This is purely a FYI post really just in case you've ever wondered about the subwoofer that's mounted to the underside of the parcel shelf when you have the Premium Sound option.

I wondered about it so decided to take it apart for a closer inspection.

When you climb into the boot and look upwards, you will clearly spot 5 rather large gold bolts which undo easily. Just be careful to prop up the sub enclosure as if it drops, all of the weight will be taken by the wiring loom which could have consequences. Just unplug the loom and the enclosure can be pulled from the boot and taken to the warmth of the kitchen table. (Permission from She Who Must Be Obeyed must be obtained first obviously. )


Undo the 15 to 20 screws (Cant remember off hand exactly how many but there was a LOT!) and you end up with this..


I had heard rumours but was a little shocked to discover they were true... one of the "subs" is indeed nothing more than a cone, designed I'm guessing, to use the air pressure from the powered sub to increase slightly the bass effect.


My car is a 2001/02 model, so it has the Amplifier built into the enclosure rather than mounted to the side of the boot. It's the silver box seen here.


Now for the fun bit....

The amplifier is actually pretty good and from what I can gather, it is the speakers which let this system down. So if, like me, you'd rather keep the interior looking standard rather than losing a lot of boot space to aftermarket amplifiers and subwoofer boxes and cutting up door cards to house larger speakers, you have options.

Door speakers has been covered several times before I think so I won't go into any detail but if you want more bass without losing any space you will need two of these.

Kicker Comp VT 6.5"
http://www.speedculture.co.uk/osc/612-p-9312.html

But you have to make sure you buy the 2 Ohm versions as they would be wired in series so as to keep the load on the amp to the original 4 Ohms.

The result should be a HUGE improvement over standard and in theory give similar bass to having a single 12" subwoofer in the boot. This has the advantage of being ported directly into the cabin though, which also increases the bass effect.

I should point out that I haven't as yet done this mod myself as I was very kindly informed (read that as "told") that all projects are currently on hold until we've paid off this years holiday but I will be going ahead with it as soon as possible.

 

Thanks for this post! I've been wondering about that wimpy 'sub' and thinking about doing something with it - just haven't pulled it to check it out. Since you already took the box apart, all I had to do is buy a pair of Kickers, per your recommendation. Found a place that had the new model '10s' for $58 US, shipped, so ordered 2. These have got to be way better than the flat 'blat' the stockers put out! Thanks again for the post.

 

I took a different tactic. I claim that little tin box is an absolute piece of crap amp, and it is not even worth its weight as a paperweight.

I took mine apart as in the photos, then I cut the wire leading to the actual speaker.

I extended both ends of the wire and made a small hole in the enclosure to pass both wires out of the box.

I put it all back together. The non-working speaker looking thing is called a passive radiator (FYI) It acts to artificially increase the space of the enclosure. It moves out of phase with the actual driver, so it wont add bass at all.

Then I mounted a decent 200 watt amp to the bottom of the enclosure, It is one that can run "booster style" that means speaker level input (not preamp input). I used the signal from the original amp to supply to the new amp, this way I did not need a seperate crossover.
I connected the wire from the original drive to the output of the new amp.

There is already a decent power wire run to the back of the car, it is good for 30 amps. The wire is dead from the factory, you will need to plug in a relay into the fuse box under the hood then the accessory wire will come alive! Is is one of several small black ones, go to any scrap yard and get one for a dollar. Or pay the dealer 90 bucks!!! At the yard, go to any same era ford and there will be several in every fuse box of every car.

Now this is an easy way to get the early cars premium sound working better. I have not heard the later models premium sound so I cant say how it compares.

There is one little trick that is needed, and that is the factory little crap amp has no typical "turn on" wire, and it will not work unless it thinks there is a speaker connected to it. Remember the speaker wire that came from the amp and is now connected to the high level inputs of the new amp? well it needs to have a resistor across it to simulate a speaker. I added a capacitor too, because it was not always turning on when I started the car.

I can give the values of what I did if anyone wants to do this. Been working like a champ for 2 years now on my car with no issues.

 

I have two of these installed:
They are begging for more amperage though. Also they are pretty deep so they do stick down some. I'm contemplating some low profile subs instead. (Click picture for the website.)

 

This my plan B if the stock amp can't drive the Kickers well enough. I just need a bit of clarification on what you've stated;
Looking at the schematics, I'm making these assumptions:
The 'wire' you're referring to is the brown lead for the trailer towing harness?
When you say to plug a relay into the underhood fuse box, are you referring to relay position R4, Accessory Power Relay?
Thanks in advance for your response!

 

yes it is the accessory power relay, it energises a wire in the trunk and the same circuit has a connection point behind the glove box.

if you look into the trunk area, on the left hand side, behind the trim panel. there is a metal brace on an angle and the connector is attached to that. easy to find. I dont remember what colour it is.
In the elect diag that I have it is called the trunk accessory connector, CA146

 

Thanks for the info, jimmy. I was looking at the schematics again and noticed that there does appear to be a 'turn on' wire which runs from the head unit to the sub amp - comes into the amp at CA124-2, white wire marked as an input. It's the only lead that isn't associated with the speakers. If that's the case, with the 30a accessory plug already in place, the kitty's trunk is nicely set up for an ~200w sub amp upgrade with very little hassle.

 

Jimmy or PreJag I am a new member and I too had noticed the dull subwoofer sound and had that same intention on changing it out by any chance other than the pictures already posted would you have a picture or step by step of what you did I am very interested in doing this and like PreJag I would get the new kicker subs, would you guys recommend getting a new 200watt amp, I am new to this so I would def need help. Glad to join look forward on owing more Jags in the future

 

The Punisher 87,
I took no pics. if you get an amp it has to have what they call "high level inputs" or be able to run "booster style" (both mean the same thing)
Getting the factory amp to turn on properly was a pain, I have decades of experience doing car audio, and it took some trial and error to get it working. If you go the route of a new amp, let me know, i will look up what I did then. Otherwise it is cold and snowy out and I dont want to spend time upside down in my trunk, undoing cold stiff electrical tape!!

Pre Jag.
My car has Nav, and I also saw the single unidentified wire running to the teeny factory sub amp. on my Car this is not a turn on wire, it must be used for some other form of communication to the amp.
The nav system likes to talk to you, among other things, so there really is no time that the stereo is "off", even if you push the power button. It is always on in the background. I had no issues using an accessory wire for the turn on.

 

I found a guy on cardomain and he did the same project I was thinking of and you have completed Jimmy & PreJag I have tried to contact him but he does not answer but his jag was amazing, http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3213415 check it out its exactly the work I am trying to pull on my X type now

 

Id really like to see a guide, or some pictures from anyone that has actually done this. I have an 02' X with the Premium sound package and it sounds O.K.
I expect more. I have been thinking about adding some 'subs' in the trunk, but not really wanting to waist alot of money and space this seems like a nice alternative. First, will these work http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/S...id/0/SFV/30046
Then if so, will the factory amp work, and if not what should i upgrade to.

 

OK. I did the 2Ω Kicker install last weekend and I have to agree with jimmy that the stock amp leaves a lot to be desired. Sub frequencies are more reinforced with the Kickers, however, if you're looking for big baddaboom, look to a trunk mounted box with separate amp. I'm going to give it a couple weeks to let the new subs break-in. After that I'll probably be looking at a small (~300w max) Class D mono amp that can be installed within the 30a rating of the stock power wiring that's already in the trunk.
The Kicker install required reaming of the speaker mounting area with the trusty Dremel using a sanding drum to fit the speaker frames properly. Also, the plastic rims on the subs need to trimmed where they touch together in the center. Otherwise, the install is fairly straightforward.

@dew9594 - Yes. Those are the ones you want - same as the subs I installed. You should look around for a better price though. I paid $58 each, shipped.
Here ya go -http://www.techronics.com/caraudio_1...html?aff=72182

 

jimmy, I'm very interested in the values and the wiring you used, because I'm planning to do a very similar mod to my 2001 2.5 V6 X-Type. I've got it all figured and planned out except for the above mentioned resistor and capacitor values and the way they are wired together. So, any help here would be very much appreciated.

Thank you,

Tim

BTW: Happy new year everyone!

 

Any further info on this? Im pretty sure ive got a dead amp in my 02 and would really like to figure out signal and power for a new little amp.

 

8 year old thread, doubt you'll get answered