04REXSTi

Hey guys, I just bought a nice JL 12W7 sub, and am thinking about putting it in my 03' ML320. The problem is, I have no experience in car audio, or much less cars.. In an effort to save money, I want to try to install it myself. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done this with such a minimal amount of experience? I need to find wiring diagrams as well as the technical layouts of the car; where should I get these materials? Any input is greatly appreciated!

Riffyb

If your in NY I would send you to the shop where I got my setup done.

It was like cheap and if I ever had a problem he would take care of it for me.

He ran a fuse from the batt along the passengers side of the car under the door sills to the rear bench. thats where my amp is. he also ran some wires for the head unit. for audio. Not to sure exactly what went on there but that w7 is going to bump HARD..

55fanatic

you just bought a W7, thats not a rookie sub to install... bring it to a shop and have it done correctly. Your 03 is a little bit more fancy then the setups in the 98-01s... if you want some ideas check out my car, thats a 12 W6 installed.

Also where are you located?

04REXSTi

i'm in seattle, wa. I've got some mixed opinions on other sites that have told me that it is not as hard as I think so long as I am patient..

55fanatic

ill be honest, my 00 was not difficult to work on, I was also a proffesional certified installer for 3 years... and my family owns a garage... Im not a rookie to cars and have been working on them for many years...

If it was a toyota or something where parts are easy to come by and CHEAP I would say go for it... you dont want to F up something in you ML... If you already have an amp and the sub mounted in a box, just bring it somewhere... should spend about $200 on the install maybe 3 depending on the parts... otherwise you just need to drill a hole in your firewall, run the power cable(4gauge recomended if you have an amp that will appropriately drive that W7) Tap the signal off the sub amp(which in your car should be located under drivers seat) then disconnect factory sub install the amp, and connect all the wires...

04REXSTi

i wasnt aware that my ML has a stock sub.. does it really? the thing im most worried about is the wiring and where to run the wires through.

55fanatic

hmm I assumed you have a Bose system, do you have a Bose system in your ML currently?

04REXSTi

nope i don't. did you happen to do a write up of your install? or, any ideas of where to find one?

04REXSTi

oh, and someone told me i'll probably need a line drop.. any ideas on where to get one for the best price? thanks man

04REXSTi

oh, and what size inverter will i need? is the wattage of the inverter directly proportionate to the wattage of the sub? i really really hope not

55fanatic

you have no amp? oi vey... JL 1000.1 is what you need for that sub, dont skimp.

a line drop? please explain what you mean...

04REXSTi

power inverter.. someone called it a line drop in a different thread. i can't relaly afford a 1000.1 right now though,

55fanatic

if I were you... I would try and sell or trade that sub you have for a combo that would work in your vehicle. Something with an AMP and Sub...

Or hold on till you can pick up the 1000.1 used/ demo/ new...

Like I said, thats a pretty BEEFY sub, and if you starve it for power, its not really gonna sound all that well

04REXSTi

thanks, that is good advice. the 1000.1 is pretty expensive, so i'm thinking about picking up a 500.1. in the meantime, my friend has a couple of amps that he is not using, and is gonna let me use them temporarily. one of them is a kenwood 800W amp, and the other is some no name brand.. (crutch or soething like that) which is well over 1000W. not exactly sure on the ohms ratings on those 2, but they should suffice for the time being?

04REXSTi

in running an ignition wire, is 22ga sufficient regardless of the output of the amp/sub? i forgot to mention that i am installing a 12W7 which is why I will be needing a 4ga wire...

55fanatic

I cant say for sure... if they would work... using the 500.1 wont make that W7 do anything... its not even worth putting in the system at that point... the Kenwood I bet is an 800W MAX power amp in which case your still outta luck... what is that no name brand?

55fanatic

make sure you test for ignition correctly and you dont blow anything... 22gauge wire sounds a little small, I have some wire in my tool box, Ill check it out and tell you what it is

04REXSTi

so you're saying I shouldn't opt for anything less than 1000.1? I'm not trying to enter any competitions... some others have told me that the difference due to underpowering the sub will not be that noticeable. ??

the kenwood is out of the question.. the other one is a POS, crunch.

would my safest bet be just to get 4gauge wire for all of my wiring?

55fanatic

no no... the 22Gauge might be fine, I think I have always used a 16g for remote turn on(ignition)

You can do what you would like with the sub... I would just wait for the 1000.1

If you hook it up to a 500watt amp and Crank the gains way up high your going to be feeding the sub distorted signal, the distorted signal will do more damage to the sub then under powering it, if you cant go for a 1000.1 go with another amp that can continuously drive 1000 watts(RMS)that isnt a junk brand.

sevensomething

I'm in New York City - might I ask, who you recommend for installations?

55fanatic

what are you lookin to have done? what type of car?