Soon to be titan owner-RF to aftermarket questions...

Spooner · 05-14-2008, 09:45 PM

Ok, should be picking up a super clean 04 LE this weekend and have some questions.

I have a Kenwood 6019 double din nav unit I will be swapping in. I can't seem to find a straightforward answer on how to bypass the factory amp, or basically the right way to get it all to work correctly. I read that the oem speakers are 2 ohm so if I bypass the amp and run off the HU that pulls the HU down to 2 ohms which will make it run hotter and all that..right? Its been several years since I was really into the stereo scene so I am a little rusty.

Also, when you bypass the oem amp how does the factory sub work?

I do have a pretty nice 50x4 amp I could use in this-would that make a bit of difference? Are the OEM RF speakers capable of handling that power? Not real sure that I would bother going with different speakers and all that down the road, other than maybe a different sub. Is it possible to replace the oem sub with another one that is better or is it a 'sealed unit' that is not able to be changed?

Where are directions on how to pull apart the dash? Is there a lot of room behind there for all the nav equipment and miles of wiring? Also you other guys with nav setups, is there a good spot just under the dash to put the antenna for the GPS so I don't have to put it on the dash but still get decent reception? Also my XM antenna is pretty big (the garmin one is goofy)-any place for that bad boy? Its about 3" across and round/1" thick.

Is the OEM XE bezel still the best one out there for the job? Also it seems like all the photo's of installs shows gaps around the HU on a double din-has anyone been able to clean that up a bit or am I just seeing them without the trim ring?

Sorry for the millions of questions but I have been researching this all for a few days and I can't get many straight answers. Thanks in advance for the help!

-Nick

eakes · 05-15-2008, 06:34 AM

The OEM XE bezel is the best for installing a double DIN. The existing bezel basically pull straight out. I have found the best place to start is at the bottom and pry out with a suitable device until the bottom portion starts out, then work your way up until all the clips are free.
One word of caution: DO NOT remove the connector from the seatbelt light if the switch is any position but off. Since you need to remove all the items attached to the bezel (requires a Torx), I suggest removing the light from the bezel with the dash connector attached. If you should remove the connector with the switch in ACC or ON, the Titan does not melt down, the problem is the seatbelt warning light continually flashes once everything is reassembled, it can be reset, directions are available on this site.
I have written several posts on how to bypass the amp, do a search on my screen name and you should find them.
Most people mount the satellite radio antennas on the outsider rear of the cab and route the lead-in through the upprt brake light, there are a number of posts detailing this proceedure, search is your friend.
The amp powers all the speakers, once you bypass it the only speakers that work are the ones you hook up. The factory subwoofer could be made to work off an external amp, but it is really not worth the effort, special speaker in a special enclosure, unlikely you could find a quality speaker to work in that enclosure.
In my 04 (and now 06) I use the front door speakers and dash tweeters connected through a crossover network with an aftermarket HU. I use 6x9s in the rear mounted in boxes and connected directly to the HU. The factory 6x9s in the front door seem to be mid-range speakers with little high and low frequency response when operated alone. the factory rears are intended for fill-in and should be replaced if you want quality full range sound from that area. Unless you run wth high volume for extended periods of time the 2 ohm load of the factory speakers will not adversely affect most aftermarket HUs.

Spooner · 05-15-2008, 06:48 AM

Yeah I have been searching like crazy but there is a lot to sift through. After searching with your name I saw where one guy was gong to wire the RCA's straight to the amp-wouldn't that be the 'safest' route? I know 2 ohms shouldnt' hurt my HU, but I don't really want to risk toasting my thousand dollar HU. Plus my kenwood has all the crossovers built in so I could retain the sub and all that until I am ready to go 'big time' and replace everything, amplify everything, yadda yadda yadda.

Wouldn't that work? I assume there is a wiring diagram somewhere that shows which wires to tap into for fronts, rears, and sub-right?

eakes · 05-15-2008, 08:48 AM

All of the existing speakers are connected via the Nissan amp. With the exception of the sub, all of the inputs and speakers outputs on the amp go through one connector.
It should be possible to connect the speaker outputs of an aftermarket HU through some attenuators to the amp input. This could be done using the readily available wiring adapters for the Titan. However, attenuation would need to be added to the audio outputs of the HU to prevent overloading the Nissan amp. The Nissan amp has inputs for front/rear and left/right channels, there is no input for subwoofer, they use a combined left/right from the front channel to feed that speaker (all done withing the amp). The inputs to the amp are balanced from the HU, you would not want to use the RCA connections without isolation transformers.
And, yes, the Nissan manual has all the wiring diagrams indicating the purpose for each pin on the audio connectors.

Spooner · 05-15-2008, 09:03 PM

Where can I find these readily available adapters? I would like to keep the system as stock as possible for now so I can get the nav up and running. Then I can worry about what else to do to the stereo later on.

eakes · 05-15-2008, 09:43 PM

You can find the adapters at almost any place that sells and installs auto audio equipment. They are made by Metra and Scorsche. Online they can be found at Crutchfields as well as a number of auto audio dealers. Big box stores would include CircuitCity, BestBuy, WalMart and your local auto sound shops.

Spooner · 05-15-2008, 09:51 PM

How do I attenuate the audio output?

eakes · 05-16-2008, 11:29 AM

Probably the easiest way would be with two stereo speaker volume controls from Radio Shack. They should go between the HU and the wiring adapter. They are adjustable so it will be necessary to adjust them with everything powered. They should be adjusted so that the amp input is not overloaded (no distortion heard in the speakers) with the HU volume set at what would be a moderately high level.

Spooner · 05-31-2008, 11:05 PM

Eakes, thanks for all the help. I got it tossed in about a week ago. I listen to XM 99% of the time and it actually has a built in attenuator so that made it super easy. The overall sound quality kinda blows so I will be looking at swapping out everything in the next month or so but I think this will get me by until then.

Spooner · 05-31-2008, 11:07 PM

Oh, I was able to just put both the XM and Nav antenna's under the dash for a cleaner install. Reception for the nav is great, but the XM is a little spotty right now so I will fiddle with that soon, but its fine most of the time. I think I just need it deeper in the dash so the roof doesn't block as much of the sky view.

eakes · 06-01-2008, 07:48 AM

I have the small Xm antenna (about the size of a silver dollar) sitting on top of the rear view mirror (double sided tape). It works well from there - can't hear much difference from one mounted on the roof. I routed the lead under the front edge of roof line, then around the side pillar and under the door webbing to get it below the dash.

Spooner · 06-01-2008, 08:53 AM

Unfortunately the Garmin one is like 3" round and almost an inch thick so its kind of a PITA to find a home for. Plus the cord is only like 3 or 4 foot long so you can't get it very far away either.