ZippoMan2005

Ok guys, I spent the last hour searching and I still have not found a definite answer.

My buddy installed an aftermarket headunit in his firebird and lost basically all his bass along with an overall decrease in volume.

He used the metra wiring harness WITHOUT a PAC OEM1. Is the PAC OEM1 required when running an aftermarket headunit on the stock amp and speakers? I was under the impression that you only need a PAC OEM1 when installing an aftermarket amplifier with the stock headunit.

I'm helping him install a 10" sub (and amp) in the trunk area next week but I'm worried that the rest of his speakers are not outputting at the proper level.

Any information that will clear this up for me would be greatly appreciated.

spy2520

iTrader: (3)

i'd imagine the way the speakers are wired up, hes not getting much power out of the HU. I think the impedance of the speakers may be causing them to play at a lower power level. Although i am no 12v specialist, i was running my HU with the factory amp for a while and required no special wiring. I could have sworn the harness just plugged from the factory one to the new HU. Now that i think about it, what the hell did you do?

ZippoMan2005

It was all "plug and play" with the metra wiring harness so I assume the wiring is correct.

felton316

I have the same problem with my Alpine HU. For some reason it doesn't put out enough bass for the Monsoon amp.

CAMAROWITHBASS

iTrader: (2)

what the deal is the speakers are all wired up in a 2 ohm load, yet the radio runs at 4 ohms thus far reducing power by 50%

ZippoMan2005

But if a regular wiring harness is used wouldn't the amps still be powering the speakers at 2ohm?

thesoundandthefury

iTrader: (3)

Did the head unit you installed have an onboard amp? The rule about line drivers is that if you have two of them running to the same set of speakers, the one first in line from the head unit will be the one that is utilized, and the second one will be defeated. Since you said you hooked this up through the stock wiring, your head unit's amp is the active amp, as it is the first in the line. I'm gonna guess that the reason the music isn't as loud is because the head unit's onboard amp isn't anywhere near as powerful as the Monsoon. Check the Monsoon amp for a set of RCA jacks. If it has them, run an RCA cable off your head unit to the Monsoon, which will defeat the head unit's onboard amp and make the Monsoon active. Also, I'm gonna guess that the reason you're not getting any bass is because alot of head units have the mid/highs designated to one set of preouts, and the bass on a separate set of preouts. Usually, (and this varies alot depending on what brand of head unit you're running), when you hook a head unit that has these separate preout features up through stock wiring, you only get the mid/high frequencies to protect your smaller speakers from bass overload. (Like I said, this varies with different brands.) Go check the Monsoon amp to see if it has RCA jacks, and lemme know what you find...

00PewterSS

iTrader: (3)

This isn't true at all. Where did you hear that rule? His HU would not be set up from the factory with a high pass filter. Though many can be set up this way.

And whoever said the 2ohm speakers would make it quieter, it is the opposite. The lower impedance would make them louder. Regardless the radio isn't seeing the load the monsoon is.

The reason it isn't as loud is because it isn't receiving the same level of signal it did previously from the stock HU. The factory HU must put out a pretty high level signal. The monsoon does not have RCA jacks on it. And the monsoon amp probably doesn't put out more power than your aftermarket HU.

Now to fix the problem, I don't really know the answer to that. Obviously the monsoon isn't getting enough signal. The only idea I have (I don't know if this would help or hurt depends on your HU) is to use the RCA off your HU and connect them to the inputs to the amp. This would require using an RCA cable, cutting it and splicing it to the inputs for the amp.

Better suggestion is chuck the monsoon and install a different amp.

Brian

Nova5

Lost bass? had this happen to me, the Amp has a remote turn on wire.. Pink if i recall on the factory side. make sure its got a wire in the metra harness that is attached to a wire on the new HU. if this wire is MISSING from the harness its not the right harness for that car.

thesoundandthefury

iTrader: (3)

You haven't dealt with many aftermarket head units have you? ALL of the head units I've installed, (lost track around 1998), that were equipped with a built-in amp were set so that the built-in amp could ONLY be defeated if an external amp or some other form of line driver was hooked up through the preouts. The head unit knows to do only one of two things: factory wiring= internal amp ON, preout connection=internal amp OFF. If your external amp happens to be hooked to the factory wiring, guess what?, the head unit's internal amp WILL STILL BE ON. As far as your comment about his HU not having a high pass filter...have you been living under a rock for the past 5 years? This is pretty much an industry standard now.

The same level of signal...and you're basing this off of what? Do even know what head unit the guy is running? Do you have a service manual that gives the preamp voltage of the stock Monsoon head unit? Do you even know what the hell you're talking about?

Monsoon amps from 97-99 put out 200 watts. The 2000 and up models put out 500 watts. I'm sorry, but even though an aftermarket head unit may say that it puts out 50X4, that's 50 watts PEAK power per channel, which the amp is only capable of sustaining for very short bursts. The most you're gonna see out of an internal amp is 20-25 watts RMS. Why do you think GM even opted to include an external amp in the Monsoon system to begin with? Because the internal amps in all their other stock head units couldn't put out enough power. End of discussion.




Then why are you on this thread?




Isn't hooking things up through the RCA's what I JUST got done telling him to do?



Or even better yet, study this webpage:

http://mods.firebirdv6.com/stereo.html#FBAQ_10

Brian[/QUOTE]

ZippoMan2005

I don't really see an answer yet.

You are telling me there is no way to hook up an aftermarket HU with the stock Monsoon amp and speakers without it sounding like ****? I don't believe that.

Trent

iTrader: (3)

Go back and double check and then triple check your wiring. I have installed 6 aftermarket decks in cars with the monsoon system. Never had a single problem with any of them. They all come on, they all power beautifully and the speakers sound better than they do from the factory.

If you did in fact hook it all up correctly, you should have the deck checked to make sure it is ok. I've seen decks do some really weird things when they are on their way out. If it's new, go exchange it. If it's used, have it checked. An aftermarket head unit should have no effect on the monsoon system other than making it sound better. I've put everything from a cheap sony to a 2000 dollar Alpine DVD setup on the factory monsoon. It works.

00PewterSS

iTrader: (3)

Ok this isn't helping his problem. My response was in trying to eliminate confusion not start more. I guess I'm more confused than ever by your reply what you meant in the first place. I agree with the statement you made in the response completely.

And now I'm really confused as to what kit was used for install. Did the kit make use of your speaker level outputs from the HU or the RCA outputs? Because I see that Metra makes a kit that uses RCA outputs also for GM cars.

Agreed the monsoon does have more output than most aftermarket HU, but not by a huge margin. I was just giving the monsoon a hard time.

And I'm not living under a rock, most HU are set up for full range output from the factory to both speakers and the RCA jacks. You have to change it to put out high pass for the pair or pairs or RCA jacks and low pass for the other pair. It is worth looking at, but again I'm not sure if he is using the RCA at all.

Personally I would need more info about the wiring kit to understand what is going on. I have a PAC-1 and it can't increase output I will tell you that. All it can do is attenuate, there is no amplifier in it.

You will want to power a sub with another amp anyway, which is why I would suggest just installing another amp for the other speakers too. It doesn't cost much for a high quality lower power output amp.

Brian

ZippoMan2005

I've installed about four aftermarket headunits but never in an F-Body, is there anything special about the wiring harness connections for an F-Body? Or is it simply matching up the wire color? I will double check with my friend what wiring harness he used.

Trent

iTrader: (3)

The factory monsoon's that I've dealt with had three plugs on them. However, there was only one of those harnesses that was used. It is very obvious which one it is as all three plugs are very different sizes. It's just a matter of wiring wire to wire, color to color. No biggie.

The harnesses I have used have a red, yellow, black, blue, blue with white stripe, and then the eight speaker wires. Two green, two purple, two grey, and two white with black stripe. Match them up to the harness that comes with the deck and plug it in. If it doesn't work and the monsoon did, then it's either your wiring or the deck. Wiring is matching color to color, so it's easy. My bet is the deck isn't working right.

Adinsx

Ok, it's my car and deck that is being discussed. The deck I am using is a cheap Sony CDX-S2210, it's only 17 watts RMS x4. If I crank it up it still gets loud, there's just the missing bass. The wire kit I used was whatever Crutchfield gives you free with a HU purchase. The harness only had front l/r and rear l/r, and the power and ground. The speakers in the Monsoon system are front l/r, rear l/r and the middle l/r which are the woofers. You can barely hear anything coming from them. The new sub and amp should hopefully take care of the bass, I just hate having two speakers that aren't doing anything. Any help would be great.

sercastiK

iTrader: (11)

damn near everytime something in the monsoon is fucked with something else doesnt work, the midbass thing has happened to me a few times...btw monsoon amp isnt gonna do 200 or 500 watts if you believe that you probably bought into the Rockwood 2400 watt amps back in the day.


J

thesoundandthefury

iTrader: (3)

Got it off this website: http://mods.firebirdv6.com/stereo.html#FBAQ_10

Here's also a couple more links that mention how much power it puts out:

http://www.firebirdgallery.com/00lot1.htm

The first 2000 model Trans Am to finally grace the website is owned by Brett Lewis. And what an awesome example it is......

"Talk about the most amazing combination of smooth class and pure aggression; a 2000 silver exterior & black leather interior T-Top Trans Am / Ram Air with the WS6 performance package (350ci, 320+ HP, ram air induction, 6-speed manual with Hurst shifter, specially tuned suspension, 17 inch road hugging hi-speed rated tires, 6-way power seats, traction control and much more). Purrs like a kitten on the inside, rumbles like a big cat on the outside. Tap the accelerator and you better brace your neck or get whip lash. Hugs corners like glue and you definitely "feeeeel" the road. Gives me 28mpg on the highway. Add the 500 watt, 8 speaker Monsoon stereo system with some "traveling" music and you are in heaven. Turns everyone's head when they see it. Followed a silver and black Corvette one day and EVERYONE was looking at my Ram Air. Corvettes are a dime-a-dozen because so many folk have them. Ram Air owners love being different. Definitely not mainstream. We don't "keep up with the Jones's", we politely blow by their stationary butts."
Brett Lewis
Newton, Iowa

AND

http://www.e-cartips.com/reviews/200...et_camaro.html

The Chevrolet Camaro is best known for its sleek style and muscle car abilities. A true sports car, the Camaro handles like a race car with impressive power and impecible style. Since the day the Camaro was introduced in 1967, it has been one of the leading sports cars available. Although the Camaro has been re-vamped over the years with chassis, brake, hood, and fender upgrades and a new sleek look, in the year 2001, it's tradition of excellence in a sports car field has not faltered.

The Camaro is available this year in four trims, the coupe, the Z28 coupe, the convertible, and the Z28 convertible. All four trims come standard with driverside airbag, passenger airbag, daytime running lights, and ABS brakes. Both manual and automatic transmissions are also available in all four trims.

The coupe and convertible trims are both equiped with the same 200 horsepower 3.8 liter V6 engine. The Z28 upgrade to both trims offers a 310 horsepower 5.7 liter V8 engine. All four trims come with AM/FM stereo and cassette, air conditioning, tilt steering, cloth interior and reclining bucket seats. The Z28 upgrade standards include a Zexel Torsen differential and a 200 watt Monsoon stereo system.

The Z28 Camaro is upgradable by adding the SS package. The SS package adds 17" aluminum wheels, high performance tires, a unique rear spoiler, a forced induction fiberglass hood, and low restriction exhaust with dual 2.75" tailpipes.


I'm about sick of ******** who have no intentions of trying to help out the people with problems jumping into the middle of their threads to take cheap shots at the people who are. Adinsx I can continue to try and help you work out your problem but I'm done discussing it here so you're gonna have to send me a PM.

sercastiK

iTrader: (11)

im just telling the truth. them 200 and 500 watt ratings are peak in perfect conditions with who knows how much distortion..if you read it on a website its true though...

have a pleasant day

J

Frosty

iTrader: (17)

I'd say something is wrong with the wiring harness they gave you.

Just installed my older Pioneer 7300 today and used a Metra wiring harness for GM vehicles and it works like a charm. I have noticed that I have to get the volumn to around 22-26 to get a lot of sound out but I guess that's normal. Bass response seems normal.(though I customized the settings so there isn't that much bass coming out of the headunit)

MUCH better than the stock headunit. I guess I'm really no help here but I'd check that harness.