How to: Wire in Factory Sub to Aftermarket Stereo

[VinnieZ]

x

 

[VinnieZ]

Hey guys...I am also doing this but I am really confused as I am hearing all different stories. I bought these 2 harnesses from Crutchfield and received this exact same wiring diagram:

This is the back of my HU:

this is the back of my factory radio:

When I installed the new HU, I only used the harness on the left in the picture above...which plugged into the harness that fits in the bottom right corner of the factory radio...

There were 2 plugs that went into the factory radio from the car. I did not use the other one and it is just sitting in there because I didn't realize that it would into the white harness on the right in the picture above...

Now my question is, when I plug the white harness in the picture above into the unused adapter coming from my car....what goes where?

I believe the RCA goes into one of the subwoofer ports on the back of the HU, does it matter which one?

And lastly, where does the blue wire with the white stripe go? Obviously the black is a ground (right? :X)

Thank you all so much for your help. This forum as helped me a lot!

 

[VinnieZ]

bump

 

[cbrock]

Vinnie,

I bought the same two harnesses from Crutchfield for my '02 Mountaineer and got my factory sub working without any problems.

The RCA goes into one of the sub outs on your headunit, I used the left rear on mine (usually the mono out) but I'm sure any of them will work. The blue/white wire connects to the remote wire on your headunit (usually a bright blue color and probably fused). I wired the black (ground) to the same ground that the headunit used.

You'll be amazed at how good the factory sub sounds with a new headunit. Good luck!

 

[CrazedEvilX]

cant you just wire it in to the stock speaker wires on the back doors i know there wont be as much bass but it should still work thats what i did(temporarily) for my aftermarket subs untill i get the wiring kit for the amp

 

[christr]

I know it's been a while since you posted. But here's your answer if you havn't found it already.

The blue/white wire for the sub turn-on should connect to a similar wire on your RADIO's harness. The radio should've come with it's own harness that you attached to the CAR harness. On most HU's there will be a remote antenna trigger and a remote sub trigger line. Hook it up to the remote sub trigger with at least a 2.3k or 5k resistor. Preferably like others said here use a voltage regulator.

I'm in process of doing my 06 so I'll take pics and video and whatnot to help people along. It's not all that bad. What will suck is when I try to make the remote steering wheel controls work. That looks like a pain in the behind.

--Chris

 

[Archetype3791]

Not trying to threadjack or anything, I am actually trying to do the opposite, bypass the factory sub+amp and use an aftermarket sub/amp, has anyone done this before. 2004 Limited with premium sound and sub

 

[aquill1]

Not trying to threadjack or anything, I am actually trying to do the opposite, bypass the factory sub+amp and use an aftermarket sub/amp, has anyone done this before. 2004 Limited with premium sound and sub

If I were you I'd add an aftermarket head unit if I were you. You can bypass the factory stuff but I personally have never cared for converters (and I'd never spend the money they want for any of the processors like the rockford 360's.)

There is a small square plug in the back (green iirc) and that is the plug that pertains to the sub/amp in the back. You should be able to just unplug it and keep them from turning on.

If you'd like message me when your ready to install and I'll see what each wire does so you can tap into them for signals (unless someone already knows what is what.) I'd have to pull my radio out to figure out what is what so message me when your closer to doing it.

If your putting an aftermarket stereo you don't have to do this, the radio has the rca out and turn on wire so you don't need figure out what is what. You can also get by with a wiring harness that isn't for the premium stereo because you don't need the wire for the sub.

 

[RussL15]

Hello All,

This post seems to be the closest in regards to what I'm trying to do, but have not found an answer yet (still somewhat new to this forum - haven't used it alot).

I have replaced the factory unit in my 02 Eddie Bauer with an aftermarket one. I believe that I have a sub/amp in the back right cargo area. However, when the unit is on, there is no sound coming from this area. My question is:

What is the procedure for removing the panel to check and see if the sub/amp is actually there?



Thanks much.

 

[VinnieZ]

Hey guys...I am also doing this but I am really confused as I am hearing all different stories. I bought these 2 harnesses from Crutchfield and received this exact same wiring diagram:

This is the back of my HU:

this is the back of my factory radio:

When I installed the new HU, I only used the harness on the left in the picture above...which plugged into the harness that fits in the bottom right corner of the factory radio...

There were 2 plugs that went into the factory radio from the car. I did not use the other one and it is just sitting in there because I didn't realize that it would into the white harness on the right in the picture above...

Now my question is, when I plug the white harness in the picture above into the unused adapter coming from my car....what goes where?

I believe the RCA goes into one of the subwoofer ports on the back of the HU, does it matter which one?

And lastly, where does the blue wire with the white stripe go? Obviously the black is a ground (right? :X)

Thank you all so much for your help. This forum as helped me a lot!

Alright it has been a while since I followed up on this...but I never figured it out...

The wire that plugs into the bottom left corner of my factory radio in the picture above DOES NOT fit into the white harness in the picture above. The 2 are totally different sizes...so I just have that wire sitting in there plugged into nothing...

Is it possible my Explorer does not have a factory sub? Its a 2002 Explorer XLT....I just dont know what to do....

 

[Heidi Jo]

Hey guys...I am also doing this but I am really confused as I am hearing all different stories. I bought these 2 harnesses from Crutchfield and received this exact same wiring diagram:

I believe the RCA goes into one of the subwoofer ports on the back of the HU, does it matter which one?

I too have purchased this harness kit from Crutchfield (although mine has a white RCA not red?). I am wondering if I need to y split the RCAs, seeing as the harness has only one plug and the head unit has both red and white. Or does it matter? And, like VinnieZ said, "Which one"? (I just plugged into corresponding color)

 

[taylor1865]

It doesn't matter

Heidi Jo i think it doesn't really matter which one you plug it into because they're just left and right and it's only one signal any way so it should be fine how you wired it

 

[Cobraguy]

Vinnie, your factory stereo set up does NOT have a subwoofer. If it did, there would be a terminals (and a plug) that fit into the cavity on the upper left of your factory stereo. That plug would fit into your white plug in your harness kit. The RCA is a nice touch because it allows you to plug right into your aftermarket stereo sub preouts. The blue wire with the white stripe is what "wakes up" your amp. It actually turns it on. It does NOT power the amp.

By the way, do not confuse the word AMP in that set of plugs to mean it has anything to do with an ampifier. It's the name of the company who built the plug.

Heidi, most sub outputs are mono...so using just one should get you by. However...even though it's mono, your aftermarket stereo can vary output from side to side. Not all...but some do. So to be safe, I would run to Radio Shack and pick up a Y adapter. They are cheap.

If hooking to a factory Ford amp, either resist the turn on voltage, or do it correctly and order this:

http://www.sminntech.com/ampinterface.html

Ford amps only want 5V on the turn on line.

 

[Heidi Jo]

Thanks for the info cobra.
I did end up "y"ing the sub RCAs. And I ended up just making my own 5v regulator. Just used the specs from Sminntech's diagram. Would've been easier to just buy one from him, but I couldn't see spending $11+$6 s&h for a part that I could make for under $5. It was super easy and I already had most of the parts laying around. Yay. Now I have a stereo that PUMPS!!!!
Maybe someday I'll make an attempt to put in some better speakers. But for now, I'm good.

 

[mjc784]

i have a 2001 explorer sport and it has theoem subwoofer in the right rear panel. i got a new head unit and a 2 12" kicker subs and i noticed that the sub in the panel was no longer working. i also recently found speaker wire leading up to the dash from the rear panel. if i splice in rca cables can i just plug it into one of the preouts on my head unit, or is there more to it than that? i just want to know if its gonna be a waste of time to even mess with.

 

[rrack]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I've been reading and have a question that you guys may be able to easily answer.

Are Mountaineers/Explorers prewired for the rear OEM subs/amps? If I find one, can I merely mount it and plug it in? Does it go in the left rear panel? My wife has a 2005 Mountaineer that doesn't seem to have one. I'd really like to add one but refrain from adding an aftermarket. If it's a simple plug and play would be great. Her Mountaineer is not the Premier model but it has AWD, third row, rear A/C in the right rear, and the stereo is the Stereo/CD/MP3 version. We are also thinking about adding a roof mounted DVD for the kiddo but not quite sure if the headliner can handle the weight since it's got a sunroof. That's down the road though. Anyway, any info would be great.

Thanks much,
Robert

 

[rgalka]

Hey everyone....

So the answer to my problem should have been here, but no... somehow what I have is different from everyone else has... ;O)

I have... 1994 Eddie Baurer 4x4 with audiophile sound system... seperate main amp (front and rear) and seperate subwoofer amp.

I replaced the HU with a Pioneer DEH P4100UB (3 pair of pre-amp outs [front/rear/sub])

for the front and rear I used the speaker output wires bypassing the main amp with the Crutchfield bypass harness. This works fine. But since the subwoofer gets it's signal form the main amp... no sub output.

So I cut an RCA cable in half to connect to the HU Sub preamp outputs. Twisted the grounds together. Connected these to a 3 wire cable and ran that to the back to test...

Now here is where I differ from everyone else so far...

The only connection from the main amp to the sub amp is a cable from the bottom of the main amp to a connector into the sub amp. This cable had 3 leads one black, one clear and one bare twisted wire... these are surrounded by a foil sheild.. not used. So I would have to assume this supplied the sub amp with a preamp signal. At the top of the subamp are the 2 power leads red and yellow. Verified that they are 12 volt always on. They enter the top via a grommet. In the center top of the sub amp is a large grey connector with only 2 wires both black... again I assume these are the output from the subamp feeding the subwoofer speaker.

So trying various connections from the 3 wires from the sub preamp to the 3 wires going into the sub amp have yielded no sound from the subwoofer. (I have verified that the HU sub out is turned on)

Although I haven't actually tested this I am fairly confident that the 2 black wires coming from the top of the sub amp are feeding the subwoofer. I do know that the heavy guage red and yellow wires are 12v constant power.

So... anyone have anything to help me figure this out?

Sorry to be so long winded, but I generally see too little info given with questions. ;O)

Bob

 

[rgalka]

Update on my problem above....

I hooked up my HU without bypassing the amp to see which of the 3 wires that are coming out of the bottom and going to the subamp was carring the turn on voltage.. turns out to be the black one... I also verified with Pioneer that although there are 2 sub preamp outputs they are both identical mono signals so only one needs to be used.

so.. now I have a pair of leads from the HU subpreamp out going to the to the subamp input, (the clear and bare leads) and I took the turn-on lead from the HU to the black input to the subamp... still no sound..

As a test I connected the subamp output lead into a powered PC amp with a subwoofer... that worked.. so I know that the audio signal is getting to the subamp, and the turn on voltage is getting there as well.

Any thoughts why it's not working and anything else I can experiment with?

The sub does work if I don't bypass the Ford amp by the way.

bob

 

[RussL15]

Factory Amp Noise

My amp is working, however I hear a faint whine in the background at low volume. Any tips on how to eliminate this noise? Thanks.

 

[rgalka]

Another update... (see my previous posts above)

OK.. I got sound from my Sub.. I think one of my problems may have been the extra long wire that I was using to test my sub preamp out to the sub amplifier... so that brings me to another question...

What guage wire should I be using to get the signal from the head unit to the back of the vehicle where the subamp is?

Also the wire diagrams for the 1994 explorer did not match my system... but the 1995 diagrams did.. just a note for others that may be dealing with a 1994 model.

bob