So I've come across something that I can't find when searching so I figured I'd bring it up now. The previous owner had a system and took it all out when I bought it and left the amp kit and LOC. I've found, I think, that the LOC is tapped into the rear speakers and not the subwoofer channel. When I move the subwoofer lever on the Navigation it doesn't do anything but the bass lever controls the actual subs bass. I unhooked the factory sub, but it was still playing when I had the subs in the trunk...so its def. not on the sub's wiring. Is this an issue? Could this be why i'm not getting as much output as I believe I should?


I'm going to try to tackle the "Miracle Box" or something like it with a port going through the armrest in the rear seats so we'll see how much that helps with efficiency, etc


Edit: Also, so I don't have to make another thread, does the Navigation screen take some time to warm up and get to its regular brightness for anyone else?? It only happens when its really cold outside 45deg. or below and usually only upon startup in the morning, though its happened multiple times throughout the day before. I should tell you that my nav. has been freezing, rebooting, etc for the last month so this might be one of the problems. Anyways, Thanks guys!

 

Yeah, you need to tap the OEM subwoofer wires. You'll get more punch and control via the headunit's sub channel.
My 06 Navi screen does the same thing, but I dont have the other problems you mention. Try getting a CD cleaner disk to use in the Navi unit in the trunk. If all else fails, you can send it in for repair for like $150.

 

Thanks for the info! Now I need to find out which wires are the sub wires...or should I put the LOC back by the factory sub? It's next to the factory amp right now so it'd be easier just finding them there if I could. Anyone happen to know which 2 are the sub wires? And which is pos. and neg.? ....or does the pos/neg not matter with the LOC? Thanks for any help

 

Also, do I just attach the wires that are in the LOC now back with their respective "other" wires? That can't be too hard to color match haha

 

i believe u can tap it into the stock sub in the rear.. I havnt done mine yet (I hooked it up to the bass control behind the HU) but thats what i've heard works best

 

I tapped mine at the stock sub in the rear.

 

Ok I'll figure out which is the sub and tie into those wires instead. Hopefully I'll get more output doing it this way. I'll do this within the next few days and let y'all know

 

its easy. take out the factory sub, which exposes two wires;positve and negative.

wire up your loc to that.

 

Thanks guys! Don't I have to remove the rear seat to take out the sub? Hopefully not

 

yes.

 

Anyone know what the factory amp crossed the sub at? If its to high then wouldn't it be better to take it before it gets to the amp. If it's crossed at like 80hz or 70hz... That's fine

 

you'll get shitty sound from taking the signal before the amp.
there have been plenty of threads echoing this.

 

Ah ok. Just thought it might be a full range signal...then I could use the x-over on the amp instead of the x-over in the factory amp. I'm going to tackle this soon and if it doesn't help with my "punch" problem....I'll be looking for a new box or building my own "miracle box"

 

I dont know the technical details, but i just now that people have reported back with shitty sound taking the signal before the factory amp...

whats your current box lookin like now?
and when are you gonna tackle the LOC install?

 

No need to remove the back seat---go in from the trunk to tap the wires.
If you want to remove the OEM sub, you will need to remove the back seat. Just unplug it.

 

thank you sir!!!

 

Since my LOC is already tied into the wiring right next to the amp and is tucked in there all nicely...I was going to try to figure out the color of the sub wires for positive and negative so I could just reconnect the ones in there now and hook the sub ones up without having to take out the whole damn rear seat, c-pillars, etc. Sounds like a PITA when I could just tap into the signal right after the factory sub....same signal...just more convenient ya know. Here's the wiring from the amp for speaker outputs.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ker+wire+color


I just check mine and I'm connected into the LR (+)/LR (-) and RR (+)/RR (-) so that's why I have no sub control on the nav. It's just bass. Weird thing is is that the previous owner had cut the subwoofer wiring which is Red w/ Blue (+) and White w/ Green (-) but he hadn't had them connected to anything..not the LOC. Pics of my LOC are at the bottom of the post. The sub didn't work when I got the car so I went in there and reconnected the sub wires but didn't touch anything else...kinda weird he would tap into the rear channels and not the sub channel...especially if he cut the damn thing!

Here's the thing....my LOC has 6 wires (3 sets) coming out of it. Do I just unhook the Rear Channels hooked up right now and reconnect them (or not if I don't want rear fill) and then hook up the subwoofer wires given above to the the LOC...but which wires do I tap into on the LOC? Which of the 3 sets (there's white, tan, and gray)

 

Taken directly from PAC's website on the PAC SNI-35 (Line-Out Conv. I'm using)


Question: I do not have any sounds after the converter is wired up and connected to an aftermarket amplifier
Answer: Some amplifiers need to see a reference ground on the RCA inputs. Connect the two brown wires to chassis ground, preferably to the chassis of the stereo. If you do have sound, do not connect the brown wires to ground. The brown wires do not help in removing engine noise.



PAC SNI-35
White: Left(+) speaker
White/Black: Left(-) speaker
Grey: Right(+) speaker
Grey/Black: Right(-) speaker




--- So I'm guessing it wouldn't matter which one I used to tap into the sub wires. I could use the White or the Grey correct?

 

Or do I combine both Left and Right positives and Left and Right negatives...then go into the sub wires? Hahaha...sorry for 21 questions game

 

Forget about Left/Right. You will be tapping from the sub, so you are only concerned about a single channel. Use either the left or right, it doesn't matter.

 

Some cheaper LOCs that cannot handle the sweet ole 30W (or so) that the sub would get can have some distortion at higher volumes as the wattage increases.

While you are doing this, and if you care are SQ, check your LOC and perhaps get a new one where the wattage is high enough.

 

Nevermind, that one appears to be able to handle 40 watts. Sorry.

 

Well guys...good news! It worked! I swapped the wires and it hits MUCH harder and more punchy than before. Still trying to figure out where I like the "bass" and "sub" settings...trying to blend them as well as I can. Now I need to fix my trunk rattle (mainly license plate) and single out the rattles inside. You can definitely tell now that I'm going to need a new box bc you can hear it rattling, bad bracing or no bracing I'm guessing. It's a pretty one-noted box...can't keep up with rock basically. Next on my list...bug justnspace for miracle box dimensions hahaha.

 

Good job!
I've found that even an underpowered (60W) 10" box makes one helluva difference on the weak OEM bass response in this car. I'm very happy with my setup---could use a bit more power, though.

 

What do you have in there now dwb?

 

Just told you!
A buddy has a bigger amp for me to try. The sub is an old school Pioneer another friend gave me. You don't have to spend much to get better sound. I upgraded the tweets and center to Infinity and run stock for everything else. My sub is tapped to a Scosche LOC (Walmart) and goes into a 60W Sony amp I've had in storage for years. I know it could sound better with more $$$, but who has any of that after being on this site??
I figure with the amp kit and new battery terminal, I have about $250 in upgrades and I'm happy. Some call it cheap, I call it frugal.

 

I can try to help you with the dimensions.

first, you need to know some things about your sub.
- what brand?
- whats the RMS?
- How much cu/ft your sub needs...this is different for every sub
- what kind of enclosure you would like? ported, sealed, bandpass(miracle box)
- the mounting depth.
- Cutout diameter
- Fs(Hz)
- Vas (liters)
- Qts
- And Xmax.
- trunk space...

once you find these things, you plug them into a subwoofer calculator and it will give you dimensions. then you can start building.
its a lot of planning.

 

Yeah I can get all that information. I'm running the silver coned Kicker Comp VR (2- 10's). Thing is is that there are no box building programs for a Mac.

 

web-based calculators.

 

I've only heard about programs like WinISD, etc that actually build your box and give you dimensions, etc. Didn't know the web-based programs could do that. I'll check them out...any ones I should look at first?

 

google subwoofer calculators.

its used as a tool, to help you figure out your dimensions, cubic air space, and etc.
building a box takes a lot of planning. and a lot of math.

 

What the hell is math? Haha jk..I'll check them out. I need to figure out how much 3/4" MDF, nails, sealer, etc cost to see if its worth it...cause I might mess up on the first one.

 

you want to use screws not nails, btw.
and all in all, its a fairly cheap project to do.

 

Yeah...you know what I meant haha. I know these aren't really useful unless you know a few other things he used but there are a TON of box designs if you type in "ported box designs" on google. First page "srtforums.com". Kinda cool and he's got them with the cu.ft and tuning frequency