From the factory sub woofer plug, connect the black lead (RU+) to pin 2 and the white lead (RU-) to pin 3 on the unit as shown below. I then cut an old RCA lead and connected it to a 6.5mm line plug.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008 - 10:00 pm, by: Benjamin Anderson(Chicken)
Thanks for this guide, the bits arrived in the mail today, i'm planning on doing the install this weekend. Just a quick question:
"From the factory sub woofer plug, connect the black lead (RU+) to pin 2 and the white lead (RU-) to pin 3 on the unit as shown below. I then cut an old RCA lead and connected it to a 6.5mm line plug. " This makes no sense to me, here is a diagram of my sub amp plug, no black or white wires!
Thursday, November 06, 2008 - 09:19 pm, by: Luke Middleton(Spook)
Hi Benjamin,
The plug in question is the one that connects into the back of the factory head unit. I did not touch the plug that connects to the sub amp itself. I have mounted the DI Box next to my head unit in the dash. This was done some time ago however it still works perfectly. Hope that helps.
Friday, November 07, 2008 - 03:15 pm, by: Benjamin Anderson(Chicken)
A few more questions: To power the sub amp, I ran 12v switched to the Pink - Blue lead on the main plug for the factory head unit. Where did you recommend I get 12v from? I'm thinking of either running a new wire from the battery, or tapping into the 12v sent to the head unit (not sure if this will overload the wire since it's powering head unit and sub) or tapping into the cigarette lighter (not sure if this is 12v or acc though). Also do I need to worry about running a ground wire? Thanks again for the help
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 12:24 am, by: Benjamin Anderson(Chicken)
Finally had a crack at this after having the parts sitting on my desk for a few months.
To power it I used the blue remote lead from the head unit plug, works fine. Now, the RU+ and RU- wires coming from the DI box. I'm getting sound from the sub if I connect either one of these to either inputs in the factory amp wiring but if I connect both, the sub goes silent. As it sounds OK, is it safe to leave it with only one connected? I have triple checked my wiring and fiddled with the settings on the head unit, makes no difference.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 04:41 am, by: Joe Russell(Joe_r)
I'm guessing pin2 and pin3 are likely opposing inputs(same waveform, just flipped over) so they cancel each other out. I'd use ru+ at first, and see what it sounds like on each pin, then go with the easiest to hear when the whole system is running. Then bandage up the unused wire probably.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 08:06 am, by: Luke Gomer(Luke)
When I connect the oem sub amp to an aftermarket head unit I fed the amp with speaker level audio, connected the mute to +v and left the 'amp' lead off (not connected).
Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 04:57 pm, by: Luke Middleton(Spook)
That's a bit strange. The whole point of the exercise is to provide the factory sub amp with a balanced input (opposing frequencies - maybe someone can provide a better explanation) If you look at the first pic in my post, the white plug on the sheet of paper is the sub woofer plug that connects to the back of the factory head unit. The RCA plug out of the back of the Pioneer head unit has it's output set to subwoofer mode. That way I can adjust the sub levels and cross over frequencies via the deck itself. I must say that I can get that factory sub to really crank, but usually it's used just to complement the lower range rather than be the main focus of the sound (I must be getting old)
Friday, January 16, 2009 - 12:48 am, by: Jason Munro(Jason_munro)
Luke,
i'm about to do my install (finally) i was hoping to be able to retain as much as of the existing speakers and amplifiers as possible.
i bought an interface lead (metra 70-8112) pictured :
this will supposedly allow the use of the factory amp for the front and rear speakers.
i was under the impression that the sub amp was driven from the main amp ?
if that's not the case, this lead will only run the 4 speakers, and not the sub ?
also, what are your thoughts on if the factory amp will handle a 5 volt pre input ? or, given that my new deck has a 4x50 Mosfet output, should i just run the speakers from the head unit ?
then buy a small 2ch amp to run the sub ?
any info would be great. i am starting the install in 2 weekends time.
Friday, January 16, 2009 - 12:58 am, by: Luke Middleton(Spook)
Hi Jason, I'm running the the factory door and parcel shelf speakers of a Pioneer deck (4 x 50 output from memory). I removed the factory amp altogether. The DI box is used to run the factory sub amp and woofer only. The sound is fantastic and can get quite load yet still remain distortion free. I think you'll be surprised what the stock speakers can do driven straight from your head unit.
Friday, January 16, 2009 - 01:09 am, by: Jason Munro(Jason_munro)
ok.
thanks for the info.
ill rip it out, and run them from the head unit. it's a JVC 7" wide screen dvd unit with a 4x50 mosfet amp.
i suppose, amplifier technology has gone ahead in leaps and bounds in the last 18 years !
I'm happy enough with the sound quality of the system as it stands now, just the jap spec radio is crappy at FM reception, and the stacker is not worth anything. the stacker plays great when the car is not moving, but the slightest bump, and it skips heaps.
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