wiring aftermarket headunit to mach 460 amps correctly

ndfrspd · Feb 18, 2014

i am using the metra 70-5511 harness to wire my kenwood headunit to the mach 460 system in my 98gt. i still have not been able to get bass from the rear amps because i was missing some wires. i have searched around and found limited information about 94-00 mach 460 systems. this is the schematic i drew up, is it correct?

this is the front factory mach amp, i removed the center connector because that feeds to the rear 2 amps. this connector is called c274 according to ford. this is the pinout of c274 below.

does any of this make sense? i am trying to essentially bypass the front amp only to remotely turn on my rear amps via my aftermarket headunit. so the 2 RCA's plug into my headunit for low signals and each amp has a (5v+) turn on wire.

right?
please see this thread as well if you are lost: http://www.moddedmustangs.com/forum...nstall-w-mach-460-factory-amps-correctly.html

DeepList · Feb 18, 2014

Why are you trying to bypass the amps? Also, the Metra 70-5511 is for head units that do NOT have RCA outputs, which is pretty much none of them these days. If your aftermarket deck has RCA outputs, you need the Metra 70-5510. The 70-5510 is a direct plug and play adapter for all 1994 thru 2000 cars with the Mach 460 system. No need to bypass anything.

ttocs · Feb 18, 2014

deep, every deck has speaker level outputs only some of them have rca(most really but again they all have speaker level outputs)

Before we dig into the hrns and bypassing amps lets start a little more simple. First did you hook up the remote turn on from the deck the amp turn on in the hrns? They are normally blue wires but double check as there is also a power ant wire in there that you will not use that is blue/white that that goes to nothing in our cars and is easily confused. If you did if you have a volt meter or test light then check it to make sure it has power on it(the amp turn on wire that is).

If that is all good next step is to check fuses. ALL the fuses. Seriously just get on your back and pull/inspect every fuse in the box under the dash trust me it takes less time then deciphering the manual. if those are all good check the fuses by the battery to.

This is all assuming as well that you did not replace the factory 5 x 7's with aftermarket speakers...

DeepList · Feb 18, 2014

ttocs said:
deep, every deck has speaker level outputs only some of them have rca(most really but again they all have speaker level outputs)

I know, and that's why I'm wondering why he's not using the kenwood's RCA outputs and just "plug-n-play" it with the Metra 70-5510.

ttocs · Feb 18, 2014

well honestly there are only a few decks that have a high enough output power on the rca outputs to really make the amps happy. Ford/jbl really just ran a speaker level input into the amp in one of the first attempts to make it harder on the aftermarket to integrate into them. Some decks today have a 4v or higher voltage output on the rca's that can make the stock amps happy but often when using the rca output on an average deck into the mach system it leaves the amps wanting more, and putting out less. The speaker level outputs are really a more reliable way and often the easiest.

ndfrspd · Feb 19, 2014

ttocs said:
deep, every deck has speaker level outputs only some of them have rca(most really but again they all have speaker level outputs)

Before we dig into the hrns and bypassing amps lets start a little more simple. First did you hook up the remote turn on from the deck the amp turn on in the hrns? They are normally blue wires but double check as there is also a power ant wire in there that you will not use that is blue/white that that goes to nothing in our cars and is easily confused. If you did if you have a volt meter or test light then check it to make sure it has power on it(the amp turn on wire that is).

If that is all good next step is to check fuses. ALL the fuses. Seriously just get on your back and pull/inspect every fuse in the box under the dash trust me it takes less time then deciphering the manual. if those are all good check the fuses by the battery to.

This is all assuming as well that you did not replace the factory 5 x 7's with aftermarket speakers...

Everything is FACTORY, with the exception of my KENWOOD headunit. it has 4 RCA outs PLUS 2 SUB outs.

I have tried the metra 70-5510, with the 4 RCA plugs. I plugged it all up and STILL no bass!!! Just treble sound and it is even quieter that the metra 70-5511 harness. so this is the harness i went back to:

The blue/white wire is on the far left of the gray connector, but i cut it so many times i had to add a RED jumper wire to it. I connected the blue (power ant.) to the other blue wire on the kenwood plug. Should i cut the blue/white and blue wires, and cross them so its blue/white to blue? or blue to blue/white? please explain.

Can you please retype or clarify the instructions to properly troubleshoot no bass? I tried reading your post about 14 times and theres so many typos i just dont understand. Thank you.

It says my preamp output voltage is 4v...

EDIT: My headunit is a Kenwood KDC-MP5032, as listed here: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-J8FqewjpFtp/p_113MP5032/Kenwood-KDC-MP5032.html

ttocs · Feb 19, 2014

take both blue wires on the grey hrns(which = harness) and connect them to the blue wire on the deck. If you don't get any bass from that. Disconnect the blue wire on the kenwood hrns and connect both blue wires on the grey factory hrns to the red/ignition wire on the same hrns. the amp will turn on/off with the key but that is fine.

ndfrspd · Feb 19, 2014

Okay man i tried what you said.

Heres both the blue wires from the gray adapter connected to the blue kenwood wire...

That gave me NO sound whatsoever. So i proceeded to option 2, connect both blues from grey adapter to red ignition on wire. here:

This gave me treble sound only! I can hear treble sound coming from all four corners, just NO BASS! I dont get it!!! I have all four RCAs properly connected to the Kenwood unit.

I crawled in my trunk and check the connectors at the mach amps, each 3 pin connector is pushed in all the way on each amp and each plug in the front of the amp is pushed in as well. HOWEVER, i did notice that the prior owner did this:

It looks like he piggied 4 wires off that harness right there... what the heck is this??? should i further inspect it!?!

Also, What fuses should i check? I have a light indicator fuse tester i can use.

thanks for your help.

ttocs · Feb 19, 2014

where are the rca's connected too?

ndfrspd · Feb 19, 2014

ttocs said:
where are the rca's connected too?

The rca outs on my kenwood headunit... should i reverse channels or switch channels?

Just checked fuses... i have a 10 amp fuse where it calls for a 15 amp.... im replacing it now with a 15

ttocs · Feb 19, 2014

yea. I can see that in the pics. I see now that its hidden that it connects to another hrns there and think I know whats up now. So the first pic you gave showed the speaker wires connected to a hrns that looks exactly the same as the one the rca's are plugged into(not the deck end) in you 2nd set of pics? One of those hrns's goes to the amp input. The other hrns is probably for the tape/cd link. Unplug them one at a time and see which one kills the signal when you unplug it.

ttocs · Feb 19, 2014

so to clarify, turn the deck on, and then disconnect the two smallest hrns's one at a time. when one is disconnected the sound should die completely.

ndfrspd · Feb 19, 2014

ttocs said:
so to clarify, turn the deck on, and then disconnect the two smallest hrns's one at a time. when one is disconnected the sound should die completely.

It looks tricky but only the 4 rca connector is plugged in the fa yory harness. Heres a better zoomed out view.

The cd wire is zipped tied back in the corner of this pic. I changed all my fuses that were incorrect amps down under my dash. Now i will check fuses under the hood.

I also tried changing all 4 rcas to different preamp outs and still no bass no doorspeakers.

ndfrspd · Feb 19, 2014

I just noticed that the previous owner had spliced into the yellow/black and the orange/grey wires on the factory side of the harness... does this matter too?

ttocs · Feb 19, 2014

both of those links are bad they just go to a general pic library but there is no wiring in them.

ttocs · Feb 19, 2014

and what is a CD wire?

ndfrspd · Feb 19, 2014

Yes sound dies completely when i unplug square black connector to factory amp connector.

ndfrspd · Feb 19, 2014

ttocs said:
and what is a CD wire?

I mean the Factory wire thats folded back that went to the existing factory cd player deck. mine used to have the factory radio up top and the cd player below.

ndfrspd · Feb 19, 2014

also, that one blue wire you see to the right that is connected to nothing is the remote turn on wire for my external kenwood 1800w amplifier in the trunk, all wired separately for a 15" l7 kicker.