Adding an Aftermarket Amp(s)

[DrummerDudeNJ]

@J2K66 yeah I was thinking the thing, but thankfully I was able to brainstorm with the people at AmpPRO and Kicker and came up with the following plan:

- Using two Kicker KEY200.4 to run the dash and knee speakers via a front channel splitter RCA cable from the PAC module (1 amp for the dash, 1 amp for the knee)
- Use the rear channel on one of those amps to run the soundbar speakers
- Run the sub from the KEY500.1

I was also able to solve the dilemma of how to properly wire the soundbar speakers given they have separate wiring for the woofer and tweeters. I'm going to cut out the wired in crossovers and use two external ones, which will handle sending the appropriate frequencies and won't have to combine the wiring and end up cutting the ohms down causing the amp to possibly overheat.

Additionally, I decided to run all new speaker wire from the amps bypassing the OEM Alpine completely. Won't lose the chimes because the T-harness from the PAC takes care of that and saves the daunting task of figuring out/tapping into the oem speaker wires too.

The modifications to the factory sub enclosure are coming along really good! Everything was reinforced with DynaPlate and it's nicely stuffed with polyfill lol ..... all that's left is soldering some connections and mounting the sub.

My hope is to have everything completed by the end of next month..... fingers crossed LOL

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[JCae2798]

Awesome. Starting Continuing my 2024 project tomorrow!

Ended up picking up the Focal Slatefiber speakers instead of the Flax's due to rumors Flax not dealing great with humidity and/or getting wet. While I don't plan to get them wet, I do like ripping the doors off and you never know when you may get the unexpected*.

I already have the L7 kicker installed and boy this thing KICKs with the stock sub also adding a nice fill. I hope to share full details once the install is complete and how it goes. It sucks I couldn't go the PAC route since it doesn't work yet for the 24's.

 

[JCae2798]

Has anyone successfully run 1000 to 1500 watts system successfully on these trucks? Any concerns with doing so on a 4xe? According to Crutchfield they’re not so sure…

 

[Sting_NC_USA]

Has anyone successfully run 1000 to 1500 watts system successfully on these trucks? Any concerns with doing so on a 4xe? According to Crutchfield they’re not so sure…

Until more is known about the various EV electrical systems, it's currently a best practice to have a professional shop research your components and their electrical connectivity needs. They (reputable shops) have liability policies, or at least they should, and you really should validate that before allowing them to touch your vehicle (EV or not).

There's tons of debate online, and the risk involved in an EV vs a gas powered, single battery vehicle is significantly higher. Part of the issue seems to relate to where you connect things, what sources can carry a heavy load, among other things...

Manufacturers will likely introduce EV specific amps at some point, but please exercise more than average caution with EV's!

 

[J.Ferreira]

Man, I'm really tempted to quote that entire initial post.

But I have nothing to add. I'd just find it personally funny anyway.

 

[JCae2798]

So I guess I'll share my latest update and why I asked the question earlier...

2024 Alpine system upgrade. Wanted to get a little more power as well as cleaner sound at higher volumes. PAC was not an option and didn't want to go the route of cutting out the stock alpine amp as I wanted to leave the existing sub and rears in place. So I tapped into the front tweeters and front mids. What I found was that from the tweeter channel got a pretty close full range signal with the lows having a weaker voltage reading. Used a Kicker KeyLOC to pull the signal and have it do its thing to clean up the signal. I then pull the mids speaker leads directly for the sub channel as my amp can take these inputs directly without a LOC.

Upgraded gear used:
- Kicker KeyLOC to grab front signal, clean it up and flatten stock curve as best as possible.
- Amp = JL Audio VX400/4i (bridged channels 3/4 for sub). Running components off single channel and factory crossovers.
- Front Components = Focal Slatefiber PS 165 SF
- Rear sub - Kicker L7 12" sealed box
- PAC Speaker Hardness to tap into existing wiring for the amp inputs
- Ran all new speaker wire....It's so easy, no excuses not to!

When running the power wire, strongly recommend the group do so through the firewall. I shared a video below I used as a reference to do so. I've seen a lot of people use or recommend going from underneath and using the drain plugs but if you ever find yourself in deep waters, I'm pretty sure you will regret that decision. I for one had to go get my son from school that was beginning to flood out and got in and out without any problems! You never know...

Taking apart the truck wasn't bad once you understand how it comes apart. However for the first time, what a PITA. On these new trucks, there are a couple screws both on the passenger and driver side that without certain tools will make it almost impossible to get it apart. Refer to the video shared below where it covers it. I had bad luck and before I put the truck back together while I did test the speakers, what I didn't test for was a defective speaker. My passenger woofer ended up having a bad coil at higher volumes. Got it swapped with a new replacement and all good now. So please do full test before putting the truck back together! Lastly in the video when the guy shows taking apart the passenger grab handle, do not take the rear cover completely off. It slides up but stays connected and clips back down when done. The way he ripped it off in the video is not recommended!

With some tuning after the install, got things working pretty well. The results were good. Since right now I am using the single amp to push both the front speakers and the sub, I found that the 200w RMS lacks in certain situations which is why I wanted to explore adding a 2nd amp to push the sub alone. I'm afraid that this will draw too much current and I will potentially run into problems with the new truck. Will be doing some research to see what I can find on this subject. If anyone has any advice on how to go about testing such a scenario, I would appreciate it. I was considering the Kicker CX1200.1 amp for this.

Conclusion:
- If I was to do it all over again, not sure I would go for the same speakers I have now. While the tweeters are amazing, I am really lacking mid-bass from these front woofers. I felt the stock ones pushed a lot more base than these currently do. The clarity of these speakers are amazing though so I'll take that over bass alone. The PODs also cause certain vibrations sounds at certain frequencies. Not sure if it's related to the speakers or the PODs themselves. Anyone else have this? Not happy about it...
- While I think the Kicker KeyLOC is doing the job for now, the signal is still crap past the 30-32 threshold (goes to 38). This could also be related to the lack of bass potentially. My goal is that once PAC comes out with something for the 2024's, I'm going to give that a go.
- For the bass lovers, adding the sub really makes all the difference. I would probably have been happy to keep the stock system and just adding the extra sub if that's all I had the money or time for.
- Replacing the front stage and using the DSP, it really has transformed the front stage of the truck. While the truck has it's limitations with it's speaker placements, at the end of the day I am enjoying my tunes in all cases (windows closed, windows/top open, doors off!)
- Future goals would be to get a stronger standalone amp for the sub if the truck can power it OR get a VX1000/7i to replace the current VX400 to go fully active and give the sub a little more power.

Lastly I took the design from the internet and created a 3D model to add the amp remote into the front cigarette outlet. Came out awesome and it really is a great location for such a thing, see picture below.


Here's some photos of the project.

Resources used:

 

[Eddiechi]

Looks like a great install!

Im not sure if the pods in my 2023 are the same as the 24 but I have the Focal ES165k2 in my dash and in the soundbar in which I put sound dampening in both the pods and soundbar before I installed the focals and have no type of resonance or vibration at all... they are pushed by JL Audio vx1000/5i so somewhat similar to yours, also ran all new speaker wire and easily went through firewall for power and couldn't be happier with the sound after some trial and error with initial tuning..... but will have to go through the tuning again now that hardtop is going back on til spring but the focals paired with JL Audio turned out to be a great clean and precise/tight sound

 

[JCae2798]

Until more is known about the various EV electrical systems, it's currently a best practice to have a professional shop research your components and their electrical connectivity needs. They (reputable shops) have liability policies, or at least they should, and you really should validate that before allowing them to touch your vehicle (EV or not).

There's tons of debate online, and the risk involved in an EV vs a gas powered, single battery vehicle is significantly higher. Part of the issue seems to relate to where you connect things, what sources can carry a heavy load, among other things...

Manufacturers will likely introduce EV specific amps at some point, but please exercise more than average caution with EV's!

Wanted to circle back on this topic...not sure if this is the right thread for it so happy to move the conversation if the group thinks we should. But going back to how much power can your truck handle before it's too much? Trucks with alternators seem easy enough to know, doing some research on these 24's 4xe's I'm hearing they use a DC Converter that handles up to 2500W. There's a video posted as well about running a house! Surely this would confirm running combined amps or a single high wattage amp should be a non-issue no?

Here's the video:

 

[Tonkalexis]

Hi Michael,
I’m trying to install a Viofo dash cam with the wire harnesses in my 2024 Jeep Wrangler JL. Could you please give me some advice with which is the easiest way to install the 12v adapter?
I really appreciate any help.
Alex

 

[Eddiechi]

For the dash cam some people will run the wires through a spot in the firewall on the drivers side a bit above the brake pedal to the left....

if you have the accessory switch panel you can tap into the power behind the passenger floor board and then easily run the wires up the passenger side pillar and along top of windshield... there are some videos on you tube that show which wires to grab for the access switch panel (which are ACC or IGN and what # switch, etc)

 

[ryan2100]

After reading all 92 pages I still have a question regarding the PAC AMP PRO, plus I would like input on my planned build. Currently I have a 7" Connect with base system. Plan is to retain the 7" uconnect with the following upgrades

• PAC AmpPRO AP4-CH41 R.2
• JL Audio XD700/5v2
• Jl audio 10tw3 in a BRP passenger side box
• Jl audio C2-650x coaxials in the sound bar and C2-650cx components in the kick panel/dash
• Plan is to run all new speaker wires

My question is regarding the below diagram from PAC. They say "If the vehicle has no factory amplifier, connect the aftermarket amplifier's speaker outputs to the provided "Factory Speaker Connection Harness" and connect to the "Factory Speaker Connection Point." Since I don't want to tap back into the factory lines do I just leave this unplugged?

 

[lashlee]

If you're planning on running new wires to each speaker, then leave it unhooked.

 

[ryan2100]

If you're planning on running new wires to each speaker, then leave it unhooked.

Easy enough, thanks for the response.

 

[ryan2100]

Does anyone know the approx length of speaker wire I need to run all new speaker wires with my install (dash, knee, soundbar and sub)?. I want to make sure i have enough before I get started. Thanks

 

[Hpc3]

Does anyone know the approx length of speaker wire I need to run all new speaker wires with my install (dash, knee, soundbar and sub)?. I want to make sure i have enough before I get started. Thanks

Where are you mounting the amp(s)?

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