Aftermarket Double Din Radio Issues

[Bombatron]

Has anyone purchased this particular radio unit on Amazon? I purchased it along with the Metra wiring harness for Toyotas 87-up. I wired everything per the directions and used the 2 (unused) factory connectors behind the dash. Everything powers up but the sound is sub par. The new head unit heats up very fast and the speakers can’t seem to handle the bass. I double, triple checked the wiring and still can’t figure it out. When I put the stock radio back and use the original single harness everything sounds good. I have a 1996 Land Cruiser… any ideas?

 

[ikarus]

Did you unplug the factory amp?

 

[landtank]

I just installed a pioneer DD with apple play and it works great. Factory amps still in place.

It would be better to link an add so we can see specs of what you bought father than picture of it.

 

[Bombatron]

Did you unplug the factory amp?

I did not. Where would the factory amp be located at?

 

[Bombatron]

I just installed a pioneer DD with apple play and it works great. Factory amps still in place.

It would be better to link an add so we can see specs of what you bought father than picture of it.

Attached are the links..

Metra 70-1761 Radio Wiring Harness For Toyota 87-Up Power 4 Speaker https://a.co/d/imAZkF5

7" Double Din Car Stereo with Dash Cam, Supporting Carplay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, AHD Backup Camera, Full HD Touchscreen, Mirror Link, Subw, USB/TF/AUX, AM/FM Car Radio https://a.co/d/0TKwtXN

 

[ikarus]

I did not. Where would the factory amp be located at?

The amp is next to the glove box. Here it is on mine but it's RHD so yours would be mirrored:

It's the silver box on the left. You can see the two unplugged connectors. The Metra harness you used is the same one I used. It bypasses the factory amp and goes straight from head unit amp to speakers. If you unplug those two factory amp plugs I bet it'll sound better.

I'm not sure exactly why it works like that, I just remember reading about it during my install and people said the factory amp and head unit amp don't work together.

 

[Bombatron]

The amp is next to the glove box. Here it is on mine but it's RHD so yours would be mirrored:

It's the silver box on the left. You can see the two unplugged connectors. The Metra harness you used is the same one I used. It bypasses the factory amp and goes straight from head unit amp to speakers. If you unplug those two factory amp plugs I bet it'll sound better.

I'm not sure exactly why it works like that, I just remember reading about it during my install and people said the factory amp and head unit amp don't work together.

Thank you! I’ll give it a shot tomorrow morning.

 

[landtank]

I don’t see any internal amp specs on the radio. I think you need to supply the amps for that thing to work.

I recently installed a radio into my 2004 Camry that had a JBL system and used the factory amps to drive the factory speakers. Sounds great.

You can do the same on our trucks but the system will parse the frequencies to the dash tweeters and might not sound that good if you have after market speakers in the doors.

 

[CrabCake]

I don’t see any internal amp specs on the radio. I think you need to supply the amps for that thing to work.

I recently installed a radio into my 2004 Camry that had a JBL system and used the factory amps to drive the factory speakers. Sounds great.

You can do the same on our trucks but the system will parse the frequencies to the dash tweeters and might not sound that good if you have after market speakers in the doors.

Looking through the manual, it shows the speaker wire connections out, not just RCA's, so it must have an internal amp...that said, not a single spec on the amp power, so that's a little disheartening.

I just installed a Sony in mine, same wiring and same harness, didn't disconnect the factory amp, and it sounds great with the Focal F/R door speakers I put in a few months ago. That said, the unit I have is unusual and has 40 watts instead of the usual 25.

It's strange that you get sound, but very degraded with the new unit...that and the extra heat would make me return this one if I were you...no need for it to run hot under any circumstances.

 

[landtank]

I’m sure he’s driving the speakers with an unamplified signal and it’s running hot because he is turning it all the way up.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

So...your head unit may not work correctly because you're running it through the factory amp...and the factory speakers were a weird OHM rating...I think....it's been a long time since I replaced them. The long and the short is you likely have 2 competing amps or speakers mismatched to the head units output, which, may or may not be corrected through wiring. Sorry for the vague description, it's been a decade since I dealt with the issue.

For some reason I could swear I had to disconnect the power antenna wire?

 

[Bombatron]

Finally got a break in the weather to work on the radio. I did unplug the factory amp and everything worked as it should. The only one problem I’m having now is the front passenger speaker sounds like it’s blown. I don’t know if it’s because I ran the unit for so long before unplugging the amp or if I need to unplug the other stock speaker right next to the glove box. While I’m here does anyone know the wire colors of the door speakers? Just want to make sure I have the polarities correct. Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Somebodyelse5]

I just installed a pioneer DD with apple play and it works great. Factory amps still in place.

It would be better to link an add so we can see specs of what you bought father than picture of it.

Man, i have had terrible luck with pioneers over the past couple years... 3 different double din units that had intermittent bootup issues

 

[landtank]

Man, i have had terrible luck with pioneers over the past couple years... 3 different double din units that had intermittent bootup issues

Good so far. Bought 2, one for the truck and one for my car. Really like them.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

Good so far. Bought 2, one for the truck and one for my car. Really like them.

Do you mind sharing the model? I’d really like to snag another one for the 80, just been chicken to have the issues again

 

[joxeale]

I've got the ATOTO 7 something. I'd highly recommend. I run an amp for speakers and one for a sub, before I had this other random brand receiver that worked but the signal it pushed out of the RCAs was trash (too low), wasn't loud at all. You should look into that.