Sounds good thank you. And I have the gain down on the 900w as I'm running a single 10" alpine so no headlight dimming, the amp is just what I had when I bought the jeep. My truck however with a 1600w audio pipe, that does have strobe lights at night. So we'll find out Wednesday when the isolator arrives if that works for it.
Upgrading the sound system on your Jeep Wrangler TJ
- Thread starter Chris
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I can certainly tell you where not to put an amp! Was frustrated with the limited sound I was getting from the overhead speaker bar behind the front seats, so installed modpods in the dash and the side kick panels. Since the stereo deck can only handle a 4ohm load or higher per channel, I used the front rca output of the deck to run a small amp to the kick panel speakers. Unfortunately placing an amp a foot from the interior fuse panel creates a wonderful amount of amp buzz. Who knew. Went back and replaced the RCA's with shielded, also shielded the amp chassis from the side kick panel and spaced the speaker wires away from power cables but no avail. Waiting on a ground loop eliminator to hopefully solve it.
You have other issues but I think that amp location is just asking for trouble, are you not the slightest bit worried about water?
DeltaNu1142
TJ Enthusiast
My plan at the moment is to mount a compact active sub to the bottom of the rear seat from with some quick disconnects (+12V, gnd, remote, RCA inputs) so I can remove the seat if needed. It should still tumble forward with the right cable routing. If I get really ambitious, I'll build a box with an amp mounted to the exterior for lows when the rear seat is removed. But... that's way, way down the list.
I have my amps under my rear seat at the moment, but not for a permanent install yet. I want the same thing, to be able to fold the back seat and use the space when needed. I have a few ideas in mind, but I'm still at the brainstorming stage. My midbass amp is tiny, so I should be able to find a home for it, but my Taramp Smart 3K is not small, so that's the only space where I know I could fit it. Though I've been tempted to mount it on the passenger-side firewall....
I have plans for a back cargo space big box as well, one that you'd have to tumble the seat forward to fit it so I'd run it when I didn't have more than one passenger. I put an XT90 plug in my sub box for a quick disconnect, though I wouldn't swap out the amp, just the sub/box.
What are you going to use for quick disconnects for the power/remote/ground?
I use Vibe quick release connectors
View attachment 502651
and keep both my amps tucked away here.
View attachment 502652
Oh, that's such a good place for everything. My storage space is filled by my sub box, no room for anything more than a micro amp. What brand is your bass tube?
DeltaNu1142
TJ Enthusiast
Vibe is a UK thing and I can’t seem to find a US source for it—Crutchfield no longer carries it. But Scosche makes a few different ones. This one handles 4AWG power wires.
probably next weekend, depends on the weather.
yep that looks exactly the same, they probably come out of the same factory the far east just slap their own logos on them
The Basetube is a Kicker 45CWTB82 8" Enclosure
interesting concept it looks like it has a woofer on both ends but one side is just a diaphram with no driver, its meant to make the enclosure seem like there is more cubic volume inside and thats how they can make them so short.
The Kicker Subwoofer melted though (had the volume up too high, this one time on the highway when I had the roof and doors off), so I currently have an Apine R2-W8D4 inside the enclosure.
I've melted subwoofer box terminals and the glue off a dust cap, but a melted subwoofer would be something to see
Is this diaphragm acting as a passive radiator?
Nothing like fighting 120 dB with the bass knob
It was the coils and plastic around the magnet that melted so the speaker was stiff and wouldn't move anymore, strong smell of burning plastic, if I had the roof on probably would have been smoke inside.I've melted subwoofer box terminals and the glue off a dust cap, but a melted subwoofer would be something to see
Is this diaphragm acting as a passive radiator?
Nothing like fighting 120 dB with the bass knob
and yes its a passive radiator, I didn't know the term, its explained in this old video here
I have many issues.... And I am worried a bit about water although the last two years owning the jeep I've only ever had a little bit of water on the floors. In the summer I take the top off all summer and as I work outside I pay attention to the weather, everyday. So with any chance of rain I throw the cover on it. The only time I had water in it was a heavy rain with wind. I have the amp up off of the floor and tucked up under the dash so there is a chance it could get wet, but no worse than the old Ab amp under the back seat. What are recommendations for amp locations?
Haven't heard of a bass tube with a passive, but it makes total sense. I was thinking about them in my box, but it was going to require a PR bigger than my sub for the numbers to line up.
If you leave the top off you're going to get water at some point. I found that under the seats works well, the metal is a few inches higher than the floorpan, so I've never had water make the climb. You can put the amp on spacers if one side is hanging off (the raised metal section isn't huge).
Finding locations isn't hard; finding locations that are not easily seen and accessible with the top off is. It's a battle I'm facing trying to remain as stealth as possible. I'm toying with the idea of the passenger side firewall as high as I can fit it, but shy of that the only space that will fit my sub amp is under the bench seat, which I really don't like.
If you have space in your cargo area you could put them next to your sub. If the amps are fairly small you can zip tie one to the steering column (I did this with a micro amp for years). Super concealed there, and it's a short wiring run to the speakers and the head unit.
I'll probably end up moving the midbass amp to under the back seat as well. It should take care of the buzz I have through it as well as I haven't had any issues with the bigger amp already installed under the seat.
I'd be careful going up the passenger firewall as there are a lot of power wires going to that interior fuse block there and I'd bet that's a main contributor to the feedback I'm getting. I could of course be completely wrong and it's something else entirely. Has anyone installed on the firewall with no issues?
It wouldn't be quite that high up. We drilled a hole up in the firewall for a power run and haven't had any issues, so I'll probably keep it to around there if I go that route. It's the only place I can think of that's out of the way enough. The back seat works, but it's going to get warmer under there, so if I go that route instead I'll get a few fans and hook them to temperature switches.
I'm really curious if moving helps your buzzing. Did you get the ground loop isolator in yet?
I arrived yesterday evening and I didn't realize it was directional so I have to pull the radio back out to install it on the radio RCA's. I'll probably move the amp at the same time so tomorrow will be the first chance I'll get.
Odd, I didn't think it mattered if you used those at the amp-side instead of HU-side, but I've never used one personally so I can't say for sure.
I didn't think so either, but the package and the little rca dongle both say the male rca side is it's input and female rca side is out.
Ohhhhh, now it's making sense. I guess that saves you an RCA cable, but I think I'd rather have two sets of female plugs.
Put the ground loop isolator in and instant buzz relief (that sounds horrible). When I unmounted the small midbass amp I realized there is room on the kickpanel to tuck it up farther under the dash and it's about 4" up from the lowest point of the floor there. So it's about as rainproof as is it can be. With the isolator that's not a bad place for the amp. The farthest point towards the back is 2-3" past the windshield.
The isolator I used is the PAC from crutchfield for around $20, it has two ground wires that the instructions say use only if no sound passes through and I didn't have to use those.
The isolator I used is the PAC from crutchfield for around $20, it has two ground wires that the instructions say use only if no sound passes through and I didn't have to use those.