Is there anything behind the factory head unit??

[Mr. Limited]

On my 96 Explorer 4-door with JBL amp/sub system, when i took off the right panel in the cargo area it exposed the factory amp and sub. But just in front of it theres what looks to be another amp, this thing has about 3 or 4 harnesses pluging into it, with a lot of wires coming from the front of the vehicle. Could this be the "brain" for the entire system cause i read somewhere that some guy tried to change the factory head unit and had trouble since behind the face was just guts(only wires). My question is where could i obtain a remote turn on for my new amp from, if i cut the one to this "brain" then the entire system would not power up. Also, the input wires for the jbl sub amp comes from this "brain", is this a different signal just for the sub amp, cause i cut off the harness from the jbl amp and connected a line input converter so i can use RCA's for my new amp--should i do that, any problem i could run into with this method.
----I ran power directly to the battery for my new amp, basically i'm trying to get the remote turn on and input wires from the factory amp.
**As u can see i'm lost and confused so any help at all i would be greatful for.

 

[Ru Dawg]

Brain!

I think the thing you are calling the "brain" is what you thought..another amp. I believe this is the factory amp for the door speakers. I would hope that someone else will correct me if I'm wrong..it's just an educated guess! I don't have the answers to your other questions, but I'm sure someone her does!

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

Mr. Limited-

Please see my reply to your first post.

peace

Mike

 

[Mr. Limited]

hey MIKE 92 XLT, from left to right on my 96 it looks like this: silver amp, jbl amp, jbl sub enclosure. i now know what color the remote is but where do i cut so that i can run it to my new amp, if i cut it before the silver amp then the entire system may not power up, and since theres no remote lead going to the jbl amp- what should i do??

by the way, thanx for your help so far!

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

hi Mr. Limited

From what you're saying, my guess is that you're trying to add on another amp to power a new sub only, while keeping the factory amp to run the door speakers. Is this correct? If so, then you just need to tap into the remote turn on lead before the first amp (the silver one). Don't disconnect it from the silver amp, just splice into it. Here's a link that'll show you how:

http://www.teamrocs.com/technical/pages/connections.htm

Scroll down about half-way until you get to the part about Tap Soldering.

Now, if you are adding a new amp to power the door speakers and keeping the Ford amp to power the JBL sub, then the above method will work fine too, as your new amp will get a turn-on signal, as will the silver amp, which in turn will turn on the JBL amp. Good luck, and if you have any more questions, I'll be more than happy to help.

peace

Mike

 

[Mr. Limited]

actually MIKE, i'm still not sure if the method i used to hook up the input wires to my new amp is a good one.
what i did was cut the harness from the jbl amp's input and connected a line input comverter so that i could use RCA's for my new amp. Is this a good method so that i get max performance from my new amp. I'm stressing about this because i have no experience using the line converter and dont really "trust" it, another thing is the jbl amp's input wires connect to the other amp(the silver amp for the door speakers), is this a different signal or somthing then the rest since it goes to the silver amp first?????????

THANKS AGAIN

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

I guess before we go any farther, I'd like to know what you're planning on using the new amp for, and how you want the system to be set up when you're done. What I think you're trying to do is keep the factory head unit, use the silver Ford amp to drive the door speakers, and using your new amp to power a new sub. You won't be using the JBL amp or sub anymore. Is this correct?

peace

Mike

 

[Mr. Limited]

Yes, thats correct. I was planning to remove the Jbl amp and sub out from there and bolt my new amp where the factory stuff was-so that its hidden.

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

What you're doing will be absolutely fine then. I think the silver amp actually passes on a low frequency signal to the sub amp so that the sub doesn't play full range (kind of a poor-man's crossover). Since your new amp is just powering your new sub, it doesn't need a full range signal. If it has a built-in crossover, I'd play with it a little to fine tune the sound. All you have to do is just tap into the remote lead and you should be good to go. Good luck!

peace

Mike

 

[Mr.Mike]

pardon my intrusion

Mr. Limited and Mike92, please pardon my intrusion. I read your conversation and it sounds similar to a problem I am having, with which I hope you can help me out. I am trying to install a 98 model factory JBL amp and sub, to my existing 91 system. My 91 has an an amp which I believe you are calling a door amp. I have a wiring diagram for my 91, but I dont know what wires from the 98 amp I need to attach to make it work. I have some experience but this is a first. I bought the amp/sub contraption for $20.00 and figured I would give it a shot. Thank you