stock sub w/ aftermarket hu

[eld4au6]

by looking at this link http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...2&postcount=20 i see that the sub hooks up to a different plug then the plug for the head-unit. i was under the usumption that it went in-between the radio and the harness. im upset now because i just bought a alpine cda-9857. is the 04 sub connector the way that im saying above ^ thanks

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[eld4au6]

no help??????

[boardCrazy]

the stock sub plugs into a special connection on the stock hu. solution: sell me your stock sub and buy aftermarket. I offer 40 bucks.

[thedaddyb]

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=929537

I posted a reply to the same problem from this guy. not sure if he tried it or got any positive results from it.

but that is how I've wired factory subs for fords before that use a seperate plug for the woofer.

[SVXdc]

Originally Posted by eld4au6

by looking at this link http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...2&postcount=20 i see that the sub hooks up to a different plug then the plug for the head-unit. i was under the usumption that it went in-between the radio and the harness. im upset now because i just bought a alpine cda-9857. is the 04 sub connector the way that im saying above ^ thanks

First, what model and year is your car? 2004? WRX?

Next, take a look at the two posts covering the factory subwoofer in this thread: Stock head unit information -- pin-outs, subwoofer, aux inputs, and more

From what I've read, Imprezas as late as 2005 continued using the "old-style" subwoofer harness (and don't even have, or don't use the smaller, square subwoofer jack).

If your factory subwoofer does use the "new-style" subwoofer jack on the stock radio, the harness will still have the 14-pin forward and reverse connectors to tap power and ground. You can simply splice from the audio wires on the new-style plug to the left rear speaker wires between the forward and reverse harnesses. Effectively, you would be modifying the harness to be similar to the "old style" harness. I would use inline tap connections in case you ever wanted to switch back to the stock HU.

BTW, neither the 14-pin speaker/power connector, nor the "new" subwoofer connector has a remote-on wire for the sub. The factory sub gets [EDIT:] +12V battery (always-on), and has internal circuitry to activate the amp when it senses a signal on the left speaker input.

EDIT: Older factory sub harnesses use the +12V accessory power wire (ignition key switched) to power the sub. Subaru switched to using +12V battery many years back (even before switching to the "new style" harness with the smaller 8-pin plug).

[eld4au6]

mine is a 05 sti, the plug is like this, http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...34&postcount=5 , could i just get a 04 and older connector?

[SVXdc]

Originally Posted by eld4au6

mine is a 05 sti, the plug is like this, (Stock Head Unit thread, post #5)

There are a bunch of pictures in that post. You are talking about the 8-pin plug labeled "CN702 8P" right?

Does your subwoofer look like the pictures in post #4 of that thread? In other words, is it a powered sub, with the two adjustment trimpots for "GAIN" and "HIGH CUT" (cutoff frequency)? If so, then you should find that you also have the 14-pin T-harness -- that's where it gets the +12v and ground connections.

Or is your subwoofer just a plain speaker, with only two wires going in?

could i just get a 04 and older connector?

If your factory sub is the powered type then yes, you could. The replacement harness runs about $75 at SubaruParts.com. Or you can buy the three pieces to make your own for about half that... link.

I would take the harness that you currently have and modify it as I described in my previous post above. You'll get the same results for almost no cost.

[eld4au6]

yes it looks like the one in post 4, could you make up one and i would pay you for the parts and laybor?

[eld4au6]

^^^^ bump for me buying one

[eld4au6]

ok i took out the dash to get some pix, to me it looks like all of the wires are into the radio harness except for the the speaker imput, the power and ground is in the radio harness. So by the looks of it all i have to do is cut the 8 pin sub harness and plug it up to the rear speaker plug, and re-wire the wires that are in -to the radio harness to the new adaptar right???? here are some picture





sry for the crapy pix i had to use teh razer

[eld4au6]

duh i just noticed that all i have to do is get a vampire clip thing and move the 2 of them on to the t harness, Right?

now if i knew where to put the 2 wires

[eld4au6]

no one knows where the purple and orange wires need to go ont the t connector???

[SVXdc]

Your pictures help. I'd be very interested to see a picture of the connector that plugs into your subwoofer (and the wire colors there).

Originally Posted by eld4au6

duh i just noticed that all i have to do is get a vampire clip thing and move the 2 of them on to the t harness since i just noticed i have that one, Right?

Right.

EDIT: Ignore the following and see posts 20 and 21 below
You want to use one of the four speaker outputs from the radio. Left Rear is as good as any. For Left Rear, take the speaker + from the radio (pin 5 between the 14-pin harnesses) and connect that to pin 4 of the 8-pin "new style" subwoofer plug (purple wire). Connect Left Rear - (pin 13 on the 14-pin harnesses) to pin 8 of the subwoofer plug (orange wire).

For the pin positions, see the link I posted above.

It's also possible to hack the Subaru subwoofer to add RCA line inputs and then use your Alpine's subwoofer line-level outputs. See the link to the ScoobyMods thread from that same link. You need someone who's electronically experienced to make that mod (and sorry, but no I'm not volunteering).

[desert pirate]

I used an aftermarket HU on my 02 and and stock sub just worked, very happy!

[eld4au6]

here are pix of the sub plug (sry for bad quality)

[eld4au6]

also are the headunit wire adaptor thing the same color matching on the alpine headunit plug??

also should i crimp or solder??

[SVXdc]

Originally Posted by eld4au6

here are pix of the sub plug (sry for bad quality)

Hmmm... that's interesting -- there are also wires going into the subwoofer's right channel input (looks like //// EDIT: plain White and Black). Where do those wires connect back at the radio?

If you could unplug the T-harness (the part behind the radio), lay it out flat, and take a picture of that, I might be able to tell what's going on there a little better.

also are the headunit wire adaptor thing the same color matching on the alpine headunit plug??

If you're talking about mine and other after-market wiring harnesses, yes. These use the "EIA standard" for car stereo wire colors. But you should always check your new radio's instruction manual to make sure they didn't do something weird.

The Subaru car's harness, as well as the Subaru subwoofer T-harness have Subaru's crazy color scheme. I suppose it makes sense to them .

My pin-out table shows both the Subaru colors and the corresponding EIA colors.

also should i crimp or solder??

I recommend soldering. Heat-shrink tubing is best to cover the joints. But crimping works too. Just make sure none of the uninsulated wire is exposed outside the crimps. You can use heat-shrink tubing with crimps, too.

There are pictures of soldered wires in my SVX installation guide (link to that is near the top of the "Stock Head Unit" FAQ thread).

[eld4au6]

ok here are the pics, i think i may just vampire clip the 8-pin plug to the hu wiring adaptor to the right pulgs so if i want to put the stocker back in all i have to do is remove the clips and plug it back up. Please help me as i will be installing the Head Unit tomorrow

[eld4au6]

bump..

[SVXdc]

Originally Posted by eld4au6

ok here are the pics, i think i may just vampire clip the 8-pin plug to the hu wiring adaptor to the right pulgs so if i want to put the stocker back in all i have to do is remove the clips and plug it back up. Please help me as i will be installing the Head Unit tomorrow

Wow, I didn't mean for you to pull the entire harness out of the car, but thanks -- those pictures (and the daylight) really helped.

So the right rear speaker output from the radio goes to the right input on the subwoofer (white and black wires), just like with the "old style" subwoofer harness.

The only thing different about this "newer style" harness is that they use the radio's 8-pin subwoofer jack for the left input on the subwoofer (violet and orange wires) instead of the left rear speaker output from the radio.

So yes, clamp a "vampire" tap on the Violet wire near the square 8-pin subwoofer plug and bridge over to the Left Rear + wire going between the 14-pin forward and reverse harnesses (Pin 5 -- should also be Violet).

Add a vampire tap to the Orange wire near the square subwoofer plug and bridge to the Left Rear - (negative) wire (Pin 13 -- should also be Orange).

Do not splice anything into the short gray loop wire on square 8-pin plug.

Check the pin-out to verify. Go by pin number position, as the camera may have altered the colors in the pictures a little (and Subaru may change the wire colors on different harnesses).

Annotated picture (click for full-size image):

(original unannotated picture was taken by WolfPlayer)

(If you followed a link from another thread and you're seeing this post by itself, be sure to see the pictures in post 18 and addional notes in post 21 in this thread too -- click on the "Thread" link at the upper-right corner to be able to see the whole thread).

[SVXdc]

What you should do first is wire up the harnesses for your new Alpine and test without the subwoofer. Make sure everything works -- all 4 speakers (change the fade and balance to hear each one individually), illumination, and radio reception (antenna amplifier getting activated) before you continue.

Next, connect the subwoofer harness. Before you make the vampire taps, get two short pieces of wire, strip the ends, and temporarily make the connections -- push one end of the wire into the 8-pin subwoofer connector. Push the other end into the appropriate pin at the rear of either the forward or reverse connector of the subwoofer T-harness.

Make sure the subwoofer works. It should go quiet if you fade all the way to the front speakers.

Once you're sure it's working then remove the test wires and make the vampire taps.

[eld4au6]

thanks so much for your help the instructions worked great, but my sub sounds funny now. and recomendations?

[SVXdc]

Originally Posted by eld4au6

thanks so much for your help the instructions worked great, but my sub sounds funny now. any recomendations?

Could you be a little more specific? (what do you mean by "funny"?)

Does it still have the problem when you set the balance all the way over to the left or to the right?

Have you tried adjusting the GAIN (volume) and HIGH CUT (cutoff frequency) knobs on the subwoofer?

[eld4au6]

the top rattles like crazy, and it doesnt sound clear like kinda raspy

[BlkWRXWag]

Originally Posted by SVXdc

So yes, clamp a "vampire" tap on the violet wire near the 8-pin subwoofer connector and bridge over to the Left Rear + wire going between the forward and reverse harnesses (Violet, pin 5).

Add a vampire tap to the orange near the subwoofer connector and bridge to the Left Rear - wire (Orange, pin 13).

According to my Subaru harness diagram I have here from Crutchfield, the left rear + is Green/Black and the left - is Green. Doing the above would bridge it onto the right speaker. Could that be the problem?