Added an amp/sub to my stock headunit, 2005 STI
Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 3:01 pm
Overall this was not difficult, but because the '05 reverse harness has not yet been released by Metra, finding the equivalent was a challenge.
Basically I wanted to add an Alpine MRV-F450 5 channel amp with a 10" sub to my stock head unit, just until I find a head unit that I can't resist. And I wanted to do all this without cutting my factory harness.
The forward factory harness (80-8901) by metra was missing the orange/white wire for the dimmer (negative) so I had to add one to it. This provides power for the back-lit radio buttons when the headlights are in the "on" position.
No one seems to make, or has in stock a reverse factory harness for the subaru so I used one from a hyundai accent. The only difference is that the wire colors are not the same.
I used a "pac oem II" converter and ran all the wires through it on the "input" side to the reverse harness. The only one I had to run around the converter was the neg. illumination wire (dimmer) because the converter does not have a pass thru wire for this feature.
On the output side of the converter, I connected all but the speaker wires to the forward harness. I then connected my speaker wires from the forward harness to a 12' S16 OEM monster standard cable (4 pair w/ remote wire) and ran it back to the amp which I mounted on the trunk/back-seat wall.
Ran power, ground and amp switch wire to the amp and now my auto dim rear view mirror vibrates like this big flashlight I found in my girlfriends nightstand.
Good luck!
Basically I wanted to add an Alpine MRV-F450 5 channel amp with a 10" sub to my stock head unit, just until I find a head unit that I can't resist. And I wanted to do all this without cutting my factory harness.
The forward factory harness (80-8901) by metra was missing the orange/white wire for the dimmer (negative) so I had to add one to it. This provides power for the back-lit radio buttons when the headlights are in the "on" position.
No one seems to make, or has in stock a reverse factory harness for the subaru so I used one from a hyundai accent. The only difference is that the wire colors are not the same.
I used a "pac oem II" converter and ran all the wires through it on the "input" side to the reverse harness. The only one I had to run around the converter was the neg. illumination wire (dimmer) because the converter does not have a pass thru wire for this feature.
On the output side of the converter, I connected all but the speaker wires to the forward harness. I then connected my speaker wires from the forward harness to a 12' S16 OEM monster standard cable (4 pair w/ remote wire) and ran it back to the amp which I mounted on the trunk/back-seat wall.
Ran power, ground and amp switch wire to the amp and now my auto dim rear view mirror vibrates like this big flashlight I found in my girlfriends nightstand.
Good luck!