Couple of quickies - new HU for my '03 w/M&T

[lombard]

OK, tried the usual searches and read through a couple dozen pages in the Audio forum. I think I'm ready to roll, just need some confirmation...I've got a new Pioneer DEH-P9800BT on order, along with their iPod adapter and their XM tuner. Also ordered the GM wire harness, antenna adapter, and mounting kit from Crutchfield. Planning the install this weekend...1. The wiring harness is going to end up sending high level speaker outputs down to the M&T amp. Best I can tell, it's OK. The factory HU does the same...the factory amp will be able to handle the higher wattage coming from the new HU?2. Are there any adapters available that would allow me to completely bypass the factory amp without cutting any wires? Aside from the 2-ohm vs. 4-ohm speaker loads? I may end up replacing all the speakers too, in which case I'd pull the factory amp and use the space for the XM and iPod adapters.3. I'm stuck between homes right now (waiting for the new one to get built), so all my tools are in storage. I'm thinking I'll just temporarily run the XM antenna under the carpet/door sills all the way back, then up the hatch opening and under the hatch seal to get to the roof. Any better suggestions?Thanks guys. I may have some more questions later, as they pop in to my head.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by lombard »OK, tried the usual searches and read through a couple dozen pages in the Audio forum. I think I'm ready to roll, just need some confirmation...I've got a new Pioneer DEH-P9800BT on order, along with their iPod adapter and their XM tuner. Also ordered the GM wire harness, antenna adapter, and mounting kit from Crutchfield. Planning the install this weekend...1. The wiring harness is going to end up sending high level speaker outputs down to the M&T amp. Best I can tell, it's OK. The factory HU does the same...the factory amp will be able to handle the higher wattage coming from the new HU?You'll likely encounter crappy sound. The head unit is probably gonna send out such a high level signal that it will be clipped by the amp. You'll also likely hear things your normally wouldn't, such as the sound of the cd spinning, the laser moving, etc.Quote »2. Are there any adapters available that would allow me to completely bypass the factory amp without cutting any wires? Aside from the 2-ohm vs. 4-ohm speaker loads? I may end up replacing all the speakers too, in which case I'd pull the factory amp and use the space for the XM and iPod adapters.Yup. http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=12040Quote »3. I'm stuck between homes right now (waiting for the new one to get built), so all my tools are in storage. I'm thinking I'll just temporarily run the XM antenna under the carpet/door sills all the way back, then up the hatch opening and under the hatch seal to get to the roof. Any better suggestions?Unless you have head curtain airbags, it would be easier to run up the A-pillar and just slip the antenna wire under the edge of the headliner straight back, IMHO.Thanks guys. I may have some more questions later, as they pop in to my head.[/QUOTE]

[lombard]

Quote »You'll likely encounter crappy sound. The head unit is probably gonna send out such a high level signal that it will be clipped by the amp. You'll also likely hear things your normally wouldn't, such as the sound of the cd spinning, the laser moving, etc.Hmm, as a short term fix, maybe I should get some RCA jacks and make some "adapter cables" of sorts and send the low level signals down to the amp?Thanks for the reply, BTW

[lombard]

OK, I've got some more questions...Did some more reading, and I'm getting some mixed results. Seems there are a couple of alternatives out there. Clearly I need to send line level outputs to the M&T amp. I read one thread (ragingfish, I think you responded in it) discussing this very issue. Someone said they had problems using the line level outputs of their aftermarket HU, but using a converter (the Scosche SLC4?) to take the speaker level outputs down to line level, then sending that signal to the amp worked fine. Either way, it looks like I'll need to build up some RCA "adapter" cables to plug in to the harness.So what's the final word? Line level outputs from the HU are fine? Or do I need to get a converter to take the speaker level outputs down to pre-amp line levels?Never mind. Did some more reading. Looks like using the new HU's line level outs probably will lead to lots of noise (for whatever reason). So I guess I'm shopping for a line leveler or whatever. What's the latest and greatest in that department? Can't find the Scosche FA-3.

[dianebrat]

Scosche FAI-3Aabout $17 in Wal-mart in the automotive section, picked one up within the past month.That might help point you at an easy to locate source.I too read all the aftermarket HU posts, and everyone was cool with the FAI-3A, A few folks used the M&T amp with RCA's converted, (not with reliable results) so for $17 and an hour spent hooking up the connections on the kitchen table, I thought it was worth having it ready.

[lombard]

OK, got all my goodies and started looking everything over. Like I said, I may have more questions...Just want to double check the connections here. I've got the Metra 70-2003 wiring harness. Connecting the Remote On cable from the new head unit to the blue/white amplifier turn on wire on the harness will both power the antenna and turn on the amp, right?Secondly, wondering about the illumination/dimming cables. Every other cable on the Metra harness has matching color coding to the Pioneer harness. Not so on the illumination wires. The Pioneer harness has one wire for illumination (to turn on the faceplate dimming when the head lights come on), it's orange/white. The Metra harness has two: a solid orange one (terminal B12) and and orange/white one (terminal B4). Near as I can tell, I need to hook the Pioneer's illumination wire (orange/white) up to the Metra harness wire coming from terminal B12 (solid orange). The brightness of the Pioneer isn't variably controlled by an outside source, which is what I believe B4 is supposed to do. I think this is how spoonman hooked his up (link), but I just want to make sure.Thanks again.