Author Topic: How to do a Subwoofer Install with the standard Wiring Harness for a '10 UK Jazz  (Read 13280 times)

guest1272

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After my previous Speaker install (see here), I decided that whilst the sound was excellent, the lowest frequencies were not really filled in.

Rather than being a flat EQ curve, the sound was more like this:



I wasn't looking for some kind of teenager chavy BoomBox "BombaClat upside ya face I aks ya" style:



...but was rather looking for a flatter EQ curve that sounded more balanced with emphasis on SQ rather than SPL:



This meant that I didn't want a gigantic box taking up my boot - with the added bonus of meaning that the boot is still usable and I can still get at my spare:



I'm still messing around with the settings, but I currently have the factory OEM Headunit set to "neutral" for bass and treble, with the Alpine SWE-1000 set to the 10 o'clock position for LPF (so it cuts off at about 70Hz) and 11 o'clock for the Gain, and the Phase set to NORM.

There isn't much else to show because I routed all the wires through the existing trims and upholstery.

Firstly, I removed the radio using this guide (page 3):
http://collegehillshonda.com/instructions/fit/2009/usbadapter.pdf

Then I used this guide to remove the center console (also has one metal screw to remove), again on page 3:
http://www.collegehillshonda.com/instructions/fit/2009/armrest.pdf

I then spliced the Speaker wires into the supplied speaker level leads (Rear pair) and, because there is no "remote on" wire coming form the factory HU, I spliced the remote on lead onto the purple ACC input into the HU.

The UK 2010 Jazzes have a slightly different wiring system than those I've seen on the net:





Proof (piccies of my Jazzes wiring loom for the radio before I vampire tapped it with the sub feeds):






Now, when doing the tapping, I didn't start my car and therefore didn't need to disconnect anything (useful to know you can do this without having to unplug the radio and therefore no radio code needed when you plug it all back in again).
All I did do with a multimeter is check that purple was indeed the Ignition On (ACC) feed.

Separate to this, if you look at the passenger side up into the bulkhead, you'll see a massive grommet with loads of wires entering the engine bay:

This is useful because any wire going through here ends up less than a foot away from the battery so there is no worry about routing the wire all round the shops and over hot engine compartments:


I used a coat hanger and simply fed the supplied +ve feed (fused) directly onto the battery:

Where it runs back, it is suspended away from anything remotely hot (runs around an air intake and directly to the back of the engine bay):

Once into the cabin, I routed it over to the center console where the spkr lvl input (spliced) wires were dangling along with the spliced ACC "turn the sub on" feed.

Next, I added the subwoofer remote cable with the all the other leads down both sides of the transmission tunnel under the carpet - using the wire once again to tunnel under the carpet in the rear to the rear boot. Negative lead was screwed into the seatbelt base securely, sub then mounted to the extreme right of the boot (when looking from the rear). I could've left such a small cabinet underneath the rear seat, but the boot should give a better acoustic response as the cone is facing a larger enclosed space in the boot firing R to L (rather than directly up at the base of a seat or directly back towards the hatch door -  the longest length to "fire into" is essential for deeper bass).

UPDATED Sub images SEE BELOW

Screwed everything back into place and voila - all the wiring has disappeared!
The added bonus is that the Alpine remote for the sub has a blue LED, which I placed at the very end of the centre console (furthest forward I could put it, beyond the cupholders/ashtray thingy) with the result that it bathes the area with soft blue light - not unlike the Ambient Lighting option offered by Honda - only MUCH cheaper  ;)



Overall, practically invisible, small enough to not impede the magic seats or boot space or ability to remove the spare wheel, loud enough to flatten out the sound curve, not loud enough to qualify for burberry accessories  ;D, cheap enough (£125) to be affordable...


I've update the post above with better piccies.

EDIT: Full install guide up here as well: http://gafferlicious.com/jazz.html

chrisc

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Excellent article, thanks.  I was wondering about the electronic crossover as I was paging through the pictures.  This is essential to avoid the "thump-thump" you get with yobs' car sound systems when they have the bass up full so the windows vibrate and you can hear it two cars away.

Here, taxis (mini-bus taxis) often have enormous sound systems such that the passengers have to shout when they want the driver to stop.

Quite a small sub too.  What are its specifications?
If music be the food of love, play on

guest1272

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Thanks :)

The most important thing imho for good integrated sound for me was that when i close the doors and stand outside, I can't tell I have a sub as a separate unit - it just sounds like I have good in-door speakers :) (that happen to extend fairly low).

The Alpine is classified as an under-seat subwoofer and is an 8" cone (not too big). It has dimensions, W250 x H272 x D114mm, 150W max power from it's built in amp and both Low and High level inputs. At the moment I have mine connected via high level but plan to change that if/when I change the headunit - by connecting via phono lead rather than vampire tapping onto the rears.


I only chose Alpine because all my other speakers were alpine but you could also use:
Pioneer, Kenwood, pro plus, beat audio, vibe etc ... Just type "underseat sub" into amazon for a selection.
I didn't put mine under the seat because I wanted to preserve the magic seats functionality (useful when I go to the tip) and these models take up v little room.


Sent from my iThingy using Tapathingy



EDIT May 2013: Another Update: After installing my HU, I realised the sub was wobbling all over the place. The 2 screws in the carpet had become a bit loose and I couldn't add screws to the plastic sides as that would mean I couldn't get to the boot.
The problem is that the plate used to secure sub to boot is very narrow and therefore can't "spread" the weight of the sub very well, hence it wobbles. So I  added a sheet of dynamat to all sides of the stand and re-screwed it on. This helped a lot, but I thought I could improve it even further by screwing it into a wooden board instead of the boot floor.
I found an old corner shelf in the garage (real wood not MDF) and screwed it into that. The underside has a strip of heavy duty velcro attached to it as does the back of the sub that attaches to the side:


With the rear passenger seat up, it wedges the sub into place and, along with the velcro underneath and behind, stops it sliding around. It's rock solid now, no wobble at all...plus with it being easily removable (no longer screwed directly into the boot) I can easily get to my spare tire as well :).

guest1272

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August 2013 A Final Update: The underseat sub was OK if you want to enhance a stock in car system, but now that the speakers were all getting decent un-equalised info from a better HU, it was very lacking (the 4 main speakers sound sooooo much louder and better that the underseat sub struggles to make itself heard and also doesn't appear to extend very deep).
I still wanted to retain boot space so I opted for a quick upgrade in the form of it's bigger brother, the SWE-815 (still an 8" but in a decent enclosure for better response)





WOW!!, proper bass again, not too overblown (I'm keeping the port-plug in place) but enough to shake my driver's seat....with the added bonus of being pretty much a direct swap with my existing cables (uses the same sub controller as the SWE-1000).
Best of all, it only cost £91 so is a bargain to boot.


EDIT: Full install guide up here as well: http://gafferlicious.com/jazz.html

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