Ground_Pounder_65

Put the Basslink in yesterday and am pretty happy with the results / ease of installation. Adds a nice finishing touch to the Bose stereo system. Here's what I came up with as far as a install guide.

Things you'll need:
1) Infinity Basslink
2) 200W Amp install kit
3) 5' of black ground wire - 8 or 10 gauge - with 3/8" ring terminal for 1 end (the one supplied with the amp install kit was too short to reach the ground I wanted to use)
4) Four Female spade terminal connectors (preferably two that are 1/4" wide and two that are 1/8" wide) for medium gauge wire (blue).
5) Grommet to run the power wire through the ECU housing. Approx 1/4" ID.
6) The normal set of metric wrenches, sockets, pliers and screwdrivers needed whenever you try anything with these cars.
7) About 2 hours of your time.

Here's the instruction page I referenced:

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87183/instructions.jpg">

First thing to do is mount the unit. I chose the spot directly under the package tray but the sub comes with a ton of different mounting brackets so you could probably mount it just about anywhere. For this install, use the vertical mounting brackets and mount them to the top of the Basslink.

Here's a pic of the mounting brackets installed. If you fold the rear seats down and have a second set of hands hold the sub in position, use a cordless drill to screw the mounting brackets to the steel deck. There are 2 different lengths of mounting screws supplied with the sub. Make sure you use the shorter ones for the forward most mounting holes or you'll see two little peaks added to the area in front of the 3rd brake light (or so I'd assume. There is a crease in the metal just in front of the mounting location you can use as a reference for a straight edge. I installed mine so the sub fires towards the back of the car.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87183/mounting__brackets.jpg">

Next will be time to tie into the factory rear speakers. Pull the plastic covers off both speakers, pull the + and - terminal off each and cut (yes, cut) the spade connectors off each set of wires. Be sure to leave the wires as LONG AS POSSIBLE and only cut off the connectors.

Strip about 3/4" of insulation off each of the 4 wires mentioned above. Grab the Speaker Level Output wire supplied with the Basslink unit (square plug with the white, white/black, gray and gray/black wire connected to it) and plug it into the front channel on the sub. Run the wires from the sub to each respective speaker (Gray = driver, White = passenger) and use appropriate zip ties along the way to make it look pretty. Once at the speakers, cut and strip the signal wire and twist it together with the factory speaker wire. Solid with solid, stripe with stripe. Now add the connectors to the twisted pairs. (+) is the solid set which uses the 1/8" connector, (-) is the striped set which uses the 1/4" connector. Re-attach the new connectors to the rear speakers. Re-attach the plastic speaker covers. You have just completed the signal / remote (turns the sub on) wiring to the Basslink.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87183/rear_speakers.jpg">

You're about 1/2 way done.

Now it's time to run the power wire. Open the hood and pull the weather strip and plastic cover off the battery / ECU area. Pull the ECU cover off and drill a hole in the area you see pictured below. This hole should be just big enough to slip the grommet in that will hold the power wire. Connect the end of the power cable with ring terminal to the battery but make sure the fuse is removed from the inline fuse holder (comes with amp install kit).

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87183/engine_compt.jpg">

Grommet location:

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87183/grommet.jpg">

Run the power cable to the trunk via the ECU area and down into the foot well area. You'll need to remove the knee bolster (4 screws) and kick panel (1 maybe 2 screws - I don't remember) on the left hand side. Snap up the plastic door sills located next to the S4 emblems, front and rear, and you're almost there. Once those 4 pieces of plastic are out, you can fish the power cable and remote volume control cable (phone line supplied with Basslink) along that route and into the trunk.

Here's some pics of what my wiring looks like after it was done.

Left Hand Side:

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87183/wire_runs_lhs.jpg">

One of the Right Hand Side:

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87183/wire_runs_rhs.jpg">

On to the ground location. As I mentioned earlier, the ground wire supplied with the amp install kit was too short so I used a piece of 8 gauge black power cable I had laying around. I connected it behind the 6-disk / jack storage area.

Here's a visual:

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87183/ground.jpg">

Connect the power and ground cables to the Basslink, put the fuse into the inline fuse holder in the engine compartment, turn on the radio and see how it works. I mounted the remote volume control under the knee bolster but the kit comes with plenty of wire. You could mount it just about anywhere up front. As far as setting the unit up, that's going to be up to you and your individual taste in music.

Here's a finished pic:

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/87183/finished.jpg">

As far as some questions posted earlier. Sourcing power from somewhere other than the battery is probably not a great idea. Most systems draw quite a bit more than any of the existing factory wires can handle. If anything, go oversize and plan for upgrades down the road so you only have to run the wires back once (without a doubt, the hardest part of the install).

As far as how much bass, I currently have the gain almost all the way down and the bass boost off and it still gives me plenty of sound for what I listen to: rock, metal, etc.

If there's anything I missed, let me know and I'll help you out the best I can.

Good Luck!

BlackS4tt (Josh)

awesome, tahnks for the writeup!

BoneStockS4

I've been thinking about something like this for a long time. Excellent write up, thanks!

PlanB

First, good write-up!
You'll probably achieve cleaner, tighter bass with the rear "subs" unhooked. Although the Basslink comes with a phase switch it won't be exact and even if it was, having two very different drivers trying to produce the same frequencies will muddy the sound.
Also, with the rear-deck drivers venting into the trunk, the pressure created by the Basslink is going to be fighting the smaller drivers, muddying the sound. Plus, why not if only to take advantage of what the Basslink has to offer and turn the gain up? Pass on the bass boost though.
If you have access to Vag-Com, de-bosing the stereo should really improve your low-end response. Just my $.02.

g3ckoNJ

whats the cost on this?

PlanB

Cost on what?

reefer_bob

Good job.

BlackS4tt (Josh)

sweet, there you go, thanks! hey look at that, i was the first to respond to that writeup ;p

Ground_Pounder_65

I noticed that. I honsetly can't believe I spent so much time writing all this crap down!!!