Drop the glovebox down and put out the way ( remember to unplug the little light on the right

looking at where the glove box was , the cable will come out :

to the right,

iirc about half way up/down

i can remember the carpet ending and you being able to pull out and get your hand down to where the cable will be waiting to come thru

the good thing with 4awg cable is its thick enuff to do some poking and persuading

glovebox is 3 torx screws along top - 1 to the left on the bottom (that may be the golf) and theres 1 on the right iirc going into the console

thats off the top of my head

Cheers for that, if I manage to find it I'll put up pics for clarity. I'll be poking some garden wire through first so it shouldn't matter that I only have the 8 stuff. Perhaps it'll be upgraded replaced at some point but I didn't manage to get any yet.

I can take the glove box out blindfold after what I've done so far! I'm getting all the wiring worked out in my head tonight so I shouldn't be doing too much figuring on the job, just follow the plan :p

Edited 15 December, 201114 yr by ExHondaMan

lol the glovebox thing popped in head i was typing as thinking .............. couldve ended bad

i had loads of 4awg power until i moved earlier in the year too typical

i will double check, maybe i kept the long lengths worth a peek just incase

That'd be useful, I'm not sure the 5m I've got in the kit will reach from the battery to the CD-changer position in the boot in one go. I can't think that putting joins into the power cable is a good idea :no: It will have a join through the fuse casing, so perhaps a well-made connection would be okay :wonder:

If it does come up short, I'll just install the lot and park the amp in the rear passenger footwell until I get it sorted :p The amp is a cool matt black, so any light-fingered fools would find it hard to spot inside the cabin. Of course everyone will know there's good stuff in the car when they hear me drive by

I'm having some anxiety now about actually making the connection to the battery and achieving a solid earth. I'll call a couple of local auto electricians and see if they'll just make a couple of connections for me I'll watch carefully so I'm happier to do it myself in future

Ive got my cables down the passanger side for that reason, diverting to the drivers eats the cable :'( great if youve got it of the reel tho

I just ran them in different places on the passanger iirc, with the seat and rear seat out its alot easier to locate, and touch wood ive never had issues

The bugger is that using 8 awg is that you'll be doing it again with 4awg. Doh

Take the fuse out the fuse holder in the front bud, then do all the cons then just put back in no earth spark then

lol its power caps that get me, i keep forgeting to discharge them, so when earth them back up i nearly end up ****ting my pants with the POW !!!

Hehe

Well I won't rush changing the power cable, and I can just attach the new one to the end of the old and pull it through the bulkhead. Probably when I come to wire a sub / amp in, I'll do both together.

Routing-wise I'm planning to run the power all along the left of the car to the amp, as recommended. The speaker cables can be as far away as possible down the right, again as suggested and simple enough.

I'm just wondering: should I run the RCAs down the centre to keep EVERYTHING separate? I'm also thinking I might run out of cable-space under the carpet-edge trims. The speaker cable I have is nice and flat so no problem there, but the RCAs aren't exactly slimline :S

If it's not going to cause issues with interference, the MOST logical route would be to have the RCAs and speaker wires ALL running up and down the middle. Obviously the head unit is central and my crossovers are behind the centre-console too. Keeping the signal running up and down this central spine seems like a nice idea but may not be sensible. Also I'll need somewhere to run power & RCAs for the impending sub / amp, so maybe I should keep the centre or side clear for those.

So with the power up the left, should I:

1. Speaker cables AND RCAs both down the right

2. Speakers down the right and RCAs down the middle

3. Speakers AND RCAs down the middle

4. Who cares as long as they're not alongside the power?

I'm starting the job at 1.30pm, so I'll go with the best plan at that point :p

Edited 16 December, 201114 yr by ExHondaMan

ive actually got everything up the passenger side with no issues

if the interiors stripped, you could always run power up the middle and your rca and speaker up the side mate , alot easier for sure

if you got good rca leads then they should be sheilded abit anyway. im guessing its the mickey mouse leads that will pick up interference ????

ive always done everything on the passenger side tbh, i just try and space the power cable as much as possible thats all

Interesting you're running them all together as everything seems to tell you not to. I suppose it's "good practice" rather than absolutely necessary :yes:

I didn't take anything out of the interior but the glove box to run the existing speaker wires, I just tucked them under the carpet-edge trims, just inside the door sills! I'm planning on the same approach for this weekend but the combination of power, RCAs and speaker wires might be a bit much to fit. Maybe I'll split them side-to-side just because they'll be more likely to fit, leaving the centre path free for the future too

Thanks for all the help, gotta get back to my day-job project now:

Yeah they always say either side of the car but ive had no issues I think my power is up the middle along the hump lol so its got a good foot gap or so iirc

Eitherway all is well n dandy lol

As said, if u had cable of a reel then the path is no object

If you got a pre cut length its a bit more of a game changer

Its been in so long now i cant think exactly where they all go n come from lol

I was thinking of doing my own install.

Was wondering if anybody had a wiring diagram, detailing size of wire where and how to run wires.

Sorry to hijack thread

have you tried four masters? I'd also look at the budget hertz amps. if you're using the crossovers, there's a lot more choice if you also look at 4 channels amps by bridgin two of the channels to run the sub(s)

have you tried four masters? I'd also look at the budget hertz amps. if you're using the crossovers, there's a lot more choice if you also look at 4 channels amps by bridgin two of the channels to run the sub(s)

"have you tried four masters?" sorry, I don't understand :S this audio stuff is still largely a mystery to me :p I've actually got the Vibe 4-channel now.

I've been running lots of cable over the last couple of days, but it all just piles of disconnected ends right now. I might just get it all connected up today, fingers crossed :p

I was thinking of doing my own install.

Was wondering if anybody had a wiring diagram, detailing size of wire where and how to run wires.

Sorry to hijack thread

As someone that had never tried it before I'd have loved a full step-by-step. What I'm realising is that there isn't actually a definitive "correct" way of doing it, just lots of people that did it their way

Given the number of variables of hardware, ability and experience of the installer, his ears, his wallet and how loud / good he wants it to sound I doubt there are any 2 installs the same

There do seem to be lots of guiding principles though. Running your power, RCA and speaker leads as far away from each other as possible (as I have done), should reduce interference. People do get good results despite totally ignoring this though :S

Power cables seem to need to be as big as possible, but I ordered mine based upon delivery time rather than spec. I'll see how that goes when I get it all plugged in :p

What I can tell you is to look here for lots of good info: http://www.pimpmyskoda.co.uk/

Here is how I got my power cable through the bulkhead: http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/222147-wiring-an-amlifier-through-the-bulkhead/page__p__2614445__fromsearch__1#entry2614445

About 2/3rds of the way down page 2 is how I fed cable into the doors: http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/219664-octavia-mk1-noob-audio-install/page__st__20

Of course I'm not saying these are the CORRECT way of doing it, only that I did it my way

Good work mate

I use to enjoy doing install and stuff

The worse is getting the cable thru into the car, after that its just time a patience

I just striped the drives side seat, rear seat etc makes alot easier to space the cables too

As said tho, no right or wrong way , trial and fingers crossed no error

The biggest thing that would have made it easier for me would be to do it only once!

I first had the speakers fed through the car's original wiring, which proved to be rubbish.

Next I replaced that with decent cabling (much better).

Then I decided I was getting an amplifier so I removed that cable and am running fresh stuff from the amp!

So in principle I'd say plan your system IN FULL before you start messing about. Then it makes sense to strip large parts of the car interior and get it all laid out neatly, instead of doing half-a-job 3 times like me :p

Well I got brave and decided to go ahead with the power and ground connections myself and I can now declare it 75% done. Why only 75%? Because the front left speakers aren't producing any sound :S

RCA connection at the head unit looks sound, as is the connection at the amp. The cable running back to the crossover is also firmly connected. Hmm. I can't have crossed my wires over mid-run as the other 3 corners are sounding good

I can't do any more today (inlaws coming over in 10 mins), so tomorrow I'll take an old ghetto blaster into the car and see if the RCA is actually supplying anything from the head. If that's okay I'll use an old speaker to see if anything is coming out the other side :wonder:

At least the 3 corners are sounding good. It's incredible how much more volume those speakers can produce through an amp

so its just front left no working is it mate?

to check rca just swap them to try white to red etc and see if anything happens.. if the right then still works then both sides of rca are fine

if thats ok then just swap the front right connections onto the front left of the amp if the speakers work you then know its a issue the speaker/crossover end

if you then get no sound from the front rights then you know your prob is with that channel of the amp

if you get what im saying

Cheers, I'll read that tomorrow when I haven't had a drink!

Ooooo drink :0) lol not a technical friend lol

"have you tried four masters?" sorry, I don't understand :S this audio stuff is still largely a mystery to me :p I've actually got the Vibe 4-channel now.

I've been running lots of cable over the last couple of days, but it all just piles of disconnected ends right now. I might just get it all connected up today, fingers crossed :p

they're a network of car audio installers/dealers, you can order on the website and pick up at a store.

they're a network of car audio installers/dealers, you can order on the website and pick up at a store.

I thought it was a technical term

so its just front left no working is it mate?

to check rca just swap them to try white to red etc and see if anything happens.. if the right then still works then both sides of rca are fine

if thats ok then just swap the front right connections onto the front left of the amp if the speakers work you then know its a issue the speaker/crossover end

if you then get no sound from the front rights then you know your prob is with that channel of the amp

if you get what im saying

Head's a bit clearer now, that all sounds sensible and simple enough too. I'm sure it's something I've done and not a duff amplifier. Of course, if it DOES turn out to be the amp, I'll have to upgrade when I do the return

least that way it will point you out where the issue is

Right, just jumped in the boot and swapped some cables over. Got some funny looks in the works car park but I've established it's the RCA feed from the head unit that's the issue. That's the Vibe RCA cable that came with the installation kit, the £2.99 one from the local fella is absolutely fine :'(

I'll grab another cheapy to keep me going and try for a return / replacement.

So there's another lesson learned: Test fire the thing BEFORE putting your seats and trim back in!

To be fair to myslef I was doing the install in 1-3 hour chunks, so it just wasn't possible to run all the wires and test it before refitting. Maybe next time

We all do it bud

So one side of the rca is dead is it mate ?

Defo connected on the back of the head unit is it ?

Bloody RCA leads, could just be bad luck i van remember in the golf i squished one under the back seat lol that put psy to thst one