wow luckily i just installed my suba nd amp and i remember exactly what to do. ok, bluejagster what you want to do is go back to your cigarette lighter and test them with and electic current tester. this will tell you if there actually is a fault with your cigarette lighter itself or if you have made a mistake with your wiring. as i remember ther is an orange connector behind the lighter. unplug that and then take the top wire, and use a wire connector to extend the wire to your trunk.

do this granted that there is a proper 12+ volts running through it when the key is in the ignition.

but as of right now i would go get a volt meter and test the wires to see if you are getting any electric current.

 

yea i tapped to the cig lighter too. IF i remember correct, the orang plug, or the one in the center is the one that gives power. The black is ground. Also make sure i groung everything. At first i didn't, and nothing worked, however after everything worked great.

 

yes the ground is just as important as the power supply. I have installed many subs and amps in my friends cars and I can tell you from experience that you need to ground every possible component for the system to be able to work.

 

You guys have installed amps getting the signal off the factory head unit or an aftermaker receiver?

 

I have an 03 X type and had someone from my work send me the wiring info from Directechs. I followed that for the radio wiring and was able to find the rear speaker wire colors (for the line output converter) and the accessory wire. This accessory wire runs at a true ~13V when the vehicle is on, and around ~12V when it is just in the acc position.

My X-type has the factory Navi unit so i didn't want to change it out. I have been using the system for about 3 weeks with the amp and subs in there and its working perfectly.

 

I would just pull the radio, tap your speakers there, run your rca's and pull a remote wire off the back of the radio. Many people have found wires in the trunk but if you are going to go to the cig lighter, just pull the radio (only 2-4 more screws) and go from there. Much cleaner and if you plan to upgrade the radio down the road, it will all be done. Some where on this forum is the wiring colors too, if you can find them let me know.

 

are there rca inputs on our radios? i have the navigations setup and im pretty sure i dont have rca inputs. i had to install a line output conveter.

 

There is no RCA inputs/outputs on the factory headunit. You will have to use a lineout converter. You splice the speaker cables and then add the converter in, and you will be good to go. MAKE SURE YOU GROUND THE CONVERTER, at frist i didnt and i thought my converter was broken, however after grounding it worked A+. This is what i used, http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...AC+SNI-15.html
I recomend getting a sperate bass adjustment knob because you cannot get the full potential out of the sub and ur factory speakers if you use the "Bass" control that is built into the head unit.

 

I agree with gudpah and do as you wish, but I would put the converter behind the radio - there is a ton of room for it!

 

i spliced the wires from the my rear deck stock subwoofers, the 2 6.5 inch alpine subs.

 

I will get you the colors this friday when i get home from working out of town. I also have the factory navigation and installed the line output converter with no issues. I also tapped into the accessory wire behind the radio as well. You really don't want to mess with the cig lighter for something like that. The cig lighter is easy to blow the fuse if you run anything like a power inverter or GPS on it.

I do remember off the top of my head that the harness you use is the one behind the cd player itself, towards the bottom radio cluster. Do not use the harness that goes to the navigation screen.

 

Here is the radio wiring information from DEI for an 03 X-type. I would assume this hasn't changed much in the later years. I also remember that the speaker wires are actually braided together behind the radio. This definately saves some time in searching around.

I do have a PDF file with the entire audio/security schematic including ignition wiring, etc. Let me know if you'd like that as well.

Right Rear Speaker (+/-)

Left Rear Speaker (+/-)

Right Front Speaker (+/-)

Left Front Speaker (+/-)

Power Antenna

Factory Amp Turn-on

Radio Illumination

Radio Ignition

Radio Ground black - radio harness

 

ill post a pic for you how to set it up

 

Hey Wolv2401 could you e-mail me a copy of that PDF file of the Schematic wiring? either here or foristj@yahoo.com.

 

One more address copy to this e-mail also forist.v.johnson@uscg.mil.

 

sorry for the delayed response...I will email you all the PDF this evening.