KickerCS Upgrade with Kicker Key amp Install Assistance

Not really. When you disconnect the speakers from the factory radio, it is no longer using much power because it is no longer driving the speakers.
They Key comes with a 20A fuse, and this fuse is meant to protect the power wire itself, not the amp.
During proper operation, the amp will never draw enough power to blow that 20 amp fuse.
It just so happens that our radio circuit is also protected by a 20A fuse. And as mentioned, the radio doesn’t draw very much power once the key is installed. So since the Key is drawing less (probably a decent amount less) than 20A, and the head unit is absolutely using far less than that, we are safe to run both on the factory circuit. Many are doing this without issues.

Now with all that being said, you can absolutely run a power wire to the battery if you prefer. That’s never a ‘bad’ idea. And if you have the wire and are willing to do so, by all means! It’s an easy firewall to get through and it only needs 14AWG wire.

 

Thanks for the info! I just want to make sure I don't burn anything or have any electrical problems down the road. If the headunit uses a 20 amp fuse too then it makes sense to just tap into the headunit's power. And it seems that no one has had any problems with this method.

 

Yep! So far they’re all still working great! And nothing is permanent so if an issue happens to pop up down the line, you can always run power to the battery then

 

I just joined TW but I've been lurking here and I just upgraded my Tacoma speakers with Kicker KS door and the tweeters. I just today purchased a Kicker Key from Best Buy. I have the

$12 71-1761 87-94 Toyota Vehicle Harness

71-1761 and

$8 70-1761 Radio Wiring Harness Fits Select 1987-UP Toyota Vehicles Power + 4 Speaker (Packaging May Vary)

70-1761 for making a harness. I understand the basics of wiring but was curious about the connections in the previous post harness pics. Should the key red power wire be connected to constant (yellow) or switched turn on (red)? Also, if I use the hi level inputs will that be enough to turn on the amp or should I use the blue key remote wire and if so what would that be connected to on metra harness? Thanks!

 

Here's a pic of how I connected my Kicker Key with the Metra harness. Works great.

 

I talked to crutchfield and they said dont bother with the blue cable. Never hooked it up.

 

Thanks!
I read the key instructions more carefully and it makes sense now. On your harness what is the brown wire coming out of the small male (rear speaker) metra harness? I see you have it connected to the female rear speaker. My female rear doesn't have anything for that to connect to.

 

Thanks for the help! I guess it wouldn't be needed if using the high level input.

 

Here's where I stashed mine

 

I still haven't decided where to put mine. Initially was thinking in the dash behind the HU. I have all the wiring figured out but today when I left to go to work the HU just didn't turn on at all! Just a dead stick. I tried disconnecting the battery and that didn't help. I checked the fuse and it looks fine. Guess I have to bring it to the dealer and let them figure it out since the truck is only 3 months old with less than 4k miles on it and under warranty. A girl I work with bought a 2019 Highlander with the same exact 7 inch, non JBL premium Entune roughly a week after I bought by Tacoma. Well her HU did the same thing! They replaced the HU on hers. I know the stock units aren't great but wow. Lol.

 

What harness do I need to get to install the Key amp? Can someone please post the links? Thank you!

 

Here's what my harness looked like before I made the final changes.


You can see it compared the the pic above. I took the looped blue wire out of the harness dock in the middle, and reinserted it into the space in the dock on the far right that is in line with the orange/black wire from the dock on the far left. Then I soldered these two wires together. This makes it so the lights on the head unit adjust brightness. Hope this makes sense!

 

Great info on this thread. I have ordered the Kicker kss/ksc speakers, Key180.4 amp and the Metra wire harnesses. Is this the final working wire harness? If so I will follow along with your wiring when I begin the process on mine.

 

These are the two harness adapters I bought on Amazon.

$8 Metra 70-1761 Radio Wiring Harness Fits Select 1987-UP Toyota Vehicles Power + 4 Speaker (Packaging May Vary)

https://www.amazon.com/Metra-70-176...86843&s=gateway&sprefix=metra+,aps,122&sr=8-1

$12 Metra Electronics Metra 71-1761 87-94 Toyota Vehicle Harness

https://www.amazon.com/Metra-71-176...sprefix=metra+71-1761,aps,204&sr=8-4-fkmrnull

 

Thanks! It makes a lot of sense! That's how I'm going to wire mine. My HU died yesterday don't know why. I haven't even messed with it yet. Today since it wasn't working I took it out and looked at the harnesses. I also depinned the blue looped wire since my harness has no wires feeding the blue "Amp and power antenna on the metra harness but does have the brown for the light dimmers. Taking your word that's what it is. Lol. But since the truck harness does in fact have that brown wire I will ensure it's still connected to my harness. I think I will run the blue remote wire from the kicker to the red switched power to power on the amp in case there is an issue with the high level inputs triggering the amp on. Unless some one thinks that's not a good idea.
I bring my truck to the dealer tomorrow to see what's up with the HU. I didn't check the other fuses and I currently don't have a voltage tester so for the money these things cost it's the dealer's problem.

 

It seems like it. Destin_Meeks seems to be the resident expert on this stuff from all the posts I've read. If he gives the seal of approval I'm fine with it!

 

You’ll want to hook the Key’s blue remote wire to the metra blue you didn’t de-pin.

I’ve seen two members report that even with the Key set to 12v turn on, it seemed to back-feed power through the remote wire once it was on, and since they had it wired to the metra red (accy power) that kept the radio on even after the truck was turned off.

Whether or not they had some other wiring issue or the amp was acting funky, who knows. But it’s enough to make me recommend the blue wire instead of the red

 

Thank you very much man! I really appreciate it.

 

Ok sounds good to me. I'll do the way you said. At the dealer now having them check it. I checked the other 7.5 fuses like you said with a multimeter. They were good. I had time before the appointment and I pulled the hu out and checked the harness. I get nothing testing the constant power. Get 12.5V checking the switched power when accessories is turned on but still nothing on the constant power. My guess is maybe a broken connection somewhere with it. Its Toyota's problem now. I didn't tell them I pulled out the hu though. You know these places would want to put the blame elsewhere and not cover it!

 

Let us know how it goes! If you're not getting power on the constant, at least it's not (necessarily) the radio