OK - so the installer took the easy way out and simply plugged in an adapter and called it a day. I'm wanting to cut the splices on the amp wiring and run wires from the sub output on the HU to the rear input on the amp. I've got the amp out laying upside down on the floorboard and the radio slid out of it's shell. I'm ready to make the change but am curious......

What's the easiest way to get wiring up into the radio area from the floorboard? It appears that when the wires leave the radio that they travel downward for a ways prior to exiting out the back of the console. I'm unclear as to how best to snake a new pair of wires to the radio.

 

XFireCrazy,
That is how mine is connected using the RCA's. I went in to the menu of the 901 and turned off the internal amp since it is not being used. Mine has plenty of volume just using the Front preout and the Sub preout. Lots of adjustments, it takes a bit of playing around with them all... so many menu items you will be entertained for quite a while before you discover them all. Also, I downloaded the manual from Kenwood's website (pdf) so I could enlarge the type and actually be able to read it. You'll love the HU!

 

Kelloggkid, I used a heavy stiff but somewhat flexable wire to feed up through the console near the fire wall at the passenger side foot well back toward the HU opening. It will be somewhat a pain in the @$$ but it will work. Once the heavy wire is run, then you can tape the ends (not the plug end, but the cut ends) of your RCA wires and pull back through to the floor board where you will be making your connections. You can run two long (about 6 feet) for the subs or fronts and use two shorter ones for the other set and splice them into the plug adaptor wires running at the HU. Mind you, you are NOT connecting to the HU output speaker wires, those will not be used at all and should be taped up so they don't short out on anything. Otherwise, you will run 4 RCA wires from the HU to the floor board where you will connect all four. What ever you find to be easier. Also, when running the wire for your camera, I found it easier to feed the wire up the side of the console to the HU and then lift the console edge and push the wire under as I feed it forward to the foot well of the passenger side.

 

Because the Kenwood menus change depending on the source, I never would have known that you could turn off the internal amp if you hadn't mentioned it. You got my curiosity up so I checked the manual and sure enough, there it is under Initial Settings. Thanks.

 

CaptDave: Can I give you a call? I got my 901 and my rearview camera in today and I want to check a few things with you before I rip out the 701 and put in the new HU.

For instance, where did you run the rearview camera wires to get to the back and a clarification on your front speaker and sub wiring. I seem to be a bit confused and I am afraid that I may have miswired something causing my low sound issue.

I will PM you my number and/or you can send me yours.

Thanks,

 

Here are some pics of the wiring of my 701. I wanted to run these by you guys to make sure I installed it correctly before changing out to the 901.

The first pic is of the speaker outputs that I used. Just used the RCA jacks on the back of the stereo.


Here are the power connections and such.


Wires that I did not use:


Here is how I wired the Parking Brake Wire to Ground:


Anything look amiss? I notice that I get a constant hum over the speakers as well, so I thought I might have a power wire or ground issue somewhere.

Thanks Guys.

 

Did you just use RCA Phono plug to stripped wire adapter to go from the RCA pre-out to the stock amp?

 

I am not sure what you are asking (stripped wire?), but I just used the RCA cables that were coming out of the wire harness that they sent me without any modifications. I connected the fronts (assuming this is all four door speakers) to the front RCA jacks and the rears (I assumed this was the speakers behind the seats) to the rear RCA jacks like in the picture. However, I think that people are mentioning that the speakers behind the seats are not really considered to be the rear speakers and they are not considered to be the subs, so I am a bit confused. lol

I realized last night that my speakers behind the seats are not producing any sound, so I definitely need to make a change of some kind.

 

Did you bypass the factory amp? or wire the RCA's in to the factory amp?

 

OK, I think I am starting to understand what you guys are trying to tell me. I think I just did not want to believe it, cuz it means more work. I still don't understand why the Sub Out connection on the back of the HU doesn't just correspond to some wires in the wiring harness they supplied me.

Anyway. I realize now that I need to run the connections from the RCA Sub Out of the HU to the AMP in the floorboard. I have the floor ripped up and have the AMP upside down with the two wiring connectors facing me.....see pic.

Can I just tap into the wires on the wiring connector with a vampire tap or is the purpose to cut the wire and connect my new wires from HU to the connector and leave the old wire disconnected/cut?

Thanks.

 

You mention that you attached your Sub Pre Outs from the HU unit to pins 10,9,8,3 on the Amp. Do you not have the Infinity sound system? Perhaps this is why I am so confused by your directions. I thought all of these stock stereos had the same Amp. Or perhaps there is a difference between your year and my 05' Roadster.

Here is what I found that the pinouts should be for my Amp. Obviously 10,9,8,3 is not gonna work for me.

 

I think you are confusing the pin numbers of the connectors.
Try this post...should help you out.

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...p-diagram.html

I was a little confused about the pin numbers myself, but once I saw the amp it was easy to figure out the pin numbers by using the color of the wires, as noted in the diagram from the post above

 

Yes, I was completely confused about the pin numbers. The information that Crutchfield had sent me was incorrect. Then I found some other info in the forums that had a different set of pin numbers and those were also incorrect. lol Finally, I was able to read enough posts to figure out that pins 3 & 8 were actually the rear left speaker and pins 9 & 10 were the rear right speaker even though the other two diagrams did not show this.

I now have the HU installed with the bluetooth, rearview camera and with the Subs working. The volume still does not crank very high, but I have amazing bass now compared to before.

Thanks for everyone's help. I was hoping to go back over the entire process with a video camera to help future installers, but I had to get the car put back together to take it in to get my new soft-top installed by my dealer.