Prius C Aftermarket Stereo

Thanks for the info DJM. Still on the fence about an amp. It goes pretty darn loud with just the head unit. I think the added work & expense to put in an amp might be a little much. I don't need to deafen myself anymore! Still not ruling it out, though. The audio guy in me would definitely like the clarity of a proper amp. Just not sure I want to go through the process!

Pitt, can't speak much for Nav head units though I'd say the Alpine one is probably a safe bet, though it's $1200! The only Double DIN they make. I wanted an Alpine HU but just wanted a basic one so they didn't make anything for my case, I went with Clarion instead.

Also Alpine makes those booster things for their head units which are supposed to easily plug right in, another good case for Alpine.

Like DJM said, any Double DIN head unit will fit. Just waiting on the dash kit. My local car audio place actually sent me away saying they don't "make anything" for my car so the best they could do was hook a booster up to the factory head unit. LOL!

I've got the SWI-JACK waiting for more info on which wires to connect it to in the C.

 

Thanks very much Squall. That's a big help. Suppose you don't know which resistor to connect where?

 

Thanks again, Squall. I will report my results!

Pittmonster, If it's double DIN it will fit. Amp or not comes down to your personal choice. I like to crank mine really loud, that's part of the reason I am a little hungry for more power, but the 20w x 4 does go quite loud. I'd put an amp in but I think it's too much trouble and I will leave it.

actiondonkey, the METRA 40-LX11 seen here is what I used to hook up the factory antenna to the Clarion head unit.

Also I was going to mention what kevkranker said, The Alpine KTP unit is now available for any head unit. Seems great, a compact amp. That would fit in the C dash I think. Although its power output is double the Clarion, that will only yield about 3dB more loudness, which isn't much. Though I believe the clarity would improve having a better amp. It's only cheap, and I was glad to see it, almost bought it, but again I think I am going to leave everything as is.

 

Hey Squall, how did you manage to get your hands on that wiring diagram for the C?


Edit.. nevermind, I found the site.

 

And thanks to Squall, the SWI-JACK is installed and working in the C.. just like you said. The Pink & Blue wire are together on the harness, just tapped in there, both to the white of the SWI with 560 ohm resistor in line from the pink, programming was fairly easy.

Wish it was slightly more responsive, need to give the buttons somewhat of a more firm push it seems, but it does work indeed.

Good stuff!

 

FYI anyone looking for wiring diagrams like Squall posted, http://techinfo.toyota.com has it all. Costs a little money but you can get 2 days access for $15. Not bad. Great help and its great that anyone can access it.

 

Update that I don't like the Clarion CX501 much so I've got a new JVC unit on order. Color, touch screen. Should be much cooler

 

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!

My drivers side speaker has been flaking out, I noticed it was happening during rain or after car washes, but suspected it was a loose wire...NOPE.. The speaker is soaking wet. Even some small rust spots already! I thought this might become an issue.. and it has.

Why is there so much water getting in the doors?


Anyways I originally had some deep foam baffles which made things sound terrible so I cut the backs off them (plus they were a bit too deep)... What I should have done is cut the back in such a way to create a shield for the speaker. Oops. Live and learn.

So I am going to order these shallow ones now and cut out the bottoms only so that the top will act as a shield and hopefully keep the speaker dry. I also hope that it sounds just as good having only small cutouts in the baffle vs. having the entire back cut off.. without the back off there was no bass at all.

So.. save yourself time, trouble, and the risk of ruining speakers .. put something in to protect them from water.