Hi All,

I have been following the awesome write ups on this bulletin board for about a year now and must say thank you for all the great info.
One thing that has caught my attention in the Subwoofer topic.

I have always been a huge fan of great sound systems and feel that my Volvo definitely lacks some thump, especially compared to my GTI.

I know this topic has been discussed before, but I will gladly appreciate it if somebody will please give me some details as to where/how you connect power, remote and the rear speaker wires to an aftermarket subwoofer.

I have a JBL sub with a built in amp, and am totally capable of connecting sound systems myself, but when it comes to a Volvo, I have no clue about the power and remote wires.

Thanks a million in advance for your time.

Rgds
Lush (South Africa)

Hello Lush,

Using the Speaker Wires to provide the source music signal to the sub amp is as easy as splitting off fomr one or nboth rear speakers(whichever is closest physically) into the High-Level input on your amp (assuming it has this..not the RCA inputs). RCVA's are better and you can probably make or buy an adapter that goes from the head unit (Amp out plug)to the Sub woofer Amplifiers' RCA's

I stole the power on.off singal from my power antenna on my 850 Turbo Sedan. I could also have used the CD changer power line. both of these work fine as a power on or off signal to tell you amp to turn on and off. (very low amp signal)

As for power to run your sub... The negative amplifer power terminal shoud be VERY securely fastened to the closest grounding point on the car body that you can safely find. The shorter the power cable the better. The positive power cable shoud be wired directly to the Car battery +'ve terminal with a correctly sized fuse using the correct guage of wire. Thicker is typically better as it runs cooler. Don;t go crazy with HUGELY thick power cable but research the power (Amp) draw of your amplifier, the distance of the cable run, and thee are MANY links on the net to help you figure out which guage is best. 4 guage normally is more than enough for most applications. See this link as only one of many example charts.
http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm
(found it on google using "wire gauge chart" as the search string
I would compare a few sites for accuracy and insight.

Good Luck. I've done it a few times myself now. I can only recommend however to not get caried away with the bass as if nothing else, IT WILL LOOSEN your interior panels and introduce noisy cabins panel vibrations down the road.

Enjoy,

Richard
Toronto, Canada

Thanks a million for the advice Richard,

After getting info from you and Alex, I think I sort of know how to connect the remote power and speaker cables. That was my major concern, but I will defintiely give it a bash in the next few days.

With kind regards
Lush...

Hi Richrad,

you said. "I could also have used the CD changer power line."

Can you please advise as to where I could possible find this in ths S40. I do have the premium sound system as was told that I have a capapbility of adding a CD changer, but I am not sure where the cable may be located.

Rgds
Lush...

Hi Lush, Sory, but I have never actuay been in or near an S40. I would expect however that a quick call to the dealer might answer this one (if no one else here can). Just be sure that the line you use is for the amp remote on/off and not to power the amp itself. The amp will draw well over what the fuse rating is likely to be as it only powers a small motor in the cd player normally. (1/2 amp for example vs 40 amps)

:beer:
Richard

Thanks for the response Richard.

I will see if I can figure it our in the week, and if all else fails, I will speak to the dealer.

Rgds
Lush...