Alternate wiring for Kicker sub with Bose system. (DO THIS)

iceytys · February 25, 2022

On 2/3/2022 at 1:33 PM, smooth68 said:

Oh, ok I was just wondering since you said you were replacing the door speakers an I was thinking the Bose speakers weren't normal 4 ohm car audio type. Have you installed them yet?

I've had my Kicker sub installed for about a month now, tapped the bose sub leads, and running a bass knob. I'm more that happy with the results. Very impressive for what it is.

Turns out the front door speakers do NOT receive a full range signal. They cross up with the front speakers in the dash for the highs. Got the JL Audio speakers installed in the front doors and it definitely cleaned up the base, but the tweeters dont produce any sound. The sound is cleaner and doesnt sound muddy as the bose speakers. You do have the turn up the volume a bit more, but then the dash speakers start to bottom out at high volumes, so Ill be replacing those soon. The 6.5 components I put in the back doors were a HUGE improvement however as I couldnt even hear the speakers prior to the swap out.

After that I'll finally install the kicker 10" following the guidelines in this post. Cant wait

smooth68 · February 25, 2022

20 hours ago, iceytys said:

Turns out the front door speakers do NOT receive a full range signal. They cross up with the front speakers in the dash for the highs. Got the JL Audio speakers installed in the front doors and it definitely cleaned up the base, but the tweeters dont produce any sound. The sound is cleaner and doesnt sound muddy as the bose speakers. You do have the turn up the volume a bit more, but then the dash speakers start to bottom out at high volumes, so Ill be replacing those soon. The 6.5 components I put in the back doors were a HUGE improvement however as I couldnt even hear the speakers prior to the swap out.

After that I'll finally install the kicker 10" following the guidelines in this post. Cant wait

I always thought/heard it was tough to swap Bose door speakers and you replaced the door speakers with JL Audio components? Can you post up the model numbers you used? I'm pretty please with everything overall, but the rear doors could definitely be better!

Edited February 25, 2022 by smooth68
more info

iceytys · February 26, 2022

On 2/25/2022 at 3:26 PM, smooth68 said:

I always thought/heard it was tough to swap Bose door speakers and you replaced the door speakers with JL Audio components? Can you post up the model numbers you used? I'm pretty please with everything overall, but the rear doors could definitely be better!

Actually it was relatively easy to swap out the door speakers, and I wanted to use component so I could add more sound range in the cab. As it turns out nether of the door speakers have a tweeter, so adding component in the rears definitely livens up the sound in the cab. The using components on the front was kind of a waste since the front door speakers are high pass filtered from the bose amp.

Sorry and I should clarify, I installed JL Audio Components for the front doors speakers. C1-690. For the rears, I installed JBL Club 602CTP component speakers. I went with these since they are 3ohm speakers, as they provide less resistance from the factory Amp, allowing them to play louder than traditional 4ohm speakers.

Edited February 26, 2022 by iceytys

johnathanryan30 · February 27, 2022

So my brother recently gave me the 19303115 Stillwater designs kicker 200w/400w sub and amp kit with 2 10" subs that he acquired from someone for dirt cheap. I have the 2019 Silverado 2500hd ltz Midnight edition w/Bose and I unfortunately found out from kicker that it wasn't compatible with Bose systems. So after watching all kinds of videos and reading so many different threads trying to figure out if I could make this kit work in my truck or if there was an alternate plug and play harness for it that would work on the Bose system but unfortunately there wasn't one. So I decided to just try to make it work with the harnesses in the kit. I ran the power wire as usual from my secondary battery to the back seat running it under the left kick panel. Instead of using the kicker amp my brother gave me a 1500w amp that I could use because it wasn't powerful enough for both subs. Plus I wanted to keep the Bose amp because it controls the door chimes etc and it powers the rest of the speakers along with the factory sub which I left connected. So my kickers are running strictly off the 1500w amp. I tapped into the Blue and Grey wires from the Bose sub with T taps or whatever they're called and I hooked up a RCA line converter for the input signal to my new amp and I ran the remote wire to an open fuse circuit in my fuse box. I also added in a base knob to control the subs volume level. So I pretty much eliminated the 400w amp and the little 200w amps on the speaker boxes and just used the 1500w amp. Sorry for all the extra and probably unnecessary details but I was trying to be as clear as possible. But anyway after installing both kicker subs which only one side bolts up properly because I believe they dont come in a pair and they both have the same mounts. The system sounds fantastic and it hits hard after tuning it and the only things I had to purchase were the T-taps, RCA plugs, base knob and a line converter for a total of like $40. I think the back door speakers could use tweeters or something like that or maybe swap em out for some 6.5's with tweeters and it would sound amazing. It would have been nice if the plug and play harnesses worked because it would have been easier but I wouldn't have been able to use the 1500w amp and I feel like the kicker wouldn't have been powerful enough. Anyway if you have any questions about how I set it up just ask and ill answer them the best I can.

johnathanryan30 · February 27, 2022

On 9/22/2021 at 6:54 PM, Thomas Rodriguez said:

Sigh…….. spoke too soon. Same thing happens no matter where I plug the inputs in. It seems to be able to give a little more output on yellow wires, but ultimately does the same thing. Bass knob does very little for sound. I can feel it cause more excursion but sound output is pretty minimal. Now I have to wonder if this is a phase thing. Still running 1,4,5,6 on for the dip switches.

anyone have any thoughts? I’m so disappointed I hope there is a fix and this isn’t just really poor output.

The Bose subwoofer wires in my truck (2019 2500hd ltz) are Blue and Grey and they are twisted and a larger gauge than the rest. I tapped into them and I am getting full signal and if I turn my base knob too high it will blow the fuse every time. I hope this helps if you haven't already figured it out

iceytys · February 28, 2022

On 2/26/2022 at 11:38 PM, johnathanryan30 said:

So my brother recently gave me the 19303115 Stillwater designs kicker 200w/400w sub and amp kit with 2 10" subs that he acquired from someone for dirt cheap. I have the 2019 Silverado 2500hd ltz Midnight edition w/Bose and I unfortunately found out from kicker that it wasn't compatible with Bose systems. So after watching all kinds of videos and reading so many different threads trying to figure out if I could make this kit work in my truck or if there was an alternate plug and play harness for it that would work on the Bose system but unfortunately there wasn't one. So I decided to just try to make it work with the harnesses in the kit. I ran the power wire as usual from my secondary battery to the back seat running it under the left kick panel. Instead of using the kicker amp my brother gave me a 1500w amp that I could use because it wasn't powerful enough for both subs. Plus I wanted to keep the Bose amp because it controls the door chimes etc and it powers the rest of the speakers along with the factory sub which I left connected. So my kickers are running strictly off the 1500w amp. I tapped into the Blue and Grey wires from the Bose sub with T taps or whatever they're called and I hooked up a RCA line converter for the input signal to my new amp and I ran the remote wire to an open fuse circuit in my fuse box. I also added in a base knob to control the subs volume level. So I pretty much eliminated the 400w amp and the little 200w amps on the speaker boxes and just used the 1500w amp. Sorry for all the extra and probably unnecessary details but I was trying to be as clear as possible. But anyway after installing both kicker subs which only one side bolts up properly because I believe they dont come in a pair and they both have the same mounts. The system sounds fantastic and it hits hard after tuning it and the only things I had to purchase were the T-taps, RCA plugs, base knob and a line converter for a total of like $40. I think the back door speakers could use tweeters or something like that or maybe swap em out for some 6.5's with tweeters and it would sound amazing. It would have been nice if the plug and play harnesses worked because it would have been easier but I wouldn't have been able to use the 1500w amp and I feel like the kicker wouldn't have been powerful enough. Anyway if you have any questions about how I set it up just ask and ill answer them the best I can.

Yes, definitely either add components speakers to the rear doors, or coaxial speakers to the rear doors......just having a speaker that can push a high signal in the rears definitely fills out the rear sound!

smooth68 · February 28, 2022

5 hours ago, iceytys said:

Yes, definitely either add components speakers to the rear doors, or coaxial speakers to the rear doors......just having a speaker that can push a high signal in the rears definitely fills out the rear sound!

where did you mount the tweeter for the rear components you installed?

johnathanryan30 · March 1, 2022

9 hours ago, smooth68 said:

where did you mount the tweeter for the rear components you installed?

I personally am contemplating getting some little satellite tweets and maybe mounting them in the corner above the rear seats by each side of the windshield and tapping i to each of the door speakers. But I'm not sure how it'll sound. Guess I gotta just get em and see...lol It hits hard with the 2 10" kicker comps under the seat though. Just gotta get a little more highs in the back to even out the sound a little.. I will update when I have it done and let you know how it goes/sounds. And where I mount them at..

iceytys · March 7, 2022

On 2/28/2022 at 4:01 PM, smooth68 said:

where did you mount the tweeter for the rear components you installed?

the fronts were mounted recessed in the door panel and the rears were surfaced mounted at the top of the door panel. I didnt want the tweeters down low with the low end speakers. As mentioned however currently the front door tweeters dont work since its not a full range signal, I am sure I will probably update that soon, but for now at least they are installed and I wont have to take off the door panel in the future.

iceytys · March 7, 2022

On 2/28/2022 at 4:01 PM, smooth68 said:

where did you mount the tweeter for the rear components you installed?

I also got around to doing the Kicker woofer upgrade this weekend, and WOW....its definitely worth the upgrade. As others mentioned its not down the block, disturb your neighbors bass, but for passengers in the cab, its more than plentiful BOOM.

I want to say the hardest part was t tapping the factory subwoofer leads, was just a tight working space between the center console and the passenger seat.

I couldnt be more please with the bose system now with all new speakers (including dash 2.5") and the kicker upgrade. All in, I am probably $1000. I only wish the factory radio had a true equalizer vs the standard 3 option adjustment.

Edited March 7, 2022 by iceytys

smooth68 · March 7, 2022

2 hours ago, iceytys said:

I also got around to doing the Kicker woofer upgrade this weekend, and WOW....its definitely worth the upgrade. As others mentioned its not down the block, disturb your neighbors bass, but for passengers in the cab, its more than plentiful BOOM.

I want to say the hardest part was t tapping the factory subwoofer leads, was just a tight working space between the center console and the passenger seat.

I couldnt be more please with the bose system now with all new speakers (including dash 2.5") and the kicker upgrade. All in, I am probably $1000. I only wish the factory radio had a true equalizer vs the standard 3 option adjustment.

Awesome! Thanks for the door panel pics!

Glad you're happy with the sub...its not breaking windows but yah it sounds pretty dang good! Getting to those sub wires was the toughest part no doubt! I put my bass knob in the same place, just on the left side more. Did you adjust the amp dip switches any?

iceytys · March 7, 2022

7 minutes ago, smooth68 said:

Awesome! Thanks for the door panel pics!

Glad you're happy with the sub...its not breaking windows but yah it sounds pretty dang good! Getting to those sub wires was the toughest part no doubt! I put my bass knob in the same place, just on the left side more. Did you adjust the amp dip switches any?

Yeah, I did dip switches 1 and 2 up.....left the rest the same, which really is just 3 down the rest are up

smooth68 · March 7, 2022

1 hour ago, iceytys said:

Yeah, I did dip switches 1 and 2 up.....left the rest the same, which really is just 3 down the rest are up

Ok, yep that's exactly how I have mine right now. The thing I haven't really done is switch 6 down for a couple days to see how the 12db slope sounds compared to the 24db. Oh and someone did mention trying to swap the amp input left/right to see if phase made any difference but I haven't tried that either.

Mike Borowski · March 23, 2022

On 3/7/2022 at 12:53 PM, iceytys said:

I also got around to doing the Kicker woofer upgrade this weekend, and WOW....its definitely worth the upgrade. As others mentioned its not down the block, disturb your neighbors bass, but for passengers in the cab, its more than plentiful BOOM.

I want to say the hardest part was t tapping the factory subwoofer leads, was just a tight working space between the center console and the passenger seat.

I couldnt be more please with the bose system now with all new speakers (including dash 2.5") and the kicker upgrade. All in, I am probably $1000. I only wish the factory radio had a true equalizer vs the standard 3 option adjustment.

I want to install mine by tapping into the subwoofer line rather than the passenger speakers. Can you elaborate on that? You ran wires from under the passenger to where?

thanks!

johnathanryan30 · March 24, 2022

On 3/7/2022 at 9:53 AM, iceytys said:

I also got around to doing the Kicker woofer upgrade this weekend, and WOW....its definitely worth the upgrade. As others mentioned its not down the block, disturb your neighbors bass, but for passengers in the cab, its more than plentiful BOOM.

I want to say the hardest part was t tapping the factory subwoofer leads, was just a tight working space between the center console and the passenger seat.

I couldnt be more please with the bose system now with all new speakers (including dash 2.5") and the kicker upgrade. All in, I am probably $1000. I only wish the factory radio had a true equalizer vs the standard 3 option adjustment.

I found an easier location to tap the sub wires actually. If you pull up the kick panel in the rear passenger door frame there's a small channel that the wires run through under a plastic cover. You just pop the cover off and find the blue and Grey wires and tap into them and you're set