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| $25 Factory Amp Upgrade?; NO modification to your Metro Needed! | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 8 2015, 06:56 PM (5,187 Views) | |
| Stiffchezze | Feb 8 2015, 06:56 PM Post #1 |
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Sir Metrologist
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Club Meep Crossover! ![]() One thing I have always noticed about my Jeep is that the sound system is pretty good. ![]() Nothing extremely special, but a nice, crisp and clean sound. My Jeep, and a lot of others, came with the upgraded Infinity Gold audio system. At the heart of the system is a factory 120W 4-CH amplifier. ![]() Here is how to adapt it for use in your Metro. The best part? There is NO modification to your Metro needed to use this amp. No running wires, no extra fuses, nothing. Want to use it with your factory head unit? No problem! Aftermarket unit? Your still good to go. Installs in about 5 min; and if you want to remove it, removal takes just about as long. This setup installs between your head unit and radio connector. No wires to cut inside your Metro. After putting it into place, (with the exception of the Chrysler logo) anyone looking at it would swear its factory. What you’re looking for, in this how-to, is a ’93 to ’98 Jeep Grand Cherokee. (BTW ’99 –‘04 uses a 6-CH amp- a possible how-to to follow) MANY other Chrysler vehicles use a similar amp, so there are other options to obtain one, just this how-to was written using a ’98 Gr. Cherokee. The amp is under the back drivers side seat cushion. ![]() It is held in place with three #2 phillips-head screws. ![]() Make sure you grab as much of the wiring harness as possible. ![]() You should be able to grab about 8” or so. My local Junkyard charged me $25 for all of it. ![]() The two other wiring harnesses you need to get can usually be found elsewhere in the junkyard. You need a female radio connector out of a donor Metro. I ended up grabbing one out of a Tracker. Trackers use the same connector with the same colors as your Metro, except you can get a much longer bundle because the wire bundle for the radio is by itself and about 12” long vs. our 5” or so. You can also buy a reverse radio connector on a site like eBay, however your wire colors might not be the same as this how to. You will also need an aftermarket male radio harness as well. I always seem to find an extra one at the junkyard, but you can always just buy one at your local part store. The tricky part is you need to find one with all of the wires attached. For some reason there is a manufacturer who is selling connectors without a Dimmer wire. While you do not HAVE to have this wire, if you use a head unit that requires both a dimmer wire and illumination wire, your back lighting will not work. I.E. a factory head unit or Link--->Suzuki Factory Radio PLEASE use either solder or crimp connectors (link--->Here) WITH a proper crimp tool (and link--->Here) to make all of the connections. Do not attempt to just “twist” the wires together with electrical tape. There are too many connections and you will be sorry. ![]() Here is the wiring connection list with wire colors. It really is not that bad. Because it is separate from the rest of the car, go inside, sit down inside, get comfy and take your time, one wire at a time. ![]() Here is the connector numbers of both the Geo: ![]() The Aftermarket: ![]() And the Amp: ![]() (Click on each picture for a much higher resolution that is much easier to read.) If you don’t want to or are unable to complete the wiring connections, might I suggest Mythstae and her thread: Link--->Wire for Hire; I can wire your stereo harness for you... When you’re done you should have something that looks similar to this: ![]() As for installation, easy peasey. For a ’95 and up (others similar) fold down your glove box and reach behind you radio and disconnect your radio connector. Plug the female side of your new harness into the back of your radio and the male end into the radio connector attached to the main harness of your Metro. Pull the two amplifier plugs down and out the bottom under the radio and behind the center console. Plug the amplifier into the connectors and place the amp under the center console. The amp wedges in quite nicely, but if you feel the need, secure with a screw but be careful as your airbag control is right behind this spot. ![]() ![]() ![]() As for cooling and airflow for the amp, don’t worry too much about it; remember where it was in the Jeep you got it from! Don’t expect earth shattering performance out of this amp. In my experience you can expect crisper highs (especially in the front channels) and better bass response (especially in the rear channels); just an overall MUCH clearer sound especially at higher volumes such as at interstate speeds and in verts with the top down. Even when using a factory head unit. In this configuration you would GREATLY benefit from even slightly upgraded speakers and head unit from what your Metro can from the factory with. Mine has been installed in Rudolph for about 3 months now with no issues. And as always, any questions, feel free to ask! ![]() EDIT: It has been brought to my attention that there were a couple of small errors with the first diagram I put up. All (known) errors have been fixed at this time.
Edited by Stiffchezze, Aug 2 2015, 08:54 PM.
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| nathan298 | Feb 8 2015, 07:08 PM Post #2 |
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Geo Resurrector
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Sweet! I might have to try this. |
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| dayle1960 | Feb 8 2015, 07:12 PM Post #3 |
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Fastest Hampster EVER
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There are some really smart GMF members out there. Wish I were one of them. Good work, Stiffcheeze. How's little cheeze doing? Pics? |
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| Mythstae | Feb 8 2015, 07:13 PM Post #4 |
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Fantastic work, Stiffchezze! Your guide looks very simple (well, relatively! ) and easy to follow.Just how I like 'em! And thanks for the Wire for Hire plug, too.
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| Coche Blanco | Feb 8 2015, 07:34 PM Post #5 |
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Troll Certified
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What kind of power are we talking about here? |
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| Mythstae | Feb 8 2015, 07:36 PM Post #6 |
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? |
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| Coche Blanco | Feb 8 2015, 10:25 PM Post #7 |
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Troll Certified
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I ctrl+f "watt" but didn't find anything. Thanks. |
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| Mythstae | Feb 8 2015, 10:27 PM Post #8 |
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No problem, I was mostly just checking that I was indeed posting the piece of information you were looking for. |
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| t3ragtop | Feb 9 2015, 09:09 PM Post #9 |
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker
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stiffy, i don't see any wire in that whole harness that would carry enough current to do an honest 120 watts total for that amp. 120/4 = 30 watts, probably peak, times 4 channels. before losses that would be 10 amps on the input side. also, the 30 watts peak would be more along the lines of 14 watts rms per channel which would pretty much allow them to run a modular chip per channel. we're talking 14 watts at 10% total harmonic distortion which means that you are likely to play more or less at around 3 watts before the thd starts sounding like gravel in a soup can. ![]() a good head unit makes similar power. ![]() an amp that made an honest 30 watts per channel would use a minimum of an 8 gauge cable for power and ground. i just felt like a little good old federal trade regulation sanity needed injected. the ftc reined in the home stereo boys but let the car audio boys still use the old "if lightning strikes" power ratings. ![]() your wiring is neat and the execution is very good. the amp fits behind the center console nicely. the amplification is definitely a bonus. |
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| Stiffchezze | Feb 10 2015, 12:30 AM Post #10 |
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Sir Metrologist
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I was waiting on the t3ragtop review! I absolutely 100% agree! Unfortunately, all I have to go on (at this time) is the ratings from the FSM for my Jeep. I'm sure the 120 watts is at the "if lightning strikes" power rating. Just from my untrained, amateur ear, the sound in my Metro is a little cleaner. Plus it was fun and cheap!
Thanks! |
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| idmetro | Feb 10 2015, 08:50 AM Post #11 |
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Improvement at my budget level!
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| Coche Blanco | Feb 10 2015, 03:08 PM Post #12 |
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Troll Certified
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![]() Fun and cheap = are two words you rarely hear when talking about car mods... so that's a welcome description. |
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| t3ragtop | Feb 11 2015, 05:24 PM Post #13 |
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker
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...and you almost never hear those words from a metro owner.
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| Gabes Metro | May 6 2015, 06:01 PM Post #14 |
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New Member
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Hey Stiffcheeze, Just got done with this mod with an aftermarket bluetooth kenwood HU and am now going to have to pick up some higher quality speakers. Right off the bat, the sound is quite clearer with nice high's and lows that I've yet to experience as the speakers that are on my car right now are not cutting it. Wiring took about 30 minutes and the install was about 5. If a good, clear sound is what you're looking for, this $25.00 mod is the way to go. Thanks for the great write up!!
Edited by Gabes Metro, May 6 2015, 06:04 PM.
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| Stiffchezze | May 7 2015, 08:14 AM Post #15 |
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Sir Metrologist
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![]() Glad I could help! Like I said, no earth shattering performance, just a cleaner overall sound. ![]() Judging by the PM's I've been getting, this is turning out to be a pretty popular mod!
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