Aftermarket Audio Install

[Black Dog]

Was it here somewhere I read that good ol' Mr. Bose would roll over in his grave if he knew what they were doing with his name these days? Not that it ever was so great, I guess it might've been good stuff back in the 80's or somethin...

 

[Gambler]

I don't need cooling with my setup as the gains are pretty low. I bought fans and a relay to control them, but I won't be needing them. My amps are a little overkill for my speakers/subs, but that helps them run cooler.

 

[cdelmonte]

Awesome Job! Very Clean.

 

[DownTownDru]

All you have to do is get a thin screwdriver and pop the bezel off from around the stereo, as long as you are relatively careful you won't break it. From there it just takes a socket set. I attached a socket to my cordless drill and it was a breeze.

You can continue to use the factory amp, it just snaps in-line. That harness is exactly what you need and will work fine.

Follow up...

I just put in the RCA harness from JP Customs today. EZ Breezy. The Boston G5 sounds MUCH better now... night and day.

Thanks for the 411. Highly reccomend the part for anyone using the factory setup and just adding sub(s) for extra bass. Whole job took about an hour.

A J

 

[emann_01]

I used this same harness and installed it last night. It was very easy but something isnt right with mine. The remote wire for my amp is not a remote. It stays on constant. So the amp killed the battery last night. For now the remote wire just isnt plugged into the amp, but i gotta get this fixed.

Anyone have a clue?

 

[cdelmonte]

If nothing else just put a toggle switch on the wire and turn it on and off as you please

 

[DownTownDru]

I used this same harness and installed it last night. It was very easy but something isnt right with mine. The remote wire for my amp is not a remote. It stays on constant. So the amp killed the battery last night. For now the remote wire just isnt plugged into the amp, but i gotta get this fixed.

Anyone have a clue?

I didn't use the amp remote wire on the box. I already had the amp installed so I had run a wire from the fuse box that is hot only when the vehicle is in the ON position for the amp remote wire. I was afraid having the extra amp on at ACCESSORY would drain the battery too much if the engine wasn't running.

A J

 

[Gambler]

You need to be careful that all of your doors are shut. If the car won't lock, you don't have a door shut all the way. The remote on wire isn't just for when the ignition is on as the sound plays through the speakers for the door chime/turn signals. It turns off once all of the doors are shut for about 15 seconds or so.

 

[Mighty MoG]

Do you have pics of where you ran the power wire from the engine bay through the firewall? I'm debating on whether to do that or run the power wire underneath the vehicle.

 

[emann_01]

You need to be careful that all of your doors are shut. If the car won't lock, you don't have a door shut all the way. The remote on wire isn't just for when the ignition is on as the sound plays through the speakers for the door chime/turn signals. It turns off once all of the doors are shut for about 15 seconds or so.

After messing with it more tonight, I found this to be true. It does cut off it just takes about 20 seconds. What happened last night was that I had my key in the ignition the whole time while I was working so the remote wire was on which turned the amp on and killed the battery

 

[brdnboy]

Hey gambler,
Do you have any pics of the center console with the compartment open? Did you do a finish the inside and save a few inches of storage, or is the sub enclosure visible or what? Does the factory compartment bottom in bolt so you could save it without cutting it up?

 

[Gambler]

Hey gambler,
Do you have any pics of the center console with the compartment open? Did you do a finish the inside and save a few inches of storage, or is the sub enclosure visible or what? Does the factory compartment bottom in bolt so you could save it without cutting it up?

I don't have one yet. I'll try to remember to get one tonight. The sub goes all the way to the top of the enclosure until it hits the lip that comes in. There is a piece of cardboard which I placed on top of the subwoofer which is covered in black vinyl. All you see is the black vinyl "bottom" when you open the top. There is only about an inch of space before the lip ends and the subwoofer begins. Hard to describe, I'll get a picture up later.

I'm not sure I totally understand your second question. I only cut the two back tabs off of the bottom piece of the enclosure. I could put it back to factory with an "L" bracket easy enough. All of the old innards are intact and sitting in my basement. If anybody wants them, I'll send them to you if you pay for shipping. If I go back to stock when selling the vehicle or something I'll probably just put the jumpseat back in.

 

[DownTownDru]

Do you have pics of where you ran the power wire from the engine bay through the firewall? I'm debating on whether to do that or run the power wire underneath the vehicle.

I will take a couple and post. Basically I punched through a grommet under the battery box on the drivers side, ran my wires around the grommet, and pushed it back into place.

Running power wires under the truck is probably not the ideal solution.

A J

 

[Gambler]

Pictures were requested of the console open as well as the factory grommet where the wires are going through. Here they are:

Console with lid open:

Overall under-hood:

Factory grommet:

I noticed that I must have sliced the grommet when running that wire, I'll be fixing that shortly...

 

[Mighty MoG]

Just what the doctor ordered!

 

[brdnboy]

Hey gambler (or anyone else),

Do you have pictures of the front and rear door internals? Mounts, wiring etc... Any tips for pulling the panels off? did use the factory wiring or upgrade with higher quality speaker wire throughout the doors?

Also, would it be possible to fabricate a mount for a tweeter in the c pillar somewhere at upper body height? is that even a good place to mount a tweeter for acoustics?

Thanks again!

 

[Gambler]

Hey gambler (or anyone else),

Do you have pictures of the front and rear door internals? Mounts, wiring etc... Any tips for pulling the panels off? did use the factory wiring or upgrade with higher quality speaker wire throughout the doors?

Also, would it be possible to fabricate a mount for a tweeter in the c pillar somewhere at upper body height? is that even a good place to mount a tweeter for acoustics?

Thanks again!

I didn't take pics of the inside. I need to take the door off to adjust the crossover again anyway :cuss: I'll try to take some when I do that.

I used the images in this thread to learn how to get the doors off. They are pretty easy after you do the first one. I think a summary is:
-Pop the triangle piece off (where I put my tweeters)
-Pull the tab on the lock and lift it straight up
-Pop the panel behind the door handle, remove both bolts
-Pop the panel behind the armrest, remove both bolts
-Use a trim tool to pop all of the pins off (the door should be loosened now)
-Pop the controls trim off, disconnect and remove
-Unscrew the door handle from the back (2 screws), pop off and slide back through the door
-Done!

For the speaker brackets I made some out of half inch MDF. There is plenty of room back there to use any size you want. I put some sound damping down on the bare metal between the MDF brackets and the door.

I upgraded the wiring. It is a little tricky getting the wires through the flexible rubber tube on the door. I had to pop off both ends of the tube (use a flat screwdriver to push the clip in and they pop right off), then fish the wire through and reattach.

I would NOT recommend placing a speaker on the C pillar. You want your soundstage in front of you and if you want rear-fill only put a pair of coaxials in the rear doors as they are low enough. I ditched the rears all-together, but that is up to you.

 

[Mighty MoG]

I had trouble with the locking rod. I could not get it disengaged.

 

[Gambler]

I had trouble with the locking rod. I could not get it disengaged.

If you mean you couldn't get the plastic piece off of the rod it is attached to, you just get a thin screwdriver and pope the plastic tab until it snaps to the open position maybe 30deg open. Then it lifts right off.

 

[brdnboy]

Thanks Gambler!
Would it be a good idea to do a coaxial in the rear door and a 3.5 inch coaxial in the factory d-pillar location? I know JK mentioned to skip the d-pillar but what if there are passengers in the 3rd row. Would they have the same experience as the front and middle seat passengers without the d pillar speakers?