I replaced the stock radio in my '99 Outback a year or so ago, and it sounds great. However, while doing a major cleaning last week I noticed that the subwoofer is silent.
BTW, the sub is a module under the driver's seat, complete with amp and a 4-inch speaker. Wow, what a great subwoofer. :-) In fairness, I'm hoping to actually see if it's any good.
Does anyone have *any* info on the wiring of this little beast? I could always open it up and figger out the main guzintas and gozoutas, but I'm lazy these days.
If it's the same kind of sub as I have in my 00RS, which it probably is... it's best if it stays silent. That thing is so raspy sounding, it freaks me out every time... sounds/feels like parts are falling off of your car.
Sorry, dude; I just looked thru the electrical section of a factory manual, and no mention of the sub. I have _uninstalled_ one, and can tell you that it gets it's power from the factory head, and takes "speaker level" signals as it's input. I can't imagine that it puts out more than about 20W RMS into the (I think) 6 inch driver. Not a very impressive setup, IMO; I can't really recommend spending much effort on it unless you're bored. Never the less, if you still have the OEM head (and haven't chopped off the harness connector), you could probably figure out which pins do what by plugging it back in, and taking a voltmeter to the connector at the end of the cable from the head to the sub. If, on the other hand, you are looking to install a "real" sub for minimal cost and effort, look for one of the original Infinity Basslink subs on ebay. These powered subs do an outstanding job, don't take up much room in the back, and can be had for around $100 used, and maybe $150 "NIB".
ByeBye! S. Steve Jernigan KG0MB Laboratory Manager Microelectronics Research University of Colorado (719) 262-3101
Thanks Steve, that tells me a lot, actually. No, it's a POS as a sub, but what the heck...might be fun to mess with. After all, I'm the kinda guy who rejuvenates power tool battery packs, replaces batteries in electric razors, and modifies boom boxes to convert them to XP players, etc.
Some of the other posters have said bad things about the Soobie/Panasonic underseat sub, but I've been happy with the one in my
2000 OBW. The "bad things" applies to the absolute POC/POS factory "premium" speakers.
It's not perfect; it only has speaker-level inputs (usually fed off the rear pair). If the crossover frequency is set too high; it does a good imitation of a duck when overdriven. When used with a full set of decent 6 1/4" speakers and adjusted correctly.... it's beautemus! Just don't expect to outbump or outthump that Escalade with the 22" Dubs alongside you at the stoplight.
The power and signal wires go to a "T" connector that inserted between the dashboard harness and the connector on the radio.
If you used an adapter from the dash harness to the wire harness that came with your new radio; all you have to do is pull the dash apart and plug it in.
If you did the "chop off/splice on" method; you'll have to "splice on" the sub's harness to make it work.
Google is your friend on what wire goes where... It found this old post from here in alt.autos.subaru!
Factory Subwoofer Wiring From: Richard Melville Date: Sat, Nov 10 2001 1:27 am Email: "Richard Melville" Groups: alt.autos.subaru
Several weeks ago, I posted a question about the wiring for the Subaru factory subwoofer. Here is the answer.
The 1998 and 2000 Outback and 2002 WRX subwoofers are all wired exactly the same. Other years are probably the same also.
The sub comes with a tap-off cable that can be cut off and adapted to basically any car. The wires on the sub cable are 'striped', but the primary colors are all different. Here is what they are:
POWER: Gray -- Chassis ground Red -- +12 Volt, switched.
There is NO turn-on lead and the sub is powered whenever the ignition switch is on even if the radio is off. (At least this is true for the dealer install on my 1998 Outback ).
SPEAKER LEVEL INPUTS: Violet -- Left Rear + Orange -- Left Rear - White -- Right Rear + Black -- Right Rear -
(There is no rule that says these speaker taps couldn't be to front speakers or any other right/left pair. So, it is useable with any system of reasonable power output and floating speakers.)
I have installed the 2002 WRX version of the sub in my 1986 Porsche 951 and it works perfectly for what I wanted -- no modification to the interior -- meaning, that there are 4 upgraded 4X6 speakers in the factory locations and the tiny sub hidden under the passenger seat. The head unit is a Sanyo FXCD500 which is a single DIN CD/Cassette/Receiver with a 'claimed' 45w X4 output (probably about 15w X4 clean rms output).
I ran into the same situation as you did. I figured out the pinouts with the help of some others and got the in stock sub working. You can see the thread here...
After ripping the console and dash open, measuring voltages and even checking continuity between the power wire in the dash and the connector at the sub, I saw the 5A inline fuse. Sub works great with a good fuse.
Having now had the chance to play with it and its adjustments, it's a fine part of this lower-end audio system. The sub makes a big diff with my newer CDs, the ones with 5-string basses and double kicks.
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