories). I only know this because Subaru has a horrible OE battery that I've been looking to replace because it runs so low in the winter it triggers my dash cams low voltage trip and my stereo's accessory wire isn't high enough to turn on the head unit until the car is being driven.

But it would seem to me, at 70 Amps, your car could really use a better alternator down the road. And of course Optima is just the brand I'm familiar with, other brands like Interstate also have similar performance categories.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Short term solution would be to add a beefy cap for the amp, at least to get rid of the pulsing with bass. It just sounds like your alternator is either worn out, or it was never up to the task of powering all of that at idle. It should be able to handle stock accessories at idle so long as your idle is, well, normal idle speeds (~750 rpm).

My old car, with a 105 amp alternator, still had voltage dips corresponding with bass hits. It wasn't severe, but it was enough to make the headlights pulse while at a stop. Once I got moving again, that went away (mostly).

70 amps? Guessing something 80s or 90s, right? Voltmeter kinda points at 80s.

The Door Frame
Dec 5, 2011

I don't know man everytime I go to the gym here there are like two huge dudes with raging high and tights snorting Nitro-tech off of each other's rock hard abs.

STR posted:

Short term solution would be to add a beefy cap for the amp, at least to get rid of the pulsing with bass. It just sounds like your alternator is either worn out, or it was never up to the task of powering all of that at idle. It should be able to handle stock accessories at idle so long as your idle is, well, normal idle speeds (~750 rpm).

My old car, with a 105 amp alternator, still had voltage dips corresponding with bass hits. It wasn't severe, but it was enough to make the headlights pulse while at a stop. Once I got moving again, that went away (mostly).

70 amps? Guessing something 80s or 90s, right? Voltmeter kinda points at 80s.

It's a 93 Capri based on the 80's BF chasis Mazda Familia. Good guess
The alternator has been screaming since even before I did anything to the electronics. After getting a new belt and tightening it to spec, it still makes a horrible noise, but it hasn't had a drop in output or damaged my battery yet, so I've left it as is. The idle is pretty high due to a dying IAC valve, ~950rpm with the manual idle adjustment set to the lowest level possible. I don't know if that helps or hurts
How tough is the install for a capacitor battery? Could I just grab a new main battery and use the old battery as the backup, or should it also be a higher quality battery than the Ford Motorcraft commercial/fleet use battery in it now?

um excuse me posted:

70 Amps is pretty small compared to my car's (current gen WRX) 130A. I sort of assumed most cars were around a hundred or so.

The cost effective solution to me is to just get a better battery. Optima Yellow is supposed to be good for mixed use stuff.

For a dual system you're supposed to use Red (starter) and Blue (accessories). I only know this because Subaru has a horrible OE battery that I've been looking to replace because it runs so low in the winter it triggers my dash cams low voltage trip and my stereo's accessory wire isn't high enough to turn on the head unit until the car is being driven.

But it would seem to me, at 70 Amps, your car could really use a better alternator down the road. And of course Optima is just the brand I'm familiar with, other brands like Interstate also have similar performance categories.

It could be that I never noticed before because it hasn't been using every accessory with the amp installed in negative temperatures until now. I forget that even though the engine bay gets really hot, batteries never like the cold. I probably need a new alternator (see above), but it's in an awkward corner in a cramped engine bay, so I'd prefer to not upgrade until it's warm out

Don Dongington
Sep 27, 2005

#ideasboom
College Slice
STOP

Fix your earths. 99% of the time this sort of issue is caused by lovely earthing. A lot of cars have lovely earthing, but fortunately there's also tonnes of resources online detailing how to fix this. Before you upgrade your alternator or battery, I'd take the cheaper option and ensure your amp, engine block, and alternator are earthed properly to the body and the battery. In Car Audio circles it's called the Big 3 Upgrade. Also make sure your amp ground has a good connection to the body of the car - bare metal not paint.

Here's a youtube video that might be helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p82xRzCr-lc

Try that before you change out your alt.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Finally put my amp/sub in my current car. This sub has been in 4 cars now, amp in 3 cars.

I got a really cheap wiring kit on Amazon, and it shows - I knew it'd copper clad aluminum wire, and I'm fine with that so long as it's beefy enough. It's 4 gauge, which is more than enough for a Crunch "1100 watt" amp (it's probably 150-200 RMS, 500-600 peak, unless lightning strikes - the sub is 720 peak, and it's held up fine with this amp for ages). Also ordered a Rockford Fosgate GM battery terminal extender, since I have a side post battery. On the old car (also a GM), I kinda sorta turned the ring terminal into a spade terminal and jammed it into the existing positive connection - this way I was able to do it "right". I don't like having that much metal exposed on the positive terminal, but the battery is in the trunk, strapped down properly, and the only thing nearby is the spare tire (also secured properly). I'll still wrap the exposed metal in electrical tape in a day or two; I keep a 4 way lug wrench on top of the spare tire normally (it's in the trunk itself for now), I don't want to risk it hitting the terminal. The normal cap that goes over the terminal obviously won't go on with the extended post and extra cable.

Not a fan of the 100 amp blade fuse that came with the kit - I'll swap it for something more reasonable soon, but it's within 6 wire inches of the battery, and zip tied to the main positive cable feeding the car. The loving STARTER is rated 105 amps according to GM, I doubt this crappy amp can come close. I want to say my last wiring kit for the same amp/almost identical car had a 40 amp fuse, and it never popped (but I did get distortion at higher volumes; TBF it was an 8 gauge kit). So far, no noticeable distortion with the same tracks, same head unit, same settings (if I remembered them correctly), didn't touch the amp gain.

The Door Frame posted:

It's a 93 Capri based on the 80's BF chasis Mazda Familia. Good guess
The alternator has been screaming since even before I did anything to the electronics. After getting a new belt and tightening it to spec, it still makes a horrible noise, but it hasn't had a drop in output or damaged my battery yet, so I've left it as is. The idle is pretty high due to a dying IAC valve, ~950rpm with the manual idle adjustment set to the lowest level possible. I don't know if that helps or hurts
How tough is the install for a capacitor battery? Could I just grab a new main battery and use the old battery as the backup, or should it also be a higher quality battery than the Ford Motorcraft commercial/fleet use battery in it now?

The capacitor goes in-line with the positive feed to your amp(s), but also has its own negative connection. It'll also bite you really hard if you touch it (or the amp wiring) without discharging it properly.

That said, replace that alternator before it locks up. That noise is very likely the bearings in it, or the rectifier. You don't want it take a poo poo - if it's bearings, it'll lock up pretty soon, and very likely severely reduce mileage before then. If it's the rectifier, it's about to let the magic smoke out (hopefully blowing all of the diodes in the process so that it doesn't turn into a dead short). Since you're already looking at an alternator, just replace the drat thing with a higher output one. Better yet, if you can find an old school alternator/starter shop, take it to them, have them rebuild it, and ask them if they can rewind it to put out a bit more power. It'll either be cheaper or about the same cost as an off the shelf reman with higher output, and I guarantee it'll outlast your car. You'll have to really search for an alternator shop these days, but they can work serious magic. 70 amps just isn't enough for more than a small subwoofer though; I've had cars with similarly sized alternators where just the head unit by itself caused flickering lights with bass (only powering door and rear deck speakers, no amps).

There's very little pulling power on your particular car outside of the headlights, AC compressor (if you have ac), cooling fan, and your amp, most of the time (wipers, fan on high, defrost, etc will pull more than it can put out easily).

And as Don said, check out your grounds. Make sure your amp has a very solid ground. Make sure your battery ground is solid, make sure the ground cable is in good shape to both the engine block and body. On a 93, all of this is very likely pretty questionable unless it's always been a desert car.

e: what amp(s) are you running again?

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 09:31 on Jan 31, 2019

The Door Frame
Dec 5, 2011

I don't know man everytime I go to the gym here there are like two huge dudes with raging high and tights snorting Nitro-tech off of each other's rock hard abs.

STR posted:

The capacitor goes in-line with the positive feed to your amp(s), but also has its own negative connection. It'll also bite you really hard if you touch it (or the amp wiring) without discharging it properly.

That said, replace that alternator before it locks up. That noise is very likely the bearings in it, or the rectifier. You don't want it take a poo poo - if it's bearings, it'll lock up pretty soon, and very likely severely reduce mileage before then. If it's the rectifier, it's about to let the magic smoke out (hopefully blowing all of the diodes in the process so that it doesn't turn into a dead short). Since you're already looking at an alternator, just replace the drat thing with a higher output one. Better yet, if you can find an old school alternator/starter shop, take it to them, have them rebuild it, and ask them if they can rewind it to put out a bit more power. It'll either be cheaper or about the same cost as an off the shelf reman with higher output, and I guarantee it'll outlast your car. You'll have to really search for an alternator shop these days, but they can work serious magic. 70 amps just isn't enough for more than a small subwoofer though; I've had cars with similarly sized alternators where just the head unit by itself caused flickering lights with bass (only powering door and rear deck speakers, no amps).

There's very little pulling power on your particular car outside of the headlights, AC compressor (if you have ac), cooling fan, and your amp, most of the time (wipers, fan on high, defrost, etc will pull more than it can put out easily).

And as Don said, check out your grounds. Make sure your amp has a very solid ground. Make sure your battery ground is solid, make sure the ground cable is in good shape to both the engine block and body. On a 93, all of this is very likely pretty questionable unless it's always been a desert car.

e: what amp(s) are you running again?

I've got a Soundstream TN5 950D with some Clarion head unit/amp that has 5 channel RCA and no CD drive
The battery, amp, and engine ground connections are solid, I had to check and clean them after I tore apart the engine bay this fall and had some residual gremlins. Unless they rattled loose in the past 2 months, they're not the issue. The alternator has been on the list of things to do for nearly a year

It's one of those mythical "little old lady" cars. It had 1 owner, was garage kept in southern Indiana with virtually no rust on it, low miles, everything original except the radio, a few cigarette burns in the ash tray, and reeked like someone had dumped an entire bottle of Estee Lauder in it

Don Dongington posted:

STOP

Fix your earths. 99% of the time this sort of issue is caused by lovely earthing. A lot of cars have lovely earthing, but fortunately there's also tonnes of resources online detailing how to fix this. Before you upgrade your alternator or battery, I'd take the cheaper option and ensure your amp, engine block, and alternator are earthed properly to the body and the battery. In Car Audio circles it's called the Big 3 Upgrade. Also make sure your amp ground has a good connection to the body of the car - bare metal not paint.

Here's a youtube video that might be helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p82xRzCr-lc

Try that before you change out your alt.

I never considered beefing up the ground and charge wires themselves. It should've been an immediately obvious solution to me, since that's how I fixed a problem in the X1/9 where the voltage would drop and the wipers would basically stop working if the headlights and literally any other accessory were on at the same time :doh:

Here's a bit of a vehicle specific curve ball though, my engine has 2 connections that could be considered engine grounds, one is a 10-12 gauge wire that comes off the valve cover to the negative battery terminal, and the other is a rectangular, bare metal strap that's roughly 1/2"x1/8" across and comes off the bell housing to the chassis. Do I replace both?

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Yes. Beef up that valve cover one, and look for a ground between the battery and chassis as well.

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 07:51 on Feb 5, 2019

The Door Frame
Dec 5, 2011

I don't know man everytime I go to the gym here there are like two huge dudes with raging high and tights snorting Nitro-tech off of each other's rock hard abs.

STR posted:

Yes. Beef up that valve cover one, and look for a ground between the battery and chassis as well.

As far as I can tell from my visual inspections when checking the grounds and reading the diagrams in the service manual, there is no singular battery ground. There are 3 stock cables on the negative terminal that forms a series of branching grounds with a primary wire that attaches to the bottom of the battery tray. Smaller wires from the valve cover, starter, and alternator collect into a second wire on the negative terminal, and then the third wire disappears into the wiring harness and connects to seemingly random spots on the body, even passing through the firewall and may go as far from the engine bay as the fuel pump :psyduck:

My current idea is to completely ignore that labyrinthine bullshit and just add a fourth cable from the terminal to the strut tower or some other solid piece of the chassis

toplitzin
Jun 13, 2003


Any suggested use or avoid brands for wiring? Or just whatever kits/spools from Amazon are not the cheapest.

I'm moving all my audio gear from the wrx to the civic, but don't trust the po wire job. Especially since the current head unit only works out of one speaker depending on rpm.

I've got a older Sony BT headunit, a 10" RF Punch sub, Infiniti Kappa components, crossovers, and two amps.

Worst case scenario I order all the poo poo from crutchfield for their nice harnesses and instructions.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Avoid "CCA" (copper clad aluminum), unless you plan to massively upsize vs what you really need. It's a lot cheaper, but it can't carry the same amperage as true copper, and it's a lot harder to work with in tight spaces.

Unless you're going massive overkill, anyway, and don't mind running much thicker cable than what you'd run for copper. I went overkill and took my chances on CCA, but I went 4 gauge for a single amp for a single sub - the amp claims 1100W peak, but it's an early 2010s Crunch/Maxxsonics, so we know it'll never hit more than 300-400 peak. I had 8 or 10 gauge in the old car and had a lot of issues with clipping, I haven't run into that on this one (same year/make/model, same alternator output, same CCA battery, probably the same battery maker, same head unit).

I only did this because the 4 gauge CCA kit was $25ish. I figured I needed 6 gauge copper, and could probably get away with 8. The RCAs it came with are junk IMO, but I'm not getting any whining, so they'll stay in place for now. I need to swap the 100 amp fuse it came with for something like a 40 amp (pretty sure the wiring will be molten aluminum long before that fuse pops if something went south). Also, my battery is in the trunk, so I didn't have to deal with trying to run 4 gauge through the firewall and car (... not that they gave me enough wire for that anyway).

Do you plan to amp the regular speakers? If so, find a spool of 16 or 18 gauge zip cord, run it down the center tunnel (assuming the amp is in the trunk), and pull it into the front doors. Copper is copper, it doesn't have to be anything special. But the stock speaker wiring is something like 20 to 24 gauge on 90s Civics.

You got a DX, right? If so, the plastic tube going from the A pillar to the doors should only have speaker wires, but be sized for the EX (which would have power windows/locks/mirrors, plus switches attached to the keyed locks), so pulling new wire through them shouldn't be horrible. You may need to get 1/4" spacers for your front speakers, IIRC the windows will hit the magnets on Kappas otherwise (they're pretty deep, right? give it a shot and roll a window down without a spacer). 1/4" should still allow you to get the door panel back on over the speakers easily. Though Honda did do some weird things back then, like using the EX harness on every trim. I think they only did that on the main body harness, though (i.e. you probably have wiring for factory fogs, definitely for the LX/EX cluster w/tach, etc already there).

Fosgate makes good wiring kits, but you're gonna pay for the name.

Also going by memory, but you should be able to get the positive wire through the same grommet that the engine harness passes through. It should be on the passenger side under the battery tray somewhere. If not, I believe there's a grommet with nothing going through it on the driver's side, near the gas pedal. I wound up using the latter option on my 96 EX, but more because I was lazy and in a hurry.

The Door Frame posted:

As far as I can tell from my visual inspections when checking the grounds and reading the diagrams in the service manual, there is no singular battery ground. There are 3 stock cables on the negative terminal that forms a series of branching grounds with a primary wire that attaches to the bottom of the battery tray. Smaller wires from the valve cover, starter, and alternator collect into a second wire on the negative terminal, and then the third wire disappears into the wiring harness and connects to seemingly random spots on the body, even passing through the firewall and may go as far from the engine bay as the fuel pump :psyduck:

My current idea is to completely ignore that labyrinthine bullshit and just add a fourth cable from the terminal to the strut tower or some other solid piece of the chassis

That's normal. You usually have one going from the battery to the chassis, another going to the engine block (usually also bolted the chassis, often as a flat flex cable like what you described), and occasionally even another.

In the case of a remote battery, like the stock one on my car (in the trunk), the negative cable is beefy as gently caress going to the chassis (I'd say it's 2 gauge, just spitballing, while the positive cable leading to the front of the car is probably 6?), and under the hood there's multiple ground cables branching out from one central point under the fuse box, basically where the battery would be if it were under the hood.

If it were my car? I'd rip out the cable from the battery to the bottom of the tray, along with the wires from the starter, valve cover, and alternator. Replace all of those with the same gauge or thicker wire, and use the same grounding points. And make sure to keep that third wire connected (maybe pull the insulation back a little to check for corrosion; if there is any, cut the wire back until you find clean wire and put a new ring terminal on). Or start by slicing the insulation open a little on each wire and making sure nothing is green.

Honestly, I'm gonna fall back on my previous suggestion - that the alternator just isn't beefy enough. If it's truly an old lady car that's pretty much mint, you'll still find some corrosion at any connections near the battery, but hopefully not a lot. Cars that don't get driven a lot tend to wind up with low/dead batteries often; recharging a battery produces a lot more hydrogen gas than what you'd normally get from a daily driver. The hydrogen is what causes your terminals and cables to corrode.

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 12:58 on Feb 5, 2019

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toplitzin
Jun 13, 2003


STR posted:

Avoid "CCA" (copper clad aluminum), unless you plan to massively upsize vs what you really need. It's a lot cheaper, but it can't carry the same amperage as true copper, and it's a lot harder to work with in tight spaces.

Unless you're going massive overkill, anyway, and don't mind running much thicker cable than what you'd run for copper. I went overkill and took my chances on CCA, but I went 4 gauge for a single amp for a single sub - the amp claims 1100W peak, but it's an early 2010s Crunch/Maxxsonics, so we know it'll never hit more than 300-400 peak. I had 8 or 10 gauge in the old car and had a lot of issues with clipping, I haven't run into that on this one (same year/make/model, same alternator output, same CCA battery, probably the same battery maker, same head unit).

I only did this because the 4 gauge CCA kit was $25ish. I figured I needed 6 gauge copper, and could probably get away with 8. The RCAs it came with are junk IMO, but I'm not getting any whining, so they'll stay in place for now. I need to swap the 100 amp fuse it came with for something like a 40 amp (pretty sure the wiring will be molten aluminum long before that fuse pops if something went south). Also, my battery is in the trunk, so I didn't have to deal with trying to run 4 gauge through the firewall and car (... not that they gave me enough wire for that anyway).

Do you plan to amp the regular speakers? If so, find a spool of 16 or 18 gauge zip cord, run it down the center tunnel (assuming the amp is in the trunk), and pull it into the front doors. Copper is copper, it doesn't have to be anything special. But the stock speaker wiring is something like 20 to 24 gauge on 90s Civics.

You got a DX, right? If so, the plastic tube going from the A pillar to the doors should only have speaker wires, but be sized for the EX (which would have power windows/locks/mirrors, plus switches attached to the keyed locks), so pulling new wire through them shouldn't be horrible. You may need to get 1/4" spacers for your front speakers, IIRC the windows will hit the magnets on Kappas otherwise (they're pretty deep, right? give it a shot and roll a window down without a spacer). 1/4" should still allow you to get the door panel back on over the speakers easily. Though Honda did do some weird things back then, like using the EX harness on every trim. I think they only did that on the main body harness, though (i.e. you probably have wiring for factory fogs, definitely for the LX/EX cluster w/tach, etc already there).

Fosgate makes good wiring kits, but you're gonna pay for the name.

Also going by memory, but you should be able to get the positive wire through the same grommet that the engine harness passes through. It should be on the passenger side under the battery tray somewhere. If not, I believe there's a grommet with nothing going through it on the driver's side, near the gas pedal. I wound up using the latter option on my 96 EX, but more because I was lazy and in a hurry.

It's an LX sedan. I was incorrect earlier.

And yes, I plan on amping the IK component and crossovers.
I've got a 2ch Boston acoustics for the fronts, and a Alpine for the sub.
In the WRX i had the crossovers and amp under the driver's seat and the sub/amp in the rear.

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