Kicker Hideaway HS8 Manual

How to connect the Hideaway (HS8 or HS10) subwoofer to your
The Hideaway subwoofers are designed to give you lower bass response that a typical audio
system. The Hideaways' small size and super low profile, make it very easy to find a suitable location
inside your vehicle. In many applications you will be able to mount it under one of the front seats. It
will also work very well mounted behind the seat of a regular cab pickup.
Connecting to factory installed or OEM head unit: This will also be the procedure for connecting an
aftermarket head unit when using speaker level for input signal to the Hideaway:
1. Determine mounting location by test fitting the Hideaway in desired locations. If you plan to
mount under a front seat, you will want to set subwoofer in the desired location and adjust seat
to full limits to see if it will interfere with seat travel.
2. Disconnect the negative side of vehicle's battery.
3. Mount subwoofer in desired location with included mounting tabs or tie down straps for secure
placement. Securely mounting the Hideaway will maximize sub-bass response.
4. Connect harness to subwoofer and begin to connect wires. Be sure all wires are routed safely
away from anything that could pinch or cut the wires.
a. The red power wire is connected to the positive post of vehicle battery. Make sure
the included fuse holder is located as close to the battery as possible. Do not insert the
fuse at this time.
b. The black wire will be grounded to the vehicle's chassis or body. Make sure to sand off
paint to bare metal for good contact. Using a bolt is the best connection for proper
operation.
c. The input wires, white/white and black stripe and gray/gray with black stripes connect
to the factory speaker wiring. You may want to search the internet or contact your local
dealer for proper wire colors and possible connecting locations such as in kick panel or
behind pillar panel specific to your vehicle. You can connect to either the front or the
rear speaker outputs of the radio. You will want to make sure the speaker wires you are
connecting to do not have a high pass crossover that restricts bass response to the
speaker they are connected to. If they do have a high pass crossover, you will need to
select a different speaker source for connection. You will also need to know which stock
wires are positive and which wires are negative. The solid white and gray wires will
connect to the positive stock speaker wiring. The white with black stripe and gray with
black stripe will connect to the stock speaker's negative wiring. The white and white
with black are the left speaker input. The gray and gray with black are the right speaker
input. (note* if you get polarity backwards, you will not have little to no sub-bass
output. You can test this by turning the radio's balance control all the way to the left
or right. If bass response improves as you go to one side or the other and decreases
as you go back to center,
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factory or aftermarket radio.