I have a JL Audio JX250/1 sub amp in a 2003 Toyota 4Runner.
I had replaced my head unit because I was getting a buzzing noise when it was on and none of the macguyver RCA and speaker wire tricks fixed it. This system was "professionally" installed. When I took the head unit out of the dash I found a rats nest of wires and yards of electrical tape which had dissentigraded into black tar. All connections were just twisted together and then taped. So I spent the better part of the weekend undoing that mess and installing a new Pioneer AVH-1330NEX while keeping the sub amp in place.
The remote wire they used was solid blue. The factory amp is still in place and the pros used a solid blue wire to tie into the factory wire harness. So I connected both blues to the blue/white on the Pioneer harness. See image below where the two blues connect to the blue/white.
Once I finished everything worked, except there is still a light buzzing noise for one second or so, from the time I turn the key to the time the Pioneer gets past the first warning screen. Once that warning screen goes away and the head unit is fully started, there is no noise. Looking at the amp I can see they used a fairly heavy gauge ground wire that leads under the carpet under the passenger seat, but I have no idea where it goes from there without taking some more things apart. Could their chosen ground point be the cause of my buzz?
My car battery was low when I did all this work, I tested it with a multi-meter and it was at 12.3 volts. It was an Optima Red Top. I had it for a little less than 3 years. I took it to Pep Boys who I bought the battery from and they tested the battery as "good" but needed charging, however since it was under warranty they just swapped it for a brand new battery. That was Monday. I checked my battery Friday (after it had sat unused since Monday) and the battery was reading 12.46 volts. Something is drawing power when the car is off, despite not being driving, I wouldn't expect the brand new battery to die that quickly. Saturday I drove it around for 40 minutes and the battery tested at 12.67 volts once I stopped and parked it. So the battery works and the alternator is charging it.
Once off, I checked my sub amp. Using my multi-meter set to milliamps, I touched the positive/negative leads to the power and ground screws on the amp (where the power/ground cables go into the amp). It read 1.6 milliamps. Set to volts it read 12.6volts. Then I went to the engine and pulled the in-line fuse for the amp's positive power line. I then went back and rechecked the amp. This time it had 0.0 milliamps, and 0.0 volts.
Will 1.6 milliamp draw by my sub be problematic or is that "normal?" Is there anything I did in installing my head unit I could have done better? Should I try to connect the sub amp remote wire somewhere else?
I had replaced my head unit because I was getting a buzzing noise when it was on and none of the macguyver RCA and speaker wire tricks fixed it. This system was "professionally" installed. When I took the head unit out of the dash I found a rats nest of wires and yards of electrical tape which had dissentigraded into black tar. All connections were just twisted together and then taped. So I spent the better part of the weekend undoing that mess and installing a new Pioneer AVH-1330NEX while keeping the sub amp in place.
The remote wire they used was solid blue. The factory amp is still in place and the pros used a solid blue wire to tie into the factory wire harness. So I connected both blues to the blue/white on the Pioneer harness. See image below where the two blues connect to the blue/white.
Once I finished everything worked, except there is still a light buzzing noise for one second or so, from the time I turn the key to the time the Pioneer gets past the first warning screen. Once that warning screen goes away and the head unit is fully started, there is no noise. Looking at the amp I can see they used a fairly heavy gauge ground wire that leads under the carpet under the passenger seat, but I have no idea where it goes from there without taking some more things apart. Could their chosen ground point be the cause of my buzz?
My car battery was low when I did all this work, I tested it with a multi-meter and it was at 12.3 volts. It was an Optima Red Top. I had it for a little less than 3 years. I took it to Pep Boys who I bought the battery from and they tested the battery as "good" but needed charging, however since it was under warranty they just swapped it for a brand new battery. That was Monday. I checked my battery Friday (after it had sat unused since Monday) and the battery was reading 12.46 volts. Something is drawing power when the car is off, despite not being driving, I wouldn't expect the brand new battery to die that quickly. Saturday I drove it around for 40 minutes and the battery tested at 12.67 volts once I stopped and parked it. So the battery works and the alternator is charging it.
Once off, I checked my sub amp. Using my multi-meter set to milliamps, I touched the positive/negative leads to the power and ground screws on the amp (where the power/ground cables go into the amp). It read 1.6 milliamps. Set to volts it read 12.6volts. Then I went to the engine and pulled the in-line fuse for the amp's positive power line. I then went back and rechecked the amp. This time it had 0.0 milliamps, and 0.0 volts.
Will 1.6 milliamp draw by my sub be problematic or is that "normal?" Is there anything I did in installing my head unit I could have done better? Should I try to connect the sub amp remote wire somewhere else?
