Car Stereos: Stock radio and subwoofers, rca cables, amplifier input

Question
I have a 2003 ford Taurus and I recently put new speakers in the back pioneers but my friend has 2 12 inch subs in one box with an amplifier he would sell me but I did not want to get rid of my stock radio so is it possible to hook up subs and a amp with a stock radio if so how thank you .


-Devin

Answer
Hi Devin,

It's pretty easy to install an after-market amplifier with a factory head unit.  There are a couple ways to do it, but in general, you'll need to tap into the factory speaker wires to provide an audio signal for the amplifier.

Some amplifiers are designed to connect directly to the stock speaker wiring.  Your amp might have an input plug labeled "high-level input" or "speaker level input".  If your amp has this, then you can use this input instead of using the RCA jacks.  You'd just run a set of speaker wires (you can use as thin a wire as you like for this purpose) from the amp's high-level inputs to the factory speaker wires.  You don't have to disconnect your speakers; just tap the amplifier input wires into the stock wiring without cutting it.  The best way is to strip a bit of the factory wire without cutting it, and solder in your new wires; but you can also use T-taps to make your connections.

If your amp doesn't have the high-level input plugs, then you'll need a line output converter (LOC) to connect the amplifier to the factory system.  A LOC connects to the factory speaker wiring, and converts the signal to a low-level output that can be connected to the after-market amplifier using RCA cables.  You can buy a line output converter at just about any store that sells car audio equipment.

In your car, the easiest place to find the speaker wires is in the trunk. You can find all the speaker wiring, front and rear, at the factory amplifier/tuner module, mounted on the back of the driver's side wheel well.


Hope this helps!

Brian