New Stereo Equipment - UPDATE: installed with pics

[joedirt00]

I'm so excited now. I'm strting to get some of my stereo equipment in.

I'm still waiting on my Fiberglass box for my 6x9's on the tower.
But it's on its way. Still a need a few odds and ends, but nothing major.

Heres what I got. I can't wait to hear it.

[ballywho]

Wow... nice couch. J/K.

That's an awesome setup dude.
_________________
what is global recession

[joedirt00]

Easy on the "Basement" furniture. I use to have parties quite often so I suspect there is a good bit of DNA in those couches. I'm actually kind afraid to sit in them.


I'm really curious to see how those new Audiobahns sound. I'm hoping they kick out some distance with the horn tweeters. They were the only ones I ran across that used horns so I had to give them a shot. I'm going to be pushing 600watts continuous thru them.

[albinoblacksheep]

nice system

[KyleT]

im anxious to hear some feedback on those audiobahn speakers, as they are on my list of possible upgrades.

[Cyclonecj]

JoeDirt,
Did you get your box? I was gonna build one until I realized that I would make a complete mess, then I found this one on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7192617710&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

I have some polk momo 6x9's to put in it, the Audiobahns were also on my list but the other speakers in the boat are polks.

I have one Hifonics amp that I ran all season wide open with no problems. They are kick ass cheap ass amps. They do what the box says, I tested mine:)

[joedirt00]

Cyclonecj,

I got my box, from the same guy. The only thing is, he was Ebaying a Liquid Trends 6X9 box for a friend. I got it for $150 + $40 shipping. Now it sound like a good deal, Especially since it was aBrand name box, but I would have paid the $40 extra dollars for one that would actually fit 6X9's

The box might fit some brands of 6x9's if the grill is small and a lot of triming just to get them to mount. The Audiobahn 6x9's dont fit at all with the grills. I have yet to get in touch with someone over at Liquid Trends to verify that this box is built to the right dimensions. Even at that, theres nothing I can do about it. So I'm going to try to make a spacer out of a double stack of 1/2" ply and wrap it in vinyl. Hopefully I can space them out enough and get them to mount without it looking too goofy.

The box you got looks better than the one I got so you will probably be OK. I guess thats what I get for being cheap. But with the number of boxes this guy sells on Ebay, I would bet my left nut that HE KNEW IT WOULD NOT FIT a good quality 6x9.

[Vampyre]

That setup looks tight...I, too , am curious about the horn tweeters on those audiobahns.
Nice

[Cyclonecj]

That kinda sucks, Joe. Do the grilles stick out on the sides or something?

You might be better off selling it on ebay again, you could get your money back. I'd just state the truth, that your speakers wouldn't fit in it. You might even make a few bucks because Liquid Trends boxes are expensive. Buy one of Squids other boxes, he posts on Wakeworld all the time. He makes a couple of them a month. He might give you a deal if you PM him, he's a pretty good guy.

He said that he makes his box so it has room for any 6x9, some fitting may be necessary.

I have to say that I would have jumped on it had I seen that box first! Then, I'd be the one bitchin!

[Johnny_Jr]

Liquid Trends molds their openings smaller to allow the buyer to use any 6X9. For larger applications the holes must be cut out to fix. LT uses kicker DS69s and must cut every box before installation. It's not wrong, just allow for many different brand speakers to be used.

[joedirt00]

Well, I finally installed my stereo system this week, and yes it should have been done long ago.

I figured out what to do with the LT 6x9 box. I did not want to switch from the Audiobahn Marine because I was pretty impressed with the construction. I made a fiberglass face and sprayed bedliner on it so it did not have to be perfect. This changed the box to accept 6 1/2's instead. I dropped a considerable amount of power to do this. I'm pretty dissapointed about that but even at 1/2 the watts originally intended, it still rocks.

The sub hits like a mother f'er. I built it to the ported box specs from Hifonics within about 5 cubic inches. If you put your head in the bow walkway it actually makes your eyes rattle.

I replaced the interior speakers and added a couple 5 1/4's in the bow as well. Also had to ad a second battery and Isolator.


Heres some pics for you guys.

[joedirt00]

more

[Pettieo]

wow thats an awesome job! btw what did you do to install the speakers in the front lounge? (i want to do that on my boat but cant figure out what exactly to do..

[joedirt00]

Pettieo,

Nothing special, They were 5 1/4" speakers and a 5" hole saw was a little big but worked for them, so it wasn't bad. Took all of about 20 minutes to mount.

Measure twice and drill away. Just make sure that you have enough depth for the speaker before you start.

[tmbrown]

5" whole saw? I never found anything that big - just bought a dremel circle cutter attachment - did a great job, like $10 and adjustable to any size. Very clean cut.

[joedirt00]

tmbrown,

I had a 5" from work so it was no big deal. Plus after the layout it took about 15 seconds to drill a hole and they are perfect.

[txaggie_99]

joe,

Damn clean mounting job on the amps. Unless you said something, I never would've guess the LT box was made for 6x9s.

One question...I've looked at an a$$load of threads about adding a second battery, but they all have different recommendations. I like the second batt with an isolator idea. What brand/type isolator did you use, and can you post a "rough" wiring diagram from batt to batt with the switch and isolator included? Dude, you'd make my day.

[txaggie_99]

joe,

Damn clean mounting job on the amps. Unless you said something, I never would've guess the LT box was made for 6x9s.

One question...I've looked at an a$$load of threads about adding a second battery, but they all have different recommendations. I like the second batt with an isolator idea. What brand/type isolator did you use, and can you post a "rough" wiring diagram from batt to batt with the switch and isolator included? Dude, you'd make my day.

[joedirt00]

I have the 95amp version of this isolator, but anything similar should be fine. Warn also has them and a few other companies, they are not hard to find.

http://www.surepower.com/isolator.html

If you look at the the brochure from that page they go through and explain how these work and the downsides to the Relay type isolators.

I was able to eBay this one for $25 new, otherwise I would have went with a larger one, maybe 120amp. The isolator has to be rated equal to or more than your alternator. I have not had any problems yet with my stock 65amp, but I plan to upgrade to a 95 amp alterbator just for peace of mind.

Installation is really simple all you do is leave your current battery setup alone except you take the wire that runs between the alternator and battery and run it from the alternator to the isolator, then to the battery. Throw you other battery in and run it to the isolator and then hook all your additional loads to it.

[joedirt00]

Heres another quick one.

[txaggie_99]

DAMN! That's a helluva lot better than a "rough" sketch. Thanks!...but where does the battery switch fall into all of this (in photo at top of page)? I'm guessing Batt. 2 is a deep cell. By this setup, you're running all of your power to your system from batt 2, but none of the existing system (ignition particularly) is connected to it. So a dead Batt. 1 = dead in the water? I'm guessing it hasn't been an issue for you since it's essentially like running the system stock?

[joedirt00]

The existing 6g red wire on the starting battery on the right goes to the Perko switch for the boat. From there it goes to the starter which is also the junction for the main electrical system. The existing harness on the left, I'm really not sure where it goes. I assume they didn't put it in the boat for nothing, so I just hooked it up like it was and didn't worry about it.

Yes, if battery 1 goes dead, it will be dead in the water. In order for that to happen the isolator would have to be fried. Even so, I have a minimal set of tools that If I still have enough juice in battery 2 to get it started I could temp. rewire with out the isolator to get me back. So that is my on the water back up.

The great thing about true isolators is the batteries remain completely independant yet still recieve a charge from the alternator. My original electrical system remains unchanged with the exception of the alternator wire.

[Mariner]

Couldn't you hook up a separate system in parallel to run the engine loads with the 2nd battery with a battery selector switch and use that as your on the water back up? That way you wouldn't have to rewire on the fly. You could just turn off the stereo, flip the battery switch and off you go.

[joedirt00]

Mariner, If you are talking about never using the 2nd battery except in an emergency It would work but you would have to monitor its condition to keep it charged since the alternator wont do it normally. Also now you would be puttin the demands of the entire electrical system including the stereo on one battery.

It would be possible to use a 2 battery Perko switch and switch the starting battery off when parked but this is basicly doing the same as what a relay isolator does automaticly.

The problems with relay isolators and the Perko switch is both bateries will try to reach a point of equalibrium. If you wire them in parallel for normal use, say that your starting battery is fully charged and your load battery is completely drained. When you go to start it you will open the relay or with the Perko you will momentarily have to conect them because the "All" position is located between teh "1" and "2" position. The fully charged battery will discharge into the drained battery and you will have 2 half charged batteries.

Now that may get you started, but supposedly the quick discharging is quite a shock on the batteries and will prematurely kill them. Overtime your battery condition may weaken and you wont get 2 half charged batteries out of it. So the dead on the water condition is still possible but harder to see it coming.

Isolators are not much more expensive than a Perko switch or a relay so I would just assume doing it the safest way possible so its just one less thing to worry about.

Sorry for the long post. There are many ways to do it. IMO, and it is just an opinion, this is the best way to do it. Off-roaders have been doing it for years like this with winch installations because of the electrical demand, myself included. So this set up is what I've been accustomed to and I have yet to see a failure.

[wakessories]

You know what I like about the last diagram. The AMP power wire is larger then the main power wire to the boat! That's when you know you have something to show off.

[\/\//\KE B()/\R|)ER]

So i know this is bringing up an old post.....but a couple questions on the install by Joedirt00.

I understand the role of the isolator and how it regulates power between battery 1 and 2. So what is the purpose of the perko switch if you have the isolator?

Correct me if I am wrong but shouldnt the isolator regualte the power to the degree that once everything is installed correctly you do not need to swtich from one battery to the other?

Is it just a precautionary measure should something go wrong you can switch to a specific battery?

also I currently have a system with everything running off one battery (hence my inquiry about the isolator.) the battery is located in the engine bay. Can I just buy a new battery and isolator and mount those in the engine compartment as well? Obviously rearranging the audio accordingly?

[brichter14]

How much was that system total? including wiring.

[joedirt00]

Whoa, I'm surprised to see this post come up again. 2 years later and everything is still perfect. Sub hits as hard as it ever did and the rest of the speakers dang near make youe ears bleed.

///KE B()/R|)ER, The Pero switch that I have is a simple On/Off. Its not the 2 battery selectable. It was in the boat fromthe dealer and I just kept it so I can switch the batteries off before I put the boat up for the week.
The isolator install is pretty simple all you need is the additional battery and the isolator. It installs exactly like the picture above.

brichter14, I pretty much Ebay'd everything. It was all new stuff from Ebay retailers. I have less than $1000 into everything including the wiring and terminal connections I did the entire install and built my sub box myself. The only thing I cheated on is the ground wire. The "Kit" I bought, which wasn't really a kit only came with 3 ft of the silver ground wire which would be plenty for a car. So it has about 1.5 ft at the battery and 1.5 at the amps. In between it has about 20 ft of welding lead from work.

[\/\//\KE B()/\R|)ER]

[joedirt00]

If you want to save a few bucks you could forego the switch. Like I said it came with the boat and it was an easy way to disconnect the batteries and I like to disconnect it when its parked.

The isolator has to be bigger than your alternator, thats really about it. I got the 90 amp because I was planning to upgrade my alternator. I have yet to have problem with the stock 65 amp alternator so I'm just leaving it as is.

Be sure that you buy the correct configuration Isolator. They have 2 alternator 2 battery set ups which is what you don't want.

I think I got mine from Ebay for $26.

[\/\//\KE B()/\R|)ER]

Will this isolator do the trick?

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200343388_200343388

The boat alternator is either 85 or 100 amps....I figure this one will be good either way right?

Also is there a kit for wiring these or do I just buy the specific cables needed. If anyone can give me some feedback on the types of wires i need that would be great.

THanks!

[\/\//\KE B()/\R|)ER]

*bump* can anyone confirm that the above isolator will work with an additional battery?

Thanks