05' 24v tower speaker wire question

[MooseX]

Can I fit 4 pairs of wires from the tower to the amps in the factory holes??. Not sure at this fkn' moment what kind of tower..Stock I believe.

I had the boat in the shop today to install another pair of tower speakers/and a new AMP. I got a call at 4:30 from the fkn' installer..and he said there was no fkn' way he could get ALL the wires thru' the hull at the base of the tower. He got them to that point no problem but ran into what he calls 'too small' a hole where the tower connects to the side of the boat.

I suggested over the phone what about removing the fkn' seat back for access (possibly drilling out the 'too small' holes.. but he couldn't fkn' figure that one either. End of the fkn' story they're not open on the weekends. So I had to go retrieve my fkn' boat since they don't have a garage big enough for the boat..and besides I planned on goin out this weekend. The boat would be held fkn' hostage for 3 fkn' killer summer days (3 days of no surf boo hoo)No way that's happening. The lake has been so *** calm for once.

So I cancelled my fkn' order and f'k it I'll do it myself. Can you tell I've had a bad day. I'd really be fkn' pissed if I hadn't surfed this morning..even then there were too fkn' many tourist boats out fkn' up my wave..rant over thank you for fkn' listening

[bryce2320]

I ran 4 wires thru my tower but it wasn't easy. I could pull 3 thru and the hole was to small for the fourth one. I tried to get the seat back off, which is like 2 or 3 screws in between where the top and bottom of the seat back meet( if that makes since). It was a bitch! My screw heads were stripped out but I split the speakers wire down the middle and taped one end a few inches back so only one side of the speaker wire came thru first. I would suggest trying to get the seat back off and it could b a 30 minute job. If not, well, good luck, cuz it sucks. Sound like you need a new installer. Good luck man.

[chpthril]

yes, but its damn tight. I have fit 4 14ga 2-conductors, but they need to be higher end cable with a thinner outer jacket and not the cheaper cable with less core and a thicker outer jacket. Im willing to bet that if your tower wiring is original, its 12ga. If so, you would need to pull it and go down to 14ga for all 4 runs, but see below before doing that. Its also easy to drill out the hole in the deck if needed. No need to remove any interior panels as this will gain you nothing.

Remove the bolt from the foot, prop it up on a block of wood and move it to the side a little. Drill away!

Now, depending on what speakers you are adding and what you already have and what amp(s) you are going to use, you may not need a cable for each speaker. You might be able to wire the two left pair together at the top of the tower and do the same with the right pair and just use the existing two speaker wire pairs to connect to the amp. Answer this and I can tell you what you can do.

[MooseX]

Cheap thanks for the response. So what your saying is one of my options is to forget the new amp and run the extra pair off the same channel as the existing speakers? Call me crazy but that's what I heard.

Moving the tower is easy?..are the nuts on the backside of the allen head bolts immobile ie welded or glassed in?.. cause' I don't see how I could get a wrench up there to keep them from spinning

Another dumb *** question. Do I need dedicated power/ground lines for the another amp? Can I not 'steal' power from somewhere up front?

For the record the new pair are JL audio. White with a sep' tweeter. Got them from another TIGE member. And I'm not sure what amp I'm going to use now. I cancelled the whole work order. They wanted 900 bux to do the whole job to install their new $230 JL Audio amp/wiring. That sounds ridiculous now that I think about it. I know I can do it for a hella lot' less. I was just being lazy..doh

[chpthril]

So what your saying is one of my options is to forget the new amp and run the extra pair off the same channel as the existing speakers? Call me crazy but that's what I heard.

Not entirely because I dont know exactly what your setup consists of yet, so I cant make any detailed recommendations.

Am I gathering correctly from your post that your are adding a new set of tower speaker and an amp dedicated just to the new pair and leaving the existing as is?

Moving the tower is easy?..are the nuts on the backside of the allen head bolts immobile ie welded or glassed in?.. cause' I don't see how I could get a wrench up there to keep them from spinning

The allen threads into a threaded aluminum plate that is glassed into the underside of the deck.

Another dumb *** question. Do I need dedicated power/ground lines for the another amp? Can I not 'steal' power from somewhere up front?

Yes, your new amp will need its own power cabling and circuit protection.

If you can tell me more about what you currently have installed on the tower and the amp driving them and what amp you have that you want to install, I can make a better detailed rec. Based on what you have, I would consider selling the 2 amp and getting one that will drive all 4 effectively. This would allow you to reduce the space needed for amp, less cable runs and less speaker wire up the tower.

[MooseX]

yes I was adding whole 'nother amp/wiring. Now you've opened my eyes. The stock set up is in there now. 1 big amp controls all the boat speakers/woofer/2 kickers on the tower.

So your saying I can just get an even bigger amp that will handle the additional pair on the tower?. Call me crazy again but I didn't know such amps existed..then again my surround amp does my whole house with 3 zones so I guess that's possible

[chpthril]

yes I was adding whole 'nother amp/wiring. Now you've opened my eyes. The stock set up is in there now. 1 big amp controls all the boat speakers/woofer/2 kickers on the tower.

So your saying I can just get an even bigger amp that will handle the additional pair on the tower?. Call me crazy again but I didn't know such amps existed..then again my surround amp does my whole house with 3 zones so I guess that's possible

Help me with some details, and I can help you down to last wire-nut.

No, I am not suggesting running the in-boats, sub and towers on a single amp. Im tossing out the possibility of a single amp to run just the pair of existing tower speakers and the new JL towers. Am I correct that you are intending to run 4 pods on the tower, right?

Did you also get an amp that you were attempting to install to power the JL's you just picked up? If so, whats brand and model number?

I know we are paddling in circles right now, but give me some details and I can get you on a straight course, trust me.

[MooseX]

haha. i haven't got an amp now. I cancelled the order...and the spare one I had got lost. I'm totally amp free.

I didn't know if I'd run all of them off one amp. I thought that's what you were suggesting.

AND originally yes I was going to install another amp to run the 2nd pair..AND wire it seperatly. Dude wanted 9 bills to put in a JL amp..one with not that many watts actually...125 peak I believe. 2 channel.. It cost 235 if that's a hint

The other amp/speakers i'd leave alone

[chpthril]

to avoid running the extra wire through the tower:
Go with a 4 chnl amp with a 4 ohm x 4 rms output between 100W-150W.

The existing kickers will run on one half (2 chnls) and the new Jl's will run on the other half. Each pair of speaker will be wired in series and then bridged on the amp.

If you do want to run additional wire
I would still go with a 4 chnl, but then wire each speaker to its own chnl. The amp's output to each speaker is about the same, so no advantage power wise.

Or

If you choose to leave the current towers as is, then get a 2 chnl for the JL's that will deliver a 4 ohm x 2 rms of 100-150 watts and wire each JL to its own chnl. I think your entire system would benefit by getting the current towers off the current amp thats driving the whole system and on to an amp dedicated for the towers. This probably contributing to the thier lack of output now. The may be way underpowered. By getting them off the in-boat amp, you may gain some head-room for the in-boats.

[MooseX]

That's genius Cheap'..damn your smart when it comes to these boats/ballast.. sure make it a snap to install. I really have no urge to yank the tower...and it will be significantly less mula to dole out. I was about to give that dude 9 benjies' haha. What and edtiot klown I am. Now I can take some of the extra $$ and buy a better amp. Any suggestions master of all tige stuff?

I used to do all this myself. Lately I'm so beat up from the combination of surfing, work, building a car and pleasing the 'girl' I just hire people. Good wake up call. OK Girl is cut off for a few days till' I get my stereo in order....right haha. More like the car project is on hold