Upgrading the sound system on your Jeep Wrangler TJ

I started to Install my new Head unit (KMM-BT322U) but I’ve ran into problems. My Stereo seems to be getting very hot, and no sound is being output. I also cannot play Spotify or YouTube through the Head unit (not sure if this is normal). Thoughts and help?

How did you install it? What harness did you use? What else did you make changes to?
 
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KMM-BT322

I wired this up matching the colors. My factory wiring is messed up so I used the fuse taps that were in the jeep before I bought it. I can’t fix the factory wiring for many more months. My issue is I’m not getting any sound but the unit powers on. I’m also noticing the unit is getting very hot. Is the heat normal? Can you play Spotify on your Stereo?
 
I started to Install my new Head unit (KMM-BT322U) but I’ve ran into problems. My Stereo seems to be getting very hot, and no sound is being output. I also cannot play Spotify or YouTube through the Head unit (not sure if this is normal). Thoughts and help?

Assuming you only bought a head unit, what harness are you using to connect the new head unit to the stock harness/wiring?

Let's us know what you bought and installed?
 
I wired this up matching the colors. My factory wiring is messed up so I used the fuse taps that were in the jeep before I bought it. I can’t fix the factory wiring for many more months. My issue is I’m not getting any sound but the unit powers on. I’m also noticing the unit is getting very hot. Is the heat normal? Can you play Spotify on your Stereo?

Sounds like the wiring is messed up. Speaker wiring could be crossed, bad ground, loose power wire. Sounds like the wiring is off.

Fuse taps are being used for what specifically?
 
Assuming you only bought a head unit, what harness are you using to connect the new head unit to the stock harness/wiring?

Let's us know what you bought and installed?

I bought the headunit, it came with a power harness. I bought a Metra harness (CHWH1) that plugs into my Factory Harness and then wired the Metra to the Kenwood power harness.
 
Sounds like the wiring is messed up. Speaker wiring could be crossed, bad ground, loose power wire. Sounds like the wiring is off.

Fuse taps are being used for what specifically?

Wiring is far off. I’ve got a thread which addresses it a little bit. Dealership messed with some wires to get the radio and speedometer to work.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/unusable-interior-lights.79608/
I don’t have a 12v constant but I do get 12v when powered on. This is where that fuse tap came in (A wire stuck in the fuse hole with a fuse put in the hole to keep it in place)
If this lets you know of anything there are lots of wiring issues within the jeep. Ground should be fine, could potentially be a bad power wire or crossed wires (do you mean literally?)
 
. Ground should be fine, could potentially be a bad power wire or crossed wires (do you mean literally?)

Yes, literally. You could have two positive wires going to one speaker, basically your speakers could be wired in parallel causing the head units internal amp to be overpowered and a reason why it is heating up and not playing loud. Are you able to trace the speaker wires from the harness to the speakers?
 
Did your stock radio work before you switched into this new head unit?

It did for a while but then I disconnected the Negative battery terminal and was tracking wires around in the interior and I must’ve bumped a wire out of place and I couldn’t figure out what it was. So it stopped working after that. Here’s a picture of right after the radio stopped working. Party of wires….

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Yes, literally. You could have two positive wires going to one speaker, basically your speakers could be wired in parallel causing the head units internal amp to be overpowered and a reason why it is heating up and not playing loud. Are you able to trace the speaker wires from the harness to the speakers?

It’s not playing at all, even turned up to max. I may have the possibility to trace wires after work tomorrow and get back to you on that. Is some heat normal or should my head unit always stay relatively cool?
 
How did you install it? What harness did you use? What else did you make changes to?

To install it I took the included Power Harness and Soldered everything to its corresponding color except the Yellow and Red with go to fuses in my Glove Box compartment because my 12v constant and my 12v ignition is cut as well so I just used 2 fuse taps for the previous wiring on the previous head unit

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It did for a while but then I disconnected the Negative battery terminal and was tracking wires around in the interior and I must’ve bumped a wire out of place and I couldn’t figure out what it was. So it stopped working after that. Here’s a picture of right after the radio stopped working. Party of wires….

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View attachment 543083

From the head unit, can you confirm where the red, black and yellow wires connects to?

Looks like the red wire is the ACC wire. Is that connected to the ignition? Looks like it may be connected to a black wire which I would think is the ground.

The black wire coming from the head unit is the ground and looks like it connects to a red wire, which I assume is the power?

The yellow wire coming from the head unit is the power and looks like it connects to a black ground wire. Does that reconnect to a red wire that runs to your fuse box?

At your fuse box, what are those two loose black wires at fuse 15 and fuse 3? Fuse 15 is the radio, was that black wire suppose to connect to fuse 15?

Wiring is going to be the problem, you weren't kidding. Will take some time but you can do it if you can trace these wires and report back. Focus on the red, black and yellow and make sure they are all properly connected.
 
From the head unit, can you confirm where the red, black and yellow wires connects to?

Looks like the red wire is the ACC wire. Is that connected to the ignition? Looks like it may be connected to a black wire which I would think is the ground.

The black wire coming from the head unit is the ground and looks like it connects to a red wire, which I assume is the power?

The yellow wire coming from the head unit is the power and looks like it connects to a black ground wire. Does that reconnect to a red wire that runs to your fuse box?

At your fuse box, what are those two loose black wires at fuse 15 and fuse 3? Fuse 15 is the radio, was that black wire suppose to connect to fuse 15?

Wiring is going to be the problem, you weren't kidding. Will take some time but you can do it if you can trace these wires and report back. Focus on the red, black and yellow and make sure they are all properly connected.

The Yellow wire connects to fuse #15 (10A) Radio via a black wire. (circled in Yellow)

Red is connected to Fuse #3 (20A) Fog LPS via another Black wire. (Circles in Red)

Ground is connected to a White/Red wire which grounds behind the cluster. (Circled in green for visibility)


I got the Front Right speaker to work by simply unplugging and replugging the actual speaker. The head unit is sending out sound with Bluetooth and Radio perfectly fine and clear. Now for the 2 soundbar and 1 Front Left speaker…. Crappy crimps just for the time being so it is isn’t hard to diagnose problems.

Edit: I checked and I’m getting no continuity on the Front Left speaker. It could be the same with the Rears as well. Maybe blown somehow…

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I see a lot of questions about how to get a better sound system from your Jeep Wrangler TJ. People will often dismiss the TJ as being a vehicle with poor sound dynamics to begin with, and while this is true to some degree, I can tell you that the sound system I have in my 2005 TJ Rubicon is absolutely killer, and it didn't break the bank either!

At 65+ on the highway with the doors off and the top off, I can hear the sound loud and clear without any issue at all. I have my subwoofer volume set at 6 (out of 12) and the subwoofer volume on the amp only turned to half way. Yet the bass still kicks like you wouldn't believe!

Here's what I am using for my setup:
Some of the components I bought from Crutchfield, while others I got from Amazon.

But that's it, literally. I mounted the amp underneath the front center console (it's a very tiny amp) and the subwoofer is mounted in place of the factory subwoofer (which some TJs came with). The amp powers the subwoofer alone, and the speakers are driven off the head unit.

This sound system is no joke, I mean it. I was expecting it to be a little better than stock, but I wasn't expecting it to be this good. If you crank the volume all the way up to 35 (the highest it goes), it's deafening.

I highly recommend this setup to anyone who is looking to improve the sound in their TJ without breaking the bank. This is all you'll need, I can promise you that.

So while this isn't a "how-to" guide in terms of installing it, I feel like this is a fantastic setup at a price that won't leave you broke.

Sounds like what I am looking for. I know absolutely zip about sound equipment. Would like to visit with you about the system.
 
I would check that ground just to be safe, if that's bad it'll cause any number of strange issues with a head unit. It looks like the bottom section of the white wire is just twisted to the next wire. It may not be the primary issue, but it could be.
 
I would check that ground just to be safe, if that's bad it'll cause any number of strange issues with a head unit. It looks like the bottom section of the white wire is just twisted to the next wire. It may not be the primary issue, but it could be.

Ground is perfect. I fixed the white wire but that made no difference.