Hi I know this is a old thread but was wondering if anybody could help me out a little. I was given a Saab 9-3 recently (YAY lol), and wanted to hook my sub/amp enclosure up to the system. I have been searching and reading a lot of threads online and different set up methods and wondered if anybody could assist me in setting the sub into the car.

So far I know the amp needs to be powered via the battery. Ground cable needs to go on the bolt of the body where the fusebox compartment is in the boot. Remote cable needs to go onto the 7.5a fuse, I will be using a piggy back fuse holder for this. For the aux cables I have ordered the line level convertor and it should arrive in a few days. What my question was, would I be able to connect it via the stock 4" speakers on the parcel shelf? I have read I will not be getting full range of the bass signal but is it still possible? I do not really wish to take off the seat and fiddle with amp1 as this will be my first sub/amp setup and I do not wish to really mess everything up.

The sub/amp is an Edge EDB12 12" active subwoofer, was pulled out from my old Polo and was bought from Halfords.
I intend to change the dash left and right speakers in the near future too. I am fine with the front door speakers and the rear parcel shelf as Im not to fussed about the sound behind me..or should I be? lol. Does anyone recommend to change the center dash speaker too?

I know its alot of questions, Im just new to this. Any help will be very much appreciated.

Thank you very much.

 

No problem resurrecting this old thread, as long as xplode doesn't come back with it. Lol. Geez, some people get themselves so worked up. It's only a forum not a presidential debate for crying out loud. Reading his comments did make me chuckle though.

 

Better to resurrect an old thread than start a new one IMO

I have a 350W Kenwood 2 channel amp (not sure how many amps it draws) running 2 Soundstream 6x9s in the rear deck. And the OEM 150watt amp is running the doors and fronts (still need to get the front center disconnected or replaced, but cant get the cover pry'd off...it looks like it's going to break). Anyway, I haven't had any issues running both off the stock alt. I keep thinking of hooking up some Boston SE45s in the 4" rear deck to take advantage of the OEM wires sitting there doing nothing, but I really don't think I need it. System rocks as it is.

I realize you have the 6.5" speakers already, but I wouldn't change them. The polks are 4ohms. The OEM amp to the doors is 2 ohms, hence the door woofer speakers are 2 ohms. I'd sell the 6.5s on Ebay...

 

Thanks for the response!

The speaker sits right in front of the SID, right? If so, I removed the cover really easily when swapping out my SID display. Just take a thin flathead screwdriver, cover the tip with masking tape and stick it in between and pry up and out. The cover is fairly flexible and mine popped out easily. I started 45 degrees to the right from the front center of the cover and worked my way around the front. Personally, I think I used a nylon pry tool.

Did you take out 4" speakers from your rear deck?

I am planning on using the four channel amp to power the rear 6x9s and 4" and leave the rest powered by amp1 and headunit. Slightly worried about it sounding balanced in the car but it should be okay.

I did not realize the door speakers were 2 ohm. I'll probably take your suggestion and put the 6.5" on ebay.

Where did you get power for your amp battery or tap fuse?

 

After a lot of research I decided to a Kenwood KAC-8405 4 channel amp to add 2 Kicker 11KS693 (6x9) and Polk Audio 4" db401. I also have some Polk db651s that I may try to fit in the doors. I already have the 4" and 6.5" from a previous car.

My question is would this amp be too much for the alternator to handle? I think my car '03 Linear SS has a 130 or 140 amp alternator and the data sheet for the amplifier says the current draw is about 34 amps (I assume max). Basically I don't want to overwork my alternator and kill it prematurely. I'm a 4th year EE so I know a little bit, but I don't know how much headroom I have with the alternator or how much strain the current electrical system is putting on it.

I am definitely going to run a power cable from the battery.

Hope this thread isn't too old to resurrect. If anyone could advise on the alternator that would be awesome. I like this amp due to auto-turn on from the sensing of speaker level input signal. I will be tapping into amp1 outputs for my high level inputs. I have the 7 speaker setup.

Thanks.

 

Thanks a lot, I will follow your advice

 

i dont recommend it, 10G is still thicker than the factory power cable for the amp in the trunk of your car, if you intend on using both amps at the same time its not a good idea, the only thing you should b looking for in your trunk is a remote on for your after market amp.

With this in mind, if you still want to use the factory power from the amp in the trunk, identify the power cable going into it, usually it is red, and thicker than the cables around it, cut it, allow about 5-10cm to hang out of your factory amp, then split the main lead so it connects back into the factory amp, and has an extra output, connect your new amp to that.

!!!WARNING!!!
THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!!!

You will void your factory warranty by cutting this cable.
You're warranty will be voided the second you cut any cables on the car.

Use connectors to take outputs from existing speaker leads. Rear speakers and Door speakers have the fullest range of sound for aftermarket amps.
your 2010 Saab is still covered by the 3 year minimum warranty.
DO NOT CUT THE CABLES UNLESS YOUR WILLING TO LOSE THE WARRANTY.

If any installer has told you that this will not void your warranty, they have lied to you, the only place that should be doing this sort of installation is the Saab service, they are the only ones that will be covered under the warranty.

 

If I want to tap from the power cable that powers the amp in the trunk, how can this be done since the power cable recommended by the powered amp I want to install is 10GA thick

 

Thanks a lot for your fast response, I guess that explains why I could not find the cable grommet

 

I tried this with my 2010 saab 93 sedan and did not find any cables going to the engine bay, I was able to take the glove box with no issues at all, I just cannot find a way to insert the power cable without drilling any holes. Can you please help.
Thanks a lot

 

If you are in the USA, the cable grommet will be on the left hand side behind your steering collumn. it is quite hard to get to it but worth the effort if you don't want to drill into your chassis.

hope that helps.

 

I should also mention, the amp I am using has a Bass boost option, which significantly increases the bass coming from the rear speakers, still not ideal as its not the full range, but the amp helps it along very nicely.

I don't like settling for poor audio quality, but no amp1, no choice i guess.

That in mind, I wouldnt call the audio quality poor, its crystal clear at very high volume, so not an entirely bad result.

 

After reading this thread, it seems that there are to correct trains of thought here:

1. If you have AMP1 and it works (7 speaker system) - you should take the feed from AMP1/door speakers to feed an aftermarket amp for a sub/bass response.
(the door speakers are the only speakers in the 7 speaker setup that receive sub-bass signals).

2. If you don't have AMP1, or you did have but it's fried - You're only option is to take a feed from the rear speakers and live with it, now for some peoples tastes, this will be more than adequate, (as has been atested to here), but for others this still won't be enough bass.


Can we please bring this thread back on topic and refrain from name calling, etc.
We all have different musical tastes and some will find certain solutions will suit themselves while not suiting others.

 

Very well put thank you.
Any suggestions that could fix the problem of connecting to rear speakers, without replacing AMP1?

Also, occasionally, ill get a popping sound come through the speakers, usually when the car is cold, i thought the aftermarket amp would help with this, however tried it today, and same thing.

 

You carry on thinking that then..

 

oh please enlighten me as to how I would take speaker outputs from the AMP1 which is currently sitting in my garage on a shelf.

U seem like a smart guy shouldn't be a hard one for you to figure out.

 

well looking at that chart, the rear 4" speaker has more than sufficent frequency response to justify using it to run new speakers on the parcel tray.
Especially considering that that signal is going into an amplifier first.

With AMP1 fried, which is what happend to mine, its not like i chose to bypass it, i had to.

I put Alpine typeR 6x9s in the back, wired them to the amp, and the range of sound going through them is pretty awesome. The sound is crisp and clear, at low and at very high volume, so while not delivering a full range, they cover more than enough of the frequency range to justify using them.

In an ideal world, all of our cars would be fitted with AMP1 and AMP2, they would both never get damaged (soaked in water under the seat) would both be about 1000W RMS and all of our cars would have the 13 speaker sound system with top of the range speakers.

However, this is not always possible, the most common problem that requires an audio upgrade in these cars, is the AMP1 getting wet and fried. Looking at $500aus for a 2nd hand one online, or $1000+ for a new one from the dealer. The best option was to splice the rear 4"speaker cables, and add in an amp, or maybe I should have just kept the car without any sound?
If I could have used amp1, I would have. I did the best possible with what was available. If you had bothered to read my whole post you would have noticed the part where i mention that amp1 is fried, and could not be used. So back to my original statement, you have no clue, what so ever

 

Just to backup what Aerojon is saying about the filtering of speakers within the 2003-2006 system, take a look at this thread: audio help and in particular this chart:

 

Great post!! Might need to do this later

 

Excuse the ignorant question you lot: is it compulsory to get the power from the battery? I have read about using a 30A fuse from the towing eye as the power feed option. Mind you that this would be only for a low powered amp to feed a subwoofer or for a powered subwoofer. I would like o avoid running wires so long in the car, specially if I would have a power source near they amp at the back.

 

I would recommend the power from battery, this way it has it's own fuse, and is seperate from the rest of the systems.

It is never a good idea to share fuses in the car, even for my remote wire, the add a fuse adapter which i used, actually allows for seperate fuses.

For 1 low power amp it may not be a problem to run from the 30A fuse, however if something goes wrong, you blow that fuse, you could cause damage to the car's computer, and then your in a heap of trouble lol.

BTW, i dont mean blowing the fuse will damage your computer, you may cause an overload when you put a new fuse in. I blew a large fuse in an old honda, when I put in a new fuse it didnt blow straight away, and it caused some damage to the engine computer. It cost me $1000 to fix the computer.

Amps draw alot of power, and the fuse in the engine bay that attaches to the battery is generally 50-60A fuse, your 30A may not be able to handle it.

Short answer, no its not compulsory, but it is recommended.

 

so what your trying to say is that, my rear speakers dont work properly?

have u read any part of this thread, or r u just jumping in half arsed?

everyone on this thread has done some sort of bypass on their amp1, put in high level converters, and runs an aftermarket amp. without a problem. Crystal clear sound, no fiberoptics involved. the amp1 is completely redundant.

If you have not done this yourself, or do not need any help in getting it done, dont get involved if you obviously have no clue.

AMP1 runs 3 speakers in the whole car, whether it be 7 speaker, or 9 speaker systems, it runs the front door speakers, and the center dash, that is all, all other speakers get a full range of sound from the head unit, or in the 9 speaker system, from AMP2. The headunit is solely responsible for running the dash left and right speakers, and the rear 4" speakers. Taking an output from them WILL give you the signal required to run an RCA into an aftermarket amp.
I have done this, so has PaulOliver, and neither of us has had a problem with getting a full range of sound.

 

so what your trying to say is that, my rear speakers dont work properly?

have u read any part of this thread, or r u just jumping in half arsed?

everyone on this thread has done some sort of bypass on their amp1, put in high level converters, and runs an aftermarket amp. without a problem. Crystal clear sound, no fiberoptics involved. the amp1 is completely redundant.

If you have not done this yourself, or do not need any help in getting it done, dont get involved if you obviously have no clue.

AMP1 runs 3 speakers in the whole car, whether it be 7 speaker, or 9 speaker systems, it runs the front door speakers, and the center dash, that is all, all other speakers get a full range of sound from the head unit, or in the 9 speaker system, from AMP2. The headunit is solely responsible for running the dash left and right speakers, and the rear 4" speakers. Taking an output from them WILL give you the signal required to run an RCA into an aftermarket amp.
I have done this, so has PaulOliver, and neither of us has had a problem with getting a full range of sound.

the 3.5" & 4" speakers don't get the full/sub bass frequency it is filtered out in the ehu they only get mid/highs,that's why when fitting a sub it's better to tap into amp1 or amp2 for the full/sub bass frequency..

what you see in the dash is the control panel the actual ehu is behind the acc/mcc panel..

Taking an output from them WILL give you the signal required to run an RCA into an aftermarket amp.

I'm not saying it won't.What it won't give you is a full bass signal

If you have not done this yourself, or do not need any help in getting it done, dont get involved if you obviously have no clue.

Over the last 6 months i've fitted 5 active subs into friends cars,not to mention my last 2 cars where i totally upgraded & amped all the speakers as i've also done the 9-3 speakers aswell.So yes i have clue.

the ss saloon/sedan had 3 system types

4,7 & 13 speaker sytems.

 

None of the speakers in the SS has a full range signal as their filtered in the ehu..

 

im not ruling that out, it is a very distinct possibility, i never had the chance to test it for myself, the amp1 in my car is fried, and i have spliced into the rear speakers for my aftermarket amp, all i did was create a return for the fiber optics, so that the system would turn on.

 

the audio signal into amp1 & 2 is digital thru the fibre optic cable & then outputted as an analogue signal for the speakers....

the amps also contain digital to analogue convertors.

 

I found that you don't need to remove the seat to get to the amp 1 wires, and if you want abit of working room, its best that you dont.
Unscrew your amp1 from the floor, 1 or 2 screws is all that holds its, unplug the cable connection from the amp and take it out completely, dont throw it away! lol

then where you ran your power cable on the left hand side of the car, is where your amp1 cables come from aswell. open that little cable tray near the passenger seat, and pull out the amp1 connector, careful not to damage your fiberoptics its a pain in the butt to get everything going without them. Identify which speaker leads you want to connect to, cut them from the connector and add in your line out converter.

Again, if you just want to add a couple of speakers into the parcel tray, much easier to splice the leads on the parcel tray itself and you dont need to touch amp1. Especially if your amp1 still works, not a good idea, the fiberoptics in amp1 are what turns on the whole system. no amp1 no sound at all.

If your amp1 is blown, then you need to bypass the fiberoptics anyway to get it all going again. then splice the speaker wires under the seat.

Fuse17 in the boot, is connect as shown in the pic. Ignore the RCA's they were just there for storage haha

 

If your amp1 is blown, then you need to bypass the fiberoptics anyway to get it all going again. then splice the speaker wires under the seat.

if the amp is blown there is no analogue signal to tap into..

 

No worries, my electrical knowledge aint exactly super either!

I am running my rca under the carpet, next to the centre tunnel.

To gain access to amp1, you do indeed need to remove the seat ideally, but its easy and takes a few minutes to do! Disconnect your battery, then slide the seat forwards...you will see 2 bolts you need to undo, they are torx but i cant remember the size of them (you will need a decent torx kit whilst owning this car, so get some!). Disconnect the airbag connections, and heated seat/memory/wahetver else there is there. The seat then needs yanking back if i remember rightly to release it. You will then see amp1 in all its corroded glory! There will be some screws to undo to release it from the floor, and minimal wiring length allowing for sod all working room. You will see the speaker wires coming out of the amp, these are the ones to tap for the line level. Once fitted, you need to fit the seat back in, and connect all wiring to it. Once you are sure ist all good, you can reconnect the battery. NEVER unplug an airbag without the battery disconnected, you risk it setting off. I will try and photograph my setup for you as a guide.

Blue lead can be wedged into the hole where the fuse sits, then the fuse holds the wire in place...sounds like a bodge but it works alternatively a fuse tap would be a neater solution.

 

Yeah pretty decent bit of kit from Halfrauds! Shame everything else in there is junk

I think its a 2 channel, but I can check when I come home. I guess you can tell I have no electrical brains hehe

I guess I will have to run the RCA under the carpet instead of down the side panel where I placed my 12V lead. Do I need to remove the seat to access the AMP or can I struggle under the small gap?

I currently havent bought one? Where does the Line Level go? From the amp?

Only problem with SABAs guide is there is no pictures and the explanation is pretty vague, I dont wanna remove the seat only having to put it all back due to mistakes lol!

Brilliant regarding the blue lead, fuse convertor going to be needed then to make a connection?

Thanks mate

 

No worries Nathan, i am happy to help.

Thats a bargain kit really chuffed with how good the quality is for such a low price...About the only decent thing halfords do ;ol;

What amp are you running? Is it mono, 2 channel, 4 channel... Mono will only have 2 rca sockets, of which you simply plug your lead into them, and multi channel amps will have 4 or more sockets...you just need to run your leads into 1 of the channels and when you wire your sub speaker wire into the amp, the will be terminals for 4 wires (2 speakers worth) which you will want to 'bridge' of which your amp will show you which wires to bridge. This means that the sub will receive those 2 speakers worth of power so to speak

The RCA lead you need to run from either under your seat if you have the 7 speaker or 11 speaker system, or from your parcel shelf if you only have the 4 speaker system. Try and avoid running the power lead and the RCA lead next to each other as it can cause interferance.

What line level convertor have you got? The halfords skinpy looking thing is utterly useless, i highly recomend you order one of these (cheapest i could find for the uk):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FLI-Audio...ccessory-Car-Audio-Di-/170686958335?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item27bdbc4aff

I run one now and its so much better quality!

For the splicing advise, see SABAs guide on the How to section of the forum

The blue lead goes to fuse 17, and to the remote terminal on your amp

 

Right, I bought the VIBE wiring kit, so I have the same as you paul! Hopefully this will help me wire it in easier.

I added the power lead yesterday, and the earthing, but the other leads still complicate me!

The grey lead with phono leads? Where is this going? I guess 1 side new AMP and 1 side old AMP? is this right? What leads am I splicing into for this lead.
The blue lead? Straight into fuse 17?

Really appreciate it, Nathan