how are you able to install subs and amp to original radio.

there are no AV output on original radio but i have seen people with subs in back with original radio.

someone able to help me out here, i woul like to install 2 12" subs with a 900 watt amp and want to keep factory radio.

PM me or post if you can help me out.

 

get an RCA periferal

 

If you already have an amp look to see if it has high inputs on it. It will look like 5 little pins (there are probably more if it is a 4 ch. amp). The amp if purchaced new would come with a clip that goes into that. That clip takes a signal from your speakers telling it to turn on...So you would connect your back speaker's connection to your amp (or if you have the 7 speaker system factory you could use the sub wires instead).

If you do not have hi-levels on your amp you will need something like This
It will convert your speaker line into RCA's so that you can connect them to your amp.

 

im looking to do the same with my car.. so i just have to splice the wires from one of the back speakers and send that signal to the converter which sends it to the amp? if so that will make this a lot easier than i thought, i was anticipating running wires all over the car, but if the rear speakers and the battery are both in the trunk it shouldn't be too much hassle

 

you do that and your running risk of high static but thats up to you

why not do it right /not easy

 

You will still have to run a remote wire for your amp to turn on. You will need to get a fuse tap and most people have been using either the sunroof fuse (if you have it) or the wiper fuse.

 

I have a few questions...

Where could i get a fuse tap? Where exactly is the sunroof fuse? And i am desperately trying to avoid running wires all through my car, and i dont want to have to run wires through my firewall. So if it is at all possible, is there any other way?
(I have the stock radio)
Thanks

 

you can get a fuse tap at any advanced auto type store. Both the sun roof fuse and the wiper fuse can be found near the passenger seat. If you sit in the passenger front seat there is a panel by your left foot. You can pull that off and there is a fuse box right there. Look in the car manual for what fuse goes to what.

 

you shouldn't have to go through your firewall, the only reason i could see you having to would be to get to anything under the hood, but since your battery is in the trunk, you don't need to.

my question is how hard is it to attach the remote wire and sub out from the head unit? is there much cutting and splicing involed?

 

None of that comes from your head unit if you are keeping factory (at least not from right behind your head unit because technically your speaker feeds come from the head unit). If you are keeping your factory you need to use hi-inputs from your speaker line and a fuse from your fuse box, like said above.

If you are not keeping factory then it is dependent on the head unit that you choose. For mine I had to cut out the plastic and the metal that is behind there. It was pretty easy to do with either tin snips or a dremil tool.

 

damnit someone needs to just do a full DIY on this

 

so let me get this straight, if you use the speaker wire through a converter to the amp to the new subs you'll get static? where is the stock and and can you bybass that to go to your new amp? and do you still need the coverted? i got 2- 12" kenwoods from my old SUV that are just laying around and a pioneer 300watt amp (that i want to replace with at least a 800watt).

 

i just got an 06 cobalt SS and i had two memphis 12"s in my blazer with 1200 watt amp. i want to keep the stock headunit and i was wondering the same thing.

 

it's pretty easy actually....

first you will need a line output converter...they differ by input wattage and how many channels they can support, if going with a 1 or 2 sub setup, get a two channel
Soundgate, Metra, Audioplex, etc all offer line output converters (also called speaker leverl to line level converters)
one looks something like this



this product only holds 80watts input from the speakers/head unit and is a four channel but you will probably only use two channels...plenty for a cobalt

or you could go with a different brand...there are lots to choose from..just google it lol

or an amp that has that built in.. i use a Sony Xplode XM-2100GTX 600watt
get some speaker wire and splice into your rear speakers (the blue things in the picture are wire taps, they allow you to signal tap the wires without cutting the wires themselves...just need a pair of pliers to squeeze it closed)....something like this




hook up your amp like any amp installation...hot (battery), ground (any bare metal piece), remote (i used the wiper fuse in the front, not hard to run the line at all...just go under the back seat and along the floor panel trim to the fusebox and tap the fuse with the wire or use a fuse tap adapter)...make sure you have all proper fuses in place, such has the line fuse for the hot wire

crimp the wires you tapped from the speaker into the adapter plug that came with the amp
plug into the amp (my amp has the line output converter built in, looks like this...if you don't have the plug anymore you should be able to get one from the manufacturer or go with the adapter)



If going with the adapter setup:
install the wires from your speakers (that you just spliced into) into the adapter and screw them down)
Right Rear (+) Dark Blue
Right Rear (-) Light Blue
Left Rear (+) Brown
Left Rear (-) Yellow
run your RCA outputs from the converter to the amp
run speaker wire from your amp to your speakers
turn down the amp to avoid blowing your stuff up....turn on the stereo and make sure power is on to all accessories
adjust to comfortable levels on your amp

If using the built in setup on the amp:
There maybe a switch that chooses between High and Low level inputs
switch it the High or equal switch (not LPF that is the frequency cut off filter)
amps (most) have the ability to distinguish between


run speaker wire from your amp to your speakers
turn down the amp to avoid blowing your stuff up....turn on the stereo and make sure power is on to all accessories
adjust to comfortable levels on your amp

any questions just shoot me a PM or something

there you go enjoy!

 

for remote lead i used a remote power adapter.

 

i tapped the back speakers

 

You wont get any static if you do it right...

This question gets asked too much, I'm pretty sure there is a how to on how to add a LOC. Wiring for a LOC is pretty much exactly the same as wiring for High Level Inputs. You just wire up the plug that comes with either and plug it in.

For a remote wire its as easy as getting a 14 gauge wire from the trunk to the fuse panel by the passengers side feet. You probably already have the seats out to get your box in, thats the hardest part to hiding the wire.

A remote wire works by sending low current 12 volts to the amp to trigger a relay telling the amp to turn on. Hook the remote wire to any 12V source and the amp will turn on. Don't go straight to the battery though because your amp will always be on running your battery down. Go to a switched ignition source thats only on when the car is, such as fuse 21 (sunroof) or the wiper fuse (not sure which that one is)

Go to any auto parts store and tell them you need a mini add a circuit, they should know what that is, heres a pic just in case.

You'll need a crimp tool or ghetto it with a pair of pliers...

 

EXACTLY!!!!

 

Dont do it, it will sound horrible, i hooked a JL W7 to my stock deck and it was bad!!! the sound quality sucked, until i installed the new Panasonic DVD thingy and it was awsome!!!

 

Damnit, Yall just need to do a little research on google!

It wont sound like crap if you do it right! You must of had some bad contacts somewhere. My system sounds just fine.

 

i think it varies between cars, i had several issues with the stock head unit. replaced it with a kenwood dvd-819 and all problems went away

 

i got 2 10in memphis m3's in my cobalt with a stock radio. its louder then any 12's i've heard. all i did was get a rca adapter. its mentioned on page one. spliced the speaker wires and hooked them all up. but make sure you hook em up right because at first we were getting vocals through my subs. not good. sounds great now. good luck if you havent done it yet. its pretty simple. if you get a aftermarket head unit. i would suggest hooking the rcas to thats. that way no power is taken from your back speakers