Sponsored

Adding an Aftermarket Amp(s)

ziff73

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2019
Threads
13
Messages
88
Reaction score
12
Location
Houston, TX
Vehicle(s)
2020 JLUR & 2013 BMW M5 (former)
just an FYI on the JL amps... I have the XD700 and every time I stop at a traffic light and the engine turns off using ESS (auto start stop), my audio cuts out for 1-2 seconds when the engine cranks back up, due to a voltage drop (i think).
not entirely sure this is JL/PAC related or unique to my amateur install. but i'm using the 4 gauge wiring kit from crutchfield. I have since bought a device to disable the ESS as i found it annoying to manually turn off every time i start the car.

good luck.
Sponsored

 

Aunt Minnie

Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
11
Reaction score
5
Location
Mequon, WI
Vehicle(s)
2020 JLUR 2.0T
just an FYI on the JL amps... I have the XD700 and every time I stop at a traffic light and the engine turns off using ESS (auto start stop), my audio cuts out for 1-2 seconds when the engine cranks back up, due to a voltage drop (i think).
not entirely sure this is JL/PAC related or unique to my amateur install. but i'm using the 4 gauge wiring kit from crutchfield. I have since bought a device to disable the ESS as i found it annoying to manually turn off every time i start the car.
Thanks for the heads up, I remember reading about this somewhere else in the thread. I wonder how many people are having this issue? My plan is to run 1/0 gauge power wire to a fused 2-way distribution block. I will then run 4 gauge to each amp (VX800/8i and XD600/1v2).

Eventually I will probably upgrade to the Genesis Offroad dual battery kit. Hopefully this would alleviate any potential issues with the ESS.
 

AusJeepNoob

Well-Known Member
First Name
Michael
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Threads
11
Messages
179
Reaction score
96
Location
Sydney, Australia
Vehicle(s)
2020 JL Wrangler Unlimited - Rubicon EcoDiesel
Thanks for the heads up, I remember reading about this somewhere else in the thread. I wonder how many people are having this issue? My plan is to run 1/0 gauge power wire to a fused 2-way distribution block. I will then run 4 gauge to each amp (VX800/8i and XD600/1v2).

Eventually I will probably upgrade to the Genesis Offroad dual battery kit. Hopefully this would alleviate any potential issues with the ESS.
Try a PowerUS PW1600. Way more power than is needed for the sub (up to 2,500W at 14.4V) but they are fairly compact (70x280x220).

Depending on what your fab abilities are like you could always go a custom ported box with a single 12. There is also this build that managed to get 2 x 12s in a sealed box in the back of a 2 door.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...-my-neighbors-are-gonna-hate-me.44368/page-10
 

Crusifix

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Threads
20
Messages
739
Reaction score
1,299
Location
West Virginia
Vehicle(s)
2019 JLU Rubicon 2.0T Hurricane
just an FYI on the JL amps... I have the XD700 and every time I stop at a traffic light and the engine turns off using ESS (auto start stop), my audio cuts out for 1-2 seconds when the engine cranks back up, due to a voltage drop (i think).
not entirely sure this is JL/PAC related or unique to my amateur install. but i'm using the 4 gauge wiring kit from crutchfield. I have since bought a device to disable the ESS as i found it annoying to manually turn off every time i start the car.

good luck.
That is weird. If you are connected to the battery directly then it should have constant power. If the voltage is dropping that much, you may need to look at the battery or charging system. The battery should have no issues powering the amp when ESS is activated. Having said all of that, where do you have your Remote on wire to you amp tapped into? That could most likely be the issue.
 

ziff73

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2019
Threads
13
Messages
88
Reaction score
12
Location
Houston, TX
Vehicle(s)
2020 JLUR & 2013 BMW M5 (former)
That is weird. If you are connected to the battery directly then it should have constant power. If the voltage is dropping that much, you may need to look at the battery or charging system. The battery should have no issues powering the amp when ESS is activated. Having said all of that, where do you have your Remote on wire to you amp tapped into? That could most likely be the issue.
no issues when the the ESS is active and engine is off, it's when it cranks back up is when i lose audio.

For the remote wire, i've tried using a fuse tap on the cigarette lighter, front heated seat and remote out of the PAC. all same effect. and when the engine cranks, the XD700 light flashes a few times and starts back up. when using a multimeter my voltage drops to like 9-10v at the crank, then spikes back up.

i also tried bypassing the remote wire and used audio input as a trigger and also got the same effect. which leaves me with the following...
-bad 4 gauge wire
-bad crutchfield fuse holder
-low voltage at crank drops below the XD threshold and goes into safe mode/restart
-???
 

Sponsored

Crusifix

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Threads
20
Messages
739
Reaction score
1,299
Location
West Virginia
Vehicle(s)
2019 JLU Rubicon 2.0T Hurricane
no issues when the the ESS is active and engine is off, it's when it cranks back up is when i lose audio.

For the remote wire, i've tried using a fuse tap on the cigarette lighter, front heated seat and remote out of the PAC. all same effect. and when the engine cranks, the XD700 light flashes a few times and starts back up. when using a multimeter my voltage drops to like 9-10v at the crank, then spikes back up.

i also tried bypassing the remote wire and used audio input as a trigger and also got the same effect. which leaves me with the following...
-bad 4 gauge wire
-bad crutchfield fuse holder
-low voltage at crank drops below the XD threshold and goes into safe mode/restart
-???

It looks like you are troubleshooting it correctly. It definitely appears to be a low voltage issue, but I'm concerned that it drops down to 9-10 volts at crank. I would wager you have a battery going bad. One other option to look at would be to buy an inline capacitor and tie it in pre-amp to your 4 gauge wire.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_12015DDC/T-Spec-Capacitor.html

g12015DDC-F.jpg
 

Surfwagon

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Jun 30, 2020
Threads
21
Messages
92
Reaction score
57
Location
Carlsbad, CA
Vehicle(s)
2019 JLU Sport S
Has anyone swapped the knee panel speakers out to a 6.5” coaxial and is experiencing very little output from them...and conversely getting a ton of output (volume) from the 4” dash speakers? (All the front speakers are Infinity Reference series, all coaxial)

I do have a KTP-445u powering everything with the use of the Alpine harness...meaning the amp went right in with no modification to the existing wiring.
 
OP
OP
Sting_NC_USA

Sting_NC_USA

Well-Known Member
First Name
Michael
Joined
Mar 25, 2018
Threads
27
Messages
1,026
Reaction score
995
Location
Greensboro, NC
Vehicle(s)
2018 Jeep Wrangler JL Unlimited Rubicon
Build Thread
Link
Vehicle Showcase
1
Has anyone swapped the knee panel speakers out to a 6.5” coaxial and is experiencing very little output from them...and conversely getting a ton of output (volume) from the 4” dash speakers? (All the front speakers are Infinity Reference series, all coaxial)

I do have a KTP-445u powering everything with the use of the Alpine harness...meaning the amp went right in with no modification to the existing wiring.
Need a bit more detail, but we'll try to assist.
  • How are you feeding the pre-amp signal into your KTP-44u?
  • Which system did you start with? (Alpine or the base system)
  • What settings did you choose on the KTP-44u? (I've helped someone else with that amp, and they'd not set the crossover switches.)
I'll stop with those three and expand after hearing back from you.
 

jimquill

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jim
Joined
Apr 16, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
74
Reaction score
22
Location
Southbury, CT
Vehicle(s)
2018 Wrangler Sport JLU
All installed and loving it! The Pac Amp Pro makes installation so easy. Replaced all speakers in Jeep and put in a self powered sub woofer. Used factory speaker wiring due to aftermarket amp only being 50 per channel. Ran RCA cables from Pac to amp and subwoofer, couldn't have been any easier. A little bit of adjusting and all done. Now I can't keep my wife out of the Jeep! Last one out the door gets to drive the Journey to work. If I were to do it over I'm not sure I would have messed with the soundbar. The biggest gain made speaker wise was replacing the dash speakers and using the pods for 6.5" speakers in the kick panels. Thank you to all who responded to my posts here and a very big thank you to @Sting_NC_USA for starting this thread
I'm looking to do the same thing you did, PAAc-Amp _PRO to 50W 4 channel "pocket amp". Did you do component speakers up front with a tweeter in dash an woofer in the knee panel and just use the factory connections with Metra adaptors? Or, did you use the crossovers provided with the component speakers?
 

Daffydnbugs

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Jul 27, 2020
Threads
10
Messages
345
Reaction score
260
Location
Illinois
Vehicle(s)
2020 JL Wrangler RUBICON
I'm looking to do the same thing you did, PAAc-Amp _PRO to 50W 4 channel "pocket amp". Did you do component speakers up front with a tweeter in dash an woofer in the knee panel and just use the factory connections with Metra adaptors? Or, did you use the crossovers provided with the component speakers?
Just used factory connections with the adaptors. I would have ran all new wiring if using a bigger amp.
 

Sponsored

jimquill

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jim
Joined
Apr 16, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
74
Reaction score
22
Location
Southbury, CT
Vehicle(s)
2018 Wrangler Sport JLU
Just used factory connections with the adaptors. I would have ran all new wiring if using a bigger amp.
Thanks to all on this post for being so helpful (esp Sting_NC). I’ve read it multiple times trying to educate myself on this complex world.
So you did use components. Big difference in sound? I wish there was a way to just get a little more quality and quantity of sound with just a speaker upgrade instead of having to spend $1000.
 

Daffydnbugs

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Jul 27, 2020
Threads
10
Messages
345
Reaction score
260
Location
Illinois
Vehicle(s)
2020 JL Wrangler RUBICON
Thanks to all on this post for being so helpful (esp Sting_NC). I’ve read it multiple times trying to educate myself on this complex world.
So you did use components. Big difference in sound? I wish there was a way to just get a little more quality and quantity of sound with just a speaker upgrade instead of having to spend $1000.
I just went with 2-ways speakers to begin with. Though louder, the quality of sound was not there until I added in the rest.
 

jimquill

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jim
Joined
Apr 16, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
74
Reaction score
22
Location
Southbury, CT
Vehicle(s)
2018 Wrangler Sport JLU
I just went with 2-ways speakers to begin with. Though louder, the quality of sound was not there until I added in the rest.
I've got a base sport with the 5" base radio and this is what I'm thinking, I'm hoping I'm doing the right thing. This is what I have on order:

PAC-AMP-PRO-AP4-CH41
Clarion XC2410 4 channel amp 50W
Polk DB 6502 6-1/2 component for the woofer in the knee (Metra box adaptors) and tweeter in dash
Polk DB 6526-1/2 Coaxial for the sound bar
Holding off on the powered sub to see how this sounds but I will run RCA's from the PAC AMP PRO for the possible future sub.

I have a couple of questions:
I'm not looking for a huge upgrade just a little more volume and clarity with the top and doors off. Is this a reasonable path for me to pursue or is there a better way to go? I tried the Hertz DCX 3-1/2 in the dash and they were plug and play but the system sounded unbalanced. The dash was the only speaker I could hear
Should I run new speaker wire to the front components and use the crossover that comes with the Polks or just use the factory harness with Metra adaptors?
Would the Alpine KTPU amp be an easier plug and play install than the Clarion?
 

Daffydnbugs

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Jul 27, 2020
Threads
10
Messages
345
Reaction score
260
Location
Illinois
Vehicle(s)
2020 JL Wrangler RUBICON
I've got a base sport with the 5" base radio and this is what I'm thinking, I'm hoping I'm doing the right thing. This is what I have on order:

PAC-AMP-PRO-AP4-CH41
Clarion XC2410 4 channel amp 50W
Polk DB 6502 6-1/2 component for the woofer in the knee (Metra box adaptors) and tweeter in dash
Polk DB 6526-1/2 Coaxial for the sound bar
Holding off on the powered sub to see how this sounds but I will run RCA's from the PAC AMP PRO for the possible future sub.

I have a couple of questions:
I'm not looking for a huge upgrade just a little more volume and clarity with the top and doors off. Is this a reasonable path for me to pursue or is there a better way to go? I tried the Hertz DCX 3-1/2 in the dash and they were plug and play but the system sounded unbalanced. The dash was the only speaker I could hear
Should I run new speaker wire to the front components and use the crossover that comes with the Polks or just use the factory harness with Metra adaptors?
Would the Alpine KTPU amp be an easier plug and play install than the Clarion?
New speaker wire is totally your call. I stuck with factory due to ease of install with Pac-Amp and using a small amp (Kicker Key 200.4). If using the crossovers, probably best to run new wire. Personally, I wouldn't spend much on soundbar, seems to be more filler than anything. I just replaced with like sized speakers. Biggest improvement came from 6 1/2 in knee and decent speakers on dash. This really brought the sound stage up and in front like you want.
 

jimquill

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jim
Joined
Apr 16, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
74
Reaction score
22
Location
Southbury, CT
Vehicle(s)
2018 Wrangler Sport JLU
New speaker wire is totally your call. I stuck with factory due to ease of install with Pac-Amp and using a small amp (Kicker Key 200.4). If using the crossovers, probably best to run new wire. Personally, I wouldn't spend much on soundbar, seems to be more filler than anything. I just replaced with like sized speakers. Biggest improvement came from 6 1/2 in knee and decent speakers on dash. This really brought the sound stage up and in front like you want.
Awesome thank you, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the help. I’m gonna go for it.
Sponsored

 
 



Top