4 x 25 Watt Trunk Mount Amplifier (120-1976) Preparation Faxback Doc. # 16984 CHOOSING A MOUNTING LOCATION The ideal location for mounting the amplifier is in your vehicle's trunk. Wherever you decide to mount it, choose a mounting location that: Does not interfere with the vehicle's operation Lets you drill mounting holes without damaging other vehicle components Allows enough space around the cooling fins for proper airflow and cooling WARNING: The amplifier gets very hot while it is on. Do not touch the amplivier or place flammable objects near it while it is on. BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE INSTALLATION Before you install your amplifier, carefully read all the instructions in this owner's manual. You should be able to answer all of these questions about your vehicle's electrical and sound systems. Does my vehicle have a 12-volt negative ground system? (If it does not, you cannot use this amplifier.) Which of the amplifier's wires is the power wire? How do I connect a wire to the fuse box? Which amplifier terminals are line-level inputs, which are speaker- level inputs, and which are speaker outputs? IMPORTANT: Be aware that installation in your vehicle may require cutting or modifying your vehicle. Do not cut any of the amplifier's wires. If you cut any wire, you cannot obtain a refund or exchange on this product. Radio Shack will provide warranty service if you cut a wire and find the product is defective. CAUTIONS: To prevent damage to your amplifier or autosound system, you must first connect the ground, primary, and switched power wires before you connect the speakers to the amplifier. Make the connections only in the order shown. Damage to the amplifier is possible if you connect any wire incorrectly. Turn on the power to test the connections before you permanently mount the amplifier (see "Testing the Power Connections"). Be sure your speakers can handle 25 watts per channel if you connect the autosound system to two pairs of speakers (or 50 watts per channel if you connect the autosound system to only one pair of speakers). Each speaker must have an impedance of at least 4 ohms. Your local Radio Shack store carries a full line of speakers to choose from. CONNECTING GROUND AND PRIMARY/SWITCHED POWER 1. To prevent damage to your amplifier or autosound system while making the connections, disconnect the negative (-) cable from your vehicle's battery. NOTE: After you complete the connections and reconnect the battery wire, you will need to reset all clock/timer/memory devices in your vehicle. 2. Connect the supplied dark blue/white wire's end to the amplifier's REM (remote power) terminal. 3. Securely connect the supplied dark blue/white wire's male quick disconnect plug to your autosound system's switched power lead. This connection turns your amplifier on or off when you turn your autosound system on or off. NOTE: If your autosound system does not have a remote power output lead, connect this wire to a point in your vehicle's ignition switch that provides 12-volt battery power when the ignition is set to ON or ACC. This connection turns on the amplifier when you turn your ignition switch to on (or to ACC) and turns off the amplifier when you turn off the ignition. 4. Connect the black wire's spade connector to the amplifier's GND terminal. 5. Securely connect the black wire's eyelet-terminal to a nearby metal ground, such as a bolt attached to a part of the vehicle's chassis. NOTE: Be sure the bolt is not insulated from the chassis by a plastic part or other insulating material. 6. Connect the red wire's spade connector to the amplifier's +12V terminal. 7. Remove the nut from the battery's positive (+) terminal bolt, then place the red wire's 10A fused eyelet terminal over the end of the bolt. CAUTION: Due to the amplifier's high current requirement, you Must connect the red wire's fused end directly to the vehicle's positive (+) battery cable terminal or damage to your vehicle's wiring could result. NOTE: Do not reconnect you vehicle battery's negative(-) cable yet. CONNECTING YOUR AUTOSOUND SYSTEM Low Level Input Connections You can connect your autosound system's low-level phono output jacks to the amplifier's LOW INPUT phono jacks. NOTE: For a cleaner, less noisy signal transfer between your autosound system and the amplifier, the amplifier's LOW INPUT phono jacks are gold-plated. For the best results, use shielded audio cables, such as Cat. No. 42-2368 (not supplied). If your autosound system has only two phono outputs, you will also need two shielded Y-adapter cables, such as Cat. No. 42-2435 (not supplied). 1. Temporarily place the amplifier as close as possible to the selected mounting location. 2. If your autosound system has four phono outputs and you are using four speakers, connect the autosound system to the amplifier using audio cables as follows: front-left to FRONT L, front-right to FRONT R, rear- left to REAR L, and rear-right to REAR R: If your autosound system has four phono outputs but you are using only two speakers (front or rear), connect only the corresponding autosound system's output jacks to the amplifier using audio cables as follows: front-left to FRONT L and front-right to FRONT R, or rear-left to REAR L and rear-right to REAR R If your autosound system has only two phono output jacks (left and right) and you are using four speakers, first connect the single phono plug end of a Y-adapter shielded audio cable to each autosound system output jack. Then: Connect the other two ends of the left Y-adapter to the amplifier's corresponding FRONT L and REAR L phono jacks Connect the other two ends of the right Y-adapter to the amplifier's corresponding FRONT R and REAR R phono jacks If your autosound system has only two phono output jacks (left and right) and you are using only two speakers, simply connect them to the amplifier's corresponding FRONT L and FRONT R, or REAR L and REAR R phone jacks. High-Level Input Connections If your stereo system has only speaker outputs, you can connect them to the amplifier's rear HIGH INPUT and front HIGH INPUT sockets using the floating ground connection or the common ground connection method. If your autosound system has four speaker outputs and you are going to use four speakers: If your autosound system has only two speaker outputs and you are going to use four speakers: CONNECTING THE SPEAKERS With the speakers placed in their approximate locations, run one speaker wire from each speaker to the amplifier. We recommend you use 16- or 18- gauge marked or color-coded wires to help you correctly connect the speakers to your amplifier. For the maximum bass response and the best overall performance, keep your speakers properly phased (connect + to + and - to -). CAUTION: Do not connect the speakers' negative (-) terminal wire to chassis ground. NOTE: Speaker wires have two conductors. Color-coded wires have a stripe running down one of the conductors or different colored insulation for each conductor. Your local Radio Shack store has a wide selection of speaker wire to choose from. Preparing the Speaker Wires 1. Separate each speaker wire's two conductors at both ends for a length of about 4 inches. 2. Strip the insulation from the ends of each conductor to expose 1/4 inch of wire. Note: Be sure to twist the ends to secure loose strands. Connecting Four Speakers 1. Connect one end of a speaker wire's marked conductor to the amplifier's FL+ (front-left positive) terminal. 2. Connect one end of the speaker wire's unmarked conductor to the ampli- fier's FL- (front-left negative) terminal. 3. Repeat Steps 1 - 3 to connect speaker wires to the amplifiers RL (rear-left) and RR (rear-right) terminals. 4. Repeat Steps 1 - 3 to connect speaker wires to the amplifier's RL (rear-left) and RR (rear-right) terminals. 5. Connect the other ends of the four speaker wires so FL connects to the front-left speaker, FR to the front-right speaker, RL to the rear-left speaker, and RR to the rear-right speaker. Connecting Two Speakers If you are connecting only two speakers, you can connect them to the amplifier's (FL and FR) or rear (RL and RR) speaker terminal. 1. Connect one end of a speaker wire's marked conductor to the amplifier's FL + (front-left positive) or RL + (rear-left positive) terminal. 2. Connect the end of the speaker wire's unmarked conductor to the amplifier's FL - (front-left negative) or RL - (rear-left negative) terminals. 3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 to connect a speaker wire to the amplifier's FR + and RF- (front-right) or RR + or RR - (rear-right) terminals. 4. Connect the other ends of the speaker wires so FL connect to the front- left speaker and FR to the front-right speaker, or RL connects to the rear-left speaker and RR connects to the rear-right speaker. TESTING THE CONNECTIONS Before you permanently mount the amplifier, temporarily reconnect your vehicle battery's negative (-) cable, turn your vehicle's ignition to ON or ACC, then test the connections. The amplifier is properly connected to the autosound system and speakers if you can verify that the amplifier and the autosound system turn on properly and the speakers' sound is clear and unmuffled. If you cannot quickly verify that all components operate properly, immediately turn off your vehicle's ignition. Then disconnect your vehicle battery's negative (-) cable and recheck your connections. If you verify that all components operate properly, mark the connections to insure easy identification of each wire, then follow the instructions under "Mounting the Amplifier." MOUNTING THE AMPLIFIER Before you begin mounting the amplifier, make sure you have the following supplied hardware necessary for mounting. 4 sheet-metal screws 4 spring washers 4 flat washers Then confirm that the amplifier fits your vehicle's mounting area. CAUTION: Be careful to not drill into anything behind the mounting surface 1. Temporarily disconnect your vehicle battery's negative (-) cable again. 2. To make mounting more convenient, temporarily disconnect the amplifier's wring (ground, primary power, remote power, your auto-sound system's input, and speakers). 3. Using the mounting holes on the amplifier as a guide, mark the locations for the mounting holes. 4. Drill 9/64-inch holes in the marked locations, being careful not to damage anything behind the mounting surface. 5. Attach the amplifier to the mounting surface using the supplied sheet- metal screws and washers. 6. Reconnect the wiring. 7. Reconnect your vehicle battery's negative (-) cable.