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Audio System Overhaul

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BrooseDaMoose

BrooseDaMoose

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Thread Starter #101
Cruising68 said:
Excellent. Electric gremlins are tough to track down sometimes. Good to hear you got it figured out and parts on their way. Kind of disappointing they screwed up the harness. I made wiring harnesses as a youngster and it’s just not that hard imo.


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Yea, I've made plenty of them in my younger days also. I put together almost the entire engine wiring harness for my Ford Ranger V8 swap. That was fun! This one was only like $35 so we just ordered it rather than pulling it apart to fix it. He didn't screw it up though. There is a break in the wire. The tech was able to find out which wire it was but not exactly where it was broken. He said it was likely at the pin connection. I did have a couple of instances where my radio would not turn on. Just displayed "Audio Off" or it would be on but no volume control. I'm just happy we are moving forward.
 

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Cruising68

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BrooseDaMoose said:
Yea, I've made plenty of them in my younger days also. I put together almost the entire engine wiring harness for my Ford Ranger V8 swap. That was fun! This one was only like $35 so we just ordered it rather than pulling it apart to fix it. He didn't screw it up though. There is a break in the wire. The tech was able to find out which wire it was but not exactly where it was broken. He said it was likely at the pin connection. I did have a couple of instances where my radio would not turn on. Just displayed "Audio Off" or it would be on but no volume control. I'm just happy we are moving forward.
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Hard to find an intermittent break. Probably not the assemblers’ fault. I was making harnesses for fridge sized computers back in the 80’s. Only ac and dc with no signaling or digital comms. I had to test every wire for continuity and if it passed I got to install it


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BrooseDaMoose

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Finally! Got the new harness in, everything connected and it plays great! Tomorrow he is going to talk to Alpine, get the software for the amps and tune the system. Can't wait to finally get my vehicle back!
 

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#104
BrooseDaMoose said:
Finally! Got the new harness in, everything connected and it plays great! Tomorrow he is going to talk to Alpine, get the software for the amps and tune the system. Can't wait to finally get my vehicle back!
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Great news man
 

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I can finally put this thread to rest! Got my vehicle back yesterday and it sounds fantastic! Not as loud as I had hoped but the sound quality is excellent! He did a great job! He was able to make two mounts and put both amps in the space where the factory sub was. So they are completely hidden. I wish he took some pics but he didn't. The subwoofer fits perfectly in the cargo area so that's hidden as well. The nice part is, I can get to the spare tire if I need to. I'll eventually pull that panel off just to see how it looks and take some pics. It was a long haul but it's finaly done!
 

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Congratulations my bro. Wish I could hear it.
 

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BrooseDaMoose

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So I have one issue, the warning tones are really loud! I was pulling into a parking spot and the vicinity sensor went off and scared the shit out of me! I wonder if there is a way to lower the volume. I don’t want to damage the speakers! Anyone ever run into this before?


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UNBROKEN

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You program that through the Nav TV unit.
 

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OK, Thanks. I'm going back there today to talk to him about it. I guess he will need to pull that panel off again because that's where he put the ZEN unit. I don't have any experience with them otherwise I would just do it myself. Is it hard to do?
 

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I went to the Nav TV site and it looks pretty simple. I wish he would have left the USB cables accessible for just this reason. Now the whole panel has to come back off. Not that it’s a big deal but it just would have been a lot easier.


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Cruising68

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BrooseDaMoose said:
I went to the Nav TV site and it looks pretty simple. I wish he would have left the USB cables accessible for just this reason. Now the whole panel has to come back off. Not that it’s a big deal but it just would have been a lot easier.


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Yes simple. I left usb cables connected to the nav just for that reason.


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I just talked to him and he said they left the USB cable out down below. I was kinda hoping the panel would have to come off so I could take some pictures but I’ll save that project for a later date.


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BrooseDaMoose

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Here are some pics of the two amp boards and them installed where the OEM sub used to be. The subwoofer fits in the cargo space perfectly and the cover even fits! He installed the two USB ports for the ZEN and the amp. It looks like they came from the factory there. I just need to label them. Overall I think he did a pretty good job.
Amp1.JPEG
Amp2.JPEG
Amp4.JPEG
Sub.jpg
USB.jpg
 

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Cruising68

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BrooseDaMoose said:
Here are some pics of the two amp boards and them installed where the OEM sub used to be. The subwoofer fits in the cargo space perfectly and the cover even fits! He installed the two USB ports for the ZEN and the amp. It looks like they came from the factory there. I just need to label them. Overall I think he did a pretty good job.
View attachment 24727
View attachment 24728
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Nice install! Those usb connections are awesome! My cables are just tucked away so I can pull them out when needed.


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BrooseDaMoose

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Thread Starter #115
Cruising68 said:
Nice install! Those usb connections are awesome! My cables are just tucked away so I can pull them out when needed.


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Yes, it makes it so much easier. It's funny because when I first got it back and was checking things out, I didn't even realise those went to the ZEN and the amp! I thought they were part of the vehicle! DOHT! To my defense though, right above them on the panel there is some electrical symbols and writing. I've been tweaking the sound and got it just about perfect for my ears. Sounds so good and will literally hurt your ears if I turn it all the way up! But the sound is just incredible!
 

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