I got the chance to pick up one of these guys for next to nothing this weekend and figured, sure, my Blaupunkt can handle a powered sub, why not?

Kenwood KSC-WA82RC


Probably isn't the best subbass solution out there, but the price was right. In any case, the price was right because there'* no power cord. Sure, comes with a good set of heavy gauge RCA cables, the remote, and the extra long remote cable, but no power. Of course.

I did manage to find a wiring diagram for the connector, though, and I can fab one of these things, no problem. (Yes, looked at buying an OEM one, but it would cost 5x what I paid for the sub.)



The problem is...what next? I've already got it hooked up to the proper output on my head unit (not that it'* doing much yet, but I was already behind the dash today poking at things, so I took care of it), and I know where the +12 volt line has to go. I've installed head units and replaced speakers, but I've never hooked up a powered sub before. What should I be hooking the power/ground into and where? If it matters, the unit is sitting behind the driver'* seat (for now), but I have enough slack on the current set of cables to run it back to the trunk later.

I'll be digging thru my books as soon as I hit the submit button, but if anyone has any protips to share, I'd appreciate the help. Thanks in advance!

Judging by the 15amp fuse on the amp, I'd say its safe to say you could tap into your drivers side fuse block using a constant ON power lead.

Ur ground wire can just be connected to a large bolt in ur trunk. Like a seatbelt secure bolt, trunk latch bolt, ect. make sure all paint is removed to ensure a good connect. and bolt down tightly.

"remote wire" u will need to hook up to ur remote turn on lead on the back of your cd deck.

RCA cables will connect the sub out on ur cd player to rca in on ur amp/sub

power wire u will want to hook up to ur positive battery terminal with an inline fuse holder.

I relise that there is two powers and two grounds but still that is some thin wire! most small amps require 8 gauge wire and that has got to be 20g or something similar. but if its what the company provides must be sufficient.

Hope this helps

I was wondering about that. The connector I made uses 16g or 18g wire, but I made the double leads fairly short and twisted them together at the ends to give the "real" sub wire something to bite onto when I do the splicing. Maybe that'* why there'* two? I haven't seen the other end of the OEM cable, so I'm not sure how they handled that.

The remote wire lead on the head unit is no more than 18g, so no worries there.

Thanks for the tips on where to put the ground.

Looks like it'* time for me to hit some hardware stores and get me some wire and splices. And find my dang crimping tool -- I lose the stupid thing between every project. Probably own a half dozen of them now just because I can never find one when I need it.

while ur at the hardware store get a washer that will fit over the bolt u are using as ur chassis ground bolt. So u can tighten down without the bolt pushing threw ur crimped on...... damn.... whats it called... crimped on metal end with hole in it.. lol
This thing http://www.crutchfield.com/p_211RTC8...*.html?tp=2357 try not to use bare wire..

ring terminal

THANK YOU! ahhhh. that was going to bug me all night. LOL. I was just sitting here having a brain fart

Yup, ring terminal. Good thing I have a box of terminals, and some of them even fit 8 gauge wire.

Would be nice if the biggest one I have would fit over any of the chassis bolts near the sub, or if I had the right bit to undo the seatbelt retainer and see if that one would work. Guess it'* back to the hardware store tomorrow for more stuff.

lol i knew id help ya stay sane lol. i hate that ish too for sure lol

Man, stupid ring terminals. The one on the battery end was too small, so i had to get the Dremel and a metal cutting bit and cut a notch in the ring in order to get it to stretch enough to fit. (Yeah, totally had lock washers, properly sized nuts for the chassis bolt, and a variable speed Dremel with a metal cutting bit. But didn't have a power outlet in my garage and had to pack up and move to my parents' garage in order to finish the project. Durr.) Almost hacked off a fingertip, too -- good thing I have quality work gloves.

My wire running is pretty ugly, but I managed to hide most of it under the trim and the back seat. If you're not looking for it, you wouldn't notice, but it'* gonna bug me for a while til I figure out how to clean it up.

And damned if the thing didn't work once everything was hooked up, even with the ghetto-built power cable and the lame wire hiding. Can't say I'd recommend this particular sub to anyone who'* an audiophile, but with low-pass enabled and some fancy EQ tuning, it takes most of the low-end load off the stock speakers, and it provides some nice boom for dance-pop and metal. Is a little muddy for anything else, but overall, is a worthwhile cheap improvement.

There was some other ridiculousness, some of which lead to a visit with the urgent care clinic, but it'* not really worth whining about Here'* a pic anyway. Doc did a real nice job on the splint that'* buddy-taped to my middle finger...



Also, a pic of the pigtail I made out of an unused 6-pin power connector from a modular computer power supply. (The OEM is 10 pins, but I didn't need the speaker ones since I had RCAs on my head unit).



And finally, the mostly completed setup. I want to cable tie the coils of excess wire somewhere under the seat and will probably bolt the sub to the floor at some point, but for now, it'll do.



(In bizarro news, I found a cigarette butt under the driver'* seat. I DON'T KNOW HOW IT GOT THERE. Considering my grandpa and I have been the only owners, and my great uncle sold the car, and none of us are smokers, it'* a total mystery to me.)