Installing a sub

[djdanny5000]

Hey guys i have my sub and amp that i used to have in my old protege 5 and i want to install it in my Speed 6. I've looked on the forums for some sort of how to but nothing. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas on installing a sub in the speed 6?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[steefnap]

Same scenario... I had a 2002 P5 with a sub and amp and wanted it in my Speed6. Took it to a shop, let them worry about it.

They tied my amp directly into my battery, there's a Line-Out Converter in the mix somewhere, and both the stock sub AND my aftermarket sub are operational. I think the amp is powering only my aftermarket one though...

I'm using the stock Speed6 deck, and I can mess around with BASS +/- to effect the sub, once I had the amp where I wanted it in terms of frequency and loudness.

 

[bova80]

you tie your aftermarket amp into the battery, then you can connect to the wires from the stock amp to get your acc on and also your sound. although you can either tap there for sound or run a loc from up front. there is a thread somewhere about this already, just search.

EDIT: there is a sticky for this at the top of the page in this section http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123668624&highlight=install

 

[wannabe]

EDIT: there is a sticky for this at the top of the page in this section http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123668624&highlight=install

thanks for posting that, i was about to.(thumb)

 

[chuyler1]

As was I. The instructions you desire depend on whether you have the Bose system or not...but all you need to know to get started is in the link above...written by yours truely with help from other board members.

 

[Koenig]

As was I. The instructions you desire depend on whether you have the Bose system or not...but all you need to know to get started is in the link above...written by yours truely with help from other board members.

Wow, I thought all mazdaspeed6s came with the bose system? Learn something new everyday....... *shrugs*


Hey Danny, I recognize your avatar from Snapoff Racing.... heh.

I'm heading to West Palm Beach tomorrow morning to college to find a Director I need to speak with.... if you want I can stop by and show you how my setup looks, possibly explain it better?

Let me know man, just send me a PM or catch me on aim @ k03nig.... (that's a zero)

 

[djdanny5000]

So if you tap into the stock wiring for the audio which would be the Sub amp + and the Sub amp - how would you get a left and right channel out of that?

 

[Koenig]

So if you tap into the stock wiring for the audio which would be the Sub amp + and the Sub amp - how would you get a left and right channel out of that?

if you tap into the wiring on the subwoofer amp (like i did) then you would need to get one of these....

RCA cable

of course uh, it requires you to clip one end and strip it and then seperate the shielding, etc..... I'll just show you how I did it. LOL, and I haven't had any issues. It's been this way since about April '07 now.

I still need to get that USB mp3 pod though, I wanna grab that from RPMstore and set it up to play most my music files, I have about 3 spare USB drives I can use

 

[macknati]

I just got back from Best Buy and the install guy claims that we dont have an RCA jack in the back of our radio. According to the sticky forum we have RCA jacks in the back of the Bose deck. Im confused.

 

[Koenig]

While best buy is cheaper, I wouldn't intentionally trust them, many of the guys that work back there are a little retarded, especially when it comes to cars they aren't aware of.

I only know this cause now i'm doing 2 jobs after getting a 2nd job, so i'm on geek-squad part time and i know some of the guys back in the install bay, and a couple of them are REAL good, but the rest are meh, not that great.

 

[chuyler1]

First off, the guy at best buy doesn't know s***. Sure he installs stereos all day but that doesn't make him an expert on YOUR car. Does he have a degree in electrical engineering? Certainly not. Does he have a certificate from a reputable installation school. Probably not. Therefore it is safe to assume that the amount of knowledge found on this site far surpasses anything the guy at best buy told you...since we have people with advanced degrees who visit this site as well as professional installers.

To clarify things. If you have the Bose deck, you have LINE-LEVEL outputs going from the deck to the amp under the seat. LINE-LEVEL is what you typically send through RCAs. It is a 2v signal which is pretty decent. Some aftermarket decks use 4v but it isn't necessary. Therefore, you just have to solder RCA terminals onto them and you can hook the deck up to any aftermarket amp. I recommend taping in under the passenger seat since it is easier to get to.

Now if your head unit does not say Bose on it and there isn't a small amp under the passenger seat...you need a line-out-converter to connect RCAs to or you need an amp that has speaker-level inputs.

 

[macknati]

First off, the guy at best buy doesn't know s***. Sure he installs stereos all day but that doesn't make him an expert on YOUR car. Does he have a degree in electrical engineering? Certainly not. Does he have a certificate from a reputable installation school. Probably not. Therefore it is safe to assume that the amount of knowledge found on this site far surpasses anything the guy at best buy told you...since we have people with advanced degrees who visit this site as well as professional installers.

To clarify things. If you have the Bose deck, you have LINE-LEVEL outputs going from the deck to the amp under the seat. LINE-LEVEL is what you typically send through RCAs. It is a 2v signal which is pretty decent. Some aftermarket decks use 4v but it isn't necessary. Therefore, you just have to solder RCA terminals onto them and you can hook the deck up to any aftermarket amp. I recommend taping in under the passenger seat since it is easier to get to.

Now if your head unit does not say Bose on it and there isn't a small amp under the passenger seat...you need a line-out-converter to connect RCAs to or you need an amp that has speaker-level inputs.

You really came strong on that brotha. I felt like you were giving me tough love. But I definitely understand where you're coming from. On a level of 1-10 I am about a 6 when it comes to audio electronics. Could you help me out and post a pic of exactly where I would splice into the factory amp wires to connect my aftermarket subs. I am guessing you would just remove the 2 screws to uncover the amp under the seat? Keep in mind I've only had the car for 3 weeks. Thanks a million.

 

[chuyler1]

Sorry, I just hear Best Buy this and Circuit City that all the time...and if I explain politely that putting a $30K car in the hands of those morons is a bad idea...people don't get it.

First off, are you just installing a sub or are you going to run full range speakers off your aftermarket amp?

If you are just connecting a sub, you can simply use the audio signal that goes into the stock rear subwoofer. The sub harness has power, ground, and audio +/-. I didn't go this approach so I can't tell you what color wires are for the sub. I know the info is out there though.

If you are connect an amp to run full range stereo speakers, first remove the passenger seat. That will give you easy access to the amp. Next remove the metal plate that the amp is attached to. The amp is mounted upside down on the back of this. Disconnect the wiring harness. Using the wiring diagram in the sticky thread find the left +/- and right +/- wires and strip about 1/2" of the sheath from them. Take a cheap RCA extension cord (with female ends) and cut one end off so you have about 6-12" to work with. Prep the ends so you can solder them to the appropriate wires on the harness. The center wire is + (positive) and the outer wire is - (negative). Double check these connections with a multimeter (available at Radio Shack for $20-30...and worth every penny). Now you can just hook up your RCA cable and run it to your amp. Also in the harness should be a remote-turn-one lead. A wire that only has +12v when the car is on. You can use this for the remote-turn-on connection on your amp.

 

[Koenig]

Sorry, I just hear Best Buy this and Circuit City that all the time...and if I explain politely that putting a $30K car in the hands of those morons is a bad idea...people don't get it.

First off, are you just installing a sub or are you going to run full range speakers off your aftermarket amp?

If you are just connecting a sub, you can simply use the audio signal that goes into the stock rear subwoofer. The sub harness has power, ground, and audio +/-. I didn't go this approach so I can't tell you what color wires are for the sub. I know the info is out there though.

If you are connect an amp to run full range stereo speakers, first remove the passenger seat. That will give you easy access to the amp. Next remove the metal plate that the amp is attached to. The amp is mounted upside down on the back of this. Disconnect the wiring harness. Using the wiring diagram in the sticky thread find the left +/- and right +/- wires and strip about 1/2" of the sheath from them. Take a cheap RCA extension cord (with female ends) and cut one end off so you have about 6-12" to work with. Prep the ends so you can solder them to the appropriate wires on the harness. The center wire is + (positive) and the outer wire is - (negative). Double check these connections with a multimeter (available at Radio Shack for $20-30...and worth every penny). Now you can just hook up your RCA cable and run it to your amp. Also in the harness should be a remote-turn-one lead. A wire that only has +12v when the car is on. You can use this for the remote-turn-on connection on your amp.

Amen, Best Buy and circuit City are NOT the end all be all sound system installers, lol

there's actually only ONE guy at my job that I trust, and that's cause he actually knows his s***.

I'm wondering if I should just take some pics of my setup where I wired in the aftermarket amp to the stock factory wires of the bose subwoofer in the trunk. People seem to be asking a lot for pics.

 

[wannabe]

Amen, Best Buy and circuit City are NOT the end all be all sound system installers, lol

there's actually only ONE guy at my job that I trust, and that's cause he actually knows his s***.

I'm wondering if I should just take some pics of my setup where I wired in the aftermarket amp to the stock factory wires of the bose subwoofer in the trunk. People seem to be asking a lot for pics.

yeah, that would be a good idea.

 

[macknati]

yeah, that would be a good idea.

That would be a great idea!!!!

 

[Koenig]

Alright, I've been at work all day and now it's raining a little bit out here by me, so I'll try to take some if the rain stops and there's still sunlight outside.


and tahnks for reminding me guys, I taped up all my stuff together, so I'll remove the tape for you to see, but I'm gonna go ahead and solder it, because one of the wires has come loose at least once from me probably turning it up too high.

 

[Koenig]

Alright so I took some pictures of the setup..... granted they're not GREAt, don't worry I'll take some more thorough pics in a couple days so you can see everything better....



[this spot reserved for uploading pics]

 

[macknati]

Alright so I took some pictures of the setup..... granted they're not GREAt, don't worry I'll take some more thorough pics in a couple days so you can see everything better....



[this spot reserved for uploading pics]

Where they at homes? Im trying to get my bass poppin ASAP brotha.

 

[Koenig]

Where they at homes? Im trying to get my bass poppin ASAP brotha.

they're uploading to photobucket from my 8 megapixel digi cam bro, lol.... hold up a bit

I'll have them posted before midnight....... promise.