Underseat sub ground and wiring tuck

Hey guys,

I've a USW 10 underseat sub in my D plate Cabby,  it seems a nice bit of kit for the money.

What I've not worked out is the best way to ground it from under the seat- has anyone got any tips on a decent spot to that's not going to need me either running from the engine bay or or pulling the dash? I've read up on as many of the threads as possible, I couldn't figure out anything anything easily accessible.

And-  has anyone any tips for the neatest way to run the wiring to underseat? I'm not in anyway versed with the wiring layout so I'm not sure if i need to pull up the (bonded) carpet or if there's a channel i run it down.

Any tips much appreciated.

Thanks

Andy

 

By ground , I assume you mean earth?
You will see the negative terminal from the battery goes to the body. The body is the ground/earth. You can use any part of the body as the ground/earth.
You will need to drill a hole to connect your earth wire to and clean the paint off. Rather than drilling the floor i would try and find a suitable place as close to the sub as possible, maybe seat runner or handbrake bracket etc?

I think you will find the wiring harness from front to rear runs along in the corner where the inner sill meets the floor, under the carpet. I would lift the carpet a bit and find the wiring loom and put your new wiring along with the factory wiring.

Just be sure not to have the live wire touching any edges where vibrations could cause the insulation to rub through causing a short circuit, and have an inline fuse as close to your power source as possible.

Thanks bud. Another member who had one said he'd used the seat belt reel bolt, so I'll clean that up and give it a go.

I'll go hunting for the loom as you said and follow that.

Cool. I think the loom runs from the fuse box along the passenger side, so you should be able to do a neat job.


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Silly point of order.

As I know of 3 possible mounting points of the reels on GOLFs / Rabbits /GTIs /Cabriolets being that I am across the pond

Early 80 Westy or single belt passive systems where the
reel is at the inner seat right or left seat frame and clipped to the door, the reel isn't a good ground point as the seat sliders insulate it from ground.

Rabbit/GTI/Cabriolet 3 point systems lap and shoulder belts had the reels mounted to the "B" pillar and use a m12 bolt to hold it to the body.

As your sub will take a few amps of current, I would take the time to use a tap and clean the threads of the nut on the "B" pillar, as well as a wire brush to the threads and head of the bolt to get an absolutely clean mating surface and good ground point.

You can also make an attachment point on the inner stiffener between the seat rails front which to me is a better location and a connection less prone to dirt and corrosion.

Drilling a small pilot hole in the stiffener, and use a self tapping Sheet metal screw  5/16 or bigger and attach a frame ground under the Carpet as well. It will allow for a shorter run of wire under the carpet and a thicker gauge of wire can be used.

If you are also using a "Crimp-on" Ring connector, I would also suggest using a tad bit of solder after crimping to make a good bond between the Crimp and the wire, and yes you can either remove the plastic part off the connector prior to crimp to easily solder, or heat shrink, but as it is ground that isn't needed.

Be sure that if you solder that you place the removed plastic barrel or heat shrink tube on the wire prior to crimping or soldering…It is rather difficult to get them back on after you have crimped or soldered the connection as they don't go over the ring easily.  But then again lots of electrical tape works well too.

And this is why you have to love a forum. Thanks good man.

Briano1234 said

Silly point of order.

As I know of 3 possible mounting points of the reels on GOLFs / Rabbits /GTIs /Cabriolets being that I am across the pond

Early 80 Westy or single belt passive systems where the
reel is at the inner seat right or left seat frame and clipped to the door, the reel isn't a good ground point as the seat sliders insulate it from ground.

Rabbit/GTI/Cabriolet 3 point systems lap and shoulder belts had the reels mounted to the "B" pillar and use a m12 bolt to hold it to the body.

As your sub will take a few amps of current, I would take the time to use a tap and clean the threads of the nut on the "B" pillar, as well as a wire brush to the threads and head of the bolt to get an absolutely clean mating surface and good ground point.

You can also make an attachment point on the inner stiffener between the seat rails front which to me is a better location and a connection less prone to dirt and corrosion.

Drilling a small pilot hole in the stiffener, and use a self tapping Sheet metal screw  5/16 or bigger and attach a frame ground under the Carpet as well. It will allow for a shorter run of wire under the carpet and a thicker gauge of wire can be used.

If you are also using a "Crimp-on" Ring connector, I would also suggest using a tad bit of solder after crimping to make a good bond between the Crimp and the wire, and yes you can either remove the plastic part off the connector prior to crimp to easily solder, or heat shrink, but as it is ground that isn't needed.

Be sure that if you solder that you place the removed plastic barrel or heat shrink tube on the wire prior to crimping or soldering…It is rather difficult to get them back on after you have crimped or soldered the connection as they don't go over the ring easily.  But then again lots of electrical tape works well too.