Gettin' Wired
The McIntosh MC420 is one heck of an amplifier. It's very slick-looking, very sexy, and very power hungry; almost like a Republican, save that "sexy" part.

So in order to satisfy the power requirements for the amp and the rest of the system, some upgrading of the factory electrical system was necessary, as was running some additional wires. The upgrades came in the form of replacing the factory battery with an Optima 800U battery for quicker charging, and a fuse block for the 8AWG power line that runs the amplifier. The Optima battery has both top and side terminals, so hooking up the audio system and the rest of the car's electrical system was done quickly and cleanly.

The Hot Seat
Nestled between the two sets of Quart crossovers under the rear seat is the second fuseblock for the Saturn's system; the first is under the hood on the driver-side shock tower.

Next to the second fuseblock is a brass block for distributing the 12-volt remote power from the MP919 deck. This block feeds the MC420 amplifer and the power inverter that gives the MC420's light panel its 120 volts of alternating current. Grounding for the inverter is handled by a trigger switch on the fold-down rear seat; the McIntosh logo lights up only when the rear seat is folded down. >>

 

 

intro :: deck :: amplifier :: front satellites :: rear satellites :: subwoofer :: wiring :: installation