Introduction:
This is another ICE article by Woosey from Talk Audio.
This time I explain how to route power and signar cables to the boot of a 205.
Power:
In my car i use 4 gauge power wire, i found there to be a nicely sized hole already in the bulk head, one I got the wire through there (i recommend using a coat hanger to get it through) it goes down to the right off the accelerator pedal, and along the sill as can be seen in the picture, I have taken a picture with the carpet back, as you can see its completely stealth :-). To get the carpet up is nice and simple, just pull up that rubber door liner thing, but don't grab underneath it, they have little clamps on that will cut your hands, be careful!
4 gauge going through the bulkhead
4 gauge as it comes through the bulk head
4 gauge with carpet
4 gauge without carpet
4 gauge just behind front doors
4 gauge going under rear seat
Signal (RCA's and speaker cable):
From the back of the head unit I have two sets of RCA's which have to go to the boot, the RCAs are the blue cables in the picture, I used KnuKonceptz RCA's, they're excellent value for money and are very flexible :-).
The copper coloured wire is my speaker cable, because I run my fronts actively (maybe another article subject), I need speaker cable for each of my speakers so I have 4 runs of speaker cable from the boot to the front, this has its disadvantages in that the pug really can't handle so much cable.
To get the carpet up like I have in the photo, just simply grab the top left of the carpet (if your in the passenger side) and pull, you need to feed it round the plastic panel where the boot release is. I would like to route my cables under the seat but alas the seat is stuck tight, I cant get it off so I had to do the lazy option of wiring round the seats.
signal wires going under passenger side foot well
signal wires going past the passenger seat
It important that you put the power down one side of the car and the signal wires the other side, if the RCA's are near a power wire your car will pick up what's called 'alternator whine' which will make a buzzing sound come out of your speakers and as you rev your car the buzzing will get louder. As you will soon find out when doing an install, the 205 isn't very long, the RCAs I have just bought were 4m and there is still loads of slack so all this slack has to go somewhere, I recommend under the back seats, cover the metal hook under there with something (in the picture below I used aquaseal) to stop it cutting and grounding any cables.
signal wires under back seat
Once that is all done you can consider all the equipment options :-). I can't really write a one for all equipment list but there are a few things I can point out that may help.
Earth point:
205's have an ideal earth spot, if you look at the left of the boot there is a small square hole, scrape the paint away and attach a bolt through that hole, this makes a great earth point:
earthing point
Front Stage setup:
In the front I have 6.5" inch mid bass speakers, but the stock 5.25" is fine, I just needed more volume in the front :-). As you can see on the dash I have the tweeter, its facing the top of the A pillar across from it, this I have found is the best sound from my speakers. Experiment with your tweeters, use blu-tac and stick them where you like and listen until your happy with the positioning of them.
front stage setup
This work was completed mainly by my good friend Harry (and that's not his real name :-P) who I am very grateful for the work he has done for me.
Hope this guide helps people out there.
Any problems/queries, feel free to email me.
Also check out my 205 Sound Proofing Guide.