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2,143 Posts
I can tell you things were much easier for me when I did the subs in my Cobalt. There were already 6x9 speakers in the package tray above the rear seats. I tapped into the factory speakers for the pac converter. The battery was in the trunk for power to the amp. The hardest part was I wanted to put a rocker switch in the console so for the remote signal so I could turn the amp on and off and just be 100% stock if I was listening to someone talking in the radio.
The Cruze was far more difficult. I had to run a power cable to the trunk from under the hood which requires going through the firewall and removing various pieces of trim to hide the wires. Since the speakers are in the doors, I instead tapped into the speaker wires near the main harness behind the trim near the hood release and ran those to the pac converter then to the amp. I wired another rocker switch for the remote and mounted in on a bracket just behind the seat height adjustment.
I thought everything was good, but after I was done, I had some alternator whine. I tried a few different things, didn't work, got frustrated and just decided to put a second dedicated power circuit for the amp, capacitor, and other aux power things like a 12v always on socket, and the power for my trailer lights harness. I used an 80 amp isolator relay to charge the second battery which is controlled by the remote switch for the amp, so anytime the amp is on, the second battery is charging. And anytime I want, I can completely disconnect all aux wiring by turning the rely off with the flip of that rocker switch. That finally fixed the issue.
Added bonus: I can jump my own car with the second battery. I can also listen to the subs without draining the main battery, and I can drain the second battery charging phones or powering various with a power inverter while the car isn't running, and it won't drain the main battery.
I'm happy with it now, but because of all of the effort I put into installing it this time, I'll never sell it.
The Cruze was far more difficult. I had to run a power cable to the trunk from under the hood which requires going through the firewall and removing various pieces of trim to hide the wires. Since the speakers are in the doors, I instead tapped into the speaker wires near the main harness behind the trim near the hood release and ran those to the pac converter then to the amp. I wired another rocker switch for the remote and mounted in on a bracket just behind the seat height adjustment.
I thought everything was good, but after I was done, I had some alternator whine. I tried a few different things, didn't work, got frustrated and just decided to put a second dedicated power circuit for the amp, capacitor, and other aux power things like a 12v always on socket, and the power for my trailer lights harness. I used an 80 amp isolator relay to charge the second battery which is controlled by the remote switch for the amp, so anytime the amp is on, the second battery is charging. And anytime I want, I can completely disconnect all aux wiring by turning the rely off with the flip of that rocker switch. That finally fixed the issue.
Added bonus: I can jump my own car with the second battery. I can also listen to the subs without draining the main battery, and I can drain the second battery charging phones or powering various with a power inverter while the car isn't running, and it won't drain the main battery.
I'm happy with it now, but because of all of the effort I put into installing it this time, I'll never sell it.
