JL Audio Amp installed on 8-Speaker B&O (non-Unleashed)

[Bob Violence]

First off .... shout out to @JJSnell for making this modification known in the existing thread located here:

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/b-o-unleashed-finally-fixed-for-329.21763/

Items used for the Amp install

JL Audio Amp XD100/2v2:
https://www.jlaudio.com/collections...cts/xd200-2v2-car-audio-xdv2-amplifiers-98600

No-Splice Harness:
https://soundsgoodstereo.com/produc...-2019-ford-vehicles-with-b-o-amplified-system

RCA Pigtails:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XV7QNL?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Items previously installed for subwoofer

Amplifier Rack:
https://soundsgoodstereo.com/products/2015-ford-f-series-custom-made-amplifier-rack-plate

Kicker Hideaway HS10:
https://www.kicker.com/hideaway-hs10

Factory Sub Block Off Plates:
https://soundsgoodstereo.com/produc...ck-off-plate-for-rear-wall-includes-unleashed

This is my starting point. I installed the Kicker sub, amp rack, and factory sub block off plate last year.

The no-splice harness listed at the top MUST BE SLIGHTLY MODIFIED to plug into the stock B&O amp. You must remove the piece of plastic circled in red. I used a Dremel.

Yes, it's ugly, but it will never be seen.

Now fits into the stock B&O amp.

You MUST ALSO SLIGHTLY MODIFY the stock harness so the the other end of the no-splice harness will fit into it.

Again, used a Dremel.

Plugged into the no-splice harness.

Since the JL amp only accepts RCA as an input (although they are high-level), you must connect the pigtails listed above to the no-splice harness on the B&O amp side.

Assuming you are only powering the two rear door speakers, all other loose wires on the no-splice harness must just be patched over. This allows the B&O amp to continue to power every other speaker except the two rear doors. I used wire-nuts just for the testing phase. Later, I cleaned everything up. Note that every wire labeled on the no-splice harness was correct (left, right, front, rear, sub, center, etc). There are also leads for Subwoofer 2, which obviously doesn't exist in my truck, but I patched it through anyway.

Next, I mounted the JL Audio amp, and repositioned the stock B&O amp to a vertical position. This allowed me a little more room between the JL Audio amp and the Kicker sub adjustment controls.

Testing everything out before I tidy it up.

Job done.

Overall Impressions

1. The install was extremely easy. This was mostly due to I already had power run to the back of the cab when I did the Kicker sub install. There is a ground point behind the carpet just above the latch for the rear passenger seat on the back cab wall.

2. The Kicker sub has a feature that it can "sense" an audio signal from its inputs so it knows when to turn on. When this happens, the wire it would normally use for aux power to accomplish this becomes live so it can power other things so they can turn on. I used this to turn on the JL Audio amp. Worked perfectly.

3. The cab is now full of audio instead of 90% of it just coming from the dash. I left the center dash speaker installed (some people remove it).

4. Since all of my speakers are stock, this amp EASILY overpowers the rear door speakers, and more than proves the stock Ford speakers are total crap. I already have some aftermarket speakers on order, which I will install next.

5. The existing stock harness is rather long, so I had no choice but to kind of bunch it up and zip-tie it. This is visible in the last picture on the far right. Completely functional, but ugly.

6. I noticed that now my reverse chime comes from the instrument cluster instead of over the stereo speakers like it used to. There are previous threads that address this (although not due to installing an amp) that seam to point to a low battery, APIM (?) mis-communication, BCM needing to be reset, etc, etc. I haven't had time to look into this. Some suggest you can reset the modules with Forscan. I will report back when/if I figure it out.

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[Abraham5G]

How did you route power wire for amp to battery? Thru passenger firewall grommet, driver firewall grommet, or outside underneath the cab like SGS suggests? Can you share pics of power wire routing?

 

[JJSnell]

Nice, I have been talking to @clipperqb and @Rock shooter behind the scenes also and I think they are looking at the same harness. Tagging them to see your walk through as it may help them also.

Nice work and clean, close up pix. Thanks Bob.

 

[Bob Violence]

How did you route power wire for amp to battery? Thru passenger firewall grommet, driver firewall grommet, or outside the can like SGS suggests? Can you share pics of power wire routing?

The power wire was already in place due to the Kicker sub I installed last year. It runs inside the cab, under the plastic trim pieces at the bottom of each door, then through the existing grommet in the firewall that others have used. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures when I did the Kicker install.

 

[Abraham5G]

The power wire was already in place due to the Kicker sub I installed last year. It runs inside the cab, under the plastic trim pieces at the bottom of each door, then through the existing grommet in the firewall that others have used. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures when I did the Kicker install.

Driver side or passenger side grommet? Was it difficult to fish thru?

 

[Bob Violence]

Driver side or passenger side grommet? Was it difficult to fish thru?

The driver side. I wouldn't say it was "easy", as I'm lazy and that is a pretty low bar, but it wasn't terrible. I think I used a wire coat hanger that I straightened out, attached the power wire to it, and poked it through.

 

[JJSnell]

Driver side or passenger side grommet? Was it difficult to fish thru?

@Abraham5G , my guy also took this same route.
Preferably, I wish he would have come across under the dash and console of the front of the truck. Now I see two large 8gauge wires when I pop the hood. I will probably re-route those when the weather gets better.

I saw a Youtube video (or maybe another walkthrough with photos) where they came through the passenger side grommet. They recommended removing the fusebox lid for easier access, Ill try and find that also, but here is a photo.

 

[Rock shooter]

Bob,
Excellent write up and visuals of what was done. I've been talking with Joe at Plug N Play Kits behind the scene. He sent me this prototype to try out. It will be a no grind fit to our amp and harness. Just want to give a thanks to you and JJsnell.
Thanks,
Rich

 

[Bob Violence]

Bob,
Excellent write up and visuals of what was done. I've been talking with Joe at Plug N Play Kits behind the scene. He sent me this prototype to try out. It will be a no grind fit to our amp and harness. Just want to give a thanks to you and JJsnell.

That version looks much cleaner.

Honestly, knowing what I know now, I probably would have just bypassed the no-splice kit, saved the $40, and just tapped into the wires on the existing harness. I really hate cutting into the stock harness, but I also kinda hate the wad of harness that I had to bunch up on the right side of my install. Eliminating the no-splice harness would have definitely cleaned that up a bit.

 

[GDN]

How did you route power wire for amp to battery? Thru passenger firewall grommet, driver firewall grommet, or outside underneath the cab like SGS suggests? Can you share pics of power wire routing?

Don't be too afraid of drilling that hole and running under the truck. I did so on a Lightning. I also had a 0 Gauge wire and didn't have much choice, it wouldn't really fit though the cable runs on each side.

Bottom line though is a cable gland and some zip ties, and maybe a wrap for the cable and you shouldn't have a problem with it under the truck.

https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-A...-4-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

 

[Abraham5G]

Bob,
Excellent write up and visuals of what was done. I've been talking with Joe at Plug N Play Kits behind the scene. He sent me this prototype to try out. It will be a no grind fit to our amp and harness. Just want to give a thanks to you and JJsnell.
Thanks,
Rich

And idea when this harness will be available to purchase? It's for the rear door speakers only, correct?

 

[Rock shooter]

Abraham
call Joe at PlugNPlaykits.
He would be able to answer that if not, possibly make you one up.
Rich

 

[Bob Violence]

Just installed these in the rear doors ...

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_13699042/JL-Audio-C1-650x.html

... and I think the project is complete. The JL amp is a great match for these speakers at about 33% input gain.

 

[Rock shooter]

Bob
I a like added the JL c2 650x speakers definitely an improvement.
Also, added three panels per door siless sound deadener. definitely could tell the difference.

 

[Bob Violence]

BACKUP CHIMES RESTORED !!

Did a lot of research and testing, and here is what DID NOT WORK:

1. Resetting various modules with Forscan (ACM, APIM, DSP, IPC, etc)
2. Altering settings in Forscan. Seems previous model years you could disable speaker detection, but not in 2021+
3. Resetting the BMS and charging the 12v battery fully.
4. Using the following resistors (pictured) ...

5 W 47 OHM aluminum housing (many people online had luck with 5 W 47 OHM)
25 W 4 OHM aluminum housing (mimics OEM speaker of 25 W 4 OHM)
AC-LGD60

I wanted to go with the aluminum housing style in hopes of better heat dissipation, and in particular the 2nd one as it had screw holes for mounting. When those didn't work, I tried the AC-LGD60. Their website states it works for 2018+ vehicles with amplified OEM systems, but no luck.

The following resistors DID WORK:

10 W 47 OHM ceramic (closest I could find to what others said worked of 5 W 47 OHM)
25 W 3.9 OHM ceramic (closest I could find to mimic OEM speakers of 25 W 4 OHM)
AC-LGD20

There must be some difference between the aluminum housing and ceramic resistors, but what it is, I haven't a clue. They had the same (or damn close) rating, but the aluminum ones simply didn't work.

In the end, I chose to go with the AC-LGD20 for ease of mounting and wiring. From what I can tell, it seems to house a pair of ceramic resistors under the plastic heat shrink.

With the AC-LGD20, it's fairly obvious how to wire it in ... B&O AMP > AC-LGD20 > JL AUDIO AMP.

If you go with the ceramic style resistors ... B&O AMP > CERAMIC RESISTOR > JL AUDIO AMP. You will need two resistors (one for left, one for right). You will bridge the resistor between the +/- of each channel, which simulates the resistance of speakers to the head unit. Supposedly they will get warm from use, but so far I haven't noticed anything major.

BE YE FOREWARNED !!

With the backup chimes restored to the rear speakers, they are now ANNOYINGLY LOUD. Careful what you wish for, right? The solution was to turn down the input gain slightly on the JL Audio amp (which sorta defeats the purpose of the amp), and then slightly fade to the rear speakers to make up for the loss.

Note: I saw this on Amazon, but as I found a different solution first, I did not try it ...

https://www.amazon.com/Kicker-46KISLOAD4-Smart-Radio-Interface/dp/B07VHF6B83/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1LJP20AOH1KFL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0W-ig1pkdFwvzryauL9u5-fLkeC-XTIoesZ7PvNgGSzHxTvXkDrERy1p7nOCBNnCv_CwxQMcjAnXLlIEInabks4kEp9OxeMBvOj9tKgKszWe-Lqc8c6aytvAf1ZMTk0XB1aNYl-pct_yHJCND3tNBHKf250WEn9yCMzLTDM6_Uh3G8ZoGgUwiB5ncZpN60Vrf6mmqb5Mt8Z3yY2ImhdUkAd6wdfshkqqddUxo2uuqXY.L4G7451PpjVVuEdcDT0LZ4_VmcRdH99HtQDPrkUDFtI&dib_tag=se&keywords=kicker+load+resistor&qid=1710368326&sprefix=kicker+load+resisto,aps,101&sr=8-1

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