Aftermark HU with Rear Speaker Kit?
 

I recently purchased a '99 Boxster base with the "High Fidelity" system (CDR220, dash and door speakers, 4x40W Nokia amp). Today I also purchased the OEM rear speaker deck.

I now plan on buying a Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X693 from Crutchfield which comes with the Metra 70-1787 wiring harness. From reading earlier posts, I understand that the Nokia amp powers my dash and door speakers and that the rear speaker deck is normally powered by the CDR220 headunit.

From researching the Metra harness, I also see that the harness has a 4 RCA plug adapter that that mates the Nokia amp with the Kenwood's pre-amp outs. Therefore, I'm good to go with my dash and door speakers.

My QUESTION is: if I install the Kenwood HU with the Metra wiring harness, am I still able to power the rear speaker deck from the new headunit? If so, I'm assuming the Metra harness must have a connector where the rear speaker deck hookup would be plugged in?

Much thanks...

JD

I have an '02 S with the Bose system (6 channel amp, dash & door speakers, plus optional rear deck sub box). My Becker took a crap so I replaced it with a JVC CD/HD Radio head unit from Crutchfield and installed it myself along with new dash speakers. The h/u installation was fairly straightforward and is a vast improvement over the Becker.

Since I really didn't dig into the amplification end of my system I can't give you a definitive response to your question. However, the sub is generally going to be the most demanding part of a system in terms of required amplification. The dinky amp in any head unit won't even come close to providing the power necessary to properly drive a sub, and I doubt very seriously that was the case with the factory head unit.

From the Kenwood you're going to take preamp outputs and connect them with the Metra harness to the factory harness, which feeds the factory 4 channel amp powering your dash and door speakers. If there's a way to connect the factory sub, I'm almost certain it will be integrated into the 4 channel amp.

On my car there's a flat plastic connector for the sub on the right side behind the passenger seat up next to the deck where the sub mounts. To really get a good look in the area you'll need to put your soft top into the service position, like you're going to access the top of the engine. You may have to dig around, but it's probably there. If you can't find it or aren't clear where to look, I may be able to upload a photo of mine.

If you don't have the factory connection you may need a dedicated amp to drive the sub. The sub was a fairly common option. With your upgraded factory system I have a hard time believing the plug isn't there.

Yes you can power the rears from the HU
 

damelioj,

I did exactly what you're trying to do with an Alpine and the rear speaker deck two years ago. I don't recall exactly what harness I used, I think it was an Audi one that the forums said worked but it came from Crutchfield. I'm sure I could go back and find the paperwork.

I think I had to move some of the pins in either the harness from the HU or from the rear deck and got it all lined up and it works great. The two doors and dash are off of my 4x40 amp and the two rears are off of the HU.

Good luck with it.

also looking at Pioneer AVIC-X710BT
 

I'm also looking at installing the Pioneer AVIC-X710BT in-dash navi and moving the climate control down to the storage shelf area above the batwing. I had an AVIC-F700BT in my old Acura and loved it.

I've located a great double-din backet and plate on ebay that has a very stock look for $169. It includes all the required brackets to install the double-din unit plus a trim for the climate control system relocation.

I'm guessing it's the same metra harness for the Pioneer as well. I checked Cruthfield again and it is an Audi harness. Could you let me know how you figured out how to move around the pins to get the rear speakers working? Was there some sort of diagram?

Thanks again for the input!

JD

If you are looking at the Pioneer adapter kit from treuillonaire then get it.
He's a member of this forum and his kit is awesome and specially designed for our cars.
Do you have a Bose rear speaker unit or a non-Bose unit? (they both have different wiring)
I am driving the front and rears from the Pioneer AVIC and the door speakers from the 4x40 OEM amp.
But it was a little tricky to get it to work.

I can give you more details if you're interested

Need some help
 

I am ready to do the same thing can you please give me the details on what you did. Thanks!!

The CDR220 is not that bad...until you turn it up. My 1964 Chevelle on AM with a Reverb unit attached to rear speakers sounded awesome to the Becker unit. :(

You can find it all here:
http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19599