My Custom Audio Install Looking and Functioning 98% with stock JL system

Hi I'm new to priuschat and only joined to share this project because this site made it all possible for me with the endless information people have shared. This will probably be a multi day posting because it's a lot of information and frankly it's my first post =/ With that said ill get to the project. (might have to drag this out for 5 post before I can post some pics so bare with me =/

 

FYI i have a 2005 prius with nav/JL/hands free system.

GOALS

1. 100% stock look

2. As much factory stock controls as possible (i wanted to keep all the nav/bluetooth/AM/FM/6 disc CD/tape player)

3. Wanted it to sound AMAZING because the "premium JL system" as it's called is complete junk and sounds terrible!

 

So it was tough finding all the information on achieving all those high goals but with a lot of help from priuschat and (Prius JBL Audio system response, specs, and photos and Page 6 of http://tom-morrow-land.com/tests/priusaudio/JBL_AUDIO_SCHEMATIC.pdf) I was able to make it all happen.

 

DISCLAIMER the amps I list are WAY over kill for the electrical system of the prius. From what i have read is 100AMPs max and just the sub amp i have installed can pull 135AMPs. SO DONT BLOW UP YR PRIUS INVERTER. I have a 100amp breaker 18" from my battery and then it goes to my CAP then to a fuse block that has a 40AMP fuse for my mids/highs and a 60AMP fuse for my subwoofer. Personally I would rather have a 1000 watt system and play it at 500watt than buy a 500watt system and play it at 500watt max all the time. First it sounds better because its not trying so hard and second it doesn't get nearly as hot. And thats why i put so much power into my install. DOWNSIDE is you could over power yr electrical system and blow up yr prius so don't be DUMB!! and know how much power yr dealing with!!

Major Product list

1. Rockford Fosgate 36.3 Digital Signal Processor with OEM Integration

2. Power Acoustik BAMF1200/ 4ch amp (for highs and mids)

3. Rockford Fosgate P1000x1bd (for sub)

4. Rockford Fosgate P3D2-12 (sub 12" 600 RMS/ 1200 Max)

5. MB Quart ONYX QNX-216 6.5' 2 Way Car Component Speaker (2 sets)

6. Fusion MS-BT100 Bluetooth Dongle

7. Power Acoustik PCX-5F (5 Farad Power Capacitor)

8. KnuKonceptz Kolossus Kandy Kable OFC Neon Green and Pink 4 Gauge Power/Ground Wire

9. 2x Neutrik NL4MP-ST Speakon 4 Pole Panel Mount

10. 2x Neutrik NL4FRX 4-Pin Cable MT Speak-On SPX R/A

11. Anderson 4 Gauge Power quick disconnect

12. Rockford Fosgate 100 amp breaker

13. Dual AUG fuse block (with a 60amp and 40amp fuse in it)

14. 3 way Grounding block

15. Streetwires ICS920C 18 Gauge Interface Cable 9 Conductor 20 Feet

 

So I wanted to be able to use all my steering wheel controls hands free and the stock GPS even though Google maps on the phone is way better. With this setup I can do that plus the RF36.3 adds Bluetooth so that you can stream Music/YouTube/Google maps and anything else though the system via Bluetooth. I also added another Bluetooth (Fusion MS-BT100 Bluetooth Dongle) to the RF36.3 via AUX input so that passengers can connect to my system and I never have to pair and unpaired and deal with all that mess. The Fusion MS-BT100 is really nice because you don't need a password to connect to it and it is reset every time the car is shut off so that next time someone different can connect to it =)


So if u read (Prius JBL Audio system response, specs, and photos) you will find out that the JL system has an ever changing EQ depending on the volume you have the radio set to. So in turn it makes it imposable to properly tune a system off of it and that's why I settled for a Rockford Fosgate 36.3 Digital Signal Processor.

This allows me to connect the High level radio output (AKA all the speaker wires from all 7 channels) to the RF36.3. So according to TOM the most balanced the stock radio outputs can get are at volume 50. So if you leave the volume alone at 50 it will give you a great starting point to have the RF36.3 flatten your frequency response.

But after you tune the RF36.3 you cannot use the stock volume anymore because it will change the EQ and throw the RF36.3 out of tune but it is easily fixed by turning the volume back to 50 =)

So the only thing that isn't stock controls is that u have to use the volume knob on the RF36.3 which is vary miner considering this massive pain of an install it is.

The other nice thing about the RF36.3 is that there are 7 speaker channels (front left tweeter, front right tweeter, front left woofer, front right woofer, rear left woofer, rear right woofer, center channel) coming from the stock JL radio and for most people including me only need 4 speaker channels for tuning (front left, front right, rear left, rear right). So with the RF36.3 you can sum (combine) channels into a full range signal and still be able to use the stock fade control on the radio even though its definitely not needed after you tune the system =)


Yes all that junk fits in there =P

This is the tough part =/ So it took me months to figure out how they hooked up the GPS/hands free audio out..... well sneaky Toyota uses a bridge tap on the pink and purple wires and used voltage to determine what plays audio (either the amp which is the CD/radio or the gps/hands free). Long story short is that you cant get both feeds off the same pair from the amp like Toyota =/.
But an easy fix that works better than feeding both in yr amp is: Take the pink and purple wire from the GPS unit under the driver side and connect it directly to the center channel speaker with new speaker wire (just like the pic above shows). This will dedicate the center channel speaker to play GPS/hands free only which is good because no matter what input mode yr on whether it be Stock radio/ RF36.3 bluetooth/ or fusion bluetooth if someone calls or yr using the stock GPS it will always work without having to change inputs and you can still listen to any music or whatever on any input at the SAME TIME! ! =P


Closeup of the Pink+ positive and Purple- negative audio out for GPS/hands free.

I like to use quick connects for a couple reasons. First you don't have much wire to play with so you only got like 1 shot at it. Second its easy to put it back to stock if you change yr mind latter about it.


This is a pic of the Amplifier under the passenger seat. I used 2x Streetwires ICS920C 18 Gauge Interface Cable 9 Conductor and spliced into the outputs of the amp and picked up my remote turn on signal for my amps i installed in the trunk.

The amp has 7 channels out so that's 7 pairs (14+1 wires) plus one remote turn on so I had to use 2x Streetwires Cables and ran them though the carpet and down the side trim on the passenger side all the way into the trunk to the RF36.3.

You can get the full wire/pin layout from Prius JBL Audio system response, specs, and photos


looks 100% stock when closed


When opened you can see the RF36.3 main control. main volume, sub boost, change input modes ect.


MB Quart ONYX tweeters tucked in stock location to look stock.


MB Quart ONYX tweeters tucked in stock location to look stock. It didn't quite fit behind the tweeter grill so i had to remove the grill and press fit the tweeters on the top instead and then I hot glued them on the back side to hold them in place. Works great and if you blow a tweeter the hot glue is easily removed so you can replace it with a new one.

6.5" MB Quart ONYX fit fine in stock location on all 4 doors even with power windows.


That's my amp rack. Looks like a unicorn farted on it. The camera doesn't do it justice. Its large metal flake that's rainbow color and the power and ground wires are hot pink and neon green =D


Its all connected with quick disconnects so I can take out the tray in about 30sec to get to my spare tire =)

I also have a Fosgate 100amp circuit breaker 18" from the battery just under this trey that allows me to cut the power from that red Anderson quick connect tail you see in the middle bottom of the pic.

For safety and so i don't pull more than 100 amps and blow my inverter =P
V



That's the amp rack out. You can see the speaker quick-connects in the top left and the power/ground disconnect red in the middle.


It looks so clean on top..... but definitely not the bottom lol no way around it =( I sleeved all the top wires but not the bottom so I could easily identify what is what. Not in this pic but i added that Fusion MS-BT100 Bluetooth Dongle to the bottom of this as well. It just screws to the bottom and plugs in.


That's my fiberglass box i made to fit in the pocket. Its 100% fiberglass only wood in it is for speaker ring. I also made it so that it was short enough so that i can still use my tiny trunk light and so i can also use the trunk pull liner thing.


99% of the time i have the trunk liner thing pulled so no one can see my sub box so if they look in my windows that are all limo tinted they only see a stock looking Prius =)


Box takes up 1/3 of the trunk but is also easily removed by just unplugging the one set of speaker wire =) I decided to put the sub on the driver side because then i could fold down the 2 seats and still fit 3 people if i needed the cargo room. All in all I am very happy with it and it sounds AMAZING! !

If i didn't make something clear enough or you have any questions ill try my best to help out. Hope this helps anyone doing an install.

DISCLAIMER the amps I list are WAY over kill for the electrical system of the prius. From what i have read is 100AMPs max and just the sub amp i have installed can pull 135AMPs. SO DONT BLOW UP YR PRIUS INVERTER. I have a 100amp breaker 18" from my battery and then it goes to my CAP then to a fuse block that has a 40AMP fuse for my mids/highs and a 60AMP fuse for my subwoofer. Personally I would rather have a 1000 watt system and play it at 500watt than buy a 500watt system and play it at 500watt max all the time. First it sounds better because its not trying so hard and second it doesn't get nearly as hot. DOWNSIDE is you could over power yr electrical system and blow up yr prius so don't be DUMB!! and know how much power yr dealing with!!

 

I wont explain how i made the box there are a million videos on YouTube but ill post my pics for you guys.

2 layers of blue tape and 1 layer of foil tape.


masked off the rest of the car.


5 layers of 1.5oz. chopped matt


let it dry and popped it out of the car.


Added another 5 layers.


Trimmed the edges with a die grinder. Its a solid even 1/4" thick with very little flex. Cut and mounted speaker ring and held it up with some leftover wood as braces.


I hot glued felt SHARKS lol over the top to give it it's shape. I also tucked a piece of foam i shaped in the corner to make a flat spot for the 4" aero port to mount to.


Soaked the felt with resin and then added 7 layers of glass on the inside and added another 7 on the outside. I cut the port hole with a Dremel then i sanded a ton with 60 grit to get it fairly smoothed out and then i finished it off with some EverCoat body filler (aka bondo) and sanded that down with 80-250 grit.


Fitted and drilled all the holes for the screws and rivets. Then I primed it with some automotive plastic and fiberglass filler primer.


Had the guys at Coast Airbrush which isn't far from my house mix me up 2 custom cans of House of Kolor Pearl Base Coat (PBC) and then cleared it with a 2 Part Urethane High Gloss Clear Coat.


Cant see it well but its blue with silvery pearls looks great in the sun.


Added carpet to the bottom and sides so that it will kinda Velcro itself in the car and not slide around. Then I sealed the speaker terminals and aero port with some really good black rubber roofing sealant that has no asphalt and stays 50% rubbery for the vibrations. I then riveted with rivet washers the speaker terminals and aero port in place and let the sealant dry for 3 days. I also added T-nuts to the sub-woofer screws so that you can get a good torque without stripping the MDF speaker ring.


Finished and placed in the car. Fits tight with the addition of the carpet but that's perfect because it basically Velcros itself and definitely doesn't move at all.

 

Thank you took me a long time by myself.

 

Ya the JBL is a pain to deal with. But you have to have it if you want to keep all yr beeps and factory controls =/

I just wish I knew more about the aux 12v battery. I would really like to put a much larger or two batteries in so I could turn-up the system to see what it really can do. (been reading about the AMG batteries for wheelchairs.... I might go that route with like a RA12-55 by Ritar not sure yet tho.

But since then I have sound deadened the hatch (trim panels and all)/spoiler/ and license plate. Unfortunately I don't have any pics but I used Second Skin Damplifier just the normal stuff didn't want it to be too heavy and the OverKill Pro. I must say it's so much better! nothing rattles anymore other than the hatch hook itself and all u can do with that is put a piece of rubber tube over it =/ But the bass is way cleaner without all the little rattles from the back from all the trim and spoiler.