Hi guys,

Ive just bought these from car audio security -

1 x Kenwood 12" BASS deal

1 x KDC-W534UG - CD/MP3/USB TUNER

It comes with a wiring kit aswell as an amp.

So, firstly the Headunit -

Im led to believe this is simple, pull out the old one and slide the new one in. But is there sufficient room behind for the ISO and ariel? Also, it comes with a 1m USB cable which I will need to follow through to the glovebox as im planning on getting a small hard drive to put my music on. Is this simple?

Also, ive been told i dont need a ariel booster for my car? 2002 vRS Octavia, is this true, plus he mentioned somethin about changing the yellow / red wires to it saves the radio station???

Sub -

This is worrying me a bit. My brother will help with the fitment, and he has done it a few times before, but i want to make sure its perfect.

So, is there already a hole in the bulk head to run the power leads to the battery, or will i need to drill one? and is it easier to pull up the black plastic trim under the doors for the lead to run to the boot, or is under the carpet better?

Can anyone recommend a way of keeping the sub in place in the boot? and should i screw the amp to the back of the sub to keep it safe?

Sorry to sound dumb on this, it will be the first time ive done this, and i want to keep my brother in check to make sure its not a bodge job!!!

Any advise would be great.

Thanks guys.....

i warn you now, DO NOT buy just any old hard disk for this unit. it will require a 1.8" drive due to the level of power the head unit can supply through the usb cable, and even then you still need to be careful that you get a drive that is supported.

i have tried numerous usb sticks on kenwood units and it is fairly fussy over which of those it will detect too.

go to talkaudio and ask on that forum which drives are supported.

First, there is a hole in the bulkhead thats suitable. To gain access you will need to remove the scuttle panel on the passenger side, and the pollen filter. You should then see a gromet, feeding through here will come out just behind the glovebox.

Second, if you want any kind of decent radio reception you will need the booster. Without it you will get ok'ish but not brilliant FM, and zippo MW/LW reception. VAG power an aerial amplifier by supplying the 12V required by the antenna base mount amp through the aerial cable. Aftermarket HUs cannot provide the power this way, hence the need for a separate booster.

Third, you will need to swap the 12V power cables and also disconnect the feed on the K wire to the cars ecu otherwise your dealer wont be very happy when has multi thousand pound tool is blown up by 12V where there shouldnt be 12V.

Adam K, thanks, i wasnt aware, but after reading through that talkaudio site, it isnt a easy thing to find a compatable HD. Im going to stick with a 10GB USB stick, that should just about cover my music, or a small 1.8" HD as you say.

Mannyo, thanks for the advice , i havent ordered an ariel booster, so i will need to get one. Also, can you explain the third point in more detail, im stuggling to understand what you mean. Simple terms would be handy

Thanks again guys....

The K wire is the link between the OEM hu and the cars diagnostic system, afternarket systems tend to use the pinout for other purposes and can inject 12V into the diagnostic system. The skoda ISO connection, also has the the 2 12V supplies (perm and switched) the opposite way around to standard. You can get around all of these issues and get an aerial booster by buying the VW autoleads kit from Halfords.

Mannyo,

Thanks again, i understand now. SO i can remove the k wire from the ISO, saving Mr Vag's laptop, and the 2 12V wires needs to be swapped? And i will have a look into the aerial booster.

Cheers

Hi - sorry to Hi-jack, but which colour is the 'K' wire?

It's blue/purple iirc.

Can anyone recommend a way of keeping the sub in place in the boot? and should i screw the amp to the back of the sub to keep it safe?

I use Velcro (the hook side) stapled to the bottom of my box which stops it going anywhere and allows me to remove it easily if needed. It doesn't move and it's so grippy on the boot carpet moving it is some times tricky. And I also screwed the amp onto the box to keep it out of the way.

HTH

You don't need to take the amp wire from the battery, you can take the feed from the input onto the fusebox, hence stopping any holes in the bulkhead at all.

Done it on mine.

I used an L bracket and screwed it into the wood away from the spare wheel (obviously) and into the side of the sub.

It isn't going anywhere!!

I tried velcro but it wasn't strong enough, and I wouldn't want to rely on that in a crash.

I tried velcro but it wasn't strong enough, and I wouldn't want to rely on that in a crash.

I also use a boot net, which I forgot I had earlier:confused:

LOL cheers guys. I now have all that in my living room, OMG i didnt realise a 12" sub was soo big LOL.

Quick question regarding the Headunit. It said there is a RCA Pre Out for the SUB on the website, however ive only got a rear left and rear right on the back. When I have a look at the wiring kit, it has the same 2 plugs. However i thought the RCA Preout was 1 plug??

Ive also ordered a 16GB USB Stick for all my music. Thats roughly 4,000 tracks. Should do for the weekend!!

Thanks again for the advise.

RCA is two plugs, white and red. Standard speaker stuff. If you only had one plug you would only get one channel!!

Cool. Just wanted to check. Think question i know!! LOL

LOL cheers guys. I now have all that in my living room, OMG i didnt realise a 12" sub was soo big LOL.

Not that big!!!!!!!

Pimp My Ride - Jackhammer Subwoofer - VIDEO

If you only have 1 set of RCA pre-outs on your head unit and they are labeled 'rear', that is fine. Connect them to your amp and make sure you set up the crossover on your amp so that you don't send a full-range signal to your sub. It should have a low-pass (lp) crossover (low-pass allows low frequencies to pass, blocking all others - simple).

Also, bear in mind the gain control isn't like an extra volume **** or way of getting more output from your amp - this needs to be set to match the output voltage of your HU's pre-outs - check the manual. If you turn the gain up too high you risk damaging you sub.

My Kenwood Headunit didn't have anything connected to the K-line - i'll try to find what pin number it is anyway so you can check, and get back to you. If it does, you can use a really small screwdriver to remove the pin and just tape it up - the same goes for swapping the permenant and switch 12v feeds around - saves you buying an adaptor from Halfords.

As for mounting the sub box - velcro is ok, but how do you plan to attach it to the box- if it's carpetted make sure you sew it on, or glue it using something heavy duty - sticky-backed velcro doesn't stick great to carpet. If you plan to remove the box occationally, I would reccomend something like a vibe fastplug to connect the power cables - just means you don't have a live 12v cable flying around your boot when your sub isn't there.

Also, I would be careful following the advice above regarding taping into the fuse box - sub amps can draw a lot of power, and you would be better with a proper wiring kit in case you want to add more amps later :-)

Where in Suffolk are you - i'm back that way quite a lot if you need a hand with anything.

Mark.

Thanks Mark, but i think ive got most of it done now!!

Ok, Headunit is in, RCA and remote wire are connected, the RCA had an extra red +12v lead, as I found out that is for the LED's on the cable, and needed connection to the HU. And after alot of checking the Kenwood ISO doesnt have a K Wire, so thats sorted. I connected the remote wire to the P.CONT / REMO wire on the Kenwood ISO.

Cables are running down the passenger side, Power and remote on top, RCA tucked under what looks like the sill.... at the rear seats though, you can still see the cables, how do you tuck them under that bit of pastic next to the seat, or even under the carpet, it looks cr*p when you open the door?

Power cable to battery, OMG how much of a pain was that, I spent about 2 hrs just trying to find that bloody grommet, I couldnt get the skuttle off, so in the end i went down the left front wing, there is a small hole where the indicator cable goes, then I made a small hole in the plastic inside the wing, where the door bolts on. There is a small grommet there which i just pushed out, that got me under the glovebox, on the left side. Put the grommet back so its water proofed. Simple, except getting the lead to the hole at the top of the wing, ended up putting a bit of wire through the hole i made, and putting my finger through the indicator hole in the bulk head next to the pollen filter, and grabbing the wire and pulling it through.... took f**king ages!!! I didnt want to use the fuse box!

Now I just need to find a good earth for the AMP, had a quick look last night but it was getting dark so give up. To test it I put the earth on anything bare metal, but the Sub although working wasnt producing much bass. Is that because the settings have been changed on the AMP or because i didnt use a proper earth? Also, the sub wasnt screwed into the box, so thats probably it.... I hope!

Where is a good place for the earth to go? I tried finding the seat belts that people recommend, are you referring to top or bottom?

I will have a look into what you advise about keeping the sub in place, I do plan to take it out occasionally.....

Cheers all for the advise, it was my first install

I used the earth for the rear lights. If you pull the carpet out of the way there is a cap-head nut that can be un-done and the earth eyelet added before screwing the nut back up.

Has worked fine for me.

Incidently, I never managed to ge tthe scuttle of either - I removed the front clips and bent it up as far as I dared, wedging it with wooden blocks. I lost alot of skin from my forearms, but got the cable through in the end.

Check the crossover settings on the amp, and the gain. You want the crossover set so the sub is only getting low frequencies, or you reduce it's efficiency, and risk damage. I would set it around 120Hz or below for starters.

Just make sure none of your cables (particularly power) rub on bare metal - it'll cut through them in no time. I've used a combination of heat-shrink sleeving, insulating tape and odd scraps of leather on particularly sharp edges.

If you remove the plastic trim you mention in the rear (it's an awkward job to manouver), you can hide all the cables entirely.

Its all in and sorted!! hell yeah, i have BASS!!!!!!

I used L brackets to hold it in place, earth to the left seat belt, had to wrap the wire around the thread and screwed it up tight!

Sounds really good now. Cheers for all the help guys....