Amp and sub with factory head unit
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Amp and sub with factory head unit
I am aware that to install an amp you have to have a power wire running from your radio to your amp? with the factory head unit I know there is a ribbon harness, I am not sure but I am assuming the radio runs through there as well. Please tell me if i am wrong. If anybody has done this could you please explain how to hook up that power cable. thanks
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okay to start your power (positive) needs to come off of the battery and run to where you are going to put the amplifier. Then the amplifier can be grounded to the frame (after taking the paint off for a good connection) for the negative. Remote wire (which turns on and off amp) can actually be hooked up to any 12 volt source that turns on and off with the car (even the radio fuse). To hook up the rca cables you need a line level converter which taps off a speaker lead and can convert it into usable signal for the amplifier (some amplifiers have this built in so check first). That should be it, any more questions feel free to ask.
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Does your car have a Bose system? Some 'upgraded' factory sound systems turn down the bass when you turn up your head unit. It does this to keep from distorting the stock speakers. If your head unit does this, your sub will get quieter as you turn the volume up. If you have a normal system then everything will work fine, but if you have the Bose, you can get this unit called a RE-Q. Its made by MTX, it takes the signal from your rear speakers and equalizes it and then sends it to your sub amp so that your sub gets louder with the volume like usual. Ive installed a couple, they work pretty good.
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Thats a good point, JL makes a similar product called clean sweep, but it'* gonna cost a bit more than the previously stated one.
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Re: Amp and sub with factory head unit
Originally Posted by j_hosch99
with the factory head unit I know there is a ribbon harness, I am not sure but I am assuming the radio runs through there as well. Please tell me if i am wrong.
2000+ Bonnivilles ARE MUCH DIFFERENT! There are a lot of non-intuitive things that can bite you.
Yes, you should have the ribbon harness in your 2000 (I believe GM calls it the Flat Harness). The 2000 SSEi has the Bose system. You already have a separate amp in the trunk.
What are you trying to accomplish? Are you just adding an amp? If so why? What is the big picture?
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ok yes i have the bose stereo, i am just adding an amp and 1 sub. I have read on another post elsewhere that you may not need a line level converter from your 6x9'* to your amp, and her that the remote turn on doesn't need to be wired to the radio..... for those who don't have a 2000 or newer bonneville replacin the stock HU can be a pain due to the ribbon harness, i have decided to keep the stock unit for this reason
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Originally Posted by j_hosch99
i am just adding an amp and 1 sub. I have read on another post elsewhere that you may not need a line level converter from your 6x9'* to your amp
http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...ic.php?t=79177
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you will still need a 12 v remote running off of something that is powered on and off with the key I only used the radio fuse as an example and everything is accurate if you plan on taking the signal off the rear speakers, but since you have the bose system, it would not be a good idea to do this unless you get a module as stated above, and advantage of getting clean sweep is that it actually cleans up the signal and allows you to implicate other add ons like ipod adapter, satellite radio, and other things like that. if you decide to take the signal before it hits the amp, then yes it would be line level already, there is nothing really complicated about it because you are not having to cut into the ribbon.
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