MasterSheet 000 COOLER Revision 07/1/2013

Complete Cooler Audio

50-qt.
Installation Instructions Plastic
Cooler

Inside...
Although reasonable attempts are made to verify the accuracy of the information contained in this MasterSheet, it is presented without
warranties or guarantees of any type due to the large number of coolers on the market and the wide variety of stereo gear that could potentially be
installed in a cooler. Any person or entity using this information does so at his or its own risk. *0000COOLER*
Page

2-3 Insulation Installation

4-5 Speaker Installation

6 Remote Control Installation

7 Amp and Battery Installation

Materials Required 4
• foam sheet • toggle bolts • zip ties
8 Charging Port Installation • ABS plastic (part #1208900903) • PosiProducts connectors • 8-gauge connector (use what works
9 Router Installation • medium-grade sandpaper • power and ground wire with your trickle charger)

10 Wire Splicing Guide

4

Tools Required

Jigsaw Drill Rotary tool Wire cutters Phillips Small flat blade Utility knife Wire Worm Safety glasses Pencil
screwdriver screwdriver

Copyright 2013 Crutchfield Corporation

000 COOLER

Insulation Installation
1. Thoroughly clean and dry cooler. FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
2. Place amp and battery in bottom of cooler
and mark locations with pencil (Figure 1).

3. 
Use a piece of cardboard to create a tem-
plate for a shelf that fits the cooler wall-to-
wall. Trace the shape onto a piece of 1/2"
styrofoam insulation (Figures 2 & 3).

4. Use a utility knife to carefully cut foam to fit

inside of cooler (Figure 4).

5. With amp and battery in place, but not

attached, place foam piece in cooler to test
fit. Trim to fit cooler walls as needed.

6. Cut a piece of scrap wood into four thin

strips (two long, two short). These pieces will
serve as shelf supports (See Figure 8, next FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4
page).

7. Drill two pilot holes through each strip of

wood for mounting screws.

8. Measure and mark a level line around perime-

ter of cooler walls, approximately 3/4"- 1"
above top of battery. Align strips with marked
lines and secure strips to walls with screws.

Continued on next page

Copyright 2013 Crutchfield Corporation 2

000 COOLER

Insulation Installation (continued)

9. Using the template, trace outline onto a sheet FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6
of ABS plastic (Crutchfield part #1208900903)
that will serve as a shelf. Cut out shape, then
use jigsaw to cut shelf piece in half (Figure 5).

10. Place foam sheet onto shelf support, then

place plastic shelf pieces on top of foam
sheet. Trim edges if necessary (Figures 6 & 7).

11. Before proceeding with remainder of your

project, remove plastic shelf, foam, amplifier,
and battery. To protect against dust and
debris, store safely, away from work area.

12. The finished product, with all speakers and

gear installed, will look like this (Figure 8). We
used zip-ties to keep the wires as neat as
possible.

FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8

! IMPORTANT:
Although variations on this project will work with almost
any cooler, it’s important to note that adding audio gear
will also add weight and bulk to your cooler. For that rea-
son, we recommend using a cooler with wheels.

Copyright 2013 Crutchfield Corporation 3

000 COOLER

Speaker Installation
! IMPORTANT: FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
Your speakers will not come with toggle bolts, so you’ll
need to visit your local hardware store to purchase them.

1. 
Measure and cut two speaker-sized holes in
a sheet of posterboard to serve as tem-
plates. Use a pencil to trace speaker open-
ings onto face of cooler (Figure 1).

2. Drill a “keyhole” opening inside template

outline. This makes it easier to remove cut-
out later (Figure 2).

3. 
Use a jigsaw to carefully cut around template
outline, then gently remove cutout using
hands or pry tool (Figures 3 and 4).

4. Use utility knife and medium-grade sandpa- FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4

per to trim and smooth edges of speaker
cutout (Figure 4).

Continued on next page

Copyright 2013 Crutchfield Corporation 4

000 COOLER

Speaker Installation (continued)

5. Smooth inside edges of opening with a rotary
tool to allow speaker to seat firmly on front of FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6
cooler. Check speaker magnet for clearance
(Figure 5).

6. Place speaker in location and mark mounting

holes. Remove speaker and drill holes with a
1/8” bit (Figure 6).

7. Place speaker back into opening. Insert tog-

gle bolts through mounting holes. Screw
wings onto rear of bolts inside cooler and
hand-tighten. Tighten screw heads with a
Phillips screwdriver (Figures 7 & 8).

8. If amplifier is already secured, connect

speaker wires to test. If not, coil speaker
wires tightly to keep them out of the way
during further work.

FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8
CAUTION:
!
Always be careful when drilling in a cooler (or anywhere
else, for that matter). Wear eye protection.
Check drilling depth and location to avoid damaging the
thing you’re trying to improve.

! CAUTION:
In Figure 7, we’re using a drill to tighten the screws. Due to
the risk of the drill slipping and damaging the cooler, a
Phillips screwdriver would be the safer, smarter choice.

Copyright 2013 Crutchfield Corporation 5

000 COOLER

Remote Control Installation

1. Use pencil to trace outline of remoter control-
ler on cooler. Use rotary tool to lightly carve
FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
shape of outline into front of cooler, then use
jigsaw to cut around outline (Figure 1). We ran the cable behind
2. Attach grinder bit to rotary tool and smooth the cooler wall.
inner edges of opening.

3. Place controller into its opening, then use a

ProFit Wire Worm to guide the connection
cable through the inside of the cooler wall
toward the cable opening. We ran the cable
through the existing speaker hole (Figure 2).

4. Connect cable to amplifier and test operation.

5. If remote is working properly, secure with sili-

NOTE:
cone to create a watertight seal (Figure 3).
FIGURE 3
The ProFit Wire Worm (part #042DM4533) is a handy tool
to have around, whether you’re running wires through a
cooler, the walls of your home, or a hard-to-reach area in
your car.

! NOTE:
For complete details on the gear we installed in our cooler,
visit crutchfield.com/cooler

Copyright 2013 Crutchfield Corporation 6

000 COOLER

Amp and Battery Installation

1. Place the amp(s) and battery in the bottom
of the cooler to determine ideal locations. FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
Note locations of connections on each and
allow for easy access when other gear is
Amp
installed (Figure 1).

2. Use a pencil to mark locations for mounting

screws. Battery

3. Using drill and screws, attach amp and bat-

tery to bottom of cooler using mounting gear
provided.
Sub
4. Connect speaker wiring (Figure 2) following Amp
instructions on page 10, or use a set of
PosiProducts connectors. Return to this
page to complete installation.

5. Use zip ties to manage cables (Figure 3). FIGURE 3

6. Test system operation.

! IMPORTANT:
Turning your cooler into a digital media system makes it
somewhat less useful as a cooler. Frozen cooler packs will
still work nicely, but DO NOT use bagged or loose ice.

Copyright 2013 Crutchfield Corporation 7

000 COOLER

Charging Port Installation

1. Unscrew and remove water drain (Figure 1).
FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3
2. Connect wire to plug, then run the wire
through the opening and connect to battery in
cooler (Figure 2).

3. Attach trickle charger to cooler plug and test

operation (Figure 3).

! EQUIPMENT NOTE:
FIGURE 4
For our project, we used an 8-gauge connector that you
can find at your local hardware store. For your cooler, use
the connector that works best with your trickle charger.

Cooler drain
before (inset)
and after.

Copyright 2013 Crutchfield Corporation 8

000 COOLER

Router Installation
1. Place mounting bracket in desired location on
inner sidewall of cooler and mark mounting FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
screw holes with pencil. Insert router in brack-
et to check clearances.

2. Place bracket into position and install mount-

ing screws (Figure 1).

3. Hardwire the docking station to the battery

following instructions on page 10, or use
PosiProducts connectors. Return to this page
to complete installation.

4. Attach router to docking station, then test

wireless operation.

5. Install foam and plastic shelving.

FIGURE 3
! IMPORTANT:
The gear you purchase may or may not include mounting
screws, so you may need to acquire them.

Copyright 2013 Crutchfield Corporation 9

000 COOLER

Wire Splicing Guide These methods can be used to make wiring connections if no receiver or speaker wiring adapter is available.

CRIMP METHOD SOLDER METHOD

1. Cut factory wires behind 2. Strip end of each 1. Carefully strip out a 1/2” 2. Twist wires from new
factory speaker harness. wire back 1/2”. section on each factory speaker to stripped
speaker wire behind the sections of factory wires
factory speaker harness. as shown making sure
polarity is correct.
Factory Wires
---
-- - -----------
Negative Wires
Strip Out 1/2” New Wires
+
+
+ + + + + + + + + + + + +
Positive Wires

3. Twist each positive pair of 4. Squeeze middle of cap 3. Heat wires first with 4. Wrap wiring connections
wires together and insert for tight connection. soldering iron, then with electrical tape.
in crimp cap. Repeat touch solder to
step for negative wires. 5. Connect new wires to wires for solid 5. Connect new wires to
speaker with spade connections. speaker with spade
First
connectors. connectors.
Factory Wire ---
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Negative Wires
-------
Last
+
+
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

New Speaker Wire Positive Wires

Copyright 2013 Crutchfield Corporation 10