How to use the OEM amp Wiring

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by Vangfrs

Any suggestions on amp for door? And would I be able to slave it to the 900watt amp?

Forget about slaving the amp unless you have two of the exact same PowerBass models and a subwoofer that can actually use the power increase (as well as a charging system that can handle that large of a current draw).

As for recommending an amp for the doors, how much do you want to spend, and do you have a brand in mind or a requirement for level of quality? How much space do you want to give up? I can probably find a small amplifier that will fit where the OEM amp is normally located for real cheap, but I wouldn't be able to guarantee the quality of it.

I'll tell you I've had good luck with Sony, Kenwood and Pioneer over the years with their class A/B amps, and recently Cerwin Vega in their Stealth Bomber series of class D amps. Those Stealth Bombers are small, put out good clean power and are pretty efficient. Mine barely get warm during extended play time.

Start searching Crutchfield, Amazon or Down4Sound for amps that are rated around 50 watts RMS × 2 at 4 ohms and make sure they are stable down to at least 2 ohms and will put out around 100 watts RMS at 2 ohms and you should be right in the ballpark. Expect to pay between $40 to $180 with the low price for a low-quality amp and the higher price for a higher-quality amp.

[Vangfrs]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

Forget about slaving the amp unless you have two of the exact same PowerBass models and a subwoofer that can actually use the power increase (as well as a charging system that can handle that large of a current draw).

As for recommending an amp for the doors, how much do you want to spend, and do you have a brand in mind or a requirement for level of quality? How much space do you want to give up? I can probably find a small amplifier that will fit where the OEM amp is normally located for real cheap, but I wouldn't be able to guarantee the quality of it.

I'll tell you I've had good luck with Sony, Kenwood and Pioneer over the years with their class A/B amps, and recently Cerwin Vega in their Stealth Bomber series of class D amps. Those Stealth Bombers are small, put out good clean power and are pretty efficient. Mine barely get warm during extended play time.

Start searching Crutchfield, Amazon or Down4Sound for amps that are rated around 50 watts RMS × 2 at 4 ohms and make sure they are stable down to at least 2 ohms and will put out around 100 watts RMS at 2 ohms and you should be right in the ballpark. Expect to pay between $40 to $180 with the low price for a low-quality amp and the higher price for a higher-quality amp.

So if I don't slave it how would I get power or remote for the separate amp?
I want something in between that price range or good enough to power doors (in the future ill probably get a amp with more channels, since it seems that will make this install easier) and if possible will fit stock amp area just to save space

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by Vangfrs

So if I don't slave it how would I get power or remote for the separate amp?
I want something in between that price range or good enough to power doors (in the future ill probably get a amp with more channels, since it seems that will make this install easier) and if possible will fit stock amp area just to save space

The stock power circuit for the OEM door speaker amp is only good for 15 amps of current, so you'll have to run a new heavier gauge fused (at the battery) power wire and equivalent ground wire to the cars' chassis for any other amplifier that you would want to install that has a fuse rating that is greater than 15 amps. This picture shows the fuse position in the cabin fuse panel under your dash:



I think you're confusing slaving with powering amplifiers in parallel. Slaving means using one speaker output terminal from one amp, wired to the positive terminal of a subwoofer (or combination of multiple voice coils, or multiple subwoofers depending on the desired configuration) then from the negative terminal of the subwoofer and back to one speaker output terminal on the second slave amp. The two amps must be of the same model and (normally) have their controls set exactly the same, depending on specific brands and specific models. Again, you need to consult the owner's manual for your specific amp. And ideally, you would want to make sure the power and grounding wires are of the same length and gauge so to avoid differences in voltage drops to each amplifier.

I think what you mean is wiring up your power, ground and turn-on leads in parallel for two different amplifiers. And that's fine, you can do that, but you must make sure your power and ground wires are of sufficient gauge and your fuses (the one(s) at the battery to protect the wire(s)) are of a sufficient amperage rating to safely allow the expected current flow through the circuit(s). 95% of the time, this means running new power circuits. It's just something you're going to have to do in order to achieve your goals here.

You don't have to upgrade the turn-on lead wire as the existing wire would be sufficient for several amps. Turn-on circuits for amplifiers normally draw only milliamps.

Here's a picture that might help you out with wiring your door speakers and amplifier turn-on leads:



Whoops.....Sorry, that's Bizzarro Tcoat.....

Here's the picture I meant:



What you see here is a mock up of the FEMALE RECEPTACLE that the ten-pin MALE PLUG would plug into at the OEM door speaker amplifier. To further clarify, this harness would allow you to access the OEM wires, without having to cut or tap into the OEM wiring. These "reverse harnesses" are available from Metra, Scosche, and other suppliers. This particular harness has been altered by re-pinning and re-wiring in a way that matches the speaker inputs and outputs to how I am personally familiar with. You don't have to use a reverse harness, but it makes it a lot easier to keep track of what you're doing and keeps you from having to cut your stock wiring. The green and violet wires on the left side of this harness, you can ignore as those are the speaker outputs from the head unit acting as signal inputs to the OEM amp. For the best sound quality, you should be running RCA leads from the back of the Pioneer head unit to any aftermarket amplifiers you plan to install, which will carry the signal you're amplifying. The white and grey wires on the right side of this harness are the leads running to each door speaker from the output of the OEM amplifier. Using an ohmmeter, measuring from the positive lead of the white to the negative lead of the white, you should read about 2 ohms, that is your left side door speaker. You should get the same result measuring the grey leads, that should be your right side door speaker. You can use these leads to connect to your aftermarket amplifier outputs. The blue lead of the harness is the amplifier turn-on lead coming from the back of your Pioneer head unit and would normally turn on the OEM amifier. You can connect that blue lead to the turn-on terminal of any aftermarket amplifier. Note that your OEM ten-pin harness wiring colors will be different, but the pin positions will match what I describe above.

There is also a six-pin harness that plugs into the OEM door speaker amplifier. See here:



The six-pin harness has the constant power and ground wires for the OEM amp, but unless you're installing an aftermarket amplifier that has a fuse rating equal to or less than that of the OEM amplifier, you will not be able to use either of those two wires. If you do, you will most likely end up blowing that 15-amp fuse in the picture I showed you further up.

I hope I haven't further confused you. I did some searching the other day and found a four-channel amplifier that looks like it would be a pretty good match for your door speakers and looks to be within your price range. You could even connect your dash speakers to it on the second set of outputs if you want to fully amplify your entire front stage. Here it is:

https://www.hifisoundconnection.com/...fier-HA-A400.4

[Vangfrs]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

The stock power circuit for the OEM door speaker amp is only good for 15 amps of current, so you'll have to run a new heavier gauge fused (at the battery) power wire and equivalent ground wire to the cars' chassis for any other amplifier that you would want to install that has a fuse rating that is greater than 15 amps. This picture shows the fuse position in the cabin fuse panel under your dash:

Attachment 221900

I think you're confusing slaving with powering amplifiers in parallel. Slaving means using one speaker output terminal from one amp, wired to the positive terminal of a subwoofer (or combination of multiple voice coils, or multiple subwoofers depending on the desired configuration) then from the negative terminal of the subwoofer and back to one speaker output terminal on the second slave amp. The two amps must be of the same model and (normally) have their controls set exactly the same, depending on specific brands and specific models. Again, you need to consult the owner's manual for your specific amp. And ideally, you would want to make sure the power and grounding wires are of the same length and gauge so to avoid differences in voltage drops to each amplifier.

I think what you mean is wiring up your power, ground and turn-on leads in parallel for two different amplifiers. And that's fine, you can do that, but you must make sure your power and ground wires are of sufficient gauge and your fuses (the one(s) at the battery to protect the wire(s)) are of a sufficient amperage rating to safely allow the expected current flow through the circuit(s). 95% of the time, this means running new power circuits. It's just something you're going to have to do in order to achieve your goals here.

You don't have to upgrade the turn-on lead wire as the existing wire would be sufficient for several amps. Turn-on circuits for amplifiers normally draw only milliamps.

Here's a picture that might help you out with wiring your door speakers and amplifier turn-on leads:

Attachment 221898

Whoops.....Sorry, that's Bizzarro Tcoat.....

Here's the picture I meant:

Attachment 221899

What you see here is a mock up of the FEMALE RECEPTACLE that the ten-pin MALE PLUG would plug into at the OEM door speaker amplifier. To further clarify, this harness would allow you to access the OEM wires, without having to cut or tap into the OEM wiring. These "reverse harnesses" are available from Metra, Scosche, and other suppliers. This particular harness has been altered by re-pinning and re-wiring in a way that matches the speaker inputs and outputs to how I am personally familiar with. You don't have to use a reverse harness, but it makes it a lot easier to keep track of what you're doing and keeps you from having to cut your stock wiring. The green and violet wires on the left side of this harness, you can ignore as those are the speaker outputs from the head unit acting as signal inputs to the OEM amp. For the best sound quality, you should be running RCA leads from the back of the Pioneer head unit to any aftermarket amplifiers you plan to install, which will carry the signal you're amplifying. The white and grey wires on the right side of this harness are the leads running to each door speaker from the output of the OEM amplifier. Using an ohmmeter, measuring from the positive lead of the white to the negative lead of the white, you should read about 2 ohms, that is your left side door speaker. You should get the same result measuring the grey leads, that should be your right side door speaker. You can use these leads to connect to your aftermarket amplifier outputs. The blue lead of the harness is the amplifier turn-on lead coming from the back of your Pioneer head unit and would normally turn on the OEM amifier. You can connect that blue lead to the turn-on terminal of any aftermarket amplifier. Note that your OEM ten-pin harness wiring colors will be different, but the pin positions will match what I describe above.

There is also a six-pin harness that plugs into the OEM door speaker amplifier. See here:

Attachment 221901

The six-pin harness has the constant power and ground wires for the OEM amp, but unless you're installing an aftermarket amplifier that has a fuse rating equal to or less than that of the OEM amplifier, you will not be able to use either of those two wires. If you do, you will most likely end up blowing that 15-amp fuse in the picture I showed you further up.

I hope I haven't further confused you. I did some searching the other day and found a four-channel amplifier that looks like it would be a pretty good match for your door speakers and looks to be within your price range. You could even connect your dash speakers to it on the second set of outputs if you want to fully amplify your entire front stage. Here it is:

https://www.hifisoundconnection.com/...fier-HA-A400.4

I think I understand what you're saying. I'll wait until parts get here and attempt the install. Thank you I really appreciate you taking your time to answer my questions.

[Griever423]

Sorry for the bump from the dead y'all. I'm wanting to do this same thing in my car using this Sony amp. https://www.crutchfield.com/S-Oa2aOs...y-XMS400D.html


I am having a hell of a time getting the Metra harness de-pinned. I've ruined two harnesses already. I don't suppose there's anyone still here that would be willing to perform the job for me? I'd be happy to compensate.

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by Griever423

Sorry for the bump from the dead y'all. I'm wanting to do this same thing in my car using this Sony amp. https://www.crutchfield.com/S-Oa2aOs...y-XMS400D.html


I am having a hell of a time getting the Metra harness de-pinned. I've ruined two harnesses already. I don't suppose there's anyone still here that would be willing to perform the job for me? I'd be happy to compensate.

Check this link to the thread I started on reintegrating the factory amp into a vehicle that came with the OEM Harman Kardon head unit:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145959

It has a section in it that explains how to de-pin and re-pin these harnesses.

[Griever423]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

Check this link to the thread I started on reintegrating the factory amp into a vehicle that came with the OEM Harman Kardon head unit:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145959

It has a section in it that explains how to de-pin and re-pin these harnesses.

I've watched videos and read some threads. I'm just not able to replicate what I've seen with any amount of consistency. I don't want to continue mangling connectors and wires.