How-To: Wire a sub to stock Speed6

[Koenig]

The following install was done by myself without any help from friends, if you do this alone..... on average it should take between 30 minutes to 60 minutes for install, provided you don't run into any problems:

*PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THIS SETUP IS ON A SPEED6, IT WILL WORK WITH A MAZDA6 AS I HAVE PERFORMED THE SAME SETUP ON MY GIRL'S MAZDA6s HATCH, HOWEVER THE COLORS OF THE WIRES ON THE FACTORY BOSE ARE DIFFERENT COLORED FOR SOME OF THE YEARS, MY GF'S 2005 HATCH HAD THE SAME COLORS AS I DID IN THE SPEED*
and yes I know I need to clean up the cables in the back... just haven't had much time/been lazy, lol. It works, and that's all I care about. Oh and I've been running this setup since I got the car in April 2007, haven't had a single hiccup with it, and neither has my GF in her car.


Amp 12volt cable connected to the battery terminal
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0206.jpg


I decided to just zip-tie the 12volt fuse to a cable, instead of drilling it to a surface, this allows me to just easily unscrew it should the fuse inside pop for whatever reason, makes replacing it easier.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0207.jpg


I didn't want to drill a hole in my firewall like some people do, so I fed the cable through the grommet, it helps if you use a lead string to feed it through, this took me a good 4 or 5 minutes to make sure i got it through
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0208.jpg


view of 12volt fed through grommet from inside of car, it is in fact, easier to push the 12volt power cable through the inside of the car than going through the outside, unless you remove your battery.... if you push it through here and you're doing the install alone, you may need a wire coat hanger to pull the cable UP to you a bit, since it tends to go downwards from the grommet
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0209.jpg


ran it behind the fuse box to keep it out of the way....
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0210.jpg


Popped out the door lined plastic paneling to put the cable under, all along the driverside door.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0211.jpg


fed it up and under through my seat to go through the back...
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0212.jpg


fed it up through the back and attached it to the amp
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0213.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0214.jpg


Removed the little plastic pop cap (red square area) that holds the liner to the car and inserted a bolt from behind and used this to "ground" the amp, I also used an M6 (6mm metric) bolt and nut to make sure the ground was nice and tight against the car, this is one of the best places to ground the amp because of it's unpainted surface.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_001.jpg


The remote ACC amp turn on wire.... i connected it to a fuse loop cable... before tapping into the BOSE amp turn on, this will save your electrical system in the event of a surge from either your car or the aftermarket amp, the fuse will pop and disconnect between the 2, I picked this one up at ACE hardware for less than 2 dollars. If the fuse does pop you can put another one in, and if that pops too then that saves your system and tells you that you have a spike going on somewhere.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0220.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0219.jpg



wired the fuse loop cable to the BLUE W/RED STRIP factory ACC (this is used for the aftermarket amp's ACC remote turnon cable... to turn the amp on when your stereo is on.)
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0217.jpg



ok here's where the tricky part comes in, and I'll show some better pictures on how it should look when you do it....

you basically need a small 1 male to 2 female RCA cable (learn how to make one here (http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3707313&postcount=6)) (the clear plastic one in the pic with the other end appearing cut off)... this is what allows you to plug in the RCA cable from your aftermarket amplifier from your RIGHT IN and your LEFT IN(doesn't matter which you plug into which)
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0224.jpg


you have to cut off the male end on the RCA and then strip the rubber insulation.... you then have to seperate the silver shielding from the copper core, this is what gives you the negative and positive (copper core will be positive) you take the copper core from both cables and twist them together, and the silver shielding from both cables you twist together
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0223.jpg
you will then need to get 2 seperate pieces of audio cable.... i used white and black to tell the difference between the positive (white) and the negative/ground (black),

you splice the copper cables you twisted into the white positive audio cable, and the silver shielding to the baclk ground cable.




then you take the positive white audio cable, strip the tip to expose it's copper core and you have to splice into the BOSE audio signal cable (BLACK WITH RED STRIPE), you only need to splice the POSITIVE speaker wire into the audio signal cable, the black with red stripe. The NEGATIVE speaker wire does not need to be spliced into anything, and can sit there freely. it only needs one end spliced into your RCA splitter, the other end does not need to spliced into the factory wires, it is a negative and doesn't retain a signal from any of the wires on your BOSE sub.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0222.jpg




after that you're prettu much done... and yes I know i need to clean up the cables a little, I ended up buying a 10 foot twisted pair RCA cable for the amp and it was longer than I thought I would need.

I'm also going to make an enclosure, where i remove the back paneling and expose the X cross/brace bars, and building an enclosure to support the sub woofers between those, so they will fill up that area and cover it back up, but my subs will appear "flush" with the back of the car, and it will also give me back my trunk space. and I'll have mounted/drilled the amp to the roof of the trunk, to completely get all the wires out of the way.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0229.jpg




and incase anyone is wondering.... I'm running a kenwood 1800w amp with 2 kenwood 1000w 12" subs. for those of you who haven't installed their subs, or screwed them into a box, I would recommend getting a perfect square box, why? More airspace per cubic foot inside the box for the subwoofer.

[Shagate]

Great write up! Thanks!

[Koenig]

it's not finished yet, tomorrow I'm doing a write up on how to "jerry rig" (rofl) your own line converter for your amp.

[wannabe]

:)

[Koenig]

*UPDATE*

will post the wiring walk through with pics tomorrow.... I'm not home right now, at a buddy's house, had to run out and do a few things....



[this space reserved for write up]

[Koenig]

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN LINE OUT CONVERTER


For the following you will need:
A pair of wire strippers/crimper
2 short (about 3 inches) pieces of speaker wire (I chose different colored to better tell the difference between positive and negative)
a 5 amp blade fuse
a heavy duty blade fuse holder
A double end wire connector(i forgot what it's called, the blue thing)
and a small 1 male to 2 female RCA cable.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0230.jpg


What the heavy duty blade fuse holder looks like:
*Note I went to HOME DEPOT and LOWE's, neither stock, for whatever apparent reason, if you have an ACE Hardware or similar small hardware store, they should have this... it will be where the blade fuses are sold*
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0233.jpg


5 AMP blade fuse inserted into the fuse holder..... Why 5 amp? Same reason your cars fuse box has some of them, it doesn't take much to pop a 5 AMP fuse, so in the event this pops it saves your factory system from frying, etc. It's simple and clean to just insert a new fuse, if that pops too then you have a short or a spike somewhere in the electrical system.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0235.jpg


Insert one end of the fuse holder into the double-end wire connector (make sure your fuse holder's wires are stripped before doing this, the copper core MUST be exposed)
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0236.jpg


Be sure to crimp it as tight as you can to ensure it doesn't pull out easily
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0237.jpg


I like to "double crimp" my wires, always.... once over the metal so it pins down on the core of the wire, and once more so that the plastic pins down on the insulation of the wire.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0238.jpg


Take your 1male to 2female RCA cable and cut off the male part (OUCH!!!)
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0240.jpg


Separate the wire a little bit and strip boths sides as evenly as you can, after that seperate the silver wire "shielding" from the smaller inner core wires
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0241.jpg


Be sure to twist the silver core shielding so not to get it mixed with your inner cores... now strip the inner core wires to expose THEIR cores
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0242.jpg


Twist those inner cores you just exposed together....
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0243.jpg


now twist the 2 silver shielding cores together, your end product should look like this *NOTE: the thicker of the twisted pair the silver shielding is your "Negative" the very small inner core wires you twisted together are your "Positive" keep this in mind
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0244.jpg


Take your POSITIVE labeled speaker wire, strip a small end out of it, but don't stripe the edge, I tend to use my pocket knife for this *Note: if you're not using different colored wire, use something, such as blue electical tape to wrap around the middle so you know it's your positive wire
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0246.jpg


After stripping use the tip if your knife or a toothpick if need be, to insert in the center and separate to create a hole in the middle....insert the smaller twisted pair (remember this is your positive, and is what gives the amp your audio signal) into this hole, twist it around if you have enough length, then twist the speaker wire a bit back to "close" the hole
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0247.jpg


Tape it down as nice and as tight as you can... and then you're ready to repeat the process with the "negative" speaker cable
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0250.jpg

IF YOU KNOW HOW TO SOLDER, EVEN SOMEWHAT DECENT, OR YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO DOES, I WOULD RECOMMEND HAVING THESE WIRES ELECTRICAL SOLDERED IF YOU CAN


you're pretty much finished and ready to go.... the remote turn on wire for the amp (usually blue) will go into the other end of the blue doulbe-end wire connector, and crimp that, then you just need to splice the other end to the BLUE WITH RED STRIPE cable on the BOSE subwoofer
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/IMG_0252.jpg





FINAL NOTE: I didn't entire cut through my blue with red stripe or black with red stripe wires on the BOSE sub woofer...... instead I took my pocket knife and cut around in a full 360 on one side of the wire, and across from that did the same, then I stripped it so that I was just exposing the wire without cutting through it completely. This allows you to retain the stock speakers and sub, should you get rid of the car to sell it, etc. You can revert it back to stock.

I would not recommend soldering these connections, but rather just tape them off.



This how the wires on the BOSE should look if you strip them the way I do:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t40/speed6_AWD/Sub%20install/wired.jpg

[Koenig]

If anyone has any questions, or needs to know something, or feels I missed something

Feel free to PM me or ask me here.

[wannabe]

nice job :)

[Koenig]

Thanks, I know the pics weren't the best, but my digital camera couldn't adjust for that close, LOL

[macknati]

GREAT JOB (dance) I have been waiting patiently for this and now I think I got it. (cool)

[Koenig]

That's good to know man (2thumbs), any problems or questions, just ask.

[bova80]

just did this and sounds awesome now. i disconnected my stock sub though because it seemed to interfere with the better sounding bass coming from my 12" pioneer.

[baseballd2]

nice write up. I never knew you could make your own line in converter nice!

[JinxKwB]

Good tip, but there is one problem. The photo shown of the wiring at the grommet.... Do not go AROUND the grommet as shown. You will be pinching the wire against metal, this can cause it to cut through the shielding and ground out to the body.

If you look under the dash on the driver side you can see an oval shaped "cutout" in the foam. Remove it with your fingers. Behind it is a perfect spot to drill a hole. The cover behind it is even made of PLASTIC. So you can even cut through it with a razor knife. This is much safer for you and the car.

If you chose to go use the location shown, go THROUGH the grommet, NOT around it.

Nice job on using the low level signal though, I've done something similar 100's of times on Ford stock JBL/Alpine systems, and it works great.

P.s. Use split loom on the wiring under the hood. It will help save it from Heat/water and prolong the life of the wire.

A final comment, I laughed when I saw the Rockford fosgate product and the install edge product. Did you buy your amp-kit at Best Buy? (I work there currently as the install lead)

[b00stnSIX]

maybe im a noob on wiring, but if you don't plug the negative side (silver inner wire) into anything, then why do you need to do all that splicing and attaching a wire to just sit there? can't you just avoid that if you don't need that wire? i'm totally lost on that part. i think its an extra step

[Koenig]

maybe im a noob on wiring, but if you don't plug the negative side (silver inner wire) into anything, then why do you need to do all that splicing and attaching a wire to just sit there? can't you just avoid that if you don't need that wire? i'm totally lost on that part. i think its an extra step


It's the same reason there is a "negative" cable on a speaker... think of it as a ground, the black cable is grounding the wire.

This is simply how I've been taught about wiring as I've worked for an install shop before.

If you want to give it a shot and be the "guinea pig" and see what happens if you don't do that part, then go for it and let us know if it is or isn't needed.

I don't want to take that chance on my car so....If you do decide to attempt it, I'll assume zero responsibility if you short out the electrical and need it replaced. (drinks)

[b00stnSIX]

i understand how electricity works. but i mean, you're having the two silver outside coating wires from inside the RCA cable spliced into a wire that just sits there... its not connecting to anything at all, is it?

[b00stnSIX]

the amp is grounded to the car chassis. and i don't think a 4" piece of wire is going to ground the two spliced together wires from the RCA splitter unless its connected to anything. i may of misread your post but you say to not connect it to anything and just let it sit there. wouldnt that be the same thing as letting the two negative (silver outer wire) from the RCA alone?

[Koenig]

the amp is grounded to the car chassis. and i don't think a 4" piece of wire is going to ground the two spliced together wires from the RCA splitter unless its connected to anything. i may of misread your post but you say to not connect it to anything and just let it sit there. wouldnt that be the same thing as letting the two negative (silver outer wire) from the RCA alone?


you could expose that if you want, to be honest I haven't tried that, if you DO do that, make sure you tape it off with electrical tape, at least, so it doesn't touch anything and possibly cause a short.

Let me know how it works out for you... if everything is fine and dandy let me know so I can edit the original post. I just did all that to play it safe, ya know? "better safe than sorry"

[edit]
oh i forgot to say, the negative for the amp to "ground" it is a little different than a negative wire on a speaker... if that were the case manufacturers wouldn't need to include a negative wire on subwoofers since the amp is grounded or door speakers, since the head unit is grounded. the speaker wire carries a "signal" and, eh it's hard for me to explain it, I just know how it looks from a diagram in my head.

But like I said, try it and let me know.

[b00stnSIX]

how on earth did you get the power cable through that gromet? i've been trying for a half hour. please help

[Koenig]

it's a bitch to do it, but it only takes me 5 to 10 minutes? you gotta do it from inside the car (did I not say that in the instructions?)

you're gonna have to slide the seat all the way back and get on your back so you can look up under the steering column. find the grommet where the wires are coming out... now don't try to put it through THAT hole, where all the wires are coming out

you need to go to the side where the big opening is entirely covered with the rubber grommet (the harness wires for the cars are in the center of the grommet)

you're gonna want to do it to the side.... you gotta push out HARD with your finger until you see light coming through then you know you're exposed to the other end, either hold it open wth your finger or use a pen to push through and hold it open for you...

and start trying to slide the power cable through.... after you get it a little bit you may need to walk back and forth, pull alittle from the engine bay, push a little from under the steering wheel, until you get the length you want.

[b00stnSIX]

got it man thanks

[Koenig]

Just curious... how did you finally get it in? Maybe it'll help people who are also having difficulty.

[b00stnSIX]

i pried it back carefully with an interior pry bar (plastic, didn't want to use metal near the wiring harness just incase it slipped) and pushed the wire through untill it went in. haha really it was just a lot of grunt effort in an awkward position. i couldn't really see what i was doing but it worked out well. i also ran the wires through like you said underneath the door sill which worked really well. still gotta figure out the wiring in the back though. ill let you know how it goes. but thanks for the awesome write up, man!

[Koenig]

Yeah that sounds good a plastic interior pry bar would work wonders.... yeah it's kind of hard to see depending how you have it lit up, I used a keychain flashlight I have that I held with my mouth.

[wiseguy_75]

I just passed the wire tonight like in the picture and will finish the rest of the install tomorrow...

BUt isn't there a possibility of some water seeping in by running down that positive wire and into the car...

[wiseguy_75]

Alright so my install is complete and looks and sounds great but the only problem is...

with the volume down low or off there is a humming sound coming from my 12" sub. Obviously if I turn down the gain on my amp it goes away but so does any bass from the sub. I checked and rechecked all my wiring (huh)

Also, if I turn on my lights or pull the E-break up... the humming stops (huh)

[Koenig]

I just passed the wire tonight like in the picture and will finish the rest of the install tomorrow...

BUt isn't there a possibility of some water seeping in by running down that positive wire and into the car...


If you're talking about the Power cable that goes from the battery through the grommet....... then no, the grommet is extremely tight, as people who've noticed it takes a bit of time to get the cable through it....... if any water even runs down it it would stop at the grommet.

That would take a lot of water seeping inside your car, and on/near the battery..... to even be able to run down that line in the first place.

As for your humming, I'm not sure, I don't experience it. Have you checked the wires on the Subs? (inside the box I mean) and have you checked to make sure the positive and negatives for the subs are connected properly, and you're not crossing a positive and a negative? (not saying you're stupid but accidents happen)

[Koenig]

Hey check something out for me when you get a chance. I think you might be getting what's referred to as a "power hum"

Does it happen when your radio is OFF? or only when the radio is on and the volume is turned low, or down to zero?

What type of amp are you running (brand, watts, etc)? Some amps I've experience in other cars, were too weak to supply decent bass to a sub, and when turning up the gain too high would give it a distortion sound and so the humming. If you put your hand on the sub you will probably feel the humming through it as well.

[yamaha1995]

does the sub have its own amp, where would it be. i know the front and rears have one under the drivers seat but where is the sub amp. i want to add a sub to my stock bose system and disconnect the bose sub. wouldnt it be better to get the signal for the new amp before the sub amp instead of in the trunk by the sub? i have a 06 mazda sport

[wannabe]

does the sub have its own amp, where would it be. i know the front and rears have one under the drivers seat but where is the sub amp. i want to add a sub to my stock bose system and disconnect the bose sub. wouldnt it be better to get the signal for the new amp before the sub amp instead of in the trunk by the sub? i have a 06 mazda sport
the sub amp is in the basket with the sub. so, you are.

[yamaha1995]

thats what i kinda thought, since i heard people say it was in the trunk. cool thanks.

[yamaha1995]

i got my sub installed sounds good, but i noticed on the tutorial it said to use the black with read stripe wire for the positive, but the wiring harness diagrahm for the bose amp shows the brown wire is positive. which is correct? i used the brown as positive.

[Koenig]

i got my sub installed sounds good, but i noticed on the tutorial it said to use the black with read stripe wire for the positive, but the wiring harness diagrahm for the bose amp shows the brown wire is positive. which is correct? i used the brown as positive.


Do you have a speed6? or a regular 6?

I made a note that there is a difference between the wires for the Mazdaspeed6 and the 2005 Mazda6 was my GF's, I did specify in the post print at the beginning of the first post that the colors may be different for the years of cars......

if you have a 2006 regular Mazda6 (I'm guessing from one of your previous posts) then there is a good chance the wires will be different, I only made this thread for the speed6 (like the title suggests), but it does work on regular 6, wires may be different.

If your diagram shows a brown wire as the positive signal source (the audio to play music through it) then that was your wire...... especially if you had a black wire with red strip and that showed up as something else on your diagram.

[Koenig]

Holy double post batman!!!

[yamaha1995]

i have a regular 6. i dont have my own diagrahm, i was looking at the one that was postedat the bottom of the main post in this thread, http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123668624&highlight=install. is there a way i can check to see for sure which one is positive? will the positive only have 2v dc coming out of it. so could i put a use a voltmeter and put the positive on the wire and the negative on the chassis? its been like six years since ive installed a system in a car. thanks for your help

[Koenig]

I'm sorry but I can't verify that for you......... I hooked mine up to the black with red stripe. I do have the brown wire, but I didn't touch it, since it's already been tried and verified BEFORE ME with the use of the black with red stripe, and I don't like to be the "guinea pig" in situations like that. lol.

Does your car have a black with red stripe as well, or only the brown? Honestly if your car is working ok without issues, then I don't see a problem, if you want to test it with the voltmeter you can....

There is a possibility it will be slightly under 2v since I've been told its connect to the amp unit under the driver seat. Which has the possibility of lowering the voltage.

[eclipse9582]

Hey Koenig,

First off, thanks for the how to. Great job!!

My question is this:

When you remove the male end of the rca splitter and twist together the silver shielding (ground) and copper cables (positive), why can't you simply tap that copper cable "twist" right into the bose sub black / red wire and put a wire butt on the silver shielding ground "twist"?

[BADFISH6]

Hey Koenig,

First off, thanks for the how to. Great job!!

My question is this:

When you remove the male end of the rca splitter and twist together the silver shielding (ground) and copper cables (positive), why can't you simply tap that copper cable "twist" right into the bose sub black / red wire and put a wire butt on the silver shielding ground "twist"?

Thats exactly what i did and it works perfectly. I used no extra speaker wire. Ran it straight from the rca splitter into the bose and wrapped some electric tape around the silver shielding and let it hang.

[PeZ3o3]

hey there is another grommet in the middle of the engine bay that i was able to reach from outside of the car that is just rubber and pulles out. It is not very easy to find but it is a good place to put the power wire through

[Koenig]

WOW I've been gone for a while, sorry!

ECLIPSE: to answer your question, well BADFISH did just that (Thanks BADFISH) I just used audio wire myself to give more leeway because I've tucked all the wiring away and out of view. But essentially you can just splice those wires together and you don't need the extra audio cable.

PEZ: Good find bro, how about some pics to post (and I'll edit into the main post) so that way others know where to look?

[MontegoRx]

well I just wired up my Infinity Reference 12" Sub and amp. I've gotta say, I'm not horribly impressed. I'm not sure if it's just not getting enough juice or if it's not getting through the leather seats, but it's really not a huge improvement, it takes up alot of trunk space, and it looks bad (cause I didn't want to make it a permanent install at this point). I guess I'll drive with it like this for a while and decide if I want to clean up the install or pull it out.

[Koenig]

well I just wired up my Infinity Reference 12" Sub and amp. I've gotta say, I'm not horribly impressed. I'm not sure if it's just not getting enough juice or if it's not getting through the leather seats, but it's really not a huge improvement, it takes up alot of trunk space, and it looks bad (cause I didn't want to make it a permanent install at this point). I guess I'll drive with it like this for a while and decide if I want to clean up the install or pull it out.


HMM... strange (boom06).... I'm really not sure either. Mainly because I can't see the wiring (yes mistakes on wiring can happen, I accidently did it on my GF's Mazda6 even though I did it perfect on my speed), and because I can't see the amp's settings.

It's possible that the AMP's settings might be off. Does your amp have a gain screw/switch? You should try twisting that a little to see if the bass comes in more.

I mean I have no issues and my bass CHURNS, and my gain is like less than half way.... so does my GF's. And I don't think others are having issue either, though I can't say for certain. Best thing I can say is double check your wiring and check the AMP's settings, for your frequency and gain.

[MontegoRx]

wiring looks like this...

RCA wires coming from amp's input, with center cores twisted and taped. The outer wires were twisted together and connected to the Black/Red wire on the Bose plug. The remote input to my amp is connected to the pin on the Blue/Red wire on the Bose plug.

Ground is going to the bottom-left pop-out fastener, which has been replaced with a bolt and wingnut (just had it laying around).

Power is naturally coming straight from the battery. My question would be if the inner wires should be connected to the negative signal cable (next to the Black/Red on the plug) instead of just being taped off.

[MontegoRx]

think I got it. It's just temporary right now, but I'll tape it up and see. what I did was take the negative from the RCAs and plug it into the brown wire. I noticed that it was the only wire on the factory plug that wasn't being used, and the RCAs had a wire not being used. So, basically, I use the factory power as my remote, factory ground is redundant since I'm already grounding to the chassis, and now the RCAs are using both the black/red and brown signal wires.

[Koenig]

think I got it. It's just temporary right now, but I'll tape it up and see. what I did was take the negative from the RCAs and plug it into the brown wire. I noticed that it was the only wire on the factory plug that wasn't being used, and the RCAs had a wire not being used. So, basically, I use the factory power as my remote, factory ground is redundant since I'm already grounding to the chassis, and now the RCAs are using both the black/red and brown signal wires.


Um, I think maybe that could be your issue? Maybe you got confused with all the posts.... Are you tapping into BOTH the black wire with red stripe, AND the brown wire?

For the Mazdaspeed6 you only want to use the Black w/ red stripe wire as your audio signal..... you don't need to worry about the brown.

[PeZ3o3]

Hey here are some pics of where i put the power cable for the amp through the engine bay to the interior of the car. Its kind of hard to see, but the wire is the black rippled one attached to the clear fuse container. I pulled the grommet out and made two cross cuts in it then put the wire through. Then I replaced the grommet where it was with the wire going through it. The wire then falls through above the gas pedal.

[Koenig]

Kind of hard to see but uh, aren't you using the same grommet that the wiring harness is coming through?

[MontegoRx]

Um, I think maybe that could be your issue? Maybe you got confused with all the posts.... Are you tapping into BOTH the black wire with red stripe, AND the brown wire?

For the Mazdaspeed6 you only want to use the Black w/ red stripe wire as your audio signal..... you don't need to worry about the brown.

Originally I was using only the Black/Red. It sounded kind of like muffled poop being pushed through a strainer. I tied the negative (outer portion of the RCA connection to the amp) to the brown. If there are two signal cables running to every other speaker I've seen in my life, then I'll stick with two to this too. :D

[Koenig]

Originally I was using only the Black/Red. It sounded kind of like muffled poop being pushed through a strainer. I tied the negative (outer portion of the RCA connection to the amp) to the brown. If there are two signal cables running to every other speaker I've seen in my life, then I'll stick with two to this too. :D


LOL @ muffled poop.... that's a nice graphic way of explaining it (bowdown)

So does it sound better using the brown cable? I was under the impression according to wiring diagrams that the brown cable isn't a signal wire? I wonder now.....

[MontegoRx]

it sounds worlds better. imagine having a three-way speaker with only the middle speaker working. Then the other wire would let all three work. That's about the only way I can explain the difference in sound, at least without excrement references. :D

[Koenig]

it sounds worlds better. imagine having a three-way speaker with only the middle speaker working. Then the other wire would let all three work. That's about the only way I can explain the difference in sound, at least without excrement references. :D


Hmm, maybe I'll give it a try... and you tapped the negative into that one, correct?

[MontegoRx]

Correct. So when all is said and done, the brown wire will be connected to the outer part (negative) of the RCA plug, and the Black/Red will go to the center (positive) of the RCA plug.

[Koenig]

Hmmm... I think I may spend some time on Sunday rewiring my car if I can.

[PeZ3o3]

Kind of hard to see but uh, aren't you using the same grommet that the wiring harness is coming through?

Yeah, sorry i didnt want to pull it out again cuz its kinda a bitch to get to. I dont remember how I found it but it is just a rubber grommet with nothing goin through it.

[Koenig]

Yeah, sorry i didnt want to pull it out again cuz its kinda a bitch to get to. I dont remember how I found it but it is just a rubber grommet with nothing goin through it.


It's cool man.... no worries... I guess... I dunno... make the camera further away to see the stuff better? (shrug)

[quattroforlife]

Im going to wire my sub this weekend. From the sounds of it the black/red and brown are the audio signals. Im assuming that the 4th cable from the stock harness is a ground.

Given that:

Could I take 2 RCA cables, and connect the 3 bose cables to that?

Use the 2 audio signals as positives on the RCAs, and then wire the negative RCAs to the Bose ground...... essentially taking the 3 bose cables and converting it to 4 RCAs...

What do ya think....

[Dejan12]

is this the same for a mazda 6 2004 non-bose system?

[parabellum]

Thanks for the post it helped me alot.
Installed amp and subwoofer in my 2004 Mazda 6 2.3 Sport (European).
EDIT: It's the BOSE system

The most difficult part was installing the + wire from the battery. I bought a kit where the fuse was already on the wire so inserting it from inside where the pedals are was not an option. After some cursing I finally made it.

Here's how i did it:
*Removed battery (The battery was secured with a brass (?) "hook" which came in handy.
*Used the hook to penetrate the rubber protecting the hole in the firewall.
*Then, using the hook I got the + cable through the hole in the firewall by pulling the hook from the inside. The rubber was rather thick so I weakened it carefully with a knife.

The ground cable for the amp was attached to the screw holding the car jack (?) (Lifting deviced used to change tires). Allows for quick removal of sub and amp if space in trunk is needed.

The 2 RCA->1 RCA was made out of a spare cable i had lying around. (2RCA -> 1 3.5mm plug). Basically used technique described in this article.

The remote signal was picked from the blue cable with a red stripe.
(Amp on when key is in mode 1 or 2)
The audio signal was from black cable with red stripe.

I attached the cables directly at the connector...where the woofer in the spare tire is normally connected. This way there is no problem simply connecting the old subwoofer when it's time to sell the car.

If someone is interested I can publish pics but basically it's the same as described above.

Sorry for poor english...

Again....thanks for this "How-To"

[Koenig]

Awesome post... glad it worked for you!

Nice little trick with the brass hook for you. I don't think my battery has one (or not anymore, I don't know).

@Dejan12...... unfortunately this isn't the same. The BOSE and non-BOSE systems have different wiring setups.

A). The color of the wires, from what I've read and have been told are different in color, regarding where the remote, and the signal wires are.

B). This setup is feeding off the amplifier for the "factory" BOSE subwoofer. I do not believe that the non-BOSE systems have a subwoofer, let alone an amplifier.

Sorry buddy... the best thing I can tell you is to check Google or mazda6 club. I believe someone over there did a non-BOSE "How-to"

[parabellum]

Nice little trick with the brass hook for you. I don't think my battery has one (or not anymore, I don't know).


I was about to give up when I saw the little brass thingy that I didn't even notice when I removed the battery. Worked perfectly and did the job in <2 minutes.

The wiring and position of amp/woofer seems to be different in the regular 6 so if i remember my cam tomorrow i can post some pics of the build. Might help someone.

[Koenig]

Sounds good man... and yes it is... with my GF's 2005 Mazda6 s, I had to run her wires around the bottom under that little place mat in her hatch.