8" sub into AU - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

JC-XR8 · 12-04-2002, 18:50

There is a hole in the parcel shelf in my AU that will take an 8" sub. I do NOT want to upgrade any other speakers and I want to keep the standard Ford Head Unit. Any suggestions on how I add the sub to this system? I've thought about running it in parallel off the left or right rear speaker, but I'm not sure that this would end up putting out much more bass.

Do I need an amp? If so, 2 or 4 channel and how would I connect it? I know I could use an RCA converter running from the rear speaker wires, but how do I then run the rear speakers AND the sub?

Any and all help gratefully appreciated. Thanks in Advance.

AUForte · 12-06-2002, 02:07

The simplest way to do this is to run an amp with high (speaker) level inputs, then just use wire taps to wire the inputs parralell to one of the existing rear speakers.

As far as amps go, you only need 1 channel, however you can buy an amp with as many channels as you like and run it in bridged mode.

The AU head units do not have RCA outputs.

The only cable you will need to run is 12V to the boot for the amp.

JC-XR8 · 12-06-2002, 03:22

AUForte - Thanks for that. I was kind of thinking that's the way to go. I'm going to buy a 4 channel amp on the weekend and hook it up to the front speakers (I got new 5X7 pioneers for $140) and the sub. I'll leave the rears running from the head unit as you can hardly hear them anyway, without putting a lot of rear fade control to them.

I'll post the results here - and any further questions as they arise!

jbugeja · 12-07-2002, 01:15

Post back how you go because I'm thinking of doing the same thing. Blakpunt (spelt something like that) decks can be hooked up to the steering controld for the AU if you are interested. I'm thinking of keeping the original deck (CD Futura deck) and running a 8" sub and different rears. Are the rears in the AU 5X7 not 6X9?

JC-XR8 · 12-07-2002, 03:58

Apparently they are 5x7 all round - but check first. I haven't looked at the rears (not theor size anyway). I'm just about to go and do the amp now, so i should have results tomorrow (8/12/02). Good to know about the blaupunkt (?) - I'll keep it in mind if I ever get the money to replace the Ford Cd Head Unit.

AUForte · 12-07-2002, 06:59

Also the Alpine units have an adapter available to work with the steering controls, but no one seemed to know bout any that did before I bought my pioneer h/u

JC-XR8 · 12-08-2002, 04:38

I had already installed the front speakers (new pioneers) and they were really good. I have n9ow installed the amp to run the fronts plus the 8" sub. I now get a small 'click' when I turn the car on. When I actually start it, I get a whining through the speakers. If I turn the car off (ie back to accessories), the radio sounds pretty good. I can clearly hear the sub, which is what I wanted.

Anyone know how to eleiminate the whining through the speakers when the car is on? The instructions for the amp said to install an alternator filter - what the hell is that? And do they work? Has anyone else had to install one of these?

au2_xpack · 12-08-2002, 06:30

Quote:

Originally posted by JCV8
I had already installed the front speakers (new pioneers) and they were really good. I have n9ow installed the amp to run the fronts plus the 8" sub. I now get a small 'click' when I turn the car on.

If you turn your head unit off, wait a few mins and then turn it on, do you get a pop/click through the speakers ? If that's the problem keep reading (otherwise disregard the following). Some amps have a built in delay to fix this problem, in that when they detect voltage on the remote wire, they won't give power to the speakers straight away which elimiates the turn-on "pop" sound. afaik Jaycar used to sell something that you put on the remote wire which would add the delay to the amp. Maybe ask them ?

Quote:

Originally posted by JCV8
When I actually start it, I get a whining through the speakers. If I turn the car off (ie back to accessories), the radio sounds pretty good. I can clearly hear the sub, which is what I wanted.

Bugger, there's plenty of reasons why this can happen.

- Start by checking your various ground connections, and then recheck them. Are they all making good solid contact ? In the case of the amp, is it grounded on bare metal on the chasis (ie. grounding the wire on a painted surface is generally not good enough imho).
- At the battery make sure the terminals are making good contact as well.
- Check you gain settings (ie. try lowering them and seeing if this makes a difference)
- Trace the path of the speaker & rca wires and make sure there's no shorts occuring along the path
- How are you running the speaker wires, rca wires and power wires. e.g. rca's and speaker wire are run up left hand side and power wire running up right hand side? Or are they all running up one side etc ??

Aside from that, CAA will give you more comprehensive troubleshooting info: www.caraudioaustralia.com and click the "technical" button, they have a few guides relevant for this kind of problem. Or consider joining the forums there and posting a question.

Quote:

The instructions for the amp said to install an alternator filter - what the hell is that? And do they work? Has anyone else had to install one of these?

Here's a link explaning the concept http://www.avweb.com/articles/altwhine.html (I'm sure if you search google you'll find more useful info). Can't really comment on them cause I've never used one. What I'd suggest though is that they'd seem a more last resort option, because there are plenty of good systems that don't need/make use of them ??

TOX|C · 12-08-2002, 15:44

Also try using a supressor.. They are a little black box that jacks strait into the amp, and are made specifically for stopping ignition noise. Jaycar should have em... maybe even autobarn

hope that helps

Chris

JC-XR8 · 12-08-2002, 17:42

Thanks guys. I've checked every connection! I've got the speaker connections running up the middle of the car, and the power running up the drivers side. The ground wire is screwed in to the bare metal behind the back seat. I haven't connected directly to the battery - I did have it to the battery yesterday when I did my original post about the whining, so I changed it to run off the factory Amp connection in the wiring loom, thinking this may fix it - it's still the same!

I think I'll go and see Jaycar and see what they can do - some sort of suppressor sounds like the way to go (the amp is only a cheap one, maybe that has something to do with it).

Again, thanks for the help - I'll post back the results, any fixes and any lessons learned.