Adding a real subwoofer w/amp to your Mach-E

[21st Century Pony]

I am assuming everyone is connecting to accessory power vs straight to the battery?

See the attached instruction page for connecting the JL 280/4 amp... points 2, 4 and 5 should answer your question.

Happy New Year!

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[MrLoganRoss]

Thanks! Happy New Year to you as well!

 

[ryan445]

Hello, quick question for you all that did this.

I connected to the factory subwoofer and all seems to work great.

However it seems once I get to volume 12 and up the subwoofer fades out.

I remember reading somewhere that the B&O amp is programmed to fade out at a certain point and there was something you can do in forscan to fix it. I have found that for an f-150 but haven't seen anything for it on the MME, so don't want to try it yet. I've searched here and haven't found anything. If its here somewhere, I'm sorry if I missed it.

Also maybe it would be better if I could connect to the left and right door speakers from the B&O amp if anyone has a pin out of it.

 

[Mach1E]

Hello, quick question for you all that did this.

I connected to the factory subwoofer and all seems to work great.

However it seems once I get to volume 12 and up the subwoofer fades out.

I remember reading somewhere that the B&O amp is programmed to fade out at a certain point and there was something you can do in forscan to fix it. I have found that for an f-150 but haven't seen anything for it on the MME, so don't want to try it yet. I've searched here and haven't found anything. If its here somewhere, I'm sorry if I missed it.

Also maybe it would be better if I could connect to the left and right door speakers from the B&O amp if anyone has a pin out of it.

I used the factory sub for the signal for my JL audio powered 10 and don’t notice it fading out at higher volumes.

Yes, trying the signal from the door speakers may yield different results if what you say is true.

That or using the remote bass control knob to compensate may help. I definitely use mine all the time. But honestly it’s usually to turn the sub DOWN at higher volumes as it easily overpowers the factory speakers when I turn up the volume.

 

[markboris]

Hello, quick question for you all that did this.

I connected to the factory subwoofer and all seems to work great.

However it seems once I get to volume 12 and up the subwoofer fades out.

I remember reading somewhere that the B&O amp is programmed to fade out at a certain point and there was something you can do in forscan to fix it. I have found that for an f-150 but haven't seen anything for it on the Mach-E, so don't want to try it yet. I've searched here and haven't found anything. If its here somewhere, I'm sorry if I missed it.

Also maybe it would be better if I could connect to the left and right door speakers from the B&O amp if anyone has a pin out of it.

I think there may be something wrong with the way it's wired. The B&O amp does NOT fade out the sub past any volume level. I have personally installed these in 5 Mach-E's and never had this issue. You do not want to tap off of the door speakers as they are rolled off in the low end so you won't get the bass you are looking for. Did you connect the 12V+ wire from the sub directly to the battery or to the 12V power point in the cargo area?

I think it might be good to check the wiring from the OEM sub wires to the JL audio input wires to make sure the polarity is correct.

 

[ryan445]

I used the factory sub for the signal for my JL audio powered 10 and don’t notice it fading out at higher volumes.

Yes, trying the signal from the door speakers may yield different results if what you say is true.

That or using the remote bass control knob to compensate may help. I definitely use mine all the time. But honestly it’s usually to turn the sub DOWN at higher volumes as it easily overpowers the factory speakers when I turn up the volume.

Hmmm, it could be possible that I don't have the EQ on the sub set right then. I'll revisit that.

 

[ryan445]

I think there may be something wrong with the wiring from the OEM sub wires to the JL Sub. The B&O amp does NOT fade out the sub past any volume level. I have personally installed these in 5 Mach-E's and never had this issue. You do not want to tap off of the door speakers as they are rolled off in the low end so you won't get the bass you are looking for. Did you connect the 12V+ wire from the sub directly to the battery or to the 12V power point in the cargo area?

I am running directly off the battery.

I am thinking I may have the setting on the sub wrong after the last post.

 

[markboris]

I am running directly off the battery.

I am thinking I may have the setting on the sub wrong after the last post.

Ok. I have my EQ set to 50 Hz, the input volume around half way and I do use the remote volume control which I think is a must but that does not have anything to do with your issue. Try changing the phase on the sub amp from 0 to 180 and see if that helps you out. If so, the wiring from the OEM sub is most likely crossed going into the JL amp.

 

[mkhuffman]

I am running directly off the battery.

I am thinking I may have the setting on the sub wrong after the last post.

I want to second Mark's point about the door speakers. I did that initially and the result was not good - bass was very weak. So I switched to the subwoofer output and it sounded much better.

 

[Ababians]

I've personally helped install several of these subs and remotely helped guiding many others. Every one of them have the 12V power wire going directly to the battery. It is what is recommended by the manufacturer to have an 8ga wire going to the battery for a solid 30A 12V supply. There have been a couple of members here that have used the accessory power point in the rear cargo area successfully with lesser subs and actually one or two with this JL sub. While it will work, I have mentioned before that running this sub at high volumes for a sustained period of time will blow the 20A fuse on that power point. I had one member message me this happened to him but as long as he keeps the volume at a decent level there have been no issues. I don't recommend connecting it at the power point but it can be done. For reference, the 12V rear cargo power point has a 14G wire coming from the fuse box on a 20A circuit.

If we connect to +12v front battery JL sub and other can we have problem with draining battery when car is parked?

 

[markboris]

If we connect to +12v front battery JL sub and other can we have problem with draining battery when car is parked?

If your car is parked and turned off, no, the 12V battery will not drain at all when the JL sub is connected directly as it is not using any power at all. If you are parked and using the audio system, then yes, the battery can drain and rather quickly if you are playing your music loud. In that case, I recommend the car is turned on while in park so that the HVB will keep the 12V battery charged.

 

[Ababians]

Ok. Thanks for your fast answer. How many dynamat foils did you use? Was installing difficult about fixing on the doors metal part. I mean if there is enough space when introduce the foils with hands.

 

[markboris]

Ok. Thanks for your fast answer. How many dynamat foils did you use? Was installing difficult about fixing on the doors metal part. I mean if there is enough space when introduce the foils with hands.

For the entire car, I used about 18, 32"x18" sheets which is 2 of these boxes:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00020CB2S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

Installing it in the doors is not difficult, just time consuming. You can do it one of two ways. After removing the door panel, you can remove the speaker which gives you a decent size hole to reach in and apply the Dynamat (I also apply 1/4" Dynaliner foam over it in the doors) but you are not able to reach in enough to apply it everywhere. If you want to deaden the entire inner door (which I do) you need to remove the window regulator assembly. Below are instructions on how to do this.

 

[Ababians]

Thanks again Mark. I did the same complete door similar like dynamat in my F33 4 series bmw. I finished with some hurt hand.

 

[markboris]

Thanks again Mark. I did the same complete door similar like dynamat in my F33 4 series bmw. I finished with some hurt hand.

There really aren't any sharp metal areas where you would get cut up inside the door and I've done three Mach-E's. Take off those window regulators and you will have full easy access to the inside.

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