A JK-Forum User-created DEFINITIVE guide to Amps, Subs, and Audio
10-02-2009, 01:16 PM
#21
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few things. First, I havent used that adapter but it looks like a great solution. All you have to do is unplug the back of the factory radio and plug the factory plug into the grey female socket in the PAC kit, and then plug the male grey plug on the PAC into the back of the radio. The white plug goes into the PAC box. Then the RCA's (that plug in the other end of the PAC box will give you output for all 4 channels. I am sure you know all that, but you sounded just a little unsure.
If I was adding a sub and amp then I would use the RCA plugs coming from the PAC that go to the front channels. You said you are going to use a 4 channel amp? Are you going to use the other 2 channels on your dash and sounbar speakers? Have you thought about using a 5 channel amp? That is what the JK comes with stock. one channel for each speaker and one channel for the sub. that is why many on here use the alpine PDX5 cause it powers everything and fits in the dash. Are you going to replace the sub that comes in the stock enclosure? if not, you are gonna have to be super careful. That amp will blow that dinky sub if you turn it up much.
If I was adding a sub and amp then I would use the RCA plugs coming from the PAC that go to the front channels. You said you are going to use a 4 channel amp? Are you going to use the other 2 channels on your dash and sounbar speakers? Have you thought about using a 5 channel amp? That is what the JK comes with stock. one channel for each speaker and one channel for the sub. that is why many on here use the alpine PDX5 cause it powers everything and fits in the dash. Are you going to replace the sub that comes in the stock enclosure? if not, you are gonna have to be super careful. That amp will blow that dinky sub if you turn it up much.
so i think i've got it...the rca's plug into the amp sending signals/power back and forth through the lines?
...the PAC adapter only states it supports 4 channels. if i did (and now probably will) go with a 5-channel amp, where do i account for that 5th "out"? ...do i still only plug in 4-rca's into the amp?
i think what's hanging me up is the subwoofer part; i understand (i think) the logic of the adapter, i'm just trying to figure out how to work the sub into the equation.
bigbluejk, could you walk me through what you think i would need to do if i went w/ the 5channel amp, the pac addapter, and the stock oem sub box....
...here's what i think i'll need to do, let me know if i'm off:
mount and power-up-wire amp...plug pac rca's into amp...unplug factory radio and plug that into the pac adapter...plug pac adapter into factory radio...then run separate line from 5th channel back to the sub...bypass stock connection on sub.
...i plan on getting a new sub. i know the stocker is crappy and'll probably blow.
b_c
10-02-2009, 06:06 PM
#22
If you go with the alpine pdx-5 that I mentioned it has 5 channels out but can accept 4 or 5 channels in. Which means you can just hook up 2 sets of RCA cables between the PAC unit and your amp and run your entire system. It will give you the ability to expand your system a lot. You will be able to run pretty much any major brand component or 2/3 way speaker you would like in the front and a small sub in the rear without buying another amp. It is "class-D" which means the unit will not get hot like amps used to back in the day. Even with it hidden in the dash under the steering wheel in the stock location it wont overheat.
Wiring it up will be ez for the most part. That PAC unit like I said just plugs in between the head unit and the plug currently going from the Jeep to the radio. The red and white plugs you see on the leads coming from the unit are the RCA jacks. Just get 2 sets of RCA jacks and plug into those leads and the other ends into the inputs of the amp. Pay attention to where you plug the front and rear so you can hook up the speakers accordingly. The amp has high and low pass crossovers so you can give the fronts some juice without banging them out. You can get them on ebay as cheap as $350 even a marine version of it is available for about $400ish.
Here is going to be the headache for you... You bought this nice plug to run interference between factory plugs and let you add an amp without splicing.... right? Well, if you want to power the main speakers of the jeep with an amp (I would want to) you are going to have to splice in somewhere. The only way I can think of to hook into the factory wiring without any splicing would be to get 2 plugs from metra. One that is made to go into the radio, and one made to go into the jeep. The one made to go into the radio you would wire speaker wires to the appropriate connections, and run the wires to the amp. Then on the plug made to go to the radio and connect only the can-bus connections and power and ground to the other plug I just mentioned. Then these plugs you got from metra would go on either side of the PAC plugs and it would keep you from hacking into the stock wires. The plugs would cost you about $30-40 total for both. If you are serious about going this route I will draw up a pinout and schematic for you to do it cause I know it is confusing. But I am not going to do all that work until you for certain are going to use it ya know? Let me know if you have more questions I am glad to help.
Wiring it up will be ez for the most part. That PAC unit like I said just plugs in between the head unit and the plug currently going from the Jeep to the radio. The red and white plugs you see on the leads coming from the unit are the RCA jacks. Just get 2 sets of RCA jacks and plug into those leads and the other ends into the inputs of the amp. Pay attention to where you plug the front and rear so you can hook up the speakers accordingly. The amp has high and low pass crossovers so you can give the fronts some juice without banging them out. You can get them on ebay as cheap as $350 even a marine version of it is available for about $400ish.
Here is going to be the headache for you... You bought this nice plug to run interference between factory plugs and let you add an amp without splicing.... right? Well, if you want to power the main speakers of the jeep with an amp (I would want to) you are going to have to splice in somewhere. The only way I can think of to hook into the factory wiring without any splicing would be to get 2 plugs from metra. One that is made to go into the radio, and one made to go into the jeep. The one made to go into the radio you would wire speaker wires to the appropriate connections, and run the wires to the amp. Then on the plug made to go to the radio and connect only the can-bus connections and power and ground to the other plug I just mentioned. Then these plugs you got from metra would go on either side of the PAC plugs and it would keep you from hacking into the stock wires. The plugs would cost you about $30-40 total for both. If you are serious about going this route I will draw up a pinout and schematic for you to do it cause I know it is confusing. But I am not going to do all that work until you for certain are going to use it ya know? Let me know if you have more questions I am glad to help.
10-02-2009, 06:40 PM
#23
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If you go with the alpine pdx-5 that I mentioned it has 5 channels out but can accept 4 or 5 channels in. Which means you can just hook up 2 sets of RCA cables between the PAC unit and your amp and run your entire system. It will give you the ability to expand your system a lot. You will be able to run pretty much any major brand component or 2/3 way speaker you would like in the front and a small sub in the rear without buying another amp. It is "class-D" which means the unit will not get hot like amps used to back in the day. Even with it hidden in the dash under the steering wheel in the stock location it wont overheat.
Wiring it up will be ez for the most part. That PAC unit like I said just plugs in between the head unit and the plug currently going from the Jeep to the radio. The red and white plugs you see on the leads coming from the unit are the RCA jacks. Just get 2 sets of RCA jacks and plug into those leads and the other ends into the inputs of the amp. Pay attention to where you plug the front and rear so you can hook up the speakers accordingly. The amp has high and low pass crossovers so you can give the fronts some juice without banging them out. You can get them on ebay as cheap as $350 even a marine version of it is available for about $400ish.
Here is going to be the headache for you... You bought this nice plug to run interference between factory plugs and let you add an amp without splicing.... right? Well, if you want to power the main speakers of the jeep with an amp (I would want to) you are going to have to splice in somewhere. The only way I can think of to hook into the factory wiring without any splicing would be to get 2 plugs from metra. One that is made to go into the radio, and one made to go into the jeep. The one made to go into the radio you would wire speaker wires to the appropriate connections, and run the wires to the amp. Then on the plug made to go to the radio and connect only the can-bus connections and power and ground to the other plug I just mentioned. Then these plugs you got from metra would go on either side of the PAC plugs and it would keep you from hacking into the stock wires. The plugs would cost you about $30-40 total for both. If you are serious about going this route I will draw up a pinout and schematic for you to do it cause I know it is confusing. But I am not going to do all that work until you for certain are going to use it ya know? Let me know if you have more questions I am glad to help.
Wiring it up will be ez for the most part. That PAC unit like I said just plugs in between the head unit and the plug currently going from the Jeep to the radio. The red and white plugs you see on the leads coming from the unit are the RCA jacks. Just get 2 sets of RCA jacks and plug into those leads and the other ends into the inputs of the amp. Pay attention to where you plug the front and rear so you can hook up the speakers accordingly. The amp has high and low pass crossovers so you can give the fronts some juice without banging them out. You can get them on ebay as cheap as $350 even a marine version of it is available for about $400ish.
Here is going to be the headache for you... You bought this nice plug to run interference between factory plugs and let you add an amp without splicing.... right? Well, if you want to power the main speakers of the jeep with an amp (I would want to) you are going to have to splice in somewhere. The only way I can think of to hook into the factory wiring without any splicing would be to get 2 plugs from metra. One that is made to go into the radio, and one made to go into the jeep. The one made to go into the radio you would wire speaker wires to the appropriate connections, and run the wires to the amp. Then on the plug made to go to the radio and connect only the can-bus connections and power and ground to the other plug I just mentioned. Then these plugs you got from metra would go on either side of the PAC plugs and it would keep you from hacking into the stock wires. The plugs would cost you about $30-40 total for both. If you are serious about going this route I will draw up a pinout and schematic for you to do it cause I know it is confusing. But I am not going to do all that work until you for certain are going to use it ya know? Let me know if you have more questions I am glad to help.
okay so what you're saying is what i drew up, correct?
without "splicing" back into the wires that go to the speakers, i won't be able to "power" them; the rca's only input, correct?
oh, i'm serious about doing this. i know i don't have many posts on this board, but believe me, i take modding my jeep seriously. the amp will be mod 38. google this "been gone for 10 days (jk mods)" ...that's lmy "black jeep"
b_c
(NOTE: btw, i did not mean to "hijack" this thread, hopefully this (our discussion) is useful info to all, if not, mods, please let me know and we can see about getting this into another thread)
Last edited by b_c; 10-03-2009 at 05:48 AM.
10-02-2009, 06:51 PM
#24
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10-02-2009, 08:56 PM
#25
here is how it wires up. Hopefully this makes sense. This does not include what I was talking about to power the speakers. This show the amp being wired to the speakers. It should give you an understanding of how the Pac and amp wire up. let me know if it doesn't make sense. I drew it on paint with my laptop touchpad, so it sucks.
10-02-2009, 09:21 PM
#26
to make the plug I was talking about to plug into the speakers without splicing you will need two plugs from Metra.
You will need part #71-6522:
and 70-6522: 
and wire the speaker (not the sub) outputs from the amp to these colored wires on plug 70-6522:
8 18GY/LG LEFT REAR SPEAKER (+)
9 18GY/DG LEFT REAR SPEAKER (-)
10 18DG/LG RIGHT REAR SPEAKER (+)
11 18DG/GY RIGHT REAR SPEAKER (-)
19 18DG/VT RIGHT FRONT SPEAKERS(+)
20 18DG/YL RIGHT FRONT SPEAKERS(-)
21 18GY/VT LEFT FRONT SPEAKERS(+)
22 18GY/YL LEFT FRONT SPEAKERS(-)
the numbers are the pin numbers on the plug, and the letters are the colors. DG = dark green, GY = gray, LG = light green, VT = violet, YL = yellow
The first letters are the primary wire color, the second is the stripe on it. Like left rear speaker is a gray wire with a light green stripe. Instead of wiring speakers to the wires coming from the amp you just wire the colored wires where I told you above. That will pipe the amps output through the jeeps factory wiring.
Then you need to take the wires that are left over on the 70-6522 plug and wire them into the 71-6522 plug. Just match the colors. Like connect the red wire on one plug to the red wire on the other plug. black wire on one to black wire on the other... etc....
Once you have wired the two plugs together and the one to the wires coming from the amp, I would put some zip ties around the wires to make it like a cable type of thing. Then all you have to do is plug it in. The socket goes to the factory plug coming from the Jeep, and the plug goes into socket on the PAC unit. That will wire the dash speakers/tombstone tweeters, and the speakers in the soundbar.
You will need part #71-6522:
and 70-6522: and wire the speaker (not the sub) outputs from the amp to these colored wires on plug 70-6522:
8 18GY/LG LEFT REAR SPEAKER (+)
9 18GY/DG LEFT REAR SPEAKER (-)
10 18DG/LG RIGHT REAR SPEAKER (+)
11 18DG/GY RIGHT REAR SPEAKER (-)
19 18DG/VT RIGHT FRONT SPEAKERS(+)
20 18DG/YL RIGHT FRONT SPEAKERS(-)
21 18GY/VT LEFT FRONT SPEAKERS(+)
22 18GY/YL LEFT FRONT SPEAKERS(-)
the numbers are the pin numbers on the plug, and the letters are the colors. DG = dark green, GY = gray, LG = light green, VT = violet, YL = yellow
The first letters are the primary wire color, the second is the stripe on it. Like left rear speaker is a gray wire with a light green stripe. Instead of wiring speakers to the wires coming from the amp you just wire the colored wires where I told you above. That will pipe the amps output through the jeeps factory wiring.
Then you need to take the wires that are left over on the 70-6522 plug and wire them into the 71-6522 plug. Just match the colors. Like connect the red wire on one plug to the red wire on the other plug. black wire on one to black wire on the other... etc....
Once you have wired the two plugs together and the one to the wires coming from the amp, I would put some zip ties around the wires to make it like a cable type of thing. Then all you have to do is plug it in. The socket goes to the factory plug coming from the Jeep, and the plug goes into socket on the PAC unit. That will wire the dash speakers/tombstone tweeters, and the speakers in the soundbar.
10-03-2009, 05:46 AM
#28
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bigbluejk, you are the f'in man...don't know if was the good night's sleep or just your patience or both, BUT i get it now!
i think i already have one of those plugs in the garage, i'll have to check. (came w/ a daystar dashtop auction i won)
i'll let you know how it goes... ...we move to denver in 2wks and this will be my first project once i get there.
b_c
04-24-2010, 05:55 PM
#29
Thanks,
Just wanted to say thanks to mbwd, SoCal_JK_2dr, and dlud51 for their post. The info really helped me during my install of a Polk db6501 component speaker system in the dash and a Polk db651 speaker pair in the sound bar. Just a moment....
I did it oh yeah first major mod on our list
Anyhow, thanks again for y'alls write-ups!
I did it oh yeah first major mod on our list Anyhow, thanks again for y'alls write-ups!
06-02-2022, 05:03 PM
#30
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Pac aoemchr3
be careful which one you get. Lots of guys have got the C2A-CHY2 and had problems with it. I think the primary concern is that it makes you lose the ability to control the volume. Here is one thread about it: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...light=C2A-CHY2
