Turbostar

Hi all, I've read the main post about the aftermarket head unit install many times, and I followed it when I installed my own aftermarket head unit. But there is still a question/issue I'm having.

I wired everything up following the posted directions, but my sub is not working and the power antenna does not go up and down. The main difference from the post and what I did is that my cheap head unit (Jensen MPR2121) only has a single blue wire that is labeled "Power Antenna/Amp Turn On". When I wired mine, I "extended" that wire and wired it directly to the sub amp per the instructions in the post. However, in the main post, he had a separate antenna wire from his head unit that he connected to the factory harness "antenna" wires.

There is no antenna connection wired up to my main factory harness like there is in the post (since that wire went to the sub amp). Should I have spliced that single blue wire to go to both the sub amp AND the antenna wires on the factory harness?

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

On aftermarket radios, there are two options on most of them and the first option is antenna wire and the second option is remote on. The thing you have to realize is that if it is an antenna wire only then that means it only has power when the radio is on. Where a subwoofer remote turn on wire or an amplifier remote turn on wire would always have power. If this is the case, and you only have a antenna output wire then that wire is only on when you’re using your radio, not your CD or MP3 therefore you’re gonna have to wire directly to the switched ignition wire on your radio, because who puts an aftermarket deck in to listen to the radio.

Turbostar

The confusing thing is that the single blue wire from the head unit is labeled "Power Antenna / Amp Turn On", which makes me think it should be always on. However, even when the radio source is selected, the power antenna does not go up.

As mentioned previously, I have nothing wired to the antenna wires on the factory dash harness (because Raine's guide says to extend the amp turn on wire back to the subwoofer amp, which I did).

Since I only have the single wire for both power antenna AND amp turn on, do I need to split and connect that wire to both the antenna wires on the factory dash harness AND to the subwoofer amp?

Duck05

Not sure about the wiring options you mention for the unit you selected but I will share what I had a professional audio store do on my Pioneer unit installation. This was ten years ago.

The unit I bought has an aftermarket harness for the SC. It can play DVDs so they also over rode the “while in gear” so I could play DVDs and display on the screen (only did it once playing a movie and a couple of times for a concert video but never since). I added the backup camera option. So far so good.

But, when you turned the car on and the unit powered up, the antenna would extend to full height regardless if you selected AMFM or not. I very rarely use the radio (for live sporting events only) and the idea of running around with the very long antenna extended all the time was not ideal. So, after asking them what options there were, a tech came up with a very small rocker switch and whatever wire runs to the antenna for power he installed that switch inline and put it in the ash tray. Now, when I want to use the radio all l have to do is engage that rocker switch and the antenna extends (that’s right, folks, my ‘92 has a working antenna &#128513.

Hope that can work for your unit and not impede power to the amp.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

I did something like this as well in my SC ^^

However getting the antenna to go *down* proved a little more complicated and apparently requires doing some extra wiring changes in the sub-amplifier area under the rear package tray above the rear seats (factory Pioneer models at least).

Did your service technician make your rocket switch function in such a way as to make your antenna raise and lower with the ignition turned on? Or does it only keep the antenna lowered *until* you flick the switch he installed but lowering the antenna means you have to shut the car off completely?

Duck05

I believe that when the ignition is in accessory or after start mode the head unit sends a “power on” signal to the antenna motor; the rocker switch prevents this unless in the “on” position. I base this from if the switch is “on” the antenna immediately rises upon start up. It will lower if the car is shut off.

I did not hear them say anything about having to do much with the amp but they installed an auxiliary amp for the new (Alpine) subwoofer which ended up powering the sub and L/R mains with the new head unit powering the remaining speakers. It is possible the custom harness had the power-to-the-antenna on a separate wire which made the switch install a very easy option (in my case).

This was ten years ago and the audio shop went out of business when their lease expired (and a new lease was cost prohibitive) which was a real bummer as I also used them for the Popformance HVAC display. Not many shops have experienced SC audio technicians.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Okay, based on what you have described your antenna switch operates exactly as mine does. It's the easiest way to get that function by making it a "limiting" switch as you say which just prevents the antenna from raising. Yours, like mine, can't make the antenna go down once it has been raised. You have to shut the car off for that.

There *is* a way to wire up an additional part of this changed circuit to make the switch raise and lower the antenna WITH the engine running. I pulled the notes from Raine's thread on wiring up an aftermarket head unit with the stock Pioneer SC300/400 amplifier. I can dig them out if you want them.

I actually built a harness for my car to do this after following Raine's wiring instructions but I haven't gotten around to installing and testing it.

...

Yeah, I agree. Most aftermarket stereo shops are not aware of the ins and outs of wiring a system or even just a head unit upgrade into these cars. They can always visit Raine's threads if they know of their existence. To this day his instructions are absolute gold for anyone with an SC300/400. Or even a Soarer Z30.

Personally I also really like making plug and play harnesses so as to not permanently cut up wiring whenever possible. And anyone can do that by totally rewiring and repurposing a couple of cheap Metra harnesses. Raine warns against this because most people just use those harnesses as-is and they don't work as-is.... you HAVE to go to the trouble of modifying their pinouts to get them to work.

Also what made it easier for me to install my aftermarket head unit is to use the now discontinued Beat Sonic adapter for the SC/Soarer Z30. I got one while they were still on sale. Pricey (about $300 USD at the time) but worth it to me. It plugs right into the stock wiring harness and gives you generic bullet connector terminal ends to hook up any aftermarket stereo with.

The only extra thing I needed in my case was to add a PAC TR-4 remote amplifier turn-on unit ($20) since my Continental/VDO aftermarket stereo didn't have that built in. Most aftermarket head units do.

.....

I also have a Popformance HVAC controller. I built my own plug and play harness for it and ran it briefly but got so busy with my engine swap and other supporting modifications I never came back to it after the initial testing.

Do you need any help with it regarding how it's wired up and installed for your SC? While I'm not running mine in my SC right now it's pretty easy to wire in. The more challenging aspect is to get the +5V virtual gauge inputs working. I built a plug and play harness for that too but never got around to hooking up any sensor inputs. I scoured the entire menu and all instructions for the Popformance unit and I think I even asked the designer about the virtual gauge function and how to access it. I think they only show up in the menus when one or more +5V sending units are connected and sending a signal to the unit.

Anyway most people who have them don't seem to have put that function to use. It's otherwise very straightforward. I found that in my car the stock Pioneer head unit picked up interference from it but that hasn't been the case for everyone who has one. Most people who have one tend to run an aftermarket head unit anyway and pretty much all of the modern ones aren't susceptible to electronic interference like an old 90's era factory stereo will be.

Turbostar

Any idea how many volts the sub amp is supposed to get? I checked the voltage from my "extended" amp turn on wire to the three combined wires on the sub amp, and I'm getting 4 volts.

Perhaps I need to wire a 12v acc wire directly to the sub amp?

Duck05

The switch will raise and lower the antenna while the car is running. Not clear how they accomplished that feat based on your experience. The aftermarket Pioneer may have an effect.

I was in the second batch of the Popformance units; it had a defect that Patrick corrected quickly and the installer had to reinstall it as the ground connection was loose. Currently I have a challenge where the touch screen is unreliable but I have worked around the issue so far. Never took advantage of the other monitoring/display options. (Still looks cool…..😎.). I do have the OEM display that Tanin rebuilt as a backup.