Need Some Sound Help!

hey guys, i recently bought a 17 boston whaler. im attemtping to install some speakers and a cd player head unit. i will be hooking them up to my switches. im a little confused on where to start. ive done all my car wiring myself, but im told car and marine is totally different. im going to be using some old car speakers i have and an old cd player head unit, i realize there going to get messed up over time, i accept that, i just wana have a good time, i have a little 200 watt amp, 3 speakers, a head unit and 3 marine batterys. im 20, this is my first boat, so i want it done right, so i wont have any problems, i hear amps kill ur battery without having a alternator.. umm any information will help, im a stoner so diagrams help the best i also dont have a wiring harness for my cd player head unit, im wondering if i find a wiring harness with the same amount of pins that fits, will it work? meaning are wiring harness' universal if they fit correctly? also what guage wire should i use? thankssssss

Re: Need Some Sound Help!

Actually wiring a stereo in a boat is not much if any different than a car. The connections are the same. You will hook up the main power & ground direclty to the battery and the switch power up to your accessory terminal on your ignition switch , (or better yet to a terminal on your fuse panel that is marked "acc."). Don't forget to put an inline fuse on both positive power leads! If you have never hooked up a stereo system with an amplifier, I suggest finding someone around who has. It's not hard but if you want to do it right and save some time, it will make it easier. There are right and wrong ways to do it not to mention you will need to set the amplifier setting correclty, (cross over db, high cut, low cut, etc.).

Yes, amps will kill a battery not on an alternator. If you do hook them up to a battery with no carging sourse, plan on taking the battery out every time you use it and charging it up. If you have no choice, hook up a separte deep cycle battery from the one that starts your engine and do just that, charge it up when at shore.

Get the correct wiring harness for your stereo from a stereo shop! They are usually around $20 and worth it. It will make your life much easier and it's the "right way" to do it. They will have all the wires marked as to what they are.

As far as pictures go, download the stereo manual from the internet. It will have pictures in it for you. If you are hooking up amps, do the same. They will also have great picturs for you that will tell you exaclty how to hook them up.

Again, if all of this sounds foriegn to you, find someone local who knows more then you do and go for it.

Re: Need Some Sound Help!

Like Wired said. Wiring the boat and car are basically the same. Exception is the ground goes to the battery and not the frame. I'm not sure why someone told you differently. Now, the components are different. The speakers should be marine grade or you will be replacing them very soon. Water and hot sun are what makes boating fun, but are deadly for those auto speakers. The head unit, CD player and Amp need weather proofing was well. Your car is supposed to be weather proof, the inside of your boat is not. Also, make sure your fittings and connections are non-corrosive and weather tight, especially if used near salt water.

Re: Need Some Sound Help!

In addition to what has been posted...using standard size head units and speakers, you can always upgrade to the marine grade as those older ones fail. So don't go chopping away and installing something you won't be able to fill up later....