The ARCs I have installed, I just ground at the same place the stock radio is grounded.

Use a spade terminal on the ground cable/wire. Then you need a 5/16" 1/4" drive socket with a long extension. Poke it through the side of the big black fairing brace and loosen the screw just enough to get the spade terminal in between and tighten the screw back down.

 

Ok, I am back! Spoke with Firecap and read through the thread. I think I am not grounded right. I have my ground on the right side between the bolt and the chrome hardbag rail. My question is, if the ground is not right will it not power up. I will have to wait until I get home to try it.

 

I don't like long ground wires that's why I ground up by the fork/frame where the stock radio is grounded. Yes, if not grounded properly the amp will not work.

Also, you are using the amp's low converter ability, correct? Did you ground the wire from that harness too?

This is the easiest way to wire it up when using the stock radio:

Power cable/wire - amp to positive battery terminal
Ground cable/wire - amp to the location I mentioned (IIRC, it's on the frame down tube, look for the black ground wire coming off the radio.)
Remote/12v (blue) wire - tap into the orange wire off the headlight wire
Speaker wires - from amp to speakers (- to - and + to +, obviously)

The amp's low (speaker) level converter:
Ground the black wire
Other wires to speaker wires coming off the radio (- to - and + to +, obviously)

If it is wired like this, I know it will work...I have installed 2-3 ARC's like this.

 

I am working with the stock H/K radio system. The only thing I am adding is:
ARC 125.2 Mini-Amp
ARC-FD5025 (5 1/4" Coaxial Speakers)
High-Low Coverter w/RCA Cable

 

Using the high-low w/RCA converter is redundant.

The amp has built in high level input. You dont need a converter, just connect your HK speaker outputs to the high level input of the amplifier.
You can wrap the high level ground back to the ground terminal on the amp, then run your ground to the frame.

 

You dont need the high-low converter w/RCA cable...the amp has one built in. Use the little white plug (harness) that comes with the amp. It plugs into the amp where it says speaker level.

Wire it like I stated above and it will work.

 

I copied and pasted that from the website. I did not get a high low converter. I did get with my amp a plug which I plugged into the amp and hooked my speaker wire (right and left + and -) to. and then routed the stock speaker wires to the amp which I screwed into it's proper area.

I am on my way home gents... Hope this solves the problem. I am going to redo my ground connection.

 

If I'm reading this right, you have it backwards.

Stock radio speaker wires (coming off the back of the radio) go to the white plug (also ground the black wire coming off the plug). Then speaker wires go from the amp out to the speakers (use the speaker wire that came with the speakers).

 

What I have is the ARC speaker with the new speaker wires screwed into the amp. Stock speaker wires are in the plug. I think I screwed up the explanation I was going off the top of my head from work. But my real problem is I HAVE NO POWER!!!

 

Did you check to see if you have +12V coming into the AMP from the battery? Did you pop the fuse?

So, I agree in keeping the ground run as short as possible, but if you want to keep it where it is, I would loosen the ground bolt, pry the chrome bar up, and scrape some powercoating off the frame beneath the chrome bar.