Installing aftermarket DVC 4ohm sub in stock jbl 05 tacoma

Good morning,

I just bought a Rockford fosgate p3sd4-8” to replace my blown stock sub in my truck. The two connections that plug into the factory amp have two wires on each connector, making 4 wires total. How do I wire this into the dvc 4ohm and still make it parallel? Do I have to run new wire to the amp? Would really love any help!!

 

I found a solution I think. The red/black and yellow/orange wires I looked and provide power the subs internal amp for the stock sub. My new sub is passive so those wires don’t matter, so just using the other wires.

 

What I need help with now lol, is that from what I read the speaker wire connected to the old sub is 16 gauge. But looking at it compared to my 16 gauge speaker jump wire it is smaller, like 18 gauge. Am I okay to mix the two sizes of wire. I’m using 16 gauge as jump wire to wire the sub parallel. But the speaker wire plugging into the amp and sub is 18 guage

 

Since you're not bridging the amp you're not going to be running the typical parallel vs series wiring that you'd normally find (see image below.)

https://www.bestcaraudio.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/voice-coil-single-sub.jpg



Instead, you're going to hook one channel (2 of the wires) to one voice coil and the other channel (the other 2 wires) to the other voice coil. This wouldn't be common for an aftermarket system with aftermarket amp but this is how the factory JBL system is setup to be wired. Here's a visual (ignore the text on the right hand side under the green check mark):



Unfortunately, it seems you've got the wrong woofer. Your woofer is a dual 4ohm but the stock sub is a dual 2ohm. It should still work but it's not ideal and won't be a very efficient setup. You'll essentially be sending less power to the woofer than you would be if you had a dual 2ohm sub.

 

What?? That’s all I’ve been recommended by people online. There’s no way, I’m so heartbroken I was so excited

 

It's fine. You can always add larger gauge wire to a system without hurting anything. If you were trying to run smaller wire than the factory stuff then that may become a limiting factor. Think of it like a "weakest link" sort of thing.

 

So I would need to buy the dual 2ohm version of this sub. The p3ds2-8”? And just return this one? Guess chat gpt is always right, it was telling me to ignore the two red and orange wires since I have a passive sub?

 

Just ordered the dual 2 ohm sub, and returned the one I have now. Thanks for the help. So disappointed in myself

 

So for the new dual 2 ohm sub. I would just wire positive to positive and negative to negative for both coils with the two sets of wires coming from the amp? That simple nothing else?

 

People have used both. I also suspect that some of what you see on the forums is simply a typo/mistake or confusion about the difference. Everything you read should be taken with a grain of salt, not as gospel. Check, verify, double check and make sure things make logical sense. If the stock amp sends 45-55w x2 @ 2ohms then it just makes sense that you'd want a dual 2ohm. Wouldn't hurt to confirm the impedance by checking your woofer though. I swear I've seen CONFIRMED info here on the site but I'm unable to find that now.

Be careful with ChatGPT. Whatever it was telling you sounds like nonsense. ChatGPT doesn't "know" anything, all it does it aggregate info online and predict the correct answer. For this topic I think there's way too much incorrect, misleading or difficult to understand info out there on the internet and very little clear, concise info available.

For example, here's a screenshot of the factory service manual. I bet ChatGPT isn't able to see/find this info. Here's how the factory sub is wired. You can clearly see two separate channels being run to two separate voice coils. When you remove your sub you'll also see that there are 4 wires connected directly to it.

Glad you were able to return and reorder!

Yes, see above image of the factory wiring.

Also, if you want a super clean install, you can order these Metra adapters. These will plug into your factory wiring inside of the box and then the other ends will connect to your woofer.
http://www.metraonline.com/part/72-9300

 

You are the man!! I’m a recent Highschool graduate and don’t have a lot of experience so I appreciate the help. The sub is coming in tomorrow, so gonna get back to it. Unfortunately, adapters wouldn’t be helpful in my situation as I already have cut of the connector to the output wires but dosent really matter as the other one will come off during the install lol.

I don’t need to run a power wire to the battery right? Seen some people do that but seems unnecessary for my situation with a jbl system?

 

Sorry for a lot of questions, just want to make sure I’m getting it straight. I couldn’t really find anything online about it. So since the old sub was DVC 2 ohm, and the new sub is also DVC 2 ohm, I would simply just connect all four wires like it was on the old sub. No series or parallel wiring? I’m not the best at reading the diagrams.

 

I also have an aftermarket head unit. Any advice on the install as well?

 

That is correct. You'll essentially be wiring this up as if you have two single voice coil speakers. One channel (2 wires, one pos, one neg) connected to one voice coil and the other channel connected to the other voice coil. Hook it up exactly like the stock subwoofer.

I haven't done this myself in a Tacoma so can't comment on anything specific. Just make sure you have the right adapters. There are a lot of posts here talking about how to ditch the JBL head unit in favor of an aftermarket one. I assume you've already gone thru all of that, but maybe not? It's a it more complex than just swapping out a head unit in an older car due to the JBL system.

And really, if you're going to the trouble of replacing the head unit you may want to consider going all out and getting rid of the stock amp as well. If you haven't researched all this yet you should probably hit pause on buying stuff and figure out what your plan is.

 

Ok cool thank you sounds good. I replaced the head unit with a joying one that is compatible with the jbl system. The only reason I am replacing the sub is because the stock one was blown, or else I wouldn’t be putting money into the sound system to be honest.

 

That may be a different scenario then as that head unit is specific to this make/model. I'm not familiar with the specifics on those so not of any help.

 

No worries. I appreciate the help you’ve given me, it’s really saved me more money!

 

Just installed the sub and I think everything went well! The sub works, I am slowly breaking it in. Also, I don’t know I’ve I’m overthinking, is the amp supposed to feel hot to the touch? The truck was sitting in the sun, so maybe that’s it but just making sure.

 

Most likely it’s normal and just fine. Amps generate heat, that’s why they always have a built in heat sink. But of course there is such thing as too hot. I would expect the factory amp should have some sort of failsafe which turns the amp off it it gets too hot.

I would worry about it unless it’s literally way too hot to touch.

 

Okay sounds good. I can put my hand on it and leave it there, but still pretty hot. Are there ways to monitor it? Could the gauge speaker wire be too small for the sub, it’s the 18 gauge stock speaker wire that was plugged into the stock sub. And the sub is only rated at 150 rms watts and the amp is less than that so it would only be underperforming even.