General How-To Audio Install Thread for Mazda3 & MS3

[Butlerg]

I have a 2004 Mazda3 without the Bose system. My sub(which has worked fine for about a month...except for a low/loud feedback-like noise whenever I turned on the car) just totally stopped working. The amp still powers on and has the green power light on and everything...I installed everything myself, so I'm wondering if I wired the LOC wrong even if it was working? Is there a precise diagram of wiring I can follow to check, and a preferable way to tap and splice into the factory speaker wires behind the head unit? And the amp remote wire connects to the yellow w/ silver dot wire correct? As of right now, there's NO sound coming out of the sub. And yes the ground is good.

 

[BluMicaR]

I have my Ensolite and RaamMat; Xmas presents - I want to do the floor first; damn the 5* week we're supposed to have, I don't have access to a heated garage!!

 

[uknowme]

running 0 ga through existing firewall

thanks for that! even though i ran my wire already through the same grommet i'm going to have to redo it with 0ga... i don't think it'll fit through the nub though :\ so i'll have to figure something out..

I can be done!... barely

 

[RelliMS3]

i have a question about sound deadening material like raammat: Do you ever layer that material or is it best to just coat it. If you do layer, how do you know how much to layer. I want to do my four doors and then maybe my trunk and wheel wells because i figure it'll make a big difference without tearing out a lot of stuff. I just want to do it right, so if i do it like fourthmeal said where i do the outer door panel, the inner door panel and the door skin do i need more than one layer on any of those spots?

 

[RelliMS3]

And for the Ensolite do you put it on all three panels like the raammat or just one of them.

 

[RelliMS3]

Alright, then i will do all three layers i think. My goal is mostly a quieter ride and to stop the rattling in the doors so i figure its best to do as much as i can.

 

[RelliMS3]

I definitely will take pics. Not sure when i'm going to do it. I'm a one-mod-at-a-time kind of guy and currently i'm waiting on my wheels that i ordered over a week a go.

 

[DaleNixon]

I have the Metra 99-7504 mounting kit from my wife's old Mazda3 i sedan, but it's the older model without the LCD display retention brackets. I want to install this kit in my 08.5 MS3. Does anyone have a set of those brackets they don't need? Or is anyone aware of how I could get just those brackets?

I might have to contact Metra.

 

[DaleNixon]

Nevermind, I ordered the newest kit from Crutchfield. Retaining the LCD display is simple with the brackets. You don't have to hack them up at all like the post on page 1 of this thread. The manual outlines it somewhat clearly. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out how the brackets fit onto the display.

 

[TheRealDefman]

First, thanks a ton for this info, it really helped me a lot! Still took about 2.5 hours.

Some tips/suggestions:

Take the screws out first, then pop the hood. Find the rubber seal (you can't miss it). You'll need to gently pull the seal off a bunch of blue cleats that look like this...

I found stretching the seal to release one side of the cleat then the other worked well.

Be careful, the rubber molding tears pretty easily.

Under the windshield trim there is another plastic thing, I'm going to call this one the "runoff duct". It is held on by 3 round detachable anchors and 3 clips. To get the detachable anchors off you need to unscrew the center part 1/2 turn, pull the center up, then pull the whole anchor out.
Take out the anchors, unhook the clips, then pull out the runoff duct and set it aside.

I was able to just push the backside of the clips (blue outline) and pop them right out, HOWEVER you probably should cup your free hand over them.. I lost one that was a little tight and it went flying.

Now thread the wire through the nub thing. I put a little soapy water on the end of the wire to get it started. Pull enough through so the other end will reach the battery.

Some kind of lube is definitely a good idea if the cable is pretty big. I was running 2ga and it was very tight. Depending on the size of your cable, you may want to cut a lot of the nub.


SUGGESTION HERE: It's probably better to push the wire from the engine bay to inside, although inside to engine bay looks easier... The problem with inside to outside is that you may dislodge the grommet from around the white part and it's a Grade A son-of-a-b**** to get back on!! Keep the lube going while you pull/push the cable, it can still slightly dislodge the grommet.

 

[krimsonviper]

Here's a real noobert question, how do you take off the dash area(circled in red) to get feed wire to the area circled in white?

 

[Nuffflavor]

This is the only post I can find a member explaining how to BREAK-THROUGH to the engine compartment (routing Amplifier power cable). Thumbs up Hirudin! Is there anyone else who has routed a Amplifier Power cable in a different location?

 

[NiteRunner]

This is the only post I can find a member explaining how to BREAK-THROUGH to the engine compartment (routing Amplifier power cable). Thumbs up Hirudin! Is there anyone else who has routed a Amplifier Power cable in a different location?

I was wondering the same thing. Seems like a lot of wire, no one found a place to route through the drivers side instead?

 

[kvndoom]

It took a long-ass time, and I cussed that damn windshield cowl for all it was worth, but I got my amp wire run today! Thanks for the write-up!

 

[kjohn]

I just wired my amp behind the glovebox, but instead of cutting the grommet, I made a small cut in the rubber thingy where the huge group of other wires go through (below the grommet). Is there any reason more people dont do this? Should i rewire it through the grommet and use some silicone to close my cut?

 

[uoftguy]

Nice work...I am going to wire my amp up tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. If I discover anything worth adding, I will definitely do so.

 

[mbaledge]

Say man, how did you run your speaker wires through the drivers side dash?