Sub/amp gremlins
 

Hello all,

For the past week or so I've been wresting a Subwoofer setup into my 2007. I've been following the DIY threads and whatnot, but something isn't working somewhere and I'm stumped.

I have the Bose system, and have been having all kinds of trouble using a LOC. First I tapped the pre-amp Bose wires with the LOC, having read that and seen diagrams on the forum, nothing, no voltage change or signal coming from the RCA out of the converter. Then I read that people just tapped into the wires pre-speaker, so I tired that. Sub still doesn't move, but when I pull the keys out the head-unit and music stays on (playing through the stock system) until i pull the RCA's out of my Amp. This leads me to believe that I'm at /LEAST/ getting some signal through them.

Wondering if anyone else has ran into this sort of problem and can provide guidance because I'm stuck. I've thought about just throwing a new head-unit in, but I've read that aftermarket head-units have compatibility issues with the Bose system.

Equipment:
Kicker compR 12" @4ohms
Kicker 600.1 mono amp (should load to 300W @ 4ohms)
Kicker 4G wiring kit
Metra 2 channel LOC

Bump :(

That sounds like something is seriously wired wrong. The radio should not have power when the key is out.

That LOC has the following wires:
Gray
Gray/Black
Brown
White
White/Black

What color wire is each of those connected to and where in the car?

I had the LOC hooked up to the pre-amp wires as follows

Gray -> grey/red
Gray/Black -> brown/red
Brown x2 -> grounded to a chassis bolt behind the rear strut in the trunk
White -> green/orange
White/Black - blue/orange

With this wiring I got no voltage through the RCA's and no sub movement, then at the advice of my local Best Buy autotech, I cut the grounds off the LOC (which seemed like weird advice). That didn't make any difference so I tapped the wires leading into the rear speakers. I don't remember the exact wire combination but I followed another post on here and now I'm getting something through the RCA's but still no sub movement.

I have a new LOC in case that one was defective and I'm planning on hooking it up later today but I'm also thinking about just getting a professional installation at this point.

That looks correct so I don't know what else to suggest.

Do you have another speaker you can connect to the amp to test? Maybe the sub is bad?

What are you using as a remote signal?

This is the line that tells the amp when to turn on and off. It should be a wire that's powered when the key is on, and not powered when the key is off. (MOST people just tap the + on the rear cig lighter since it's closest)

It sounds, to me, like you've tapped a constant on power instead of a speaker wire, then when you hook that into your amp it's getting connected, somehow, through your RCAs and back INTO that remote line, which is powering your head unit.

Take some pics of all the wires you have tapped and the inputs into your amp.

I'll second the switched 12v as being the problem with the amp staying on. Does the cig lighter stay powered for a time after the key is off? We just put a sub in my son's Mini and the rear 12v outlet stays on for 10 minutes after the key is off (and comes back on when the hatch is opened).
As far the sub not working, have you tried using another source for the input? For example, use a cable that goes from a standard 3.5mm plug (like your AUX cable) to RCA then plug your phone into the amp. It will take the LOC out of the equation and make sure the rest of the equipment works.

I used the rear cigarette lighter plug. Tested with a multimeter to find the positive. Also, the radio only did the thing where it stayed on with the key out once and hasn't done it again so I'm not super worried about it.

I got a cable and tried this, but either my phone was unable to play music through both the aux-to-amp connection and the Bluetooth connection to the headunit. Ooor maybe the sub is defective.

I'm taking it in to an installer tomorrow so I'll find out either way. Thanks for the help though guys!