Installed my system this weekend!

I recently picked up a Kenwood media receiver, stereo adapter, iPod cable and Sound Ordnance B8PT little 8” powered sub. I haven’t installed a stereo in about 10 years, and I’ve never installed a sub before. I have to tell you, the whole project was really rewarding but much more involved than I first realized. Between taking my time, watching the Tigers game and recovering from the Cardinals World Series win the night before, it took me about 8 hours! I took a few pictures along the way.

I started with the harness. Crutchfield orders come with faceplates and convenient harnesses that let you pre-wire your connections. I couldn’t imagine trying to make all these connections by cutting the truck’s harness and working behind the stereo in the cab to make all these connections!



Pulling the old stereo out was simple. Here’s a tip: the little blank panel to the right of the stereo (opposite of the 4WD switch on the left) will pop out easily. Then you can reach a long finger in there and push out the AC controls from the back. After that, you just disconnect the factory harnesses and unbolt the four 10mm bolts. Then the stereo just pulls up and out, and the factory harnesses are easily disconnected.



The only hard part is getting the dang hazard/clock panel out. You really have to take the factory faceplate off to get to it.

The Axxess ASWC adapter was a punk to wire up. Power and ground were easy, but I had to search tacomaworld to figure out the right two other wires to hook up. Plus, with Kenwoods you can’t just plug in the 3.5mmjack. I had to plug that into an adapter and then wire the adapter to the steering wheel control wire on the back of the receiver. Things are never as easy as they could be.



Sub – small for sure, but adds a lot of bass to my system. I wasn’t looking for thump, just a more rounded sound overall than just the 6x9s could provide. I really like it. Had a little trouble with the directions since it sort of made it sound like the remote power wire was optional. It’s not. I ended up running the remote power wire up to the red 12v switch power in the wiring harness. That did the trick.



I went with the black faceplate kit, and I like it as well. Nice texture and the fit is good. Looks pretty factory, apart from the obvious single din cubbyhole.



Closeup of the receiver:



And at night:



I love the fact that the ipod is in the glove box. And I forgot how clean it looked before I had the aux cable and cigarette power adapter plugged in. Now it’s back to clean and neat with much much better sound.

Anyway, just wanted to post some pics since I'm pretty proud of the job. If you don't think you can install your own audio, you probably can as long as you can follow a simple wiring diagram and have tacomaworld to search when you get stuck. Remember to pull your negative cable off the battery terminal to avoid shorting anything out while you're working. I probably pulled and reconnected it five times while I was checking, tweaking and rechecking the system. Take your time and double-check all your connections before you stuff all those wires back in. I ended up removing the receiver a couple times to fix different things. In the end, it was definitely worth it and will make my daily commute a lot more enjoyable.

 

Great job, very clean! Which Ipod do you have. One problem I have with your work is those wire nuts..

 

Thanks! It's an old 30GB iPod Video that I've had for a few years - I believe it's a 5th gen?

I definitely understand about the nuts. I bought a soldering iron but when I twisted the wires together with the nuts I couldn't really yank them apart, so I went with the nuts. I tried to crank them all down well and get a few "spins" of each wire together under the nut to make them extra secure. Hopefully they all hold.

 

Good choice on the black radio bezel vs the silver like the stock radio - much better look!

 

Thanks, I think so too.

Forgot to mention that this is all paired to 6x9 Alpine Type S speakers in front. Stockers still in back, I don't know if I'll bother with them or not. I changed out the fronts a couple months ago and the sound was better than the factory speakers but still weak. The factory HU wasn't able to power the bass on the Alpines at all - the weak 6.5" factory speakers in back provided almost all the bass for a while! Now, with the extra power form the kenwood they sound really good!

 

Looking good man!

 

Played around with the sub some more, specifically with the crossovers on the HU and the sub. Ended up setting the crossover on the 6x9s to cut off around 100hz on the low end and the sub to cut off at about 120 on the high end. Not much difference in the 6x9s but it really tightened up the sub.

I wonder if the smaller sub strains with a full signal not because of the lows being too low, but because the 8" can act like a smaller speaker and try to play frequencies too high? I noticed it was kind of hollow and brassy yesterday, but now with the crossover set lower it sounds a lot tighter, more like a kickdrum.

 

Nice work! So I guess you had to get the brackets from the dealership when going from double DIN to single DIN? if so, mind me asking how much that cost?

I'm looking at replacing the OEM double DIN unit with a single DIN and was told I'd have to go to the dealership to get the brackets. Scared its going to cost more than the radio..

 

No, you buy a $25 faceplate/mounting kit, or if you buy from Crutchfield the kit and wiring harness come free with the HU. Replacement brackets in the kit are plastic, but pretty sturdy.

 

Cool. Let us know how that sub works for ya too. Another item I'm looking from Crutchfield. Like the idea of it going under the seat, and I don't need the neighborhood bumping bass either.