Thanks to all the users who posted their progress threads and pictures for their subwoofer installs . I found them very helpful, especially when looking for a way to thread the power wire from the battery to the cabin.

I hooked up my amp and subwoofers and they work fine when I'm in park and play music, but am experiencing two issues:
1) Low humming/buzzing for a few seconds from my subwoofers after I start the car.
2) Subwoofers going crazy when I have the car in neutral or drive and I rev the engine or the car is in motion.

Based on numerous searches on Google regarding the issues, I think I have a grounding problem, but am not sure why since I think I hooked everything up correctly:
A) 500 watt rms RF amp
B) 4 guage power wire and 4 gauge ground wire
C) Ground wire is 3 feet long
D) Ground wire attached to a place in the trunk where many others have used as a grounding point. See pics below.


Shaved off some paint with a screwdriver and sandpaper



Just to show which grounding point I used. I know the ground isn't connected to the amp. I have some Honda speaker wire harnesses coming in this week


Any guesses on what's causing the problems and how to fix it?

 

where are your RCAs connected? POwer and RCAS should be run on separate sides of the car to reduce noise.

 

^This. Sounds more of a ground loop noise problem than a grounding issue.

They make RCA ground loop isolators that go in line with the RCAs to remedy these noises.

 

Need a bit more info but first thing is your ground wire is WAY too long, should be no more than 18" (shorter is better). I see you left the stock HU so does that mean you hooked up the amp at speaker level or did you go with a LOC? Factory amp bypassed? There could be a simple solution just need a lil' more.

 

Grounding directly to the chassis is highly recommended as well.

 

I will try shortening it to under 18". Anyone know of a good tutorial on how to mount the amp to the roof of the trunk (near the rear deck speakers and factory sub)?

I bought some speaker harnesses and connected the rear deck speakers wires directly into the amplifier with the amp-speaker-wire harness that came with the amp.
1) Unclipped the speaker wire from both rear deck speakers
2) Clipped the speaker wire harness onto the speaker wires for the rear deck speakers
3) Connected the amplifier-speaker-wire harness both to the amp and to the speaker wire harness

No LOC and no RCA cables.

I tucked the power cables going in to the amp away from the speaker wires going into the amp and no luck. Still rumbles when I start the engine.

Any recommendations on where to ground besides the one I'm currently using? A picture would help tremendously.

I looked around the spare tire well and there's nothing there. Saw some bolts for the fold-down rear seats, but it's heavily painted. I could try scraping the paint and grounding it there.

The carpet trim on the sides of the trunk are hard to remove, since a lot of it is molded plastic. Nice to look at, but a pain to remove. I guess those Honda engineers were really trying to squeeze out a higher cargo space number. AND those black clips do a number on my fingers.

 

How are you powering the remote wire?
and what model of RF amp are you using?

I am grounded were the seats fold down, plenty of 10mm bolts that can be used.

 

I co-inserted into 7.5 amp fuse on the driver's side, I think it was #16 or #17. When I tried to tap any 20 amp fuse (both driver and passenger sides), the amp would always stay on. I tried to look for a non-critical fuse so my amp wouldn't cause some critical piece of hardware to die while I'm driving.

I feel like I'm close, just need to try a few other things like looking for a clean way to install the remote wire. Been looking around and it looks like I have to tear away at my trunk lining and tap the factory-amp remote wire for my aftermarket-amp remote wire.

 

Rockford Fosgate r500x1d
PRIME Amplifiers - R500X1D - Rockford Fosgate®

 

Firstly, ground your amp to the screws underneath seat as they are better than your current configuration.
I take it this the Base model TSX? So I take it your tapping into the wires after they have been processed through the factory amp therefore you are using a "high level" input which is not recommended as a first choice due to noise induction associated with this signal. There are options but it just depends on what you are trying to ultimately accomplish...

 

Still need more info, is your TSX equipped with ANC? If so you can't tap the rear speakers unless you unplug the ANC unit.

As for a ground, you must connect to a part of the frame that is spot wielded, the parts that are bolted on like the braces behind the seats are no good.
Jeff

 

Hi all, thanks for all the responses. I have a 2011 tech package, which I think means I have ELS and ANC?

Should I try using the LOC instead of the high-level input on the amp?

Some photos I took today after learning how to take apart the rear bench seat



T-tapped this white wire for the amp remote wire. Had to tear into the trunk lining to get to this pack of wires




Should I use any of these bolts for the ground wire?




Should I use this seat bolt for the ground wire?




Should I use this bolt for the ground wire? It's behind some of the carpet lining behind the rear seat.




I tried grounding the amp to this bolt here, but the amp is still going nuts when I start up the car. Any suggestions for a grounding point in this picture?




I looked for a way to disable ANC, but I couldn't find the option through the stock head unit... Page 1...




...Page 2

 

Tech package is a whole other beast. This is where Mercman takes over...

 

Haha, I was hoping this would be an easy install. Spent a lot of time reading through all the sub-install threads on these forums before committing the time and money. Kinda stinks that the tech package makes it extra difficult.

Jeff, let me know if there's anything I should try doing next I'll try whatever at this point

 

If you have a V6 you have ANC and will have to unplug it.

You can't use the sw 12 wire from the 28 pin connector since it is not a true 12V signal. I bet your amp is switching on and off.

Lastly, your best ground is on the floor, the extra bracing by the seat is added later and is not electricity part of the chassis. I don't have access to my install photos but I did post the pics of my ground connection years ago.

Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff. Sounds like I need to do some more searches on these forums for your posts I wish the photos would stay up longer. Unless photos were uploaded on some other third-party site, most photos don't seem to be available anymore.

Joseph