After installing my new speakers, I decided I'd check out what was wrong with the factory subwoofers. I have an '02 X-type with the alpine stereo, but as far as I can remember, the subwoofers never worked since I bought the car. Anyhow, after pulling down the decklid and unscrewing the first speaker, I was a bit surprised... The picture explains it better



The speaker on the left was pulled out first, and as you can see there is NO magnet and no terminal for connections. Basically, this car was made with a dummy speaker. Here's some more pics





Anyhow, I tested the one speaker that did have a magnet and terminals on my home amp, and it worked fine. Either the amp is dead or there's so connection problem. Given that they forgot to put a working speaker in place, it's quite likely the amp never even worked. Does anyone know if there's a way to test whether or not the amp is receiving power, or if it's just dead?
Here's some other pics of the amp and decklid









I only wish I had found this while the car was still warrantied!

 

I have it if you want it, I can give you the entire deck if you want.

 

I would be interested in the deck or amp, depending on how much you want for it. My worry is that after installing a new deck/amp, it still won't work because there's a connection problem before the deck hookup. Is yours pre '04 christo? Also was one of your speakers missing a magnet?

 

$30 plus shipping for everything. I have an 03 and I will pull the speakers tonight and let you know.

 

Let me know how much shipping is, sounds good. If both speakers are legit (and have magnets!), can you test real quick to make sure they work? Just plug in the decklid while it's down, speakers don't have to be mounted. Just play some music quietly and make sure bass comes out. Thank you a lot christo!

 

Yes! Thank you BO. I was actually fairly impressed with Jaguar for putting in the passive driver. I really didn't expect to see this on a factory setup. Where'd you get your amp from? I was thinking about upgrading my sub, but I knew I would cook that cheap factory amp pretty quick.

 

Bo is right again!

I just popped mine out for you and sure enough, just like he says.

I would just go with some aftermarket stuff. I actually took the entire box out and put my own mtx amp and kicker sub-woofer box. Then down the road I replaced the door speakers with polk momo components and a jl audio amp - kicks butt. I am going to do the radio this spring...

 

What size is the sub in that opening? Can you go bigger and still not damage the passive radiator unit? Maybe just go bigger and seal the other opening where the radiator is. Higher quality sub will require less space, you may not need it.

 

Looks like a 6.5" woofer.

 

Never heard of a passive radiator, thanks for the info bo. I guess I'll go the new speaker and amp route, though I'd like to keep the enclosure in place if possible. Haven't measured it yet, but I'm hoping this sub will work

http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=2073

What kind of amp would you recommend bo? I'm going to look at MTX, but I'd like something as small as possible, so I could maybe fit that in there as well.

There must be power, remote etc running to the existing amp, but does anyone know what is what? Can I use those hookups or would I have to run a new, larger power wire?

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I like this forum more and more every day

 

I'd look into kicker subs. They made a 6.5 that people were pretty happy with.

For those of you considering getting an amp and later doing an amp for the door speakers look into 5 channel amps. That way you can power all the speakers in the car and be truly happy with the result and not tie up too much space in the trunk with 2 different amps.

 

I'd ditch the passive radiator and replace it with two free-air subs. You will get much better performance. That enclosure doesn't appear to be completely sealed (I'm assuming since my car doesn't have them so I haven't seen them in person), so free-air would work better. Plus, you don't have to worry about the enclosure size being too small since you are adding another speaker.

 

Yeah what sbxt said...I haven't seen any 6.5 free airs but i'd do that...actually i'd probably just get a couple shallow mount pioneers and call it a day and not bother with the stock box and amp.

 

I'd do two (2) 6.5 subs also, but not sure about the free air type, those are hard to come by. See if the enclosure can be sealed, maybe reinforce it inside. A 100w amp will power the subs just dandy, but try to get a name brand if possible...on the lower priced end, my brother in law has had good luck with his blaupunkt amps. Wiring from the old one will most likely be ok as well, you're not going that large. On the 6.5" side, I always recommend either the new JL audio 6w3v3, or the older discontinued (still find them on sale on the internet) 6w0. Both are 6.5", and compared with the rockford fosgate counterparts, were much nicer.

 

I'm definitely going to do some searching with everything you guys said. The enclosure has 15-20 screws holding the top and bottom pieces together, it was fairly difficult to pull apart. For a 6.5" sub (or two), it seems like it would do the job...

Bo, I do have Navi, is it possible you still have the writeup lying around or a link to where I could find it? Would definitely be helpful

 

The reasons that I suggested free air subsare because the box isn't very large at all, and the box isn't sealed.Free air would be the easiest way to get good results without too much effort. You could use regular subs, but I'd take a few extra steps...

For the box size; if you use too small of a box your speakers wont sound good. You'll have clipping issues if you try to turn it up, and they will literally sound about half as good as they should. I don't know the size of that box, but it does look really small. I'd figure out the volume and see if you can find a speaker to match the size. If you can't, or are a little short, stuff the box with polyfill and it willfool thespeaker into thinking the box is larger than it actually is.

For the box being sealed; if the box isn't sealed 100% perfectly, the speakers will not sound good at all. It appears that the box just splits in two down the middle... Just lay down a bead of silicone before youput it back together. That should seal it just fine.

The box size is by far the biggest obstacle.

 

Also, I don't know how safe I'd feel with running the wires from the stock amp. The stock amp was basically running a set of speakers equivelent todoor speakers, and was probably pushing 30 watts or so. You are replacing them with subs... Even a 6.5" sub requires significantly more power than what the stock amp probably puts out. If you use the stock wires, you'll probably blow fuses non stop. If you replace the fuse with a larger one, other problems may arise due to the wiring only being meant for that 30 watts... Also, who knows what else is linked in to that same line. I'd hate to blow something in the chain because I'm using too large of a fuse.

For peace of mind, I'd just run a power wire to the fuse box (for a smaller amp), or directly to the battery (for a larger amp), and buy a high/low level line converter for $15.

If you have questions or need help, I'd be more than happy to lend a hand. I used to install car stereo for a living when I was younger.

 

Hey sbxt are you talking about bo's setup?

What bo did was use the speaker wire's going to the stock sub and plugged them directly to the high level inputs of the aftermarket amp (which as you know is the audio signal in for the aftermarket amp/substitute for rca's.) To power the aftermarket amp he used a supplied power wire (IIRC) that is in the trunk not being used.

If you weren't talking to him disregard the above! LOL

Hey slip why don't you just get something small to put in the car and don't even bother with the stock box? Pioneer makes 8" shallow mount subs that require a tiny tiny box and very little power. They are also free-air compliant, meaning you don't even need a box. I can guarantee they'd supply more bass than the 6.5. You can find a pair of them for around $100 but will have to hunt for them. I couldn't find any just now but I did earlier this summer. Local shops usually have deals like buy one get one free on them. You could also just get a single 10/12" and call it a day. The box requirements for them are nice for keeping trunk space. Pioneer makes a special box for the shallow mount subs that also looks pretty but you'd have to back that up to your back seats in the trunk.