# I just bought a Sony Xplode sound system for christmas!!! Questions... and pictures..



## BoBakTXL (Aug 30, 2004)

Just got back from bestbuy, my mom gave me $350, and I spent it all on a cd player and installation kit as well as two 140 watt speakers w/ backlit. Anyways heres some pictures and I wanted to know a few things, first of all I was supposed to get it installed today though even though I had free installation they still want $100 EXTRA because they said that my wiring is a mess as well as they need to "bypass" the stock amplifier, why the heck does it cost so much to install, now im stuck with 2 box's with these:

PLEASE HELP or I wont have music for a few more weeks :[ :hal:


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

So instead of getting something decent like Pioneer, Clarion or JVC, you went with a high cost low end system. Nice choice..........  Honestly, I think Kraco is better quality these days. Heck the store I work at sells nicer Pioneer decks, for $99.


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## BoBakTXL (Aug 30, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> So instead of getting something decent like Pioneer, Clarion or JVC, you went with a high cost low end system. Nice choice..........  Honestly, I think Kraco is better quality these days. Heck the store I work at sells nicer Pioneer decks, for $99.



Thanks alot bro


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

BoBakTXL said:


> Thanks alot bro



LMAO! It's just that Sony isn't that great like they were 10 years ago. I have a 14 year old Sony home theater that will blow out my new one. Only thing is the old one doesn't have 5.1 (which is the reason I got the new one) Sony has gone downhill lately.


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## Gimp (Jun 9, 2002)

Well, even with all of the negative comments about Sony....I have the same deck...AND I LOVE IT!!! Yeah, it's not the "top-of-the-line"....but I'm not trying to win any sound competitions. And for my use, it's just fine.

BTW - THAT mp3 player is a TON better than the first generation they had out. 

ALTHOUGH....I got mine for about $10.....some screw up from Sony.


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## Punkrocka436 (Jul 8, 2003)

i would return it all and get some stuff from pioneer. Much better quality stuff. Dont let the guys at best buy try and talk you into stuff you dont need


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## mzanubis (Feb 19, 2003)

jah, i love my sony too

when i got mine and got i hooked up, my friend (whos a real discriminating ass hole) gets in the car and i had it turned up and hes like "woah! this is awasome! i love your subs!" i just had a pretty basic HU and speakers that installed only cost me about 300. no subs. 

bottom line is... i <3 my sony.

jerks.


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## Binger (Aug 29, 2002)

in my opinion the only good products that sony makes is the playstation 2, video cameras and portable cdplayers/mp3 players.


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## Punkrocka436 (Jul 8, 2003)

mzanubis said:


> jah, i love my sony too
> 
> when i got mine and got i hooked up, my friend (whos a real discriminating ass hole) gets in the car and i had it turned up and hes like "woah! this is awasome! i love your subs!" i just had a pretty basic HU and speakers that installed only cost me about 300. no subs.


He must not have known what he was talking about


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

Sony makes really great headphones. Out of the ~10 pairs of headphones I've gone through in the last 5 years, the sony's have sounded the best.

I agree, from Sony, I would only buy PS2, Portable audio equipment, and digicams/vidcams. Would NEVER buy their car audio or home audio/home theater.

I feel sorry for the people who talk about their sony stuff on here b/c I know the flaming and disappointment they're going to have to endure. You really should've done your research before spending your xmas money. You could've bought much better stuff with that $350. A Sony XPLOD HU and some off-brand speakers aren't going to produce anything much more enjoyable to the ear than what you already had in there stock.

Anyway, if you are able to return the stuff with no fees, I would consider it, we can tell you how to make the most of that $350. If you don't want to return it, then installation is so easy, it's not funny. Just get an adaptor for the head unit. They usualy make plug and play adaptors specific for Nissans.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

mzanubis said:


> jah, i love my sony too
> 
> when i got mine and got i hooked up, my friend (whos a real discriminating ass hole) gets in the car and i had it turned up and hes like "woah! this is awasome! i love your subs!" i just had a pretty basic HU and speakers that installed only cost me about 300. no subs.
> 
> ...


Haha, your friend apparently doesn't know much about audio. The fact that he 'thought' you had subs hurts his credibility more than it supports your point.


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> So instead of getting something decent like Pioneer, Clarion or JVC, you went with a high cost low end system. Nice choice..........  Honestly, I think Kraco is better quality these days. Heck the store I work at sells nicer Pioneer decks, for $99.


We are constantly in agreement


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

Okay guys lets not be too harsh, lets try to help with his questions. 

They are trying to rip you off on the install. They dont need to bypass the stock amp if you are adding a new head unit and speakers, just run new wires directly from the head unit to your speakers. You cant utilize the amp though. Only when you keep the stock hu and try to add subs or an additional amp will you need a interface adapter, but those are under $40 from PAC or www.davidnavone.com


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

Azgrower said:


> Okay guys lets not be too harsh, lets try to help with his questions.
> 
> They are trying to rip you off on the install. They dont need to bypass the stock amp if you are adding a new head unit and speakers, just run new wires directly from the head unit to your speakers. You cant utilize the amp though. Only when you keep the stock hu and try to add subs or an additional amp will you need a interface adapter, but those are under $40 from PAC or www.davidnavone.com


Uh yeah you do have to bypass the amp. It's under the passenger seat and it's a PITA just because it's time consuming. Believe me I had to do it.


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## xbrandonx (Mar 27, 2004)

so for 300$ you bought the CD player and those Dual speakers (one set or 2?)

If one set go get a $200 alpine or Pioneer HU and infinity 6002si ($100) 6.5.

If you got 2 sets then I'm not sure what speakers to go with, I know Circity City has polk speakers buy one get one 1/2 off right now.


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

Hey man, don't let these guys get to ya. Most of 'em at one time or another bought some POS system and learned from it :thumbup: . I'm sorry you got that sony, but we'll try and help you out. How comfortable are you with a soldering iron and a screwdriver? If you feel pretty good about it, walking you through the install will be pretty simple. Do NOT pay BB to install that!


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## Jasper (Apr 2, 2004)

captain_shrapnel said:


> Hey man, don't let these guys get to ya. Most of 'em at one time or another bought some POS system and learned from it :thumbup: . I'm sorry you got that sony, but we'll try and help you out. How comfortable are you with a soldering iron and a screwdriver? If you feel pretty good about it, walking you through the install will be pretty simple. Do NOT pay BB to install that!



yep. i started out with allllllll alpine
thought alpine was the shit, nothing was better
got 4 coax's, ran them off the HU, 2 subs, (all speakers TypeS, which i thought was better than typeR lol), and damn, i thought that shit couldnt be touched

then i got the polk comp's and a 2channel

then i heard DLS Iridiums,

then i heard CDT EuroSport 3ways

now, im spending FAR too much money lol

good luck man. i hate sony, but it's a foot in the door, and leads to a road of cut up hands, bruised forearms, frustrating electrical difficulties (including the occassional spark that scares the living hell out of you), and more debt than you'd like to admit to.


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## Grahf16 (May 7, 2003)

When I saw the first post, I was thinking "OMG, they GON' RAPE YOU"


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## BoBakTXL (Aug 30, 2004)

well crap, so this head unit isnt good? why not? man... 

umm...
i spent the money on lets see here

199.99 for the sony xplod head unit
39.99 for a pair of these speakers [140 watts]
20 for a wiring harness for 300zx
30 for installation kit for headunit
30 for speaker installation

and thats about it so far...

I have NOT done the speaker installation yet though it will be done soon, it costs $30 for installation of a pair of speakers at bestbuy, and $60 for the same thing at cartoys.
The guy at bestbuy, told me to drive around the place, and park at the "installation" center or whatever, and he checked it out and said exactly "this is the messiest mess of wiring I have EVER seen, [ my dash has A BIG HOLE in it with wires hanging out, anyways he said there's no way he can finish it by today and it will also cost another $100 to bypass the stock amplifier, and I told him ill be there in a few weeks cause theres no way I can save that much money in time, anyways... this really sucks not being able to not have any music and a hole in my dash...


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

Issues with what you have....
$39 for a pair of speakers is not getting you much. Thats ok, but it means when you see "140 watts max power!!" its a straight out lie. Maximum power is a useless spec and should be ignored. If its the only spec given, run away.
Do those speaks have an RMS rating? Thats the real deal, and of course there are many more factors involved...thats just the tip of the iceberg. Wiring harnesses from Partsexpress run about $9. HU install kits from the same place go for about $11. I personally do not know what the situation is with the amp in your car, but it needs to be gotten around. Rarely do impedences match between aftermarket stuff and oem amplifiers (not to mention they suck). Sony.... well to be honest, I haven't heard or looked into anything car audio by them in a looooooooooong time. But when I saw the gimmicky color scheme, and the word XPLOD! I knew sony was compensating for something. Generally, if it looks flashy it sucks. I dont think I have ever heard of anyone in competition using Sony either... a damn fine indicator. Maybe someone else here can share some insight... I have always just stayed away.....


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

why are you all saying you can't use the stock amplifier? i changed the HU in my 89 caravan and was able to use the stock amplifier(came stock with "premium sound package" from infinity). 

all you have to do is cross the HU's "antenna up" wire with the cars "amplifer on" wire, its really easy. but the "techs" at best buy wont know that cus they're idiots.

and if the stock amp DOES suck, then you can go ahead and work around it...but crossing the wires wont take but a few minutes. so give it a shot.

i can't quite remember the specifics of colors...but they're probably all different anyway. do some reasearch, its easy. from what recall, it was crossing a blue wire with a striped blue wire.

EDIT: uhm...so why aren't you installing the hu yourself anyway? its like 10 minutes. go to circtuit city and get their wireing sets, they're plug to plug with no soldering necesary(except your wire crossing). i like them a lot because i dont have to sit in my car while soldering wires.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

captain_shrapnel said:


> Issues with what you have....
> $39 for a pair of speakers is not getting you much. Thats ok, but it means when you see "140 watts max power!!" its a straight out lie.


 Yeah generally that can only be hit with a good amp. And I beleive it's also the point at which the speaker cones detach themselves from the drive coils.......

It's also very funny that one would spend $199 on a head unit and $40 on speaks. Generally it goes the other way around, get better quality speakers, you'll thank yourself later. I had a set of those $40 Xplodes in one of my old cars, lets just say replacing them with stock speakers was an improvement.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

holy jesus lord! you bought that for $200. return it. and research. i got an alpine 9825 (? i think) off of ebay for $130. instald it my self its not hard. best buy allways says they need 100 more for wiring and what not. also you can get much better speakers from crutchfield scratch and dent.
alpine 9825 
pioneer 4 way speakers .....$99 
pioneer 3 way speakers $80
ebay find.....bostin acoustics $40 
just look around. also wait till after xmas.............crazy sales :thumbup:


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

I bought my Alpine cda-9827 for like 220 brand new. Got some Focal 6.5" coax speakers for 100. That's slightly more than you paid for sony crap, and I got stuff easily 4x as good.

moral: shop around, research. You knew this board was here, why didn't you look for an audio forum on here?


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## xbrandonx (Mar 27, 2004)

chimmike said:


> moral: shop around, research *and stay away from Best Buy*.


fixed it up a little bit


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

xbrandonx said:


> fixed it up a little bit


well if you are uninformed stay away from there, but i have seen some stuff on crazy sales! but its either been opened/ returned or out of date. just be careful, go to tweeter, they are awsome at giving you info and helping you out. when i was installing my stereo they showed me correct ways to hook up an amp but that may just be my local tweeter, i never bought anything. some wont help you unless you buy 
stay away from sony yes. so maybe their stuff isnt really all that bad all the time, but it sure as hell is flashy, and flashy car audio attracts theives so be careful. thats why my rear deck speakers are jbl gto's black and a black traditional grill :thumbup: understated and they dont get a second look from anyone


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

2 places to stay away from, Best Buy, and Car Toys. Unless you like paying top dolla for overrated stuff. :loser: Personally, my money is worth a bit more than that.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

1.6pete said:


> well if you are uninformed stay away from there, but i have seen some stuff on crazy sales!


it doesn't matter how good the deal is, it's still crap

stay away from best buy, regardless of price


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

[email protected] said:


> 2 places to stay away from, Best Buy, and Car Toys. Unless you like paying top dolla for overrated stuff. :loser: Personally, my money is worth a bit more than that.


Car Toys carries good stuff, JL, PG, Eclipse, Alpine (decks), etc are all quality, but they are obscenely expensive. Then again just about any local shop is


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

captain_shrapnel said:


> Do those speaks have an RMS rating? Thats the real deal, and of course there are many more factors involved...thats just the tip of the iceberg. Wiring harnesses from Partsexpress run about $9. .


his speaker specs. 
WTF! $30 for speaker install! :waving: go to the popo! you have just been raped. i put my speakers in in about 10 min. seriously its not hard you will save soooooooo much money by learning and doing it your self


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

1.6pete said:


> his speaker specs.
> WTF! $30 for speaker install! :waving: go to the popo! you have just been raped. i put my speakers in in about 10 min. seriously its not hard you will save soooooooo much money by learning and doing it your self


yeah, but those speakers need a power and ground connection too, which means you have to run a wire up through that accordian grommet crap and find a 12V source somewhere in the dash area. $30 doesn't sound too bad for that, ignoring the fact that you're paying $30 to install a set of $30 speakers.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

sr20dem0n said:


> yeah, but those speakers need a power and ground connection too, which means you have to run a wire up through that accordian grommet crap and find a 12V source somewhere in the dash area. $30 doesn't sound too bad for that, ignoring the fact that you're paying $30 to install a set of $30 speakers.


ohhhhhhhhhh thats right the 300 had the active speakers didnt it? so its not simply a "plug and play" like mine. yea 30 bucks isnt bad :thumbup: i would still look into doing it your self. you can email a crutchfield tech and they respond in a day or 2 with all the answers to your questions and you also have sr20demon and everyone else here that knows their shiz. give it a shot. have any friends that know what they are doing? buy them pizza :cheers:


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

yeah, stupid leds need power, I don't know why they didn't just run a small circuit on the side, with maybe a bridge rectifier, tiny capacitor, and the led, and run it off of the signal coming from the headunit/amp. No power wires to run and it would flash with the beat....ah well.

ew I just noticed the mounting depth on those things, it's almost 3". You'll need to custom fab some spacers to get the magnet to clear the window if you do it yourself. If you have them installed, chances are halfway through they'll stumble across that problem and try to charge you $50 more to have spacers made, or they'll just stick them in and ignore the fact that you won't be able to roll down your windows all the way (the traditional best buy way).

Really if there's any chance at all of returning it all, it would be a good idea.


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

yeup. best buy sucks at what they do. if they dont have a premade mounting kit for it, they simply wont do it. they will not make a spacer without charging you an arm and a leg (something that will take you 20 minutes to do with a scroll saw and some particle board). they wont trim the inside of a door panel to ensure proper fit. they wont epoxy the speaker mount to the door to eliminate rattle and improve sound quality.

they also wont do cool effects with the led's in the speaker(they're IN the speaker right?), and they wont know how to integrate the stock amplifier(see my other post).

basically, they'll ream you up the A$$. 

if you want a quality job, do it yourself or take it to a private shop. there's only one around me, and they do primarily performance upgrades...but will do stereo equipment as well.


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

no, best buy is good at what they do. They sell things you don't really need, at outrageous prices, and mislead. They have mostly crappy products at high prices, too.

/business side.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

chimmike said:


> no, best buy is good at what they do. They sell things you don't really need, at outrageous prices, and mislead. They have mostly crappy products at high prices, too.
> 
> /business side.


hit the nail on the head


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

chimmike said:


> no, best buy is good at what they do. They sell things you don't really need, at outrageous prices, and mislead. They have mostly crappy products at high prices, too.
> 
> /business side.


methinks you're right. like dell and all the others.


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

I don't know if this is true, but someone I know at Dashboards told me that although the RF amps Best Buy gets were marked as the same thing sold everywhere, they actually had shitty 2nd rate power supplies in them. Model number and all looked identical and the only way someone would know the difference was to check the individual serial number. That was when RF was beginning to decline in quality and the same amps that were high dollar elsewhere consistently sold for hundreds less at Best Buy. 

Yeah man, 3" mounting depth is gonna get you in trouble at BB. Do it yourself, learn some things and hell--- if you fuck something up, don't sweat it. The speakers were only $40. It's not like thrashing a $700 set of components.


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

chimmike said:


> no, best buy is good at what they do. They sell things you don't really need, at outrageous prices, and mislead. They have mostly crappy products at high prices, too.
> 
> /business side.


Got that right! Don't even get me started on their computer department!


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## BoBakTXL (Aug 30, 2004)

wow... just wow... does sony suck that bad? I dont know, should I return it? dang... umm how about, circuit city/fry's electronics, or anything to that sort?

thanks alot for the advice guys 

you saved me ALOT of typing for questions and such.:hal:


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## Nismo1997 (Dec 26, 2003)

Sony explod is not too bad, I wouldnt buy there subs or amps=pos

But I like there interior speakers & deck's.


It cost 100$ to install because they have to buy the person to install and to support his family. Install it yourself. save yourself 100$ to somthing else.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

If you think about it, the PS2 design kinda sucks too. The tray mechanism is among the cheapest in the DVD industry, The fans don't have filters so they can just blow dust all around the chipware, and I've heard stories of the new pint sized PS2 overheating while trying to run games like GTA:SA. Sony seems to be a company that does not pay attention to it's own past history, or to consumer demands. Yet they seem to sell well. Very odd.........


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## jenns240 (May 17, 2004)

my bfs ps2 gave out in like 1 month and when he called sony they pretty much told him tough sh*t. so we had to spend another $150 on new.

my cuzs friend had a sony cd player in his car and the eject & number 3 buttons stopped working after 2.5 weeks.


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## xbrandonx (Mar 27, 2004)

BoBakTXL said:


> wow... just wow... does sony suck that bad? I dont know, should I return it? dang... umm how about, circuit city/fry's electronics, or anything to that sort?
> 
> thanks alot for the advice guys
> 
> you saved me ALOT of typing for questions and such.:hal:


sony isn't great, I guess there is worse, but for 350 with what you got you should have a really nice sound.

I have a Alpine CD player CDA9872 I beleive (flip face) Paid 200 free instalation
2 sets of Infinity Reference 6002si 6.5 (took 30 minutes to install both sets)

and paid the same price that you paid for your equipment.


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## BoBakTXL (Aug 30, 2004)

well, I paid $350 all together with everything.

The sony head unit was $199 and the speakers were $40 for the pair, so I dont know if I got ripped or not, and I have NO IDEA how to install this, and if you see my dash [wires hanging out] [BEAR WIRES] you wouldnt install it yourself either most likely. God I need this installed like now.
:[


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

Tavel said:


> why are you all saying you can't use the stock amplifier? i changed the HU in my 89 caravan and was able to use the stock amplifier(came stock with "premium sound package" from infinity).
> 
> all you have to do is cross the HU's "antenna up" wire with the cars "amplifer on" wire, its really easy. but the "techs" at best buy wont know that cus they're idiots.
> 
> ...



Maybe because Dodge sucks? Believe me I thought the same. Installed mine... No deal. Bypassed the amp. Good to go. All channel speaker wires run through this thing. There is also a plug that goes into the back of the factory stereo that controlled the amp. Well with an aftermarket you cannot use the plug (8 prongs for something) and the amp is useless. YOU HAVE TO BYPASS THE AMP!


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

Where you live Bobak?


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

Post a picture of this wiring mess hanging out of the dash. We need to see what your up against.


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

Well if it was is bad as mine this is what I had to deal with. Suprising thing was. When I took it out of the dash IT WAS HOOKED TO NOTHING! So I ended up hard wiring everything.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

I would suggest downloading the FSM, which I just happen to have links posted to in the Z31 section, and look in the section labeled "Electrical System" There is an entire subsection devoted to audio. With a color coded wiring diagram and everything. That's my suggestion. But hey, do what you want........


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

maybe the best buys near you guys is better but i have seen them do some real fuck ups on installs that you wouldnt think a 3 year old would do.


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

SKD_Tech said:


> Maybe because Dodge sucks? Believe me I thought the same. Installed mine... No deal. Bypassed the amp. Good to go. All channel speaker wires run through this thing. There is also a plug that goes into the back of the factory stereo that controlled the amp. Well with an aftermarket you cannot use the plug (8 prongs for something) and the amp is useless. YOU HAVE TO BYPASS THE AMP!



huh? why does the ability to use the stock amp make dodge suck? i didn't TRY to use the stock amp, i DID use it. i only had to cross the one wire to make the amp turn on and off. the dodge also has a 6 pin bracket, but the wireing harness had a connector for it. i also checked with my brother(at tweeter) and he said all systems are like that to the best of his knowledge. 

maybe nissans really are nasty like that, or you didn't get the right wireing harness. but dont tell me its impossible to use the stock amp because people do it all the time.


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## BoBakTXL (Aug 30, 2004)

as you can see... this is what were working with :hal:


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

hehe I posted a pic of that harness. But mine was way messed up.


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

Is there a wiring plug back there that attached to the old HU?


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

captain_shrapnel said:


> Is there a wiring plug back there that attached to the old HU?


SKD's harness......im guessing its the same but simply yanked out of the car


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

Yeah, but SKD's wasn't connected. I'm trying to figure out if we need to walk through a hardwiring job, or if he needs to solder a harness onto his new HU to mate with the car. Regardless, that car has some kind of OEM powered speakers, right? From those pics, it doesn't look all that bad. No different from any other.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

captain_shrapnel said:


> Yeah, but SKD's wasn't connected. I'm trying to figure out if we need to walk through a hardwiring job, or if he needs to solder a harness onto his new HU to mate with the car. Regardless, that car has some kind of OEM powered speakers, right? From those pics, it doesn't look all that bad. No different from any other.


yea i think they call them "active speakers" with there own amp for each one or 2 idk. but if he knew what wire was what then like you said he can just solider or crimp he he prefers the hu harness on. then he just need to figure out how to bypass the amps...........i don't think that would be hard at all, all you would need to do is disconnect the amps power take it out then find the speaker wire before the amp, make it longer and there you go...........im sure its alittle harder said than done.


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

I might just invite him to an IM to walk him through this process. Not that its hard, but I am going to hog this thread trying to converse with him about how to do this. Easy to do... long to type :tmi:


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

captain_shrapnel said:


> I might just invite him to an IM to walk him through this process. Not that its hard, but I am going to hog this thread trying to converse with him about how to do this. Easy to do... long to type :tmi:


id say put the process in a new thread and make that sucka a sticky, im sure many 240 and 300 people would like the have a write up on how to bypass their active speakers :thumbup:


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