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JL Stealthbox Install - Tips and Tricks

Fenix

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Installed the JL Stealthbox and JL XD300/1v2 Amp... WOW does it sound good! A little bass really evens out the stock system.

Just wanted to make a thread with some tips for those who are looking install the stealthbox.

My car is a premium so I decided to go the route of grabbing signals pre-amp. It was easy enough to get to in the drivers foot well. To do this I purchased the Molex connectors that are used in the factory audio harness (Thanks [MENTION=20499]mumbles[/MENTION]!). The harness is really just a pass through, all pins are loaded, and has female RCA's spliced in for the amp signal input. The RCA is ran from the kick panel, down the driver side sill to the trunk. Connectors and pins I used for the harness are below.

Running the power cable is pretty straight forward, I used the grommet in the passenger side wheel well like a lot of guys do. Basically get the car off the ground and remove the passenger wheel well liner and the grommet is right there. Lucky me a buddy has a lift (and a '66 Fastback). I put some butyl rope on the cut grommet to seal it up. Also wrapped the cable with Tesa tape for a factory look. Once the rear seat was removed by depressing the two clips under each seat, I followed the factory harness into the trunk with zip ties along the way.

One tip I have for running the power wire is to attach a socket extension to the wire end. It helps a lot to have something to push through the grommet and past the insulation and carpet.

The ground is the same as mike2017gt's thread. He has a great thread so check it out for more details. It uses the tie down bar for the spare tire or inflation kit. The thread size is M6x1 and utlizes the left side thru hole. Just grind the e-coat away and clean it up with some alcohol. I used a lock washer to secure the terminal.

I tapped into the back up camera power wire for my 12v remote signal. It is a blue with white stripe wire found under the rear passenger speaker harness. Easy enough to get to. I was originally going to use the factory amp remote but discovered it was on a different connector (I think it was in the brown one if you look at the amp). It's 6v if anyone is wondering. The JL XD300 amp turns on right at 6v.

I searched for where guys were mounting the remote level control for the sub and there were a lot of different places. I eventually settled inside the console as it was out of sight and easy to get to if I needed to adjust the sub. I decided to remove the 12v plug and re-purpose that hole for my level control. The whole panel that houses the USB port and 12v plug just pops right out. The plug itself was kind of a pain to remove even though it's just held in there with a couple small tabs. I cut a small hole under the console carpet and the phone wire for the part just runs under the carpet back to the trunk.

Installing the stealthbox itself is a complete pain in the ass to be honest. The thing is so tight I had to grab a prybar, wrap it with electrical tape, and have a buddy pry it around until all the holes lined up. The instructions say to just "Guide it in place"...yea guide it with a pry bar! Other than that part the install manual is spot on and everything ended up fitting really nice.

Overall the install wasn't too bad. I'd say it took 6 hours total. Some of that time I spent wrapping the power and ground cables with Tesa tape to make everything look a bit cleaner. The sub is paired nicely with the 300W JL amp. I thought it would be a bit under powered but it really sounds great.
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Fenix

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nice job, awesome write up!
 

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Jmeo

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Very nice write up I thank you very much. I absolutely love the harness you found to grab RCA signal. Would you be able to provide a link for this?

Ingenious idea for the bass knob :thumbsup:


Thanks again :cheers:
 

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Fenix

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May I ask what the use is for these? Is it a way to seamlessly grab a remote turn on lead for the amp?
Those connectors are what I used to make a pass through cable. I soldered in the RCA's to the right rear speaker wires in my harness. Check out the sticky for pin out info.

The remote turn on is easiest to grab under the rear passenger speaker. It's a blue wire with white stripe, 12v ignition on, 0v ignition off.
 

mumbles

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Awesome job and writeup!
 

BlackS550

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great writeup , it looks awesome too!

im getting my stealthbox and phoenix gold sx2 amp installed on tuesday, i cannot wait
 

BlackS550

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couple questions

do you have any issues w over heating w the amp installed there?

did u have any issues with active noise cancellation messing with your audio or turning your amp/bass lower?
[MENTION=25138]Fenix[/MENTION]
 
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Fenix

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I have not had any issues with the amp overheating. I had that concern initially but it seems to be fine. I went on a 10 hour (one way) road trip recently and the stereo was blasting the whole time so if it would have overheated I'd like to think it would have done it then.

I haven't noticed any funky stuff going on with the active noise canceling but honestly I'm not sure what it does in the car. The bass seems to stay where I put it
 

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BlackS550

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I think this sentence just solved all my problems...


"My car is a premium so I decided to go the route of grabbing signals pre-amp. "


took it back to install shop and theyre like yea theres two ways we could wire it, and we didnt do it that way. theyre re-wiring it right now and think that should solve my issue (when motor is on, amp/bass cut out.. when motor is off, sounds fing amazing)
 
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Fenix

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Did they use a line out converter to grab signals after the amp?
 

BlackS550

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Did they use a line out converter to grab signals after the amp?
if thats the wrong way to do it... then yes lol

they got it fixed now thankfully
 
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Fenix

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Nice, glad to hear it got resolved!
 

floydbanks28

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Thanks for the info, I just bought the connectors you suggested to make the pass through. Great write up wow. Life saver man. Any way you could go into more detail about how you made the pass through cable?
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