So, I have been seeing a lot of people asking about how to do install a system on a stock Headunit.. Well I was doing mine today, and i decided to do a how to on it! It looks so much more complicated than it is. enjoy!

First Things First, The tools you will need are as follows:
Power Drill
10mm Wrench
Wire Splicers
Wire cutters
Phillips screw Diver
Scissors
Zip Ties
Butt Connectors
Terminal Connectors
Line out converter(not pictured)



Line out converter

First step: Hooking up your line out converter. Take out the trunk floor thingy. Now Remove the tape off of the stock wiring for your rear speakers.




Step two: Cut stock wiring and Twist on speaker wire. (on the right speaker the Teal colored wire is positive and on the left speaker yellow is positive.) Splice the stock harness for the speakers back in and connect together with a butt connector




Step three: Remove the cushion to your rear seats (this takes a little bit of elbow grease, you need to fine where it latches and push it and pull up, it will come off). Run the wires you have just spliced in behind the carpet on the walls of your trunk and under the rear seat backrests, and on to the floor of the rear seat cushins. (sorry there wires arent there but that is where they go)





Step Four: Now is when you connect your Converter, By now you should have 2 sets of a pos/neg wire on the seats, one from each speaker. Connect the pos/neg from your ran wires to the pos/neg on the line out converter. (If you purchased your converter from bestbuy there are 3 sets of wires on it. Ignore the brown set, use black and white) The positive wires on our conveter have the black stripe on them. Once that is done you may now connect your RCA signal cables to it. NOTE: Do not put cushin back on just yet, you will want to use your converter to tune your system




Stop Five: Connecting the ground cable. Since the ground cable I got in my amp kit was only 10 inches and the power cable was 400 feet, I decided to cut some power cable to use as a ground cable. If you look at the battery, you can see where chevy grounds the battery, I just used that for my ground as well. Unscrew that bolt and connect your ground cable. NOTE: The connection I made was very improper, you need to have a connector! I fixed mine 10 minutes later after I bought one. Now crimp on a amp connector to the end of the wire and tuck excess wire in the spare tire bay.



Step Six: Running your power cable. Since our battery is in the trunk, the install for this is remarkably easy. Using your 10mm Socket, unscrew the bolt on the positive terminal. Connect your power cord. Make sure the connector is flush with the battery terminal for a optimum connection. Crimp on a connector like you did the ground and hide the excess wire in the spare tire bay. REMEMBER: This is a HOT wire do not let it ground out or sparks will fly.



Step seven: Now put your trunk carpet back in, take all your wires and have them just pop out about a foot into the trunk



Step seven: Amp sub and box. I like to make them all one unit before they go in the car. So now drill your amp to the back of your box. Measure speaker wire out from the box terminals to the amp terminals, cut to size and connect it. Now, connect the sub to the inside terminals and drill your sub into the box. NOTE: make sure to set the box on something soft so you don't scratch your amp you just put on.



Step eight: Put your sub/box/amp/ combo in and connect all your wires to it

Step nine: Remote wire. I just did a fuse tap. In order to do this go to your fuse box and pick a fuse for a item that only works when your key is on accessory mode. Ex. Wipers. which is exactly what I used. Remove the fuse and put some on the wire in the hole, then put the fuse back in. Now, run your remote wire to your trunk, going under the carpet up front and then tucked under the floor trim. Connect remote.





Now turn your car on, play your favorite rap song and tune your system from the converter and the amp, once that is done put your back seat cushion in and zip tie your wires together behind the sub. Now go and scare some old lady's with your BOOM! If you have ANY questions feel free to ask.

 

Approved

 

Good how-to. Irep.

 

now i don't believe anyone has actually explained this is there a particular reason everyone is using the line convertor's rather then just removing the stock sub and using its audio output for the aftermarket amp or does the stock amp not allow or limit this.

 

in order to use the stock sub wiring you need an amp that has a high level converter in it, and it is more difficult IMO

For the majority of people this is what they will have to do.

 

ok so it is the stock amp that screws around with everything. should be interesting for when i do mine.

 

nice write up im kinda interested in this just dont wanna give somebody a reason to break into my ride........but having the stock headunit is stealth........

 

Nice write up

 

i did sort of the same thing...but with an LS...i spliced the rear deck wires and i had the line converter in hand but my amp actually has one built in...so i just plugged into it...nothin like thunder in the trunk with a stock head unit (though i can't get into the complex EQ curves like with my pioneer head unit that is just sitting in my closet collecting dust)

 

Finally I can put my other sub/amp to good use...to rumble the clothes right off of the ladies lol

 

that was great, right up until the last part.

you should always avoid rap. its Retards Attempting poetry.

other than that you can't go wrong!

one other little thing. a lot of cars (I can't speak for a cobalt specifically on this) have a horrible rattle with subs, it sounds like a brontosaurus's vibrator. thats the license plate, a little double sided tape does the trick.

 

LMAO! Thats so true, yea a lot of license plates on cars rattle like hell and its very annoying.

 

ya i fixed the license plate rattle with some stick on foam from my shop. works like a charm. but now i've got another rattle coming from the rear and i think its coming from the rear decking where the speakers are but i'll have to tear it apart to find out exactly where it is coming from.

 

i have a 1200 xplod amp and when i crank the toons up after like 5 mins of hard core bumping my amp shuts off and like 5 secs later it turns back on any one have any ideas

 

That sux, I've had a squeak for a while now and i can't for the life of me figure out where it's coming from...it's driving me nuts.

 

well i've had both of my door handles replaced because they came loose and would rattle, my driver side brake lamp housing rattles only slightly on that one, my license plate was rattling, i know the little covers for the child seat restraint latches rattle, and then there's the big one. if im outside i can hear it if you put your head near the back window.

 

Reasons:

1. Heat - the heat that your amp is putting out isn't being replaced by cooler air fast enough...recommend a fan or something that can make the amp run cooler (my biggest problem when i had the entire set up in the cavalier)

2. Voltage - the amp is running at too high voltage and must shut down to compensate, i had the same problem

3. Wiring short - the sub(s) are vibrating enough to shake something loose and is making a ground somewhere....isolate and fix the problem before you blow the amp

4. Speakers - even with a high rating...they can and will overheat at the voice coils...once they do...they will stop working off and on...(i "blew" two 12" subs...i replaced them....6 months later...they work like nobodies business)

 

i just wired my amp to a switch that way if i get stopped for my steroe i can always say "what stereo"

 

ya until they tell you to open your trunk then your screwed.

 

I have a light rattle coming from the back seat area. open up the child seat cover things and leave them open. does the sound go away? a little bit of double sided tape to hold them down is all you need to fix that problem.

 

i'll tell you why. this amp is good for smaller subs. i have the same amp pushing 2 JL 12's and it doesn't happen. the amp constantly goes into protect mode and stuff. get a better amp if you want a lot of bumpage. until then, turn down the frequency on the amp and it'll last a little longer. i'm in the market for a new amp just dont know which one yet...

 

im about to do a small system upgrade on my balt thinking 12 alpine type r, and a 400 watt alpine v power amp

 

That is EXACTLY what I did but you beat me to the write-up. I did, however pick a different fuse but that one works too.

 

That's simular how I installed my T5002 fosgates to my T1 12" on my balt. But I picked a fuse that stays on with the RAP (retained accessory power). That way you don't have to have the key on for a little bit and still listen to the radio. When you open the doors the radio and the amps power down. I can't remember which fuse that was though

 

where can you get the line out converter i but a cheap one and my **** sounds like crap