Gen I Radio Upgrade

[Flyng Low]

Drivers,
In the glow of the new Gen V, my daily driver '94 RT/10 with 50,000 miles on it is not keeping up. One fix would probably cost $100,000, and I'm considering it, but I would still keep the Gen I, so I've decided to fix the only thing that has always bothered me - the OEM radio.
I'm looking for recommendations on either local San Diego custom radio installers, or DIY with what new control head, adapter harnesses, and speakers?
I think I want AM/FM with Blue Tooth with phone link and Android-compatable Pandora, and maybe HD radio. I like preset buttons if possible, but prefer 3-4 lines of text on the display, with good sunlight readability. I want a red color lighting choice to match the car. I may want iPod capability (would have to buy one) in case Pandora is not satisfactory using my Android Samsung Infuse. Speakers should be weather-strong since I rarely have the top on. I can keep or replace the existing trunk amp.
Got a $1,712 bid from Skip at Streetnoyz for a Sony MEXBT4000 am/fm/cd head, 2 German CS6508 6.5 concept speakers in the doors, Arc XD1804 4x80 amp, 2 Kicker 10cvt654 comp 6.5 4ohm speakers between the seats, Stinger SWK8 8ga power delivery kit, 17 ft coax rca cable, 8 hrs labor, and a $120 VCA discount. He said I could save $280 with Arc Audio door speakers and a Sony amp.
Other heads I've heard recommended are Sony DSX-310BT (no HD radio, no presets), Kenwood KDC-X896 (no presets), and Alpine 137BT (single line, blue lighting).
Crutchfield says they don't have install kits for the Gen I Viper, but have great prices on all the radio heads and speakers. They recommended Polk 107DB6501 door speakers, tweeters and cross-over kit. These speakers are weatherized for boats and open cars.
I'm handy around the car and have had the radio out before, but I'm not sure this is a DIY project. Is there a source for a harness adapter from the DIN plug to RCA jacks? I wouldn't want to do anything that couldn't be restored back to OEM stock in the future.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can advise me. Please call me at 858 663-7271, or email [email protected].


Curt Dose' Red '94 RT-10, Fly'g Low

 

[jdeft1]

Definately a DIY job in my opinion. Remove the original head-end and splice in the new connector. Done! The stock amps use common pre-out RCA jacks/wires and are already there so no running of wires is necessary. As for door speakers, the stock openings need to be slightly enlarged to accept 6" drivers but it's worth it. I used a dremel with a small cutting wheel on mine. The door panels are easy to remove as is the back panel. If you have a shop do the job, talk to them about custom building a box for the rear speakers. I designed/built a small sub box for mine (that actually produces bass). http://www.parts-express.com is a good source for drivers if you want to try to get better bass from that tiny box.... but even if you don't, putting 6" drivers in the doors will make a world of difference.

As for splicing wires...I think all you need to splice-in are four wires...hot, common, switched hot and amp relays. Cut the original connector off entirely or just splice in the new wires.

Perhaps it's just me but there's no way I'd spend big money on a gen 1 audio system.

Cheers

 

[Flyng Low]

Thanks Jdeft. I also heard from a friend on the San Diego board and via email. I'm inclined now to go DIY but need to decide about the center speakers - OEM sub woofers. Is it better to replace them with new sub woofers like 2 Kicker 10CVT654, trying first with the OEM amp? http://www.crutchfield.com/p_2060CVT654/Kicker-10CVT654.html?search=kicker_10cvt654&skipvs=T
Or should I replace the sub woofers with good mid-range speakers, in addition to the door speakers? If I put new subs in, did you mean to box the center compartment behind them with a plywood box? Has anyone else replaced their RT/10 center sub woofers with mid range speakers?
The radio head unit that appeals to me is the JVC KD-AHD75BT. “JVC” doesn’t really get your juices flowing, but this is their top of the line and has everything I want: BT, HD, external mic, rear and front USB, presets, cd, variable illumination, 50x4. Maybe no one will steal a JVC! http://www.crutchfield.com/p_105KDAH75B/JVC-Arsenal-KD-AHD75BT.html
This Polk speaker system is approved for boats and open cars. http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB6501/Polk-Audio-db6501.html?search=polk_db6501&skipvs=T
If the OEM amp doesn’t do the job, I could replace it on the trunk wall with Kicker or Polk(?)
How does this sound? Anyone have any experience with any of these, or recommends other? Center sub woofers or mid range? Decisions, decisions...

Curt. '94 RT/10, usually no top. [email protected] 858-663-7271

 

[jdeft1]

I removed the original dual speaker housing behind the rear panel and custom built a box. The trick for me was locating a speaker that produces good bass against that tiny volume of air. My vented enclosure is definately a bit under-driven by the stock amp but still sounds far better than the original setup. I also considered simply replacing the subs with full range speakers but decided against it because the speakers sit so close to you ears. Mine produce only the lowest tones and add some thump. The door speakers do all the real work and the tweeters top it off through a 6bd/octive cutoff capacitor.

I'm using a JVC head end. I picked it primarily because I wanted the ipod control function. Yes, its cheap (I did say I wouldn't spend big money on a gen 1 sound system). Ultimately, the exhaust and wind noise overcome any dreams of quality sound in this car IMO.... Seriously, if you listen louder than a gen 1 on the open road you're probably doing real harm to your hearing.

Overall, the best bang for my buck was repalcing the tiny door speakers.

Cheers

 

[Flyng Low]

Questions:
I am installing a new radio head unit and speakers in a '94 Gen-I and have these two questions, then I'll give you the rest of the story:

1. What is the RMS power output of the Gen I OEM trunk amps?
2. What gets connected to the console 8-pin DIN plug brown and black wires?

The rest of the story - I ordered from Crutchfield - $600, came in about a week:

JVC Arsenal KDAH75BT
Polk Audio db6501 door mid-range and tweeter speakers and crossover
2 Kicker 10CVT651 sub woofers

The JVC HU has a 16-wire rear plug and harness, plus RCA jacks for Sub Woofer, Front and Rear, plus Antenna, Mic, and front and rear USB.

Using the Service Manual I figured out the layout of the Gen I's console 6-pin rectangular female socket:
1. red-orange, orange-white to fuse 20 -- 12v ignition switched
2. black-yellow to alarm module -- ?? not used
3. green-red, green-red -- power antenna feed/amplifier (needed for windshield antenna)
4. pink - fuse 15 -- 12v
5. black -- ground
6. orange -- dim-able illumination

I just tinned the new JVC HU 5 harness wires (above) and shoved them into the console 6-pin plug, hooked up the antenna, then wired the new Polk speakers to the Front L and R outputs. The new JVC HU powers up just fine. I get great AM & FM, and AM HD and FM HD radio - much better than the OEM Alpine HU. The BluRay works fine to my Samsung Infuse (Android) smart phone, including hands-free phone and Pandora. But the temporarily hooked-up Polk speakers distort at higher volume. Crutchfield tech support says I am under-driving them with the JVC HU's 20W RMS, that they need 100W for best performance. What is the output of the OEM amps in the trunk?

So my next step was to hook up the DIN connector harness to bring the two trunk amps online. I opened the Alpine's DIN cable to read out the wires. After forum research, I expected to find 8 wires, but the Gen I DIN cable only has 4 wires - red, black, brown and yellow, plus a braided sleeve. A voltmeter showed me that the red wire is 12v switched, and the yellow is 12v. The braided sleeve is ground. What are the brown and black wires? I could read no power on these two wires.

I look forward to your knowledgeable answers oh wise forum; my beloved Viper is in pieces all over the garage...

 

[Flyng Low]

Happy Birthday America. Update on Gen I radio upgrade progress: I hooked up the JVC Head Unit to the OEM Alpine trunk amps by connecting the yellow and blue RCA jacks to the JVC Sub Woffer Pre-amp jacks, and the red and white RCA jacks to the JVC Front L&R jacks. I jumped 12v battery from the 6-pin rectangular connector pin 4 pink to the DIN cable yellow, and connected the JVC blue-white "Automatic Antenna" harness wire to the DIN harness red wire (with the power antenna feed/amplifier). Sound is much better, but still distorted at mid volume with the stock speakers. I switched the yellow and blue RCA jacks from the JVC Sub Woofer Pre-amp jacks to the Real L&R Pre-amp jacks. This was much better with distortion only at high volume settings. I unplugged the left door speaker and tweeter, then connected one of the Polk mid-range/tweeters to the left door harness. Much better sound from the left now, so maybe the old OEM speakers are the remaining problem - OK since I'm replacing them anyway.

After a swim and a few hamburgers, I'll next swap the OEM Alpine Head Unit back into the system for another comparison test, and to read out the ohms on the DIN cable brown and black wires. Still can't figure what those two wires are for. Why would the OEM trunk amps need any more than the pre-amp inputs and a switched turn-on signal provided by the RCA jacks and the red DIN wire? Why is the yellow DIN 12v battery wire there? The amps have separate power wires going directly. What are the brown and black DIN wires for?

Can anyone cast some light on how the OEM Alpine trunk amps are controlled? It sounds like the Gen II DIN cable to the amps has 8 wires, with a common ground (brown), and four wires for Front L&R and Rear L&R positives. This is separate from the Pre-amp RCA jack inputs. What is it for? Help!