Alright I'm pretty new to car electronics and the like but am pretty knowledgeable outside of that. My friend is letting me borrow his two 12"s and an amp until around Christmas time when I buy my own sub/amp. I have next to no idea how to wire a sub + amp in a car. I heard the battery hookup is in the hatch and is easily accessible which is good. So can anyone step by step me or point me to a good resources. Prii can be much different than regular cars and that's why I stopped here before reading up.
Alright so I found some wiring info here : http://www.crutchfield.com/app/Support/KnowledgeBase.aspx?ifs=prius I have an 07 w/o navigation w/o JBL I've got power to the amp figured out. Pretty much what I need to know is : 1) Where the REM wire should go to from the amp 2) Where the speaker input to the amp should come from 3) Where the Power-on wiring should come from keep in mind I'm pretty much completely new to car audio.
With a bit of searching I found two guides detailing the removal of the dash. I think I have enough knowledge to go out and do it myself but I do not have a wiring kit I'll have to go out and purchase one. The only thing I still don't know how to do is get the audio from the stereo to the amp. I guess I use RCA cables or something but I do not see any RCA connections in the pics of the removed stereo.
There is a very good post on here. somewhere. I cannot find it after twenty minutes searching, of an install, complete with photos of a Kenwood SW-1 ( I think ) powered sub into the rear cargo container. It has pictures of the wiring both from the battery and the from the passenger side rear door speaker where he got the speaker. Maybe someone else can find it.
Hmm I found a few posts with the Kenwood but I still haven't found pics of the wiring...I'll keep looking EDIT : I keep finding info for the Kenwood install and others but then find out its for JBL which I don't have so is it completely useless to me? I found some info about plugging into the rear channels of the amp under the seat, but this was for JBL. EDIT2 : Seems I can tap into the rear speakers for the input : http://priuschat.com/forums/showpost.php?p=84377&postcount=2 http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36016&highlight=subwoofer How would I go about doing this though?
As long as you do not have the factory amplified system (JBL) then you can simply tap the rear speaker output. I believe we did the passanger side on my car (prior to me installing a new deck). It worked fine like that. I'm sorry I do not have the color codes for you. I did not do that part of the install and my buddy (installer) figured it out be reasoning. lol
You won't find any RCA-out connections on the stock system; JBL or non. You'll need to grab the source from the rear speaker outputs. If the aftermarket amp has high level inputs (speaker wire connects), then you can just go from the speaker lines directly to the amp. If there are no high-level inputs, you'll need a Line-Out Converter (LOC), which is available at any car audio shop.
I think I got it now. PWR goes to +Bat Terminal GRD I'll find somewhere good. The turn-on thing will go to my ACC power in my center console Then I need a LOC to tap into the rear channels--RCA into the amp I guess the REM is useless AFAIK (with the Prius) One question though...How do I "tap" into the rear channels so to say...I don't need the colors..I just don't seem to understand how I can get it pumping through both the rear speakers and the subs via amp.
Use of the rear speakers would depend on the amp. If it's just a mono or 2-channel amp, it'll only be able to power the subwoofer. If it's a 3+ channel amp, you can run the rear speakers off of it. Fading will still work, but the sub will be part of the rear fade. Generally, your line of connections would be like this: Rear Speaker Source > LOC > AMP > Subwoofer/Rear Speakers
It's a mono amp. So it looks like I'm just going to be listening to Subs+Front Speakers+Front Tweeters, correct?
If your amp will take speaker-level inputs you're better off using those instead of a LOC. The speaker-level signals are better at rejecting noise and hum, and adding a LOC just adds one more circuit to add noise and distortion to the signal. If your head unit already has line-level outputs it's a different story, but if all you've got is speaker-level outputs, you're better off not using a LOC if you don't have to When I replaced my LOC with a JL Audio CleanSweep (before I had my CleanSweep I had to use a LOC as my MTX amps didn't like the Prius JBL speaker signal, the CleanSweep works fine with them), I couldn't believe how much my S/N ratio improved. I hadn't realized that it was the source of the hiss that I found so annoying.
Thanks for the info. I have to double check, but the subs/amp that I'm borrowing at the moment are pretty cheap, so I doubt I have speaker-level inputs, I don't remember seeing any. I'm planning on investing in the JL Audio CleanSweep later on, along with a whole new audio setup, but for now I'll have to deal with an LOC
Actually, cheaper amps are more likely to have speaker-level inputs than higher end amps.....the assumption being that if you're spending high $$$ on an amp, then you're probably upgrading to a high-end head unit or signal processors with pre-amp outputs. As far as LOC's go, I had good luck with the Scosche SLC-4...and it's fairly cheap. Good Luck!
Alright, it's been a little while. I'm finally getting to install this tomorrow. The amp has a high level input that looks like the stock speaker plug on the Prius meaning I shouldn't have to get an LOC. If I do that though, I'm only going to have one speaker feeding to the amp so would it be better for me to keep the other one connected or unplug it too, I don't know what would sound better.
It should be both speaker signals feeding the amp. Bass frequencies differ between channels, so you'll be missing half the bass if you only hook up one speaker
Alright, I got everything done I'm just having a slight problem with the REM turn on. 1) does it matter if I stick it in the center console ACC or the PWR outlet by the glovebox? The two fuses are different amperages so I don't know if that may be a problem. 2) Do I need to get to the back of the cigarette lighter and tap into the wires there or is there some spiffy way I can do it without tapping into the back?
Sorry... I missed that part, since i was just getting ready to leave work. It's best to tap into the plug from the back, so that it looks neater. I tapped into the center console. You can somewhat access the center console outlet by removing the cupholders, and the bottom drawer. I was able to get my hand into the center console from there, and unplug the wire going to the outlet. Then I pulled the wire out as much as I could, so that I could splice into it. Once spliced, i arranged the wires, and plugged it back in again. My method is probably not doable, if you have big hands or stubby fingers.