superballs

ok. about 2 years ago, i had an aftermarket tv installed, as well as a jl amp. i dont know technically what they did, but they kept the stock speakers, and went with this set up. between now and then ive learned to do a lot to my car, and have a good friend who knows way more, so we decided to swap out the aftermarket headunit for the stock one ourselves. we were able to pull out the aftermarket tv without a problem. now we are trying to get the stock hu working and we cant get any music through any speakers. we were able to get the power and ground connected. the player works. there is just no music. any advice would help. thanks

NYZGREATST

umm radio code?!!?

superballs

umm no. thanks for the "help" though. the raido has power, i have the code in. i inserted a cd. the cd is playing, i tried every combination of speaker wire, to wire harness connection, and no noise comes through any speakers....

DerrickM

did you plug in the small black harness that goes to and from the Bose equalizer? (this is a preamp loop that needs to be connected for the unit to work).

superballs

good question! i wasnt sure what this was. i had it plugged in, and unplugged at different times of the installation. i dont remember if it was plugged in while i was testing different wire combinations. i will definitly try this, but just incase, is there any further advice? does the tl have a stock amplifier located outside of the headunit? could this have been disconnected?

DerrickM

The amp is inside the headunit, but the preamp loop must be completed via the small black harness. You can just loop the wires if you don't wish to use the factory Bose EQ, but it sounds like you're putting your stock system back in. This connection also enables your stock subwoofer, which has an external amp. See the sticky post at the top of the forum for additional info.

superballs

ok. i made sure the black plug was in, and i tried all the wiring combinations and i got nothing. no crackles, no static. nothing. its worse than i thought. i dont know what else it could be. i really thought(and was dreading) i had a stock amp and wires had to be rerun to it. but apperantly there is no amp. which means the wires i see, should go straight to the speakers. and if thats the case, i have no idea how to fix it. im going crazy with no music. please help

DerrickM

So somebody else did the install, so you're not sure what wires might have been cut.

When they did the install, did they use a harness to fit into the car's harness? If they did, and if you still have it, that will make your job a lot easier.

First, the aftermarket HU, was it *just* hooked up to the factory harness? If yes, then your speakers wires are in there and they should be fine.

Next, did the aftermarket system use the stock subwoofer? If yes, they may have cut the wires on the small black harness.

You said they used the stock speakers, right? So, you probably don't have a speaker short. (The factory HU has speaker fault protection--it any of the speakers are shorted or grounded the whole unit won't play).

Using the harness wiring diagram found in the sticky post "Comprehensive data...", verify your four speakers. You can use an ohm meter, or if you don't have one, just use a small battery and send 1.5 volts to each speaker by brushing the wires over the correct pins. The voltmeter will tell you more, the static test just verifies they're where they should be in the harness and are connected.

After that my guess would be either the preamp loop isn't getting connected, the HU has a problem, or the speaker short thing.

Verify that no wires were cut on the small black harness, and that there's a metal box mounted up out of sight above the radio and behind the climate controls.

Wait-- you didn't mention what year your TL was. Everything I'm writing is based on the second generation TL.

***I went and looked up your past posts. Looks like you've worked on this system some. Do you have anything pulling power from the switced power coming out of the HU? If you do, try disconnecting it. I know that on my 01 TL, pulling too much power from this lead will cause the HU to make no output.***

superballs

wow. thanks sooo much all the info. some of it is a bit to technically for me to understand. but i will show it to my friend who has been helping me, and im sure with this info we will figure it out. its an 03 tl with no navi.
"Verify that no wires were cut on the small black harness, and that there's a metal box mounted up out of sight above the radio and behind the climate controls." no wires have been cut from the small black harness, but i dont recall seeing any metal box. what exactly should i be looking for? thanks again
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DerrickM

What about the power tap? Is there anything else running off the power coming from the deck?

The metal box is the Bose EQ, it's mounted to the top of the frame that the HU mounts to. You can't see much of it, because it's up under the dash behind the climate controls.

Have your friend PM me if I can help.

superballs

is it possible that the shitty shop that installed it would have taken the bose eq out? i had a custom install, so i know they had to make some room under there. if the shop did take it out, i never recieved it from them, which is possible, how can i make this work without it. i dont care how good it sounds or how loud it gets, i just need some music.. and i dont think there is anything else running off the power from the deck but im not sure. if you deem it necassary, i will remove the dash to find the eq. just let me know. its only 2 or 3 screws and a couple of clips. thanks

DerrickM

chances are that the eq is still there. i think the power thing is more likely.

is there anything else electronic in the car that turns on/off with the stereo? aux cd changer, sat radio, etc.

superballs

there has been other aux electronics, but everything is disconnected now, and i dont think anything worked with the stereo anyway. especially not the stock stereo. i have two headrest tvs, but they are disconnected now. i had an aftermarket cd changer. but that was connected with the aftermarket unit. and a long time ago i had an alpine fm modulator. that MIGHT have been connected to the power. if the power was the problem, wouldnt it not turn on?

DerrickM

no, my experience was a drain as small as 45mA would cause the HU to work normally but output no sound. check the wires above the harness and disconnect any taps you see on the power wire. this also applies to any power taps from the sub amp mounted behind the rear seatback on the passenger side. unplug the cd changer and fm modulator if you can to test.

(the sub amp is actually where that switched power lead from the HU goes).

the easiest way to eliminate this theory is to put +12VDC on the switched power in the harness. (don't leave like this for long, because the system won't turn off).

superballs

i cant find anything that looks like the metal bose eq. i have a gut feeling this is the problem. if you could post a picture of it, or where it goes or something, id appreciate it. i also have a 3rd green harness that has nowhere to plug into. im pretty sure its for a navi model tl. but im not 100 percent sure. its a green harness and has a lot, of pins. i think 20 pins.

superballs

ok. little pregression was made. yesterday i decided since my aftermarket unit worked fine, and the stock didnt, something was wrong with the stock unit, and that i would have another cheaper aftermarket unit installed until i found time to take the car to a good shop. i had an installer try to instal an aftermarket unit, and he called me to tell me that the same problem with the stock unit was happening with the aftermarket. it powered on, and played, but there was no music coming out of the speakers. so this morning on my way to the office, i got bored at a light, and figured i would plug the stock unit in and see if they accomplished anything. when i typed in the radio code there was a loud beep that sounded like it came through all the speakers. so i threw a cd in, and there is very soft music playing in just the passanger front speaker. hopefully we can call this progress. let me know what you think from here. please and thanks

DerrickM

speaker short?

you're gonna need to get a meter out and test the speaker connections, or take the doors apart. (Meter would be a lot easier, because you'll only need to take hopefully one door apart).

superballs

ok. i cant figure this out. its not a speaker short, cause my old headunit was working fine. some people are telling me there is a stock amp, some people are saying there is not. some people are saying there is a stock eq. i dont know. can someone please find me a diagram of the whole stock system. from the headunit, to a stock amp or eq to the speakers and where wires are ran. this would be incredible. also. i can only find the wiring diagram for the 20 pin navi harness. can someone PLEASE find me the 14 pin diagram. thanks so much

superballs

ok!! heres what i learned. hopefully it will help someone in the future. there IS A STOCK BOSE EQ AND STOCK BOSE AMP!!! the eq was removed from my car to make room for a tv and custom dash and i was never told. the big green plug i spoke of earlier is not for the navigation i dont have. it plugs into the stock eq located behind the radio and behind the ac controls. the stock bose amp is located behind the back seat(you must remove the rear upper seat part to find it).. so i recieved a stock eq today, the green harness plugged right in, and tomorrow i will reattempt to hook up the wiring harness. thanks for the help guys.