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Installing Exile Surf 9’s w/LED’s on 2018 23 LSV


IXFE

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Hang several zip tie loops on the factory cables running along the ceiling of the death chamber. Then feed all your 4 awg cables over towards the amp rack. 

Normally I would use black zip ties, but I used white so y’all could see them better.  As a matter of habit, I don’t tighten them until the very end

In the last pic you can see that all four of my 4 awg (2 power + 2 ground) are dropping into the same slot as the rest of the wires feeding the amp rack.  

In case you’re wondering, I used 10’ of 4 awg for each run.

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Edited by IXFE
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@IXFE you do this enough that it's time to invest in a set of hydraulic crimpers.  https://www.amazon.com/Hydraulic-Battery-Terminal-Crimper-Crimping/dp/B06XR8BY65/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1527827808&sr=8-8&keywords=hydraulic+crimper That way you can use real battery ring terminals not the car stereo kind.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just completed my tower speaker install using this thread as a guide. Huge than you to @IXFE for doing this write up and answering all my dumb questions! I opted to go one xm30.2 to two pair of exile surf 9s. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the quick release system, I couldn’t get them tight enough and one of them was busted. I swapped a nylock nut (m4x.7) on to the other side of the quick release so I could tighten them down enough to not move (see last blurry photo below). Otherwise everything went according to plan. 

Edit: I know my grills are sideways for all you OCD people. It was pouring rain and I wanted to get my boat covered back up. I will turn them next time I’m at the boat. 

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Edited by Pnwrider
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On ‎6‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 12:39 AM, shawndoggy said:

@IXFE you do this enough that it's time to invest in a set of hydraulic crimpers.  https://www.amazon.com/Hydraulic-Battery-Terminal-Crimper-Crimping/dp/B06XR8BY65/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1527827808&sr=8-8&keywords=hydraulic+crimper That way you can use real battery ring terminals not the car stereo kind.

I got tired of using the screw set style and just bought this today.  Thanks for the info.  Will def come in handy when I add second battery.

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37 minutes ago, Cazan said:

I got tired of using the screw set style and just bought this today.  Thanks for the info.  Will def come in handy when I add second battery.

Hopefully goes without saying, but used the closed copper (or tinned) ring terminals with the hydro crimper, not the junky car stereo kind.

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On ‎6‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 12:39 AM, shawndoggy said:

@IXFE you do this enough that it's time to invest in a set of hydraulic crimpers.  https://www.amazon.com/Hydraulic-Battery-Terminal-Crimper-Crimping/dp/B06XR8BY65/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1527827808&sr=8-8&keywords=hydraulic+crimper That way you can use real battery ring terminals not the car stereo kind.

When I did my boat system, I used the tinned lugs but my crimper was the hammer type.  It worked perfectly - not quite as pretty but has held up for years (and I heat shrunk it as well).

I am buying that toy my next go around.

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Congrats @Pnwrider... she looks great!  How does it sound?

I also got a lot done yesterday. When I left off I had just “roughed in” the 4 awg power and ground cables. I had also just started to run a new 1/0 awg “trunk” but stopped before finishing that. That’s where I pick up...

A reminder, if you’re only adding ONE amp to the tower you don’t need a new trunk.  This is one of many steps that have made my particular implementation a bit more involved  

The new 1/0 awg power trunk should be connected to the “output” post of the battery switch. This is also sometimes referred to the “common” post. The cable must also be fused between the battery switch and the distribution block. So spend some time mapping out where you’re going to mount your fuse before you start cutting up your cable. This stuff ain’t cheap. 

If you haven’t done so already, remove the carpeted panel covering up the backside of the battery switch and lay it on the floor of the death chamber. If your boat has a factory installed battery charger you will see a wire connection the carpet panel. You don’t have to unplug it. There’s enough slack to just lay the panel on the floor. You will see it sitting there in later pics

Pic 1 & 2 - The fuse I bought locally for the new power trunk. Available on Amazon also  

Pic 3 - The front side of the battery switch.  BE SURE ITS TURNED OFF BEFORE YOU PROCEED!  Carefully unscrew each corner but DO NOT remove the screws.  There are four nuts on the back side. Carefully remove them and slide the rear cover off exposing three posts.  

Pic 4 - The back side of the battery switch.  The post at 9 o’clock is the “output” post (hard to see in the pic but it’s labeled).  Remove the nut and washer as I have already done in this pic (14mm open wrench). 

Pic 5 - Slide off the 4 awg factory cables and slide on your freshly crimped 1/0 awg power trunk.  I did it slightly pointing up. That post is already crowded and this was the best way to make them all coexist.  Then slide the factory wires back on (they’re all zip ties together).  Then put the washer and nut back on  

Pic 6 - Slide the red plastic cover back on and screw the corner screws into the nuts at the back.  It will be tight, but YOU CAN DO IT!!

 

 

 

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I should probably step back and come clean about my 1/0 awg crimp... the one I pictured earlier failed!  The hole in the ring terminal was a bit too small for the post so I started to drill it out. I guess I applied too much force to that ghetto crimp and the ring terminal came off. It may not be pretty but I’ve never had one fail like this. I sent a pic to @shawndoggy so he could have a chance to say “I told ya so!”  Instead he suggested I try again by striking the back side is the ring terminal (Luckily I had a spare on hand with a bigger hole).  It worked like a charm!  Then I soldered the piss out of it! 

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Okay so now I have a new power trunk but still no fuse. So the next step is to cut the trunk and install the fuse. Spend some time planning where you want to mount it. I really agonized over this because I wanted to mount it somewhere where I could still remove the upper carpet panel without disturbing the fuse or the trunk. That meant it couldn’t mount it to the upper panel itself. I also didn’t want to cut or modify the upper panel so that meant I couldn’t mount it to the lower panel. I settled on the very front of the death chamber just in front of the upper carpeted panel. There are some factory wires going up there and I simply zip tied my fuse holder to that.

Note: All this pics were taken from the bow through the seatback opening  

Pic 1 - look close and you’ll see that I just cut the cable with this cable cutter (a toll you’ll need to buy for both the 4 and the 1/0 gauge cables). MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE!

Pic 2 - Don’t forget to slide this cone on (part of the fuse holder)

Pic 3 - cable connected from distribution block

Pic 4 - screw the cone on

Pic 5 & 6 - fuse holder zip tied to factory cables 

Pic 7 & 8 - slide on end cap, strip wire and connect to the top side of the fuse holder  

Pic 9 - re-install the upper carpeted panel

Pic 10 - final look at distribution blocks before I put the covers back on  

 

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Edited by IXFE
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Okay, let’s pause for a moment and see where we’re at:

STEP 1 - Run speaker wire through tower and down to the death chamber. Run LED wires through tower to the helm.  DONE!!

STEP 2 - Assemble and install tower speakers and adaptors. DONE!!

STEP 3 -  Get power to the amp board for your new amp(s). DONE!!

That brings us to the last step

STEP 4 -  Install amp(s)

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Now that I know where the amps are going, it’s time to mount and wire them. It’s always nice to be able to do some of the wiring outside the death chamber. So do as much as you can before going in there. 

For review, an amp needs four connections:

1) Remote wire so the headunit (or black box) can tell the amps when to turn on/off

2) Power & Ground so they can actually run

3) RCA’s to receive the audio signal from the head unit (or black box in this case)

4) speaker wires to take that audio signal and send it out to the speakers (amplified)

 

We have already “roughed in” #2 and #4 to the death chamber. That means we can’t make those connections to the amps until the board goes back in (a few steps from now). 

So that leaves #1 and #3. Since we have a black box installed in the amp board, these connections will be short and can be made while the board is out.  Here’s the catch... with the new boats (i.e. 2017 +) Malibu is using a proprietary plug from the black box to their WS amps for the RCA’s and remote wire.  So an aftermarket amp can only be used if you have an adaptor.  Ask your local stereo shop if they can make you one.  Or call whoever you bought your stereo gear from and see if they’re making them.  

If we were doing a “stereo delete” boat we probably wouldn’t be using a black box on the amp board. So #’s 1-4 would all be roughed into the death chamber. 

Pic 1 - Just behind the black box there’s a bundle of factory wires. In that bundle you’ll find an empty plug labeled “TOWER” which contains both the RCA cables and remote wire.

Pic 2 - Cut the zip tie that holds that bundle together. Be sure to pick up the spent zip tie or else you’re a hypocrite!

Pic 3 - Here’s the adaptor I used. No, I cannot get one for you and I don’t know how to make them. Just ask your equipment provider or whatever local shop is doing installs for your dealer. 

Pic 4 - Since I have two tower amps I need to split the rca signal. These splitters are available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CT6CBE0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_teEhBb49AWHAR

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Edited by IXFE
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Since you are on the subject of amp location, one of the reasons I mounted below the black box was in hopes I could get the amp mounted without pulling the amp board. I was wrong. I was able to fish out a few plugs from the black box, but couldn’t get to the right one until I unscrewed the amp board (as referenced in @IXFE last post). That said, I was able to leave everything plugged in and simply pull the 3 amp board screws and make the connections in the death chamber. Thanks Malibu for using 3” screws to make me extra nervous! 

Speakers sound great. Super happy about my choice to go exile. Plus, they support their customers by making the custom dongle/plug you need to connect with the black box. 

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3 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

will that electrical tape last in texas heat?

🤷🏻‍♂️

The wires are crimped in there good  

Besides, this boat won’t be in Texas long...

Edited by IXFE
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3 minutes ago, IXFE said:

🤷🏻‍♂️

The wires are crimped in there good  

Besides, this boat won’t be in Texas long...

Like the state it’s going to is any cooler 😬, 

Edited by Stevo
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Pic 1 - flip the board over and plug the adaptor into the tower plug. Then run the RCA’s and remote wire (18 awg blue wire) to where your amp is mounted. In my case you’ll see that I had to split them both and send them to opposite sides of the board because my amps aren’t next to eachother. Note that I also hung the adaptor so it would sag or fall. Just some ghetto wire management. Extra credit to whoever sees something weird in this pic and can explain it  

Pic 2 - plug in your remote wire. 

Pic 3 - plug in your RCA’s

Pic 4 & 5 - adjust amp settings now is easier than later. So get a good starting point. You can fine tune later. I’ve been running these XM30’s for a while now and they work great using the recommended settings. 

Pic 6 - ready to go back in there!

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Edited by IXFE
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5 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

I mean I'd be worried about that in oregon heat or wisconsin heat.  It's gonna turn into a gooey mess (having had a few gooey messes of my own).

I’ll pass your feedback along

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Pic 1 - Slide your amp board back into the death chamber and lean it up against the opposite side. Feed the power, ground, and speaker wires through the back of the board to the amp(s) they correspond to. Also pull the wires through for the factory amp and make all the black box connections  

Pic 2 - What’s that you say...? You didn’t label your speaker wires?  No problem. Just connect to a 9v battery. Not only does this reveal which speaker each wire powers (they will make a small popping noise), but it also helps you determine polarity (which is + and which is -). If you hook it to the 9v correctly, the speaker cone will pop out. If you get it wrong, the cone sucks inward. In my case, I always label my wires as I go. 

Pic 3 - Once you’ve routed all the wires lean the amp board back against the wall and then... 

Pic 4 - lift it and hang it on rear side of the mounting blocks (doesn’t require screws yet, just hang it on the blocks). 

Pic 5 - go to the bow and lift the front end up onto the block. Notice that I even labeled the two amps.  One is for the upper pair and the other is for the lower pair  

Pic 6 - connect all three amps power and speaker wires.  I definitely cut off some wire from what you see in the precious pic, but be sure to leave enough slack in the wires so if/when you have to take the board down again you have enough wire to work with. I cut these to about 6-8” before stripping and hooking up. After connecting them push any excess behind the amp  

Turn on the batteries.  Power up the boat.  Then turn on the stereo from the 7” screen.  You should see all the amps power on (blue lights).  Time for sound check!!

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Edited by IXFE
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@IXFE Smart move on one color cause the controllers have noise when creating light frequencies that we need to eliminate , one straight wired color should not, any body know what to do about this , the new revo6 do it but tower on different zone snd sub on ssme zone as in boats  with added RGB rings do not , I think?  Need to verify thisone more time 

AND wiring the tower for surf led’s snd RGB circuit was the experience of a life time.  The 4 tower speaker wires were there from factory snd were obstacles to coat hanger fishing in holes for the 2new circuits 

BUT just controlling and grabbing the fish wire in the last two holes bringing the circuits through was the big challenge , used both ends of coat hanger in the 3rd snd 4th holes simultaneously to control fish wire while using other hand to push wire up tower pole and eventually have tip of wire at 4th hole opening to grab with the needle nose was quite the challenge , the two hooks of hanger held the fish do I could let go and grab tool and then grab tip and pull with the needle nose thru hole

took 3-4 hours of back and forth wrangling the fish then the individual wires coming out of the 4 holes to stub constantly grabbing the speaker wires I didn’t wsnt to pull thru. Used the factory wire plugs to attach the RGB wire to on two center holes for future tower cans with lights

Edited by granddaddy55
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On 6/10/2018 at 7:43 PM, IXFE said:

Okay so now I have a new power trunk but still no fuse. So the next step is to cut the trunk and install the fuse. Spend some time planning where you want to mount it. I really agonized over this because I wanted to mount it somewhere where I could still remove the upper carpet panel without disturbing the fuse or the trunk. That meant it couldn’t mount it to the upper panel itself. I also didn’t want to cut or modify the upper panel so that meant I couldn’t mount it to the lower panel. I settled on the very front of the death chamber just in front of the upper carpeted panel. There are some factory wires going up there and I simply zip tied my fuse holder to that.

Note: All this pics were taken from the bow through the seatback opening  

Pic 1 - look close and you’ll see that I just cut the cable with this cable cutter (a toll you’ll need to buy for both the 4 and the 1/0 gauge cables). MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE!

Pic 2 - Don’t forget to slide this cone on (part of the fuse holder)

Pic 3 - cable connected from distribution block

Pic 4 - screw the cone on

Pic 5 & 6 - fuse holder zip tied to factory cables 

Pic 7 & 8 - slide on end cap, strip wire and connect to the top side of the fuse holder  

Pic 9 - re-install the upper carpeted panel

Pic 10 - final look at distribution blocks before I put the covers back on  

 

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So I guess we screwed up using the ws Power block for ground and power, since they are so close on one block that’s a no, no??!

is this a cause of some of our noise issues when source turned down or paused??  

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27 minutes ago, granddaddy55 said:

So I guess we screwed up using the ws Power block for ground and power, since they are so close on one block that’s a no, no??!

is this a cause of some of our noise issues when source turned down or paused??  

I don’t understand your question. Are you saying you used the same distribution block for power and ground?  

Power and ground should be on separate distribution blocks.  Sorta like two separate trees, each with distinct trunks (power to battery switch and ground to battery) and branches (power and ground to amps). 

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