How-To: Sub install 03-04 M45 Y34 write up

[ronez82]

I was trying to find a info on adding my subs to the car and was not finding anything helpful on what wires to tap and all the controversy with the Bose system made it a bit difficult. I follower a prior write up and it was wrong so I decide to do one myself. So here is how to simply add a Sub and amp to the trunk of the M45. It turns out it was surprisingly easy to get the power cable from the battery to the amp. Once you get your amp adjusted you can adjust the bass using the stock audio controls.

I am assuming you know basic audio install and are looking for what to tap and where to run wires in the car and all the usual do at your own risk stuff.

1. Locate the amp in the trunk by removing the four clips and flipping the top portion of the cover down in the back of the trunk. You can completely remove it but it is not necessary. 2. Now is when you have to decide what you are going to tap into. A. Rear speakers and adjust bass out by pulling sound to the front. (I chose this route) B. Front speakers and adjust bass out by pulling to the rear. C. Existing sub. The controversy on this is that bass decreases as volume increases.

Rear Left Speaker + light green -black w/ yellow stripe (far left)Rear Right Speaker + light green - black w/ purple stripe (far right)Front Left Speaker + blue - black w/ white stripe (2nd from left)Front Right Speaker + brown – black w/ red stripe (2nd from right)Remote turn on blue w/ black stripe (center single wire)



This is the white and gray harness for the stock sub. Sub + brown w/ white stripe – brown.

3. You can use a Line Out Converter, or as I did cut an RCA cable in half and splice directly into the input you chose. Choose which speakers your are going to use and carefully strip the wires back and then splice in. Soldering is the recommend choice here.



4. The best ground that I found was in the right side of the trunk under the side cover. If you pull it back you will see where two wires are already grounded there. I figured if it was good enough for the factory it is good enough for me. (green dot in pic)

5. To get power from the battery to the trunk the best route is as follows. On the left side of the trunk by the strut you will see some foam this will lead through to the back seat.



Push the seat to the side and you will see through to the trunk. Feed the wire through here. You can see the blue power wire at the bottom of the picture.



Unclip the panels on the door sills with a little tugging. Run the wire along here to the fire wall. From under the hood on the driver’s side you will see a large bundle of wires going through a large grommet. Pull the grommet out and feed the wire through.



Now run it along the firewall and attach to the battery



6. Button everything back up and you are done. Here is how I have my bundle coming out from the paneling in the trunk.



Good Luck and hope this helps a few people out.

[szh]

Good write-up! Thanks much.

You have earned a custom title (under your username) for sure - if you want one! Please send me e-mail as to what you would like it to say - has to be PG-13 clean, of course!

Thanks,

Z

[auditech10]

I would strongly recommend that you run your power wire THROUGH the grommet and NOT between it and the fire wall as you have shown in picture 5.

[Boon]

I would strongly recommend that you run your power wire THROUGH the grommet and NOT between it and the fire wall as you have shown in picture 5.

Great write up but I must say that I second this motion. The grommet is there for a reason, to keep any moisture out of the car. When you run it through the side of the grommet like that you are breaking that seal thus allowing moisture in.

Take a hanger apart, grind one end to a point, and you can slip it right through the middle of the grommet and into the cabin of the car. Then push the hanger into the end of your power cable, right into the open strands. Then using electircal tape tape it real good, then just fish the hanger back through with the power cable on it. This will probably only work with up to 8 gauge wiring, anything bigger will need to probably have a smale hole cut into the grommet then silicone sealed.

Great write up though, and good use of just RCA's and not wasting money on a line out converter.

Line outs are not needed with our car because unlike in a normal non bose system the wires being taped into before the bose amp are not already amplified, they are just signal wires. Don't waste your money with a converter!

[auditech10]

Good info, but I was more concerned with the large gauge wire rubbing on the firewall like that. Any little movements and that insulation will break open, exposing the wire strands and could spark and maybe cause a fire. Ive seen a car burn to a crisp from a MUCH smaller wire than that, that rubbed through underneith a dash.Good luck

[ronez82]

What I did was actually cut a slit in the gromet and the wire pushed down into it. Once it was pushed back together it seals up properly. Thanks for the advice.

[BIPPU_M45]

nice write up, a bit to late for me, i installed a system on mine, and im guessing blew the radio out, audio and a/c dont work, so now i have to buy new radio, next time ill follow this.

[kentb]

THANKS for the info!

[xxNite]

Folks,I have come close to finishing this install with only a few hitches. The write up is really dead-on and made this effort a lot easier than you could imagine. The only real hitch I've run into is that I wasn't able to make my amp work by cutting an RCA cord. It kept setting the Sony Amp into protection mode. I can use the speaker level inputs on the amp but they don't yield enough output to make the subs sing (even with the amp sensitivity turned all the way up). If i can't get a better RCA cord situation working, I am going to have to use a line out converter.The only other hitch is where the hell to mount the stupid amp!?!?!? Our trunks are tiny and odd shaped. It's not like you can drill into the sidewalls at all either (cause they are the outside panels of the car! you would puncture the outer surface if you tried! If I can't figure out a way to get this thing mounted, I am gonna remove the spare tire and toss it in that location and fabricate a way for it to breath down there... My other thought is to get an L-bracket fabricated and attach it to one of the two fuel cell tie-down rails mounting it vertically.see this photo for the two heavy-duty rails:

Coincidentally, I am using two Bazooka 12" bass tubes and a 2x150w RMS Sony Xplode amp. Nothing fancy, just stuff left over from my last car. The nice thing about my set-up is that it weighs very little. each sub is 26Lbs and the amp is about 8 Lbs. With the TEIN lowering springs and such negligible weight, I am not in danger of sagging in the rear. To keep the tubes in place, I simply used bungee cords wrapped around the two fuel cell tie-downs. They are end-to-end firing into each sidewall immediately behind the fuel cell. Their output, even in my unfinished state, is deep and massive. I can't wait to get it optimal! One last thing, I tapped into RONEZ82's recommended BOSE rear speaker left and right leads to be the source for the sub amp. That works for me.

[xxNite]

Okay folks, here we go...Over the last couple of days I've been trying to get things in order and this is what I've found:1.) when tapping into the wires RONEZ recommends, you get both DC current and a level that is well below standard RCA input levels for amp wiring. Not his fault... just the way BOSE created their systems.

2.) if your amp is super sensitive to DC currnet like my Sony XM-2150GSX, you will employ "OFFSET" protection every time you try to connect the soldered speaker leads into your RCA inputs. The only way I was able to alleviate it was to use a Line Out Converter (10 Ohms) to make the amplifier "happy".

3.) with the line out converter, the input to the amp has to be greatly amplified to match the output of the BOSE speaker system? My amp is pinned at MAX to get even close to what the BOSE system will produce. My SONY amp inputs are rated as follows:RCA pin jacks: 0.2-6.0 VSpeaker Level Inputs: 0.4- 12.0 V (Pulse Power Supply)

***Using a Rockford Fosgate Punch Amp would alleviate this situation since they give you crazy amounts of Gain & Headroom.***

What this means is that even at the rated MAX input, the SONY won't effectively match the BOSE system output.

What I now need is an aftermarket pre-amp device that can give me 10Db more gain to get my system tuned to the Bose system, since my SONY amp input gain is not high enough to match the factory systems.

Not saying I'm mad or anything, just a little frustrated I have to get more crap to get bone-crushing bass out of this M45. Currently, my M45 sounds a helluva lot nicer than it did before installing of these components! It hit super Low bass drops with ease and barely dims the lights since it is a MOSFET power supply and Bass reflex ported subs. can't wait to get a pre-amp with some gain in here to get things righteous!




Modified by xxNite at 1:03 PM 8/29/2009

[svard75]

On the 06 M35 the schematic diagrams show the wires leading to the BOSE amp from the deck. Have you tried to tap into these as a low level input? If that input is too low then you can purchase an electronic crossover to boost output to up to 4V.

CHEERS

[nuge]

I just finished my install. Couple of comments:

I used the Soundgate converter. It works great. No issue with not enough gain. It even has some toggle switches inside so you can actually get more or less gain.

One issue is that the remote wire described in this write up is not actually a remote wire. It is an iginition wire. So the amp turns off when you turn the car off and turn the key into the assessory position. I tested this just turning the stereo off. The amp still stays on. A true remote wire would turn off the amp.

I am also having a "humming" problem. When the stereo is off, the amp is on and the woofer is humming. Not sure why.

I am also loosing a lot of bass by the time it reaches inside the car. There is a lot of bass in the trunk, but there is no clear path of travel for the sound to come into the cab.

[xxNite]

Soundgate makes so many converters... Which one did you use?

I know what you mean regarding the remote turn on wire. My amp powers-up immediately upon turning to the accessories position (radio on or off) I have heard a bit of noise, but nothing major. your soldered wires may be close to an active lead or the ground wire needs re-adjusting?

The problem with getting bass into the interior is a tough one... I still have my factory sub in-place and connected for when I go on long trips and want more trunk space. I know the output of my aftermarket subs is pushing up against the rear of the factor sub and probably making it dance. Regardless... I get just enough extra oomph to satisfy me. I don't think you'll ever get bone-crushing bass outta these M's unless you remove the factory sub completely to allow more bass inside your vehicle from your trunk installed aftermarket subs.

Good observation.

[nuge]

It is the SOUNDGATE LOCB2.

I am also getting a "turn on" pop. Did you get this?

I tried removing the cover in front of the gas tank, but it did not make any signifcant difference in the amount of bass.

[xxNite]

It is the SOUNDGATE LOCB2.

I am also getting a "turn on" pop. Did you get this?

I tried removing the cover in front of the gas tank, but it did not make any signifcant difference in the amount of bass.

Thanks for the soundgate product number.I do not get any turn-on pop or thump.removing the panels is not going to help get any more bass from the trunk into the car. it's sealed-up pretty tight back there. removing the factory pancake sub is the only way (unless you are brave enough to start cutting-up your rear deck, which I DO NOT recommend).

I am running two super-efficient Bazooka 12's with 150Watts RMS to each. So that gives me enough, but not earthquaking like I had when the twelves were in my BMW or my hatchback. It's a shame.I wish I had friends with a stereo shop that could let me try out one of those new shallow depth subs. I would put it where the factory 10" is and see how it sounds. But I have no such luck...

[nuge]

I do not think removing the stock sub would help with getting the sound inside. The carpet panels in the truck would need to be removed or cut.

The stock sub is not even a standard 1o inch. It is almost impossible to find a replacement.

[xxNite]

I do not think removing the stock sub would help with getting the sound inside. The carpet panels in the truck would need to be removed or cut.

The stock sub is not even a standard 1o inch. It is almost impossible to find a replacement.

,

Actually, removing the sub is the ONLY way to get more sound waves into your cars cabin. The sub is the only breathable opening from the trunk into the interior (that woofer is a free-air application that uses the airspace in the trunk as its enclosure) So I'm afraid your are wrong. You'd have to remove that sub or up the output of your aftermarket subs to make any difference.

Removing all the carpet panels won't do a thing for you but make your trunk look like s**t...

You CAN bottom mount an aftermarket 10" sub in the factory location. Where do you get your information from???

Here's the best link I have ever found regarding completely overhauling the M45's audio system. It's a custom install with lots of pictures and painstaking details.

Enjoy.

http://thegreenm45.itgo.com/M45stereo.htm

http://thegreenm45.itgo.com/Audio03.html
Modified by xxNite at 7:46 PM 12/23/2009

[nuge]

I do not think removing the stock sub would help with getting the sound inside. The carpet panels in the truck would need to be removed or cut.

The stock sub is not even a standard 1o inch. It is almost impossible to find a replacement.

[nikopoju]

I've heard that the problem we all are having with not enough gain and not enough bass is the voice recognition mic is what is screwing it up. The guys at a shop told me that in order for you to get proper gain you have to turn that feature off. I don't know if it's true or not, but I'm going to find out soon. Anyone else heard of that?

[nikopoju]

So I think I found the problem. It's got to do with the noise compensation when you have it on, it wants to turn down your volume unless you're going fast enough. I turned that off and everything works great. As far as losing gain using the factory sub signal, I haven't experienced it really, the trunk is just sealed very well and doesn't allow air out. Best thing would be to take out the stock sub and use it as a port. Otherwise you'll never be happy with the bass. I am happy with my bass, maybe it's my setup and the music I listen to. I like that southern rap stuff and that's got a lot of bass in it anyway. I put these in my 04 M45 using a hi lo filter from the stock sub signal. The guy who started this thread did a great job of his wire identification that helped tremendously. Thanks. Works great and my voice recognition still works fine.