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HOW-TO: SC300/SC400 Install Aftermarket Head Unit, OEM Speakers and Sub Working!
#511
Lead Lap
iTrader: (8)
Not huge by any means. Heck, that might not even be enough to balance out 20-30w RMS 4" speakers. If it's only 40w peak, its RMS rating can't be much more than 15-20w? Yikes. Maybe it is working and I just can't feel any impact? The sound seems fuller after adding it in, but I attributed that 99% to getting a second speaker working so I'm not listening in mono.
I misspoke when I said I spliced into all four (G3, 4, 6, and 8) of those. The existing G3-6-8 connection is at the end of the wire that I disconnected by cutting between it and the harness, so really I just spliced into G3-4-6 as instructed.
I'm wondering if G8 has some importance for power? By cutting the old G3-6 out of the loop, G8 no longer does anything. When I clipped G6 initially, it sparked on me ... I wasn't expecting any unused lines to be hot! Oops. I promptly disconnected the battery's negative terminal...
Correct, I have two mono plugs that are slightly different sizes. Thanks for the diversity antenna system explanation! That makes more sense now why the manual refers to possibly having a window mounted antenna.
Talk about a light bulb coming on! It makes perfect sense that there would be two antenna inputs for two different antennas. I don't suppose you know which sized mono plug corresponds to which input? I might try experimenting with that to see if I can find any signal strength patterns between the two, so as to add that detail to the original post.
I actually edited the mono jack y-cable out of my previous post when I figured out that that wasn't the part I should be splicing in the A-Harness instructions.
I made some calls today about getting the rest of the wretched window tint removed from the rear window (so I don't destroy the defroster lines, and now that I know they're there, the antenna lines) and getting the stereo wiring looked at. Hopefully, by mid-morning tomorrow I'll have an answer as to where the break is in my driver's door connection and what's going on with the sub/amp.
My diagram shows G3, G4, G6. Not sure what G8 does though. Maybe that's not supposed to be connected to the others
I'm wondering if G8 has some importance for power? By cutting the old G3-6 out of the loop, G8 no longer does anything. When I clipped G6 initially, it sparked on me ... I wasn't expecting any unused lines to be hot! Oops. I promptly disconnected the battery's negative terminal...
A1, A8 are for getting the motorized antenna to go up or down - nothing to do with actual signal; signal goes to the head unit from those two "mono plugs" (one bigger than the other, right?)... those two mono plugs are connected to diversity system [read below]
that's why you'll find two signal plugs in the dash instead of one; to use with an aftermarket head unit you would have to get a cheap $5 Y-adaptor that combines the two...
I actually edited the mono jack y-cable out of my previous post when I figured out that that wasn't the part I should be splicing in the A-Harness instructions.
I made some calls today about getting the rest of the wretched window tint removed from the rear window (so I don't destroy the defroster lines, and now that I know they're there, the antenna lines) and getting the stereo wiring looked at. Hopefully, by mid-morning tomorrow I'll have an answer as to where the break is in my driver's door connection and what's going on with the sub/amp.
#513
Lead Lap
iTrader: (8)
Actually, I think the sub is working. I tweaked some of the head unit's EQ settings and could feel a bit of vibration from the driver. It certainly isn't strong output, but it's way less tinny than when I had just one door speaker working, so it's doing some filling out of the low end. I still need to pick up two more speakers to replace the blown rear deck ones, so that should fill things out further.
I think I'll move the passenger door speaker to the rear deck, leaving me with a matching set of Pioneer TS-G1044R 4" speakers back there, then get some 5-1/4" or 6-1/2" speakers for the doors and modify the enclosures to accept a larger driver. Those enclosures should be a lot easier to work with than the rear deck ones.
I think I'll move the passenger door speaker to the rear deck, leaving me with a matching set of Pioneer TS-G1044R 4" speakers back there, then get some 5-1/4" or 6-1/2" speakers for the doors and modify the enclosures to accept a larger driver. Those enclosures should be a lot easier to work with than the rear deck ones.
#514
Actually, I think the sub is working. I tweaked some of the head unit's EQ settings and could feel a bit of vibration from the driver. It certainly isn't strong output, but it's way less tinny than when I had just one door speaker working, so it's doing some filling out of the low end. I still need to pick up two more speakers to replace the blown rear deck ones, so that should fill things out further.
I think I'll move the passenger door speaker to the rear deck, leaving me with a matching set of Pioneer TS-G1044R 4" speakers back there, then get some 5-1/4" or 6-1/2" speakers for the doors and modify the enclosures to accept a larger driver. Those enclosures should be a lot easier to work with than the rear deck ones.
I think I'll move the passenger door speaker to the rear deck, leaving me with a matching set of Pioneer TS-G1044R 4" speakers back there, then get some 5-1/4" or 6-1/2" speakers for the doors and modify the enclosures to accept a larger driver. Those enclosures should be a lot easier to work with than the rear deck ones.
#515
Lead Lap
iTrader: (8)
Yeah, I was wondering if there's any sort of gain control capabilities with the OEM sub amp.
Anyway, I took the car to Car Toys to get a couple things looked at, and they did a quick test of the sub/amp. No output whatsoever from the amp! The small amount of vibration I was feeling is just from the 4" speaker alongside it. Also, the sub is only reading 1 ohm resistance, which they figure is too low. The P.O. had the sub wired up to an aftermarket head unit, so it may well have been pushed too hard.
The OEM sub amp on the other hand is tougher to figure what the problem might be... The Car Toys guys suggested looking into Rockford Punch series amps, specifically the PBR300X1, which might be small enough to mount to the OEM location. (They also have X2 and X4, being 2- and 4-channel, respectively, for anyone wanting external amplification of the speakers, perhaps mounted in the blank to the left of the sub.) If I were to go that route, they said it would be best to just bypass the factory wiring for the sub.
Anyway, I took the car to Car Toys to get a couple things looked at, and they did a quick test of the sub/amp. No output whatsoever from the amp! The small amount of vibration I was feeling is just from the 4" speaker alongside it. Also, the sub is only reading 1 ohm resistance, which they figure is too low. The P.O. had the sub wired up to an aftermarket head unit, so it may well have been pushed too hard.
The OEM sub amp on the other hand is tougher to figure what the problem might be... The Car Toys guys suggested looking into Rockford Punch series amps, specifically the PBR300X1, which might be small enough to mount to the OEM location. (They also have X2 and X4, being 2- and 4-channel, respectively, for anyone wanting external amplification of the speakers, perhaps mounted in the blank to the left of the sub.) If I were to go that route, they said it would be best to just bypass the factory wiring for the sub.
#516
Yeah, I was wondering if there's any sort of gain control capabilities with the OEM sub amp.
Anyway, I took the car to Car Toys to get a couple things looked at, and they did a quick test of the sub/amp. No output whatsoever from the amp! The small amount of vibration I was feeling is just from the 4" speaker alongside it. Also, the sub is only reading 1 ohm resistance, which they figure is too low. The P.O. had the sub wired up to an aftermarket head unit, so it may well have been pushed too hard.
The OEM sub amp on the other hand is tougher to figure what the problem might be... The Car Toys guys suggested looking into Rockford Punch series amps, specifically the PBR300X1, which might be small enough to mount to the OEM location. (They also have X2 and X4, being 2- and 4-channel, respectively, for anyone wanting external amplification of the speakers, perhaps mounted in the blank to the left of the sub.) If I were to go that route, they said it would be best to just bypass the factory wiring for the sub.
Anyway, I took the car to Car Toys to get a couple things looked at, and they did a quick test of the sub/amp. No output whatsoever from the amp! The small amount of vibration I was feeling is just from the 4" speaker alongside it. Also, the sub is only reading 1 ohm resistance, which they figure is too low. The P.O. had the sub wired up to an aftermarket head unit, so it may well have been pushed too hard.
The OEM sub amp on the other hand is tougher to figure what the problem might be... The Car Toys guys suggested looking into Rockford Punch series amps, specifically the PBR300X1, which might be small enough to mount to the OEM location. (They also have X2 and X4, being 2- and 4-channel, respectively, for anyone wanting external amplification of the speakers, perhaps mounted in the blank to the left of the sub.) If I were to go that route, they said it would be best to just bypass the factory wiring for the sub.
#517
Lead Lap
iTrader: (8)
I decided to try out one of the amps I have sitting in the garage to see if I could get the OEM sub working with the OEM amp bypassed. Gotta eliminate an unknown... It's a fairly small MTX 2-channel amp that can be bridged for mono use and will fit below the parcel shelf if I figure out a good way of mounting it.
At first, nothing happened, but I noticed a fuse holder right near the battery (for the aftermarket wiring the previous owner left behind) and sure enough, it was blown. I had a spare 30A lying around, so I plugged that in and got some static but no real output. I then ran a home audio RCA cable from the head unit to the amp, bypassing the P.O.'s RCA-speaker-RCA that I had cut previously to splice into the OEM amp's harness. Suddenly, the sub's driver was bouncing up and down!
The crazy thing, though, is there's something in the background that I couldn't quite figure out. I think it's a radio signal playing through the sub!! There must be something goofy going on with the amp remote-on signal being sliced to the antenna leads, but I need to explore that more and work on disconnecting all the unwanted stuff. Progress.
Also, I found this Toyota thread which may be helpful for getting the right adapters for the Diversity antenna:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/engine...rket-hu-3.html
At first, nothing happened, but I noticed a fuse holder right near the battery (for the aftermarket wiring the previous owner left behind) and sure enough, it was blown. I had a spare 30A lying around, so I plugged that in and got some static but no real output. I then ran a home audio RCA cable from the head unit to the amp, bypassing the P.O.'s RCA-speaker-RCA that I had cut previously to splice into the OEM amp's harness. Suddenly, the sub's driver was bouncing up and down!
The crazy thing, though, is there's something in the background that I couldn't quite figure out. I think it's a radio signal playing through the sub!! There must be something goofy going on with the amp remote-on signal being sliced to the antenna leads, but I need to explore that more and work on disconnecting all the unwanted stuff. Progress.
Also, I found this Toyota thread which may be helpful for getting the right adapters for the Diversity antenna:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/engine...rket-hu-3.html
#518
Question for you all.
I posted in here last summer when I successfully used the instructions in this thread to install my AVIC. The original plans I had for this vehicle have gone astray due to the purchase of another toy so I'm considering selling it now. Any suggestions on how to reverse this install and return it back to factory?
If it's too much work I can likely buy a cheap single DIN deck on craigslist and wire it in in the same manner
I posted in here last summer when I successfully used the instructions in this thread to install my AVIC. The original plans I had for this vehicle have gone astray due to the purchase of another toy so I'm considering selling it now. Any suggestions on how to reverse this install and return it back to factory?
If it's too much work I can likely buy a cheap single DIN deck on craigslist and wire it in in the same manner
#519
Lead Lap
iTrader: (8)
I ordered one of those and it's definitely not the right fit. Yeah, I know the one you linked to is listed as Nissan-specific, but it looked like it could work. Unfortunately, the little female plug is actually the SC's big plug and the big one is way too big. That wasn't obvious to me from the pictures.
#520
Question for you all.
I posted in here last summer when I successfully used the instructions in this thread to install my AVIC. The original plans I had for this vehicle have gone astray due to the purchase of another toy so I'm considering selling it now. Any suggestions on how to reverse this install and return it back to factory?
If it's too much work I can likely buy a cheap single DIN deck on craigslist and wire it in in the same manner
I posted in here last summer when I successfully used the instructions in this thread to install my AVIC. The original plans I had for this vehicle have gone astray due to the purchase of another toy so I'm considering selling it now. Any suggestions on how to reverse this install and return it back to factory?
If it's too much work I can likely buy a cheap single DIN deck on craigslist and wire it in in the same manner
#521
Lead Lap
iTrader: (1)
Agreed...it is a lifesaver!
What a PITA that plastic META bracket is. If I were to do this again I'd:
Sandwiching the two brackets is doing something to the left side where the volume button is and the opening between the trim piece and head unit is more at that area. I'll take it apart soon to fix.
You do not need the plastic bracket to hold the square radio trim piece in the front.
What a PITA that plastic META bracket is. If I were to do this again I'd:
- try to find a head unit the same size as stock; or
- get the stock unit converted to BT and AUX; or
- trace the openings of the plastic bracket to the metal stock and drill openings to access the head unit mounting holes.
Sandwiching the two brackets is doing something to the left side where the volume button is and the opening between the trim piece and head unit is more at that area. I'll take it apart soon to fix.
You do not need the plastic bracket to hold the square radio trim piece in the front.
Last edited by Daspyda; 09-18-14 at 12:11 PM.
#522
Agreed...it is a lifesaver!
What a PITA that plastic META bracket is. If I were to do this again I'd:
Sandwiching the two brackets is doing something to the left side where the volume button is and the opening between the trim piece and head unit is more at that area. I'll take it apart soon to fix.
You do not need the plastic bracket to hold the square radio trim piece in the front.
What a PITA that plastic META bracket is. If I were to do this again I'd:
- try to find a head unit the same size as stock; or
- get the stock unit converted to BT and AUX; or
- trace the openings of the platic bracket to the metal stock and drill openings.
Sandwiching the two brackets is doing something to the left side where the volume button is and the opening between the trim piece and head unit is more at that area. I'll take it apart soon to fix.
You do not need the plastic bracket to hold the square radio trim piece in the front.
GLHF finding a head unit the same size as the stock one, considering the stock one isn't standard double DIN height or width to begin with (!)
BTW you do need the plastic parts to hold the front trim piece on - without it the trim piece will still wedge in place under the center console cover, but eventually it will rattle or vibrate because it's not screwed to anything.
#524
Lead Lap
iTrader: (8)
Are you talking about the factory amp? I have an unused one sitting in the garage, as I'm sure do many others who have replaced theirs with an aftermarket amp. (Someone else's would probably be a safer bet than mine, as I bought the car with a working sub but no power to it, either due to a bad amp or a mess with the bypassed factory wiring.) Anyone who's gone aftermarket is unlikely to go back unless returning their car to stock to sell it.