Adding sub into parcel shelf

[JC12]

Hi all

has any one sucessfully managed to wire in a sub into the parcel shelf if their Lexus did not come with one? I have a 2009 SE-I with a basic sound system. It did not come with the rear sub speaker in the parcel shelf, it has front lower speakers (woofers), front door speakers and centre speaker(Front) and rear door speakers (rear). See photo below for amp outputs from amp.

I pulled out the rear seats and looked in the parcel shelf and the Sub wiring harness is already installed in the boot, the wires also trace back to the amp where they plug into the amp

I went ahead and installed and plugged in an OEM lexus parcel shelf sub i found however, no sound is coming from the sub. I assume this is because the amp does not have power or a sub channel coming out of the amp??

I then connected the harness to another amp and sound did come out of the sub however i think all the channels were messed up as the rest of the speakers didnt sound right and didnt fade/balance correctly. There was also another plug which didnt fit the new amp so I dont think I can use that amp. Here is the other amp I used from a car with the upgraded sound system. You can see if states there is a WOOFER channel

 

My question is - Has any one sucessfully and retrospectively installed a rear parcel shelf sub? If so .. how have you done it ?! All i want is the sub to work, not fussed on adding any more speakers to the system. 

 

Thanks!! 

[Mr Vlad]

Try the amp from the SE-L that had the Mark Levinson system. I'm sure there are used amps on eBay. That amp should sort your issue. 

[JC12]

19 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

Try the amp from the SE-L that had the Mark Levinson system. I'm sure there are used amps on ebay. That amp should sort your issue. 

It does and it doesnt..

 my wiring harness is not a direct fit for the ML amp.. its the same issue as the above I have listed, there are 1 or 2 plugs on my exisiting wiring harness that do not fit into the new amp. Also, with the ML there are additional things going to that amp which accomodate the sav nav and additional multimedia features.. I do not have a sat nav set up . 

If only it was that simple! If you have done it succesfully then please let me know how! 

[H3XME]

@JC12 I had a similar issue.. My car does have M&L system with the rear sub though, but I was looking into installing a big boy sub in the boot. I've got an aftermarket sub, but the stock amp isn't right for any sort of aftermarket setup as I found out the hard way. Which I reckon would be your case also.. and like you said, M&L amp plays big a role in the whole infotainment system working properly so the only feasible way to run an aftermarket setup is to have a car without this M&L bolloc*s - like yours. . I made my peace with the fact I'm stuck with stock sub because I don't fancy spending money on an amp & and whole lot of wiring to get my screen working as well just to get a little extra bass. However, if you decide to go down the route of aftermarket amp to make everything work for you, I'm happy to swap my box subwoofer for the stock M&L sub you've got.. 

[JC12]

7 hours ago, H3XME said:

@JC12 I had a similar issue.. My car does have M&L system with the rear sub though, but I was looking into installing a big boy sub in the boot. I've got an aftermarket sub, but the stock amp isn't right for any sort of aftermarket setup as I found out the hard way. Which I reckon would be your case also.. and like you said, M&L amp plays big a role in the whole infotainment system working properly so the only feasible way to run an aftermarket setup is to have a car without this M&L bolloc*s - like yours. . I made my peace with the fact I'm stuck with stock sub because I don't fancy spending money on an amp & and whole lot of wiring to get my screen working as well just to get a little extra bass. However, if you decide to go down the route of aftermarket amp to make everything work for you, I'm happy to swap my box subwoofer for the stock M&L sub you've got.. 

Thanks mate. Yes from the research it seems like I'll need to add in a mono amp for the sub and run it independently to the cars amp. However going to get a second opinion. I'm no electrical expert but was wondering if could run off the "front woofer" channel. 

 

If that fails will probably  just add in a hidden mono sub. Ideally looking to keep the look as standard as possible.  Ie no visible speaker additions. Not looking for ultimate sound just a bit more kick. 

 

 

 

[Mr Vlad]

There are many subs with their own built in amps. Some fit under seats some are boxes of different sizes. Personally if I was on your position I'd put the awesome Alpine sw815 in the boot. Only an 8" speaker but enough to make the panels dance in a Ford focus and Mondeo, I know I still have that sub.

[JC12]

2 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

There are many subs with their own built in amps. Some fit under seats some are boxes of different sizes. Personally if I was on your position I'd put the awesome Alpine sw815 in the boot. Only an 8" speaker but enough to make the panels dance in a Ford focus and Mondeo, I know I still have that sub.

It's an option yes, which I've done before in cars... but that's not the point of this build. My aim is to be as oem as possible with this one! 

[jaaniic]

As far as I know, even basic sound system comes with a sub, but weaker one than ML version. Also in the picture there are some scratches around screw hole sub is attached to. Mby previous owner took it out because there was something wrong with it?