8L S3 - Active Sub to standard Stereo?

[BenJee_S3]

I did a search for my question but couldn't find anything specifically for my Navigation Plus unit to an active sub

Just wondered if anyone knew if it's possible to fit whilst keeping the original sat nav/stereo.

I have the non Bose sub and speakers

This is the back of the sub

Any help appreciated!

 

[dualmono21]

yes its possible to fit it to the original radio
however to do so you will need to add quite a lot of wiring and equipment

the original wiring isnt sufficient to run that sub so you will have to run an amplifier installation kit and then simply add an adaptor to the headunit to give you the correct signal to the subwoofer amplifier

 

[BenJee_S3]

That's good news! Well I have a 4awg wiring kit which I'll wire to the battery and to an earth on the rear seats. I know I'll have to wire a remote cable to the HU somehow also. Is the adaptor for the RCA to HU? Can I find one on eBay?

 

[BenJee_S3]

This is my stereo

And this is the sub

 

[A4 stu]

Your active sub takes a high level input, so surely the easiest option (after you have fitted the appropriate power supply from the battery and appropriate earth to the car body for the sub/amp) would be to:
1. Disconnect your rear speakers (you dont need them)
2. Disconnect the factory sub
3. Use the rear speaker cable to feed the amp/sub?
That way once the gain on the amp has been set you can, if you want, 'fade' the sub louder or quieter using the F/R fader on the HU?

Stu

 

[BenJee_S3]

So I guess from that I'd need an RCA to speaker wire adaptor, and just connect the rear speaker wires to the adaptor? Along with the power, earth and remote cables of course

 

[dualmono21]

if your going to do it do the job properly

back of a car seat is not a good earth
get the autoleads adaptor which gives you an additional rca output from your head unit ...that way you can set ill use your other speakers or simply fade them out

use the rca input on the box not high level inputs as you will induce noise through the system
set the crossover frequency set the gain at minimum
if you want to later the gain and turn the sub up and down buy a remote level controller which plugs straight into the back and will turn your sub up and down independant

 

[BenJee_S3]

if your going to do it do the job properly

back of a car seat is not a good earth
get the autoleads adaptor which gives you an additional rca output from your head unit ...that way you can set ill use your other speakers or simply fade them out

use the rca input on the box not high level inputs as you will induce noise through the system
set the crossover frequency set the gain at minimum
if you want to later the gain and turn the sub up and down buy a remote level controller which plugs straight into the back and will turn your sub up and down independant

I definitely want to do it properly, and only once. I just need to know what I need to buy before I start pulling the HU out.

I already have the standard sub wiring kit, a remote bass/gain controller which will be up front in the centre console, quick release plug to get the sub in an out easily. So I need to buy:

Radio release keys

Autoleads RCA adaptor

Have you got a link to said adaptor?

Thanks for your help by the way

 

[BenJee_S3]

Like this? :

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=290836678796

 

[BenJee_S3]

I've now bought an RCA adaptor (auto leads PC1-601) which I'll plug my RCA into then connect to the HU.

So it would be best to connect these to the rear speaker wires? ( after disconnecting them) and will there be a remote wire on the back of the HU for me to crimp onto?

 

[dualmono21]

thats a high to low convertor using the speaker outputs
you have one of these on your amplifier

ideally what you need is an adaptor which will give you an rca out from your source unit not from a convertor

have a look through the autoleads catalogue online and see if theres anything listed for your system

please be aware there are 4 or 5 differrant models for bose and non bose

 

[BenJee_S3]

I got a better look at the wiring today, behind the RNS-D unit and the sub.

RNS-D

And the diagram on the unit:

Back of the car near sub:

Seeing that the standard sub and amp is wired in, surely I can unbolt the thing completely and scotchlock or piggyback the original sub wiring loom?

 

[COSTA_P]

Usually blue is the remote. The standard wiring in non Bose is weird compared to Bose in relation to power of the rear speakers is all coming from the built in amp that's in the Nokia sub. Where the Bose has a separate amp that runs the sub and rears. So you need a 4chanel amp to keep your rears working. If that makes sense.

 

[COSTA_P]

Also just sear in eBay RNS-d there's a few looms on there that should be what you need.

 

[BenJee_S3]

I'm not busses about my rears working as I'm going to update the fronts so all I want to do is replace the standard sub with my new one , might be an idea like you say to buy a new loom which doesn't matter if I chop!

 

[COSTA_P]

Endstufen Adapter VW MFD1 - Audi RNS-D 33401 | eBay

thats what you need to plug straight into the back of the unit.

 

[BenJee_S3]

That is awesome mate thank you so much I've been looking for ages and that looks perfect. It looks like it has the remote wire too and I can just plug straight in to the RCA! Buying now

 

[BenJee_S3]

Hefty 16 euros postage! But will be worth it!

 

[COSTA_P]

Yeh got what you need. I ordered one too and a couple more as I'm fitting an rns-d to mine.

 

[BenJee_S3]

Sweet, I'm glad I can use the RCAs as I have a remote bass controller and a vibe fast plug quick release which will be ideal do you know anything about getting the up to date maps for the rnsd? Is it a case of putting the CD into a PC and updating or do you have to buy an up to date disc?

 

[COSTA_P]

I'm not 100% sure but I think the most upto date ones are 2007? Maybe wrong but you can download it off the web somewhere and burn to a disc eject the old one put new in. Don't quote me on this. I love read it somewhere on here do a quick search rns-d update or something like that.

 

[A4 stu]

Search mini ISO to RCA on eBay plenty of options for that lead at more favourable prices.

I would suggest not using the original loom for the power and earth supply as the Vibe unit will no doubt try and draw way much more current than the standard sub.

I would disconnect the factory sub though, you don't need it working with your new sub!

stu