I inherited my dad's 1999 TL when I got my license and along with that received some headunit gear to put in it (Kenwood x994). I put it in with the sub working but it does minimal work IMO. I had the stock headunit in this car blasting beats like crazy and had the sub shakin the whole read seats, but now it's just the mids working like crazy and the sub barely producing any sound. Can someone please help me out? I really don't want to end up with blown out mids because of the headunit's (or mine) inability to get sound out of the sub. By the way, all other components except the head unit are stock.

 

did you do the sub hack? its not plug and play and are you sure the subwoofer setting is on on the headunit?

 

^Prolly not!!!

 

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not that dumb. I did the sub hack and I do have the sub turned on. The problem is that it only works minimally and the headunit forces the mids to do 95% of the work. Thanks for the help tho. I think the stock system was much clearer and balanced... might switch back

 

Did you disable and remove from the system the Bose EQ?

Regarding this, I have noticed that the pre-amp signal is usually a bit too weak to properly power that stock sub. If you have a line driver you can try that, or just replace the amp that runs the stock sub with something more in-line with aftermarket pre-amp voltages.

I can plan out a solid simple 10" subwoofer to install in the trunk along with a quality amp for a minimal investment.

 

where is the bose EQ located? I'm pretty sure it go disabled when the stock unit was taken out. And you wanna help me out with finding a good in-line amp? or should I just build a new sub unit? I really don't have much money for it (I'm 16...) and I don't know how much I could squeeze out of my dad.

 

$100 could do a modest sub (you'll be shocked at my suggestion) and a used amp. But more would be better. You'll also need cables and wires, so figure min. $150. $200 would be near perfect.

BOSE eq removal tutorial is in the second gen how-to's. Great pictures. Its tucked up above the head unit area, behind the ac controls.

 

Yup I'm pretty sure I did the bypass of the eq. I'm thinking of just getting an amp off a friend and running the sub though that would be good

 

You could also use a line driver. I've got a TLD22 that puts out a pretty hot 8v or so.

 

Cool! And just run the rca from the headunit to the sub through that? Looks like a good cheap fix if it works

 

Yeah, a line driver takes RCA in, and bumps up the voltage, then sends it back out. But you must watch out that you don't clip the signal, and some adjustment might be needed. PAC sells a decent line driver I think, the PG TLD22 is also quite good. It will need power, ground, and 12v switch connected to it btw.

 

Anyone know of any tutorials to put a line driver in for the sub? it's a second gen TL

 

and I did a little research on the Kenwood HU and the pre-amp output level is apparently 4v for each channel. anyone know what the output for the sub was on the stock HU?

 

I'm thinking about getting the PAC LD-10 since I have some time off from school to work on the car in a few weeks. Any installation advice such as where to put it? I want to put it somewhere where i can still reach it easily to adjust it.

 

All it requires is power, ground and a 12v switch. If you have been able to hack the sub and remove the EQ this should be easy!

 

Seems like you're doing WAY too much work to improve a crappy stock sub and amp. In my personal opinion, it's xmas time, ask fourthmeal and eggy for some suggestions. They can build you a system cheap. By the time you're done with these little tweaks you're going to be $50-$100 in the hole(the cost of a sub) then you just need an amp.

 

yep the only problem i have with that is that i don't have the money right now as i'm only 16 and to me the line driver seems like the most economical way to improve the bass for now. it's all just temporary until the summer when i can work and get what i need/want. and would the line driver be put in behind the HU or behind the rear seats?

 

Doesn't matter, but I'd make it accessible for adjustment.