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INSTALLATION BASICS 5
INSTALLATION BASICS: REMOTE TURN ON CONECTION:
STIFFENING CAPACITOR DIRECT CONNECTION:
USING THE RS AMPLIFIERS IN CONJUNCTION
WITH A MULTI- CHANNEL AMPLIFIER:
POWER/GROUND WIRING:
Before you begin with your installation disconnect the NEGATIVE (-) terminal from your car's
battery. This safety precaution will avoid possible short circuits while wiring your amplifier.
Cadence amplifiers operate on 12-volt negative ground systems only.
It is recommend that you layout your sound system design on paper first. This will help you
during the installation so that you will have a wiring flow chart and not miss-wire any of your
components.
Mount the amplifier in the trunk or hatch area of your vehicle. Never install an amplifier in the
engine compartment or on the firewall. Please be sure to leave breathing room around the
amplifier heatsink so that it can dissipate the heat it produces efficiently. The amplifier can be
installed either horizontally or vertically.
When mounting the amplifier on the trunk floor, be sure to watch for your gas tank, gas lines
and electrical lines. Do not drill or mount any screws where they might penetrate the gas tank
of your car.
The remote turn on connection is located on the barrier strip next to the power and ground
connections. This connection is responsible for turning the amplifier on and off with the rest of
the system. A smaller gauge wire can be used to make this connection to your radio's power
antenna lead. Should your system not have any turn on leads, you can wire the remote
terminal to an accessory lead, which turns on, with your ignition.
The benefits of this feature have been described earlier in the Features section. Connect the
Positive terminal of the capacitor to the terminal marked (+) on the amp and the negative
terminal of the capacitor to the terminal marked (-). Use the heaviest gauge wire available for
this connection. We recommend using Cadence Extreme Series Power Capacitors due to
their industry leading low ESR rating. Multiple capacitors can be connected via BUS BAR
terminals for larger amplifier installations. Use a CAP-1DR per amplifier model ZRS-8, a
CAP2DR per amplifier model ZRS-9, and a CAP5DR for amplifier model ZRS-10.
The RS amplifiers are of course meant for sub bass applications, and as such need to be
used in conjunction with a second amplifier for a complete full range system.
Refer to the wiring diagram on Page 6.
Connect the Line Out of the RS amplifier to the Line Input of a multi-channel amplifier.
Set the multi-channel amplifier’s internal crossover to High Pass, as it will drive the high
frequency speakers, such as separates, coaxials, or plate type speakers, typically mounted
in the doors or kick panels.
Mount a master fuse right at the battery + terminal as shown. Add up the current draw for all
amplifiers in the system to determine the rating for this fuse.
Use a power distribution block, such as the Cadence FH-1, FH-2 or FH-3 at the amplifier
location to supply +12 volt to each amplifier.
Connect the remote turn on signal from the source to all amplifier remote turn on terminals.
The RS amplifiers are supplied with ANL fuse blocks, and we suggest you construct a Red
wiring harness with 1 additional fuse. One fuse should be located near the car battery. This
fuse near the battery offers protection against damage from short circuits to the car chassis
between the battery and the amplifier. A second fuse closer to the amplifier offers additional
safety to the amplifier itself. This fused red power wire should be attached to the amplifier
power terminal marked 12V+.
The wire harness should be made of red primary cable of at least 4 gauge. The harness
should terminate in a large ring terminal for connection directly to the positive terminal of the
car battery. Use a spade plug to attach the wire, which connects to the amplifier location
marked 12V+.
A second black color wire of equal gauge should be used as a ground connection to a welded
chassis member. When connecting the ground wire make sure that there is no paint or other
insulator blocking a good ground connection. When installing multiple amplifiers, mount them
in close proximity so that they can all share the same ground point. Attach the black ground
wire to the amplifier screw terminal marked Ground.
We at Cadence recommend that you use our ZIK-4 amplifier installation kit, which contains all
the cabling and accessories necessary for a good, reliable installation.
Over the years we have received many an amp back to our service department with melted
power/ground terminals. The cause of this is a bad ground connection. When there is a lack of
good ground heat builds up at the weakest point which is the contact screw of the terminal.
Over time the heat generated will begin to melt the terminal. It is a good practice to feel the
power and ground wires with your hands, near their amplifier connection after having played
the amp for a while. If the wires feel hot to the touch you probably have a bad or loose
connection. If you are sure of your connections and the wires still feel hot to the touch, you
should upgrade the gauge of the wire to next heaviest gauge.
Boom
!
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