DIY Stereo Upgrade for us Stuck with the Stock System (1 Viewer)

[LexandRex]

I found bits and pieces of how to add an external amplifier to my 2007 TLC using the stock system but I want to compile it all together for anyone else that is interested. All credit for this goes to ibrahim83 who helped walk me through this process and provide advice.

I upgraded the door speakers last year and was not quite satisfied with the sound. There are a number of great tutorials on how to do this so I won’t recapture any of it here.

I wanted to add more power to the stereo system without having all of equipment visibly mounted anywhere. Surprisingly, there just isn’t a whole lot of space in our trucks for an amplifier to be hidden away. I landed on taking out the factory subwoofer and mounting an amplifier and line out convertor in its place. I also chose to go with a small subwoofer mounted to the back of my cargo box.

DISCLAIMER (I am brand new to soldering, working with sheet metal, and installing stereo equipment so I’m sure I could have done things better, feel free to add on)

- MATERIALS USED

Fuse Tap: https://www.amazon.com/10-Pack-Add-...46900993&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=fuse+tap&psc=1

Amp: https://www.amazon.com/Kicker-Class...902902&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=kicker+cxa+600.5

LOC: https://www.amazon.com/AudioControl...=1546902934&sr=1-1&keywords=audiocontrol+lc7i

Update: recommend the JL Audio FiX 86 instead of this LOC

RCA Cables: https://www.amazon.com/FosPower-Ste...902957&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=rca+cables&psc=1

Speedwire: https://www.amazon.com/VOODOO-Condu...981&sr=1-1&keywords=voodoo+speed+speaker+wire

Amp Wiring Kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019Z3RCG2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

16 gauge sheet metal

50 feet of 16 gauge wire for trailer lighting

Electrical tape

Solder and heat shrink wrap


- RUN THE SPEAKER WIRES TO AND FROM THE NEW AMP LOCATION

1. Remove the front passenger seat

2. Remove the Navigation Computer

3. The speaker output from the amp comes out of the plug closer to the rear of the vehicle. That plug output has twisted pairs of purple/red, white/green and yellow/black wires (these ARE NOT the wires to splice into). If you follow that output to the next connector in the line the output of that connectors is where the speaker wires start.

4. Cut the speaker wires for the subwoofer (4 of them), front right speaker, and both rear speakers of the previous mentioned connector. See the wiring diagram for color references.

5. Cut the speaker wire coming out of the NAV computer for the front left speaker. (The front driver’s side speaker is tied into the nav system for voice during navigation which is why it’s a little different…the output is the second set of pink and purple wires the farthest outside set is the input to the nav)

5. Solder in new wiring with heat shrink connections on the side of the cuts coming from the old amp. I used one length of speed cable for the four subwoofer wires, and one length for all four door speakers. Make sure you write down what color of the speed wire you are connecting into the original wire color.

6. Solder new wiring with the speedwire that will run from the new amp in the rear to where you cut the wires going to all four door speakers.

7. Electrical tape everything up so the individual wires are exposed as little as possible and protected from bending.

8. Remove lower door trim on front and rear doors, front seatbelt bolt, and lower b pillar door trim. Remove rear trim covering wheel well and back panel

9. Run the three speedwires under the carpet and towards the rear wheel and cross over to the other side of the vehicle where the carpet splits between the second and third row. It’s a tight fit putting back on the rear panel so the wires have to be in just the right place to run under the rear panel.

10. Run the wires up the drivers side rear wheel well and behind the rear seatbelt roll. I had to remove the seatbelt roll for this but I did not disconnect any of the airbag plugs.

11. I went with a small external subwoofer as a replacement so I ran one speaker from the new amp location to where I put the new sub by my cargo box.

12. Put the Nav computer back it and plug everything back up

13. Bolt the seat back down and put all the trim pieces back on, you should be done with the passenger side of the vehicle

 

[LexandRex]

- GET POWER FOR THE LINE OUT CONVERTOR, REMOTE TURNON, AND AMP

1. Remove all drivers side seatbelt bolts, Remove drivers front and rear lower trim pieces, remove lower rear trim over wheel well and back panels , and remove lower b-pillar trim drivers side.

2. Remove subwoofer and save the bolts

3. Run amp power wire (I used a 4 gauge copper wire) from battery back to the new amp location. I ran it through the firewall at a rubber grommet where other wires were going through by cutting a big enough hole with a razor to feed the line through. Be very careful not to cut anything you don’t want to. Then I ran the power under the carpet and back to where the speaker wires went through behind the rear driver’s side seatbelt.

4. I bought a fuse tap and hooked it the horn fuse for a constant 12V power source for the Line Out Convertor. I drilled a small hole through the plastic fuse box covering to run the 16 gauge wire out and sealed it with waterproof sealant. I ran the power wire down the same path as the amp power wire.

5. Use water proof sealant around the cut in the grommet that was made for the power wires to go through the firewall

6. The rear cigarette lighter has power only when the truck is on so I tied into that for my remote turn on source for the LOC and then tied LOC remote out to the remote amp turn on source.

7. Run a ground wire from any of the numerous locations in the rear for your LOC ground.

 

[LexandRex]

-MOUNTING AND WIRING THE AMP AND LOC

1. I decided to mount the LOC where the jack and toolkit go because I wanted easy access to it for adjustments and I have a cargo box I put the jack and toolkit in but that may not be ideal for everyone.

2. I mounted the LOC straight to the rear side body panel using extra strong 2 inch Velcro strips. I epoxied the Velcro trips to the paneling and the back of the LOC…so far it works great because the LOC weighs nothing.

3. I used cardboard to cut out and fashion a template for a bracket to mount the new amp where the old sub went. This was by far the most time consuming part getting it just right.

4. Once I got the template just right I cut out two of the brackets in 16 gauge steel using a jig saw and used JB weld to put them together for added strength. In retrospect I would have like to have used thicker steel or just had them actually welded together but this is what I could do on hand.

5. Size of your amplifier is key here…you need something small. I originally bought an Infinity Ref 4555A and while I’m sure someone could make it work it was simply too big for me to figure out how to mount it. Next I went with a Kicker CXA600.5 next which measures about 14X6 ¾ X2 ¼ inches. I would even recommend a smaller amp if you can find one you like.

6. Set the amplifier on the bracket and figure out where to drill the mounting holes. My bracket mounted to the same source I used to ground the amp so I used wooden feet under the amp for two purposes…one to push the amp back so it fit around the body panels and two to shield it from ground loop problems.

7. Hook up speaker wires you just ran going to the speakers into the new amp outputs, hook up power, ground and remote turn on. For ground I used one of the bolts that held the jack bracket in place. Sand the paint off around the bolt.

8. Slide the amp where the subwoofer use to be and mount it up to your bracket.

9. Take the door speaker and subwoofer outputs from the old amp and wire them into to your inputs for the LOC.

10. Run short RCA cables from the LOC to the amp.

 

[LexandRex]

 

[LexandRex]

Attached is the wiring diagram

 

[LexandRex]

Quick update on the install, I was not happy with the static noise and lack of control over the sound with the Audiocontrol LCi7. I decided to return it and try a JL Audio FiX 86. The frequency flattening of the FiX did wonders for the sound and I have a lot more control of the system. If you’re going to embark on a project like this I would recommend over a standard Line Out Convertor. The volume and output voltage controls in the TuN software with the FiX easily let me set the gain appropriately to get rid of any static noise I had the AudioControl LOC while having the volume I wanted.

 

[LX470MK]

Great write up... can you help me by posting the actual wire colors for the FR, FL, RR, RL and the SW wires? Mine is a 2005 LX with ML system.

 

[Pucker5]

Man big ups for that through write up but That stock radio as a unit (not the stock sound) is gigantic pile of dawg s*** why would you keep it? You could have tricked the ac in the bag moduke with a resistor, put a single din shallow receiver where the tape deck is (wired straight to battery)and run rca straight to new aftermarket amp. No need for questionable lc7 or jl fix and all that extra energy spent. There’s massive threads on this

 

[LexandRex]

Great write up... can you help me by posting the actual wire colors for the FR, FL, RR, RL and the SW wires? Mine is a 2005 LX with ML system.

The subwoofer wires are blue/white, blue/yellow, blue/red, blue/black the front left pink and violet take note of it in the wiring diagram going to the nav ecu, front right is blue and light green, rear left is black and yellow and rear right is red and white. I don't know if they are the same for the ML as they are for the JBL system though. You can ask on the main forum for a wiring diagram for the ML system and I bet someone has it for you.

 

[LX470MK]

Thanks for the response... I will explore it.

 

[LexandRex]

Man big ups for that through write up but That stock radio as a unit (not the stock sound) is gigantic pile of dawg s*** why would you keep it? You could have tricked the ac in the bag moduke with a resistor, put a single din shallow receiver where the tape deck is (wired straight to battery)and run rca straight to new aftermarket amp. No need for questionable lc7 or jl fix and all that extra energy spent. There’s massive threads on this

I've had a GROM VLine for awhile now and have been really happy just using Apple CarPlay. To my knowledge there is no solution available to maintain the climate control functions and get rid of the stock radio if you have the navigation system, maybe I missed a development on that front...can you point me to the thread where someone has done that with a navigation/climate control integrated truck?

Ahhh nevermind, I see what you're saying I looked at the thread you posted on the topic. So I never really thought about doing that because I wanted to maintain the factory look of the truck and still use the screen for Apple CarPlay where it's really nice to use Spotify without picking up my phone or Google Maps.

 

[Pucker5]

I guess I’m just budget because when I think of a $400 audio Integrator and a $500 grom and the data that comes from your phone anyway, I’d take a $200 blue tooth app enabled head unit and resistor for better audio signal and output all day

 

[LexandRex]

I've had a GROM VLine for awhile now and have been really happy just using Apple CarPlay. To my knowledge there is no solution available to maintain the climate control functions and get rid of the stock radio if you have the navigation system, maybe I missed a development on that front...can you point me to the thread where someone has done that with a navigation/climate control integrated truck?

Ahhh nevermind, I see what you're saying I looked at the thread you posted on the topic. So I never really thought about doing that because I wanted to maintain the factory look of the truck and still use the screen for Apple CarPlay where it's really nice to use Spotify without picking up my phone or Google Maps.

Just saw this: post 2003 nav delete how to. now this puts my work to shame haha, awesome work

 

[LexandRex]

I guess I’m just budget because when I think of a $400 audio Integrator and a $500 grom and the data that comes from your phone anyway, I’d take a $200 blue tooth app enabled head unit and resistor for better audio signal and output all day

Yeah I totally understand that take on it, this is by no means a budget solution.

 

[Pucker5]

It actually great to know the fix86 works for the cruisers. Anyone I’ve talked to with the the Audiocontrol modules has mentioned unwanted noises.

 

[LexandRex]

Finally decided on a good location for the remote control for the FiX. Just popped off the button cover below the airbag off switch drilled a 5/8in hole and put the remote in.

 

[Murckman]

View attachment 1883361 Quick update on the install, I was not happy with the static noise and lack of control over the sound with the Audiocontrol LCi7. I decided to return it and try a JL Audio FiX 86. The frequency flattening of the FiX did wonders for the sound and I have a lot more control of the system. If you’re going to embark on a project like this I would recommend over a standard Line Out Convertor. The volume and output voltage controls in the TuN software with the FiX easily let me set the gain appropriately to get rid of any static noise I had the AudioControl LOC while having the volume I wanted.

I tried the JL Audio Fix about two years ago and honestly I could still hear the buzz. Before the Fix it was much more noticeable but with the Fix it was only toned down, but not completely gone. And I didn’t care for losing the volume control on the HU. The stereo shop that did the install did the very best they could even got JL Audio involved. JL Audio told them it didn’t work with all vehicles. In the end it all came out and they returned it to stock. In all they probably had 20 hours into the install between the 2 JL Audio amps, then the Fix, then the tuning.
I can honestly say it was a very faint buzz/ static sound with the Fix but it was still there and drove me crazy.
You obviously have a lot of time and money in this, and even had the same static before using the Fix, but is it really completely gone or just acceptable enough to not bother you?
Just curious.

 

[LexandRex]

It’s 95% gone, if I have the volume on the remote turned to max with no music playing and the car is not running I can hear a little static. Outside of those conditions, no static.

 

[LexandRex]

I tried the JL Audio Fix about two years ago and honestly I could still hear the buzz. Before the Fix it was much more noticeable but with the Fix it was only toned down, but not completely gone. And I didn’t care for losing the volume control on the HU. The stereo shop that did the install did the very best they could even got JL Audio involved. JL Audio told them it didn’t work with all vehicles. In the end it all came out and they returned it to stock. In all they probably had 20 hours into the install between the 2 JL Audio amps, then the Fix, then the tuning.
I can honestly say it was a very faint buzz/ static sound with the Fix but it was still there and drove me crazy.
You obviously have a lot of time and money in this, and even had the same static before using the Fix, but is it really completely gone or just acceptable enough to not bother you?
Just curious.

I have no idea if this relates to the issue the installers where having because the static could be coming from a number of different sources...but I noticed a HUGE difference based on what the volume of the truck was set at when the calibration of the FiX was happening. If the volume was set in the 40-45 range or lower when I did the calibration I got so much static noise and distortion after that it was unbearable. If I had the truck volume set around 50 or a little higher and did a calibration almost all of it was gone and i had clear audio. I guessing here through all of my vast experience in audio theory (of which I have non haha)...but I think what the FiX is doing is adjusting the GAIN based on the voltage of signal input coming from the stock amp. When it's doing this and you have the volume in your truck during calibration set too low (i.e lower voltage coming into the FiX) it effectively causes the FiX to set the GAIN really high which causes static feedback no matter what system you're talking about...if GAIN is too high static and distorted audio will result.

Unfortunately with the FiX it doesn't give you any way to adjust this in the program, not sure why. So I just did the calibration over and over again at different truck volume levels until I found the magic number that work for me.

 

[Murckman]

I have no idea if this relates to the issue the installers where having because the static could be coming from a number of different sources...but I noticed a HUGE difference based on what the volume of the truck was set at when the calibration of the FiX was happening. If the volume was set in the 40-45 range or lower when I did the calibration I got so much static noise and distortion after that it was unbearable. If I had the truck volume set around 50 or a little higher and did a calibration almost all of it was gone and i had clear audio. I guessing here through all of my vast experience in audio theory (of which I have non haha)...but I think what the FiX is doing is adjusting the GAIN based on the voltage of signal input coming from the stock amp. When it's doing this and you have the volume in your truck during calibration set too low (i.e lower voltage coming into the FiX) it effectively causes the FiX to set the GAIN really high which causes static feedback no matter what system you're talking about...if GAIN is too high static and distorted audio will result.

Unfortunately with the FiX it doesn't give you any way to adjust this in the program, not sure why. So I just did the calibration over and over again at different truck volume levels until I found the magic number that work for me.

I think I just had really high expectations that the Fix would “fix” 100% of the static noise, especially for the price. So once I was heard the static noise after they did the install and tune, it didn’t matter how much they fine tuned it because it was still there, even though it was very slight. It’s just something people should know if they want to take on this same project.
Also, I only had the Fix for about a week but man I couldn’t get used to that control knob. I didn’t really like it at all.
I thought it looked cool, I just couldn’t get used to it.