JBL subwoofer 3rd gen

Hello everyone, this is just some random tinkering to trying to get an aftermarket sub to work with the factory JBL sub and amp unharmed.

Story: Buddies Lexus has a factory amp and sub which like the tacos, sucks. We hooked an LOC to sub terminals which converts it to RCA that goes to amp then sub. It works good. Since it is signal after factory amp it might be best to get signal from a door speaker but this was easier at the time.

Taco time:

Before and after factory unit removal




Look at this excuse of a sub woofer:



Finding polarities:


Polarities found, Purple: positive, Green: Negative:



$20 LOC from the local Walmart.
Purple from positive sub terminal goes to solid white and solid grey together at LOC
Green from Negative sub terminal goes to White with black stripe and grey wit black stripe at LOC
Power (yellow) and ground(black) not needed, in testing at least. Remote wire on output side of LOC (blue) will be used for aftermarket amp power on signal



RCA outputs from the LOC went to his amp RCA input.

His car was providing power, ground and remote start to the amp. My truck was sending the signal. It drove the 2 10in subs. Again signal from factory sub after that factory amp might not be the best signal. Door speaker might work better.


Pics of factory amp connections in case anyone needs them but doesn't want to take truck apart:





Will probably be a while before i get time to finish this. Still need to get an amp and sub. Also an under the seat amp rack, what do you guys recommend?

 

for when i finish project

 

Any updates on this? Looking to do the same. Remove the factory sub and installing a JL sub, plan on keeping the factory door speakers so needing to keep the factory amp to power those. Will be add a JL amp to power the JL sub

 

I am using the sub speaker level outs and a line converter to power an aftermarket amp and sub. Works fine!

 

So far it’s working fine. Not the cleanest input signal and it feels like there is a fraction or a sec delay on bass but could just be me. Still looking for a cleaner input signal but haven’t came across anything.

 

Please post here if you do. Unfortunately the PAC Amp Pro doesn't work with the 2020 JBL head unit. Learned the hard way. :/

 

I did this and bridged the sub and is far better than the oem setup. Just swapped the sub. Was a thread in it with pics and info. Didn’t use an loc

 

So you are running the sub at 1 ohm then... this places a lot more strain on the OEM JBL amp. Keep that in mind.

 

Here’s mine. Great quality. This is for their amps but you can Probably modify if you don’t have one of theirs.
Won’t let me post the link. Oh well... it’s over at Taco tun es

 

The speakers in these Tacomas wether Non-JBL or JBL all suck. I couldn't believe how weak and small the magnets were behind the drivers LOL.

 

Been reading a few threads and it seems that you need a PAC amp pro ty12 for clean signal. Goes between headunit and stock amp. All plug and play. Might give that a try if I ever get some free time.

 

FYI The ty12 didn’t work in my 2020 JBL. The plugs are different.

 

Ah ok thanks for the heads up. All those threads must be 19 and before

 

I'm looking for some photos of the rear speaker wires on a DC so I will know where to tap in for line level off the rear speakers. Anyone got a pic or a thread reference?

 

That’s awesome makes me inspired to put a real system in my new taco...I had a sick set up in my last car and was let down to hear the audio in the trd OR

 

Riot funk, are you saying you bridges the factory amp and just changed the sub woofer? My 2019 Sport would shake the windows. So disappointed in the 2021.

 

Curious if that oem amp on the sub box is doing more than just powering the sub. That’s a lot of wires and connections for just a sub. Is it powering all of the speakers?

interested in the post earlier that upgraded to stock sub speaker to improve output.

 

The amp is where literally everything is down in the system. The radio sends a signal to the amp for various features like turning up the volume and whatnot, and the amp itself turns up the volume. Not sure if that makes sense, but it’s basically the brains of the entire system. That’s why, unless you want to use an AmpPro or a DSR1, you have to leave the amp in the truck.

 

Thanks for adding pics. Gonna try this on my 2021 Tacoma Off road, using a LC2i after connecting to one side of factory sub, not sure if I’ll leave OEM sub connected. Probably not, and just run a different amp to power my new sub