I feel your pain with hooking up multiple amps. I got rid of all the factory crap speaker wire and ran all new 14awg Proflex speaker wire, techflex and zip-tied every 6 inches to maintain order and a clean look. I'm still hooking stuff up, this was a pic from mid build.

 

Nice install so far, where are the subs going to go?

 

Yeah doing your own work is much more appreciated and if splicing into a stock harness had to be done, then hey it's a learning experience. I'm still trying to find the time to do mine. I recently joined the Army and haven't had much time for projects. That and I moved away from home where I worked in a shop and the house I'm at now in Fort Bragg doesn't have a garage and not enough room for all my tools. Enjoy working on your truck, you will love it more and more with each project you get your hands dirty with.

 

Between the seats and under the dash in the custom console.

 

That console looks terrific!

 

Just a tip for future installers using a 4-chanel amp.
I ran all my speaker wires up the the dash and wired them into the adapter plug for the head unit using the factory wiring to go to the upgraded speakers. This eliminates the hassle of fishing the wires through the doors.
Yes you take a chance of blowing the factory wiring and having to fish the wires anyways but I did this for both '99 and '05 f150's using a 720 watt 4ch kenwood amp And never had any problems knock on wood.

 

Also doing a pre-install outside of the truck by taking all wires uncut to the approx length (rca + speaker wires) and taping them together helps to run them neat and orderly.

 

(Bolding mine - Brad)

Not really. I just pulled a 10' extension cord out of the closet and looked at it closely. It's 16g wire and is rated for up to 1625 watts continuous draw at 125v. That works out to 13 amps. I don't have an 18g cord for comparison but IIRC they were rated for up to 1200w (10 amps).

If your amp was anywhere close to being 100% efficient (it isn't, and by a long shot) then 100w @ 12v is a measly 8 amps, roughly 20% less power than plain old 18g zip cord is capable of carrying. And that's at 100% volume. Constantly. Given that music isn't a single constant tone, the average power through the mains in the very loudest everyday-driver stereo system, even at full volume, might be half that at best.

Frying the few feet of stock wimpy 18ga stuff between the connector and speaker is not an issue given the modest power of your system. At full boogie the amp might get a little warmer than if you'd bypassed the stock harness with something slightly bigger but, overall, you'll be fine.

Brad

 

Wish I had seen this thread earlier -- man I feel the the pain you are talking about. I spent 6 hours Saturday with the interior of my 2011 FX2 torn apart running speaker wires for my Alpine amps. I decided to use the factory wiring to the door speakers, BUT -- because my truck has SYNC and factory Sony "premium" sound, I have to access the wire to the door speakers at the OEM Sony amp which is under the center console. Which meant pulling the center console to run the speaker wire and get a look at the connector.

On a 2011 F150 FX2, with SYNC, no NAV and Sony "premium" audio, the Ford OEM Sony amp for the door speakers is located under the center console. You need to access that amp if you want to use the factory speaker wiring to the door speakers.

To pull the center console, remove the radio bezel then the two bolts under it at that bottom which hold the center console.

Then pop off the trim plates on the sides of the console at the front and remove the two bolts under there.

Finally move your seats all the way forward to access and remove the two bolts holding the center console in at the back .

At this point you can pull the center console back a couple inches and lift it up sufficiently to access the amp. You still can't remove it from the truck completely; to do that you would need to pop off the to trim plates and remove the shifter assemply (something I started to do, but quickly aborted once I saw my objective simply by lifting the console).

Here are some pics in case it helps:


Well, hello there. OEM Sony amp under center console.


Connectors on side of amp. Center grey one is to the door speakers (wire color codes match door speakers).


Close-up of the center grey connector. It is a "PB1-2". I am going to look for a mating connector so I don't have to splice this one for the amplified signal from my Alpine amp.

So far, I figure I have about 20 hours in on my 800W all-Alpine, complete SYNC replacement and I'm maybe half way done. This is the 4th vehicle over the years I have installed my own sound system in and nothing I have ever done before even approaches this project in the level of complexity and time required. Fun stuff :\

 

Or if you're a baller with lots of money to blow, use these...

http://www.autoloc.com/catalog/Butte...--%281-Pair%29

 

But, for the record, I tapped into my harness behind the radio. So know one else makes my stupid mistake that I did on my last vehicle, make you tap into the wires between your aftermarket headunit and the wiring harness. The first time I ever did this, I tapped into the vehicles wiring harness and it made for a mess when I tried to re install the speakers to sell it.

 

Definitely is a pain to add a 4 channel amp with runs of speaker wire, I charge about $80 minimum for this.

If you are happy about getting 45w RMS per speaker, then you can install a Alpine KTP-445 Mini Amplifier instead of dealing with running wires and mounting amps.

 

Are You in SA I just mounted all the amps in my 2011 Platinum getting ready to wire would like to ask you some questions please

 

I am north of Georgetown, near Salado.

Sorry, haven't been checking online forums much lately -- you've probably figured it out by now. I wound up cutting and splicing the output front/rear wiring from my Alpine PDX-F4 into these wires (the above grey connector). Worked great. Also removed the Sony amp entirely.

I finished my install with the exception of hooking up the OEM microphone, rear view camera and installing the PAC steering wheel control interface. Also, a change to the way the DVC subs are wired to make them hit a little harder. All that will take place this coming weekend, effectively completing this install and integration.

SQ on this all-Alpine system is first rate, I have no complaints there.

I'll post a write up of my install experience with lessons learned in a couple weeks after I have totally buttoned up this project. There were a LOT of lessons learned

 

Nice and clean set up Kleen. I like where you installed the separate mounting board for your amps, real good idea

And no offense Jake, but you use the word "thingy" a little to freely when talking about the rocker panel, that's the same word my wife uses to describe literally everything she knows nothing about. Just busting your chops, hope everything worked out for you and your system sounds the way you like.

I didn't find running a 4 channel amp too difficult, thought it was fairly simple really, but then again I used to do aftermarket work on vehicles at a professional level at one point in my life, and it can be a real PITA the first time you tackle a project such as this