TJ Sub Woofer amp

BendLarry

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Apr 9, 2017
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Bend, Oregon, United States
my 2006 Rubicon with 23K miles has no sound coming from the console stock sub woofer. I pulled out the console and the speaker looks like new and the cone moves when a 9 volt battery is applied to both sest of voice coil contacts. The rig has an aftermarket kenwood radio so I'm not 100% sure it's wired right to the sub woofer. There is 12 volts to the sub connector. I have read a lot on this site and others prior to making this thread. I believe the sub woofer amp is dead. From my research you can't buy an OEM replacement and all aftermarket solutions are more expensive that I'm willing to pay.

Does anyone know where I might get a used OEM amp? Thanks
 
People rip those things out all the time or unplug them n never use them. I'm sure you will find someone on here that is willing to part ways with it n ship it to u. Post an ISO in the looking for section or whatever it's called.


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If you find one in a console and just want the amp let me know. I want to put in a sub but my center console dole (manual) doesn't have the holes / mount.

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I've read of problems with the factory sub amp not playing nice with aftermarket head units. Since you already have a aftermarket head unit, just get a small amp to run the sub. Should be fairly easy to install. I put this one under my steering column with a piece of plywood and a couple of L brackets.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U80FUHA/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
Yeah, my idea may not work for you then. See, I didn't have the factory subwoofer console. Mine just had a blank enclosure, so I modified the enclosure to fit an aftermarket 8" slimline subwoofer. I wonder if anyone makes a aftermarket subwoofer that would fit in the factory location and have just a single voice coil with a simple (+,-) wire hookup? A simple 4 ohm sub would work.
 
My factory sub works fine with my aftermarket Sony radio. It depends on keeping the factory speaker wiring in place so the radio, OE or aftermarket, drives the subwoofer's amplifier properly. The OE subwoofer amplifier uses/requires speaker-level input power directly from the speaker output of the radio. Not using that wiring would mean the OE subwoofer wouldn't work.

Aux subwoofer amplifiers use line-level inputs from the radio, not speaker level inputs, so how the speakers are wired would no longer be an issue with an aux subwoofer amplifier.

Connecting an aftermarket amp to the factory subwoofer should be done with keeping the impedance requirements of both in mind. The factory subwoofer has two 2 Ohm voice coils that end up getting connected in parallel via the OE amplifier's wiring so their net combined impedance is 1 ohm. You'd have to figure out how to connect in the OE subwoofer speaker so its two voice coils are connected properly and the amplifier's impedance set to match so things will work right and the amplifier will see the proper load.
 
My factory sub works fine with my aftermarket Sony radio. It depends on keeping the factory speaker wiring in place so the radio, OE or aftermarket, drives the subwoofer's amplifier properly. The OE subwoofer amplifier uses/requires speaker-level input power directly from the speaker output of the radio. Not using that wiring would mean the OE subwoofer wouldn't work.

Aux subwoofer amplifiers use line-level inputs from the radio, not speaker level inputs, so how the speakers are wired would no longer be an issue with an aux subwoofer amplifier.

Connecting an aftermarket amp to the factory subwoofer should be done with keeping the impedance requirements of both in mind. The factory subwoofer has two 2 Ohm voice coils that end up getting connected in parallel via the OE amplifier's wiring so their net combined impedance is 1 ohm. You'd have to figure out how to connect in the OE subwoofer speaker so its two voice coils are connected properly and the amplifier's impedance set to match so things will work right and the amplifier will see the proper load.

Yes your description of the OE setup is correct. I have the wiring diagram for the sub and the radio. The head unit seems to be connected correctly so that is why I feel the amp is dead. The simplest way to take advantage of the remaining functioning stock audio setup is to simply replace the sub amp. If I cannot find one then I may just buy an inexpensive all in one amp and speaker and put it in the console.
 
Yes your description of the OE setup is correct. I have the wiring diagram for the sub and the radio. The head unit seems to be connected correctly so that is why I feel the amp is dead. The simplest way to take advantage of the remaining functioning stock audio setup is to simply replace the sub amp. If I cannot find one then I may just buy an inexpensive all in one amp and speaker and put it in the console.
I've been searching all over for a good radio/sub wire diagram for OE. Nothing so far has matched up to my wire harness. Any chance of getting a copy of yours ?
Thanks
Ray
 
Yes your description of the OE setup is correct. I have the wiring diagram for the sub and the radio. The head unit seems to be connected correctly so that is why I feel the amp is dead. The simplest way to take advantage of the remaining functioning stock audio setup is to simply replace the sub amp. If I cannot find one then I may just buy an inexpensive all in one amp and speaker and put it in the console.

Larry: Did you ever resolve this issue? Would you mind sharing what you did? I'm in the exact same boat I believe. Thanks.
 
Thanks. I kept looking and found just what I’m looking for. Don’t know how I missed first time. Very popular solution. Powered Sub does both and fits in console.

Sound ordnance.