9 replies to this topic

[Nightmare1]

Hi all! I am working on installing a sound system in my pickup and am nearly finished. I just have to run the remote wire from my two amps to the receiver. However, the receiver does not have a designated Remote Wire in its harness. The receiver in question is a Kenwood KDC-X597.

Page 21 of the manual here: http://manual.kenwoo...ET0858-001A.pdf has the diagram of the wiring harness and such. This is the first time I have attempted something like this and its been a bit of a daunting task since I have nearly zero experience with wiring. It's been...educational...

Does anyone have experience with this receiver Unit? The remote wire is absolutely the last piece left of my puzzle before I can crank up the truck and listen to my new system. It's driving me nuts!

That being said, if the answer is blindingly obvious to some of you, I apologize in advance. To me, it's a bunch of wires that have caused me a substantial amount of pain and toil and muddled thinking as I wired, re-wired, and re-re-wired things to get it right.

Many thanks to all of you who respond, and have a Happy New Year!

[Pht]

Ok, it's been about FIFTEEN YEARS since I have installed any radio systems.

But I would suggest you, say, look at page 21 of that pdf for a wire called "power control wire" blue/white. I believe that is the wire you're looking for. You're looking for the wire that lets your amplifier know that your radio is turned on, right? So your amp knows it's time to turn on?

If you hook it up and your truck blows, sue kenwood! No, I'm quite serious. Sue kenwood. I don't have any assets to go after. Not even time on a chain gang as a slave... 0.0

I am NOT sure, but I think that's what you need. I recall having to do something similar with my setups in the past. Of course, I didn't mind if mine exploded... Of course, the install manuals used to be a bit clearer on what went where, too.

If you check it on a voltmeter it should either send a SMALL positive load (low volts, SMALL amps) down that line, OR it should short that line to ground. Iffen you don't understand what this phrase means ... get a good multimeter (a fluke, if you can) and learn to use it.

PS. This book was pretty good back in the day: http://www.amazon.co...y/dp/0071448470

You might check out the new version. Yeah, it can get confusing if you're not conversant in some basic electronics stuff.

Most of all, remember, don't chase the ultimate sound. Just chase what sounds good to YOUR ears. Otherwise, kiss all your money goodbye!

PS!

...

PLEASE!

DO NOT tell anyone if you made the mistake of running a low-gauge small wire for your amplfier's ground. Just fix it. The ground side has to be just as fat as the huge power side going to the positive terminals of the battery, even if it IS shorter. It has to flow an equal amount of amps; and sub-par grounding is a prime candidate in many installs. It can even be dangerous if done wrong.

If you didn't need this PS ... than good on you!

Edited by Pht, 31 December 2014 - 05:05 PM.

[Nightmare1]

Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate it!

The book looks like a good resource. I'll see if I can get my hands on a copy locally so that I don't have to wait on shipping.

Regarding the PS, I was careful to make sure that my 4-Gauge Power Wire was matched by another 4-Gauge Grounding Wire for each amp. Thank you though for making sure to cover that as a just-in-case measure!

Sorry for the delayed reply back; just got in from a camping trip.

Happy New Year!

[Nightmare1]

Pht, on 31 December 2014 - 04:57 PM, said:

Ok, it's been about FIFTEEN YEARS since I have installed any radio systems.

But I would suggest you, say, look at page 21 of that pdf for a wire called "power control wire" blue/white. I believe that is the wire you're looking for. You're looking for the wire that lets your amplifier know that your radio is turned on, right? So your amp knows it's time to turn on?

If you hook it up and your truck blows, sue kenwood! No, I'm quite serious. Sue kenwood. I don't have any assets to go after. Not even time on a chain gang as a slave... 0.0

I am NOT sure, but I think that's what you need. I recall having to do something similar with my setups in the past. Of course, I didn't mind if mine exploded... Of course, the install manuals used to be a bit clearer on what went where, too.

If you check it on a voltmeter it should either send a SMALL positive load (low volts, SMALL amps) down that line, OR it should short that line to ground. Iffen you don't understand what this phrase means ... get a good multimeter (a fluke, if you can) and learn to use it.

PS. This book was pretty good back in the day: http://www.amazon.co...y/dp/0071448470

You might check out the new version. Yeah, it can get confusing if you're not conversant in some basic electronics stuff.

Most of all, remember, don't chase the ultimate sound. Just chase what sounds good to YOUR ears. Otherwise, kiss all your money goodbye!

PS!

...

PLEASE!

DO NOT tell anyone if you made the mistake of running a low-gauge small wire for your amplfier's ground. Just fix it. The ground side has to be just as fat as the huge power side going to the positive terminals of the battery, even if it IS shorter. It has to flow an equal amount of amps; and sub-par grounding is a prime candidate in many installs. It can even be dangerous if done wrong.

If you didn't need this PS ... than good on you!

Was re-reading your post again today, ROFL. I saw it briefly on my way to bed last night after I got back from camping and only had enough time to quickly skim it and then send you a thank you. Given time to digest it today, I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the humor as well as the info!

Have a great weekend!

[Pht]

You're welcome man. Stereos can be fun or a nightmare.

BTW, crutchfield has some pretty good DIY stuff too:

[Nightmare1]

Pht, on 02 January 2015 - 10:05 AM, said:

You're welcome man. Stereos can be fun or a nightmare.

BTW, crutchfield has some pretty good DIY stuff too:

Thanks! I'm trying to hook up that remote wire now, but discovered a mistake I made that I must fix first.

Essentially, I forgot to put my Scosche Universal Mounting Bracket and Receiver insert into the dash before wiring up the receiver (I got excited! ). Now I've got to go cut several wires and redo it.

I tell you what, I am something of an expert in many things in life because I do everything twice! Looks like I may be an expert at this too by the time I finish.

[Nightmare1]

Hey Pht, thanks again for the help! The Power Control wire worked great as the remote wire and everything sounds like a million dollars now!

You have great 2015!

[Nightmare1]

*Chuckle*

Well, I spoke too soon! I was so excited to hear everything power up, that I ran inside and rapidly typed out a thank you without thoroughly testing everything. Turns out that I reversed the wiring on two of my speakers and a third one wouldn't work at all due to a short circuit.

...After an agonizing day of tracing wires, running new ones, re-running old ones, and beating my head against various foreign objects, I successfully corrected all the problems and can proudly say that I have completed my first ever installation of an after market sound system in my pickup. It sounds amazing!

Now I just have to put the dash back together tomorrow and clean up the cab...



Edit: Spelling and Grammar

Edited by Nightmare1, 03 January 2015 - 03:50 PM.

[Pht]

Sounds familiar.

It's faster to do it slower and game it out beforehand on paper than it is to do it fast and dirty the first time.

Funny, that.

[Nightmare1]

Pht, on 04 January 2015 - 02:19 PM, said:

Sounds familiar.

It's faster to do it slower and game it out beforehand on paper than it is to do it fast and dirty the first time.

Funny, that.

The irony is that this project has taken a year to complete since I've been purchasing parts as I get the money and installing them. This past week was used to install the two amps and the sub, and then convert the speaker/receiver wiring over to speaker/amp wiring. I didn't even realize that I had a short circuit in the head unit until I pulled it all apart and tried to put it back together!

I'm just glad it's done. Now I can really rock out to my tunes when I'm driving down the road!