Hey folks.. I want to make disclaimer off the top I am electrically challenged. Mechanical is my thing, hate the electrons and protons lol..
Anyways trying to hook up an Arc Audio MPAK 4 system I just received.
Instructions are exceedingly vague, for this dummy anyways.
I have cable routed for power under the tank etc and harness to fairing and the remote power to the headlight and ground cable to cigarette lighter..
Now how does a fella connect the speakers? The amp needs a signal from the deck to power up and then to speakers.. just not getting any sound. Stock speaker wires get cut and connected to?? The "power plug" with the 5 wires, those get wired to ??
Sorry I know this is long winded and incredibly simple to someone.. just hoping that someone reads this plea for help lol..

 

Shoot no one's done one of these? Wanting to get my bike back together and rockin some tunes lol..

 

I haven't hooked up one of these amps before but there should be a hi-level speaker input connector with 4 wires. Connect you existing speaker wires to this connector and plug it into the amp.
Then run new speaker wires from the speaker output terminals on the amp to your front speakers. I think the power, ground and remote you already have done. However, I would not use the cigarette lighter as the place to connect the ground from the amp. There should be a ground post on the steering head. Take the front cap off the fairing and you should be able to get at it easily.

 

I've done all that.. connected the bike speaker wires to the appropriate hi-level plug, then ran the new wires from the posts on the amp to the speakers in the bike. Zero sound, nada zip, zilch. Got a steady green power light on the amp.
Instructions said connect black and red to pos and neg on battery, run the harness to fairing which I've done. Yellow from amp to orange plug on headlight harness. Again directions said run on the hi-level plug ground to the cigarette plug, which I've done. However when I have power to the system and unplug that ground from the cig plug the amp's green power light stays on.. ??
At a loss here.. Maybe the ground on the hi-level plug is nfg and that's why no sound??

 

Near the high level speaker inputs, at the bottom, is a little bitty switch that controls whether the input is from the high level inputs you're using or the RCA's that are available, but you are not using. Chances are that tiny switch is set to RCA's so you're not getting any sound--the amp doesn't "know" that there is an input signal at the high level inputs. Change the switch's position and you should be good to go.

Turn down the volume level before you do to avoid damaging speakers.

Carl

 

If you go to this link, you'll see a picture of the RCA/High Level switch near the RCA inputs:

http://www.arcaudio.com/productdescr...125.2-mini.asp

Also, use the Arc 125.2 amp installation instructions for wiring the amp. I had the MPAK 1 instructions and found them to be funky (wrong and/or misleading at times), and amp ground should use a chassis/frame ground, not battery ground.

There is an excellent ground stud on the lower triple tree on the rider left side of the steering head; and, another in front of the battery--it's where the battery ground is connected via a stud/nut to the frame--closer to the amp is better.

Carl

 

Harley.. You get the last 2 cold beer I have
That's all it was, but the instructions never alluded to it at all.. Many thanks for your help !!
Now just have to do the painstaking process of setting up the amps parameters..
Thanks again !!!

 

Glad to pass along a lesson I learned when I did the install on my bike a year or so ago--I freaked when I got no sound the first time; and, you're right, the instructions say zip about that switch.

Hope you enjoy your new audio components; and, be sure you help the next guy out who encounters the same dilemna.

Carl

 

You know I was looking at that as I was velcroing the amp to deck and never really paid it no mind.. yup now i could do an install in a portion of the time and be glad to help a brother/sister out..

 

So now that you have the bike all wired and working have you done a ride with it yet? How does it sound? How does it sound a 80 mph? The reason I ask as I have also been looking at that same setup and been thinking about it. Thanks for any input you can give and enjoy the new tunes with a job well done.