Kicker Sub Upgrade How-To

[brettmess24]

So you disconnected the kicker sub amp and connected an external amp to the kicker box?

Did they disconnect the sub all together?

How was the bass? Good or non existent?

I'm not following the grumbling noise sounds like a ground or reverse polarity on the wiring...


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[LekRap]

So you disconnected the kicker sub amp and connected an external amp to the kicker box?

Did they disconnect the sub all together?

How was the bass? Good or non existent?

I'm not following the grumbling noise sounds like a ground or reverse polarity on the wiring...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We took the sub altogether (sub and small amp still connected to each other) and powered it to a completely separate system that was working perfect and was grounded and everything. The completely separate system powered the sub and did the exact same thing, the exact same grumbling. If it was a ground issue with my truck, I can't see that it would do the exact same thing on a completely different system.

When it was connected, the bass was good. Played music great, just with a background of a grumbling sound. The installer really thought it was an issue with the small amp that is attached to the sub itself. Talking to Beau, he said they cannot separate that small amp from the sub, so the entire thing will have to be shipped back to him and a new one sent.

I asked the installer probably 20 times if he thought the ground was good. He assured me every time that the ground was very solid. I personally looked and messed with the ground myself and it is mounted very solidly and the metal was scratched up to expose bare metal.

After today, I am 100% sure that the sub (or the small amp connected to the sub) is defective. Who knows, maybe the wiring from the small amp to the sub is what's f-ed up. Beau did warn me not to mess with taking the small amp off the sub, he said that automatically voids any warranty. It's probably going to cost me a good $50-60 to ship back to Beau, but at least I know he'll take care of it and I'll get a new sub

 

[brettmess24]

ah ok makes more sense to me now...lol

Hope the new kit works better for you.

 

[pat247]

I received my Kicker soundstage system and did the install myself. I upgraded the four door speakers and the subwoofer on my Sony system and the results are remarkable. It's amazing how much better this upgrade has made the Sony system sound, as others have stated, it should have come from the factory like this. The door speakers were plug-n-play, for the Kicker sub I opted to use the Sony sub wires like many others have done. I already had a power cable ran to the back of my truck so I rerouted it inside the cab to keep it out of the elements.

 

[zyvin]

alternative

if you can't find the kicker sub, maybe this is an alternative for those just wanted decent bass...has it's own amp, is JL, can have a remote knob attached so you don't have to go into your menu to adjust bass, takes speaker level inputs. Also, has anyone seen the 2015 Kicker upgrade? 6x9s in the front, 6.5 in the rear, a replacement for the center channel, and a sub behind the back seat.....I would like to see the dimensions on that behind the rear seat sub, talk about out of the way....

Also, stage 3 motorsports advertises these kicker tweeters as replacements for the A-pillar to complement the kicker speaker upgrade...FYI

http://www.stage3motorsports.com/41KST204-2013-2015-F150-Kicker-KS-Series-3-4-Tweeters-Pair.html

 

[n4xxr76]

I'm looking for the full kit, sub plus the door speakers. See a few on ebay now for $1200.... Anyone know of any for sale cheaper?

 

[cgibs89]

Wow, just looked again and everything shot up in price.

$600 for the sub kit and $1000+ for the full kit. Maybe let the demand die down again and they'll drop in price again.

 

[n4xxr76]

I found the full kit for $700. Went ahead and pulled the trigger as it was the only one I could find.

 

[LekRap]

Just wanted to give a quick update on my previous issue of the grumbling noise. I returned the sub to kicker and after some time, got the sub back all repaired under warranty. They said it was an issue with the small amp that is attached to the sub (as my install guy suspected). Now that it is repaired, it's working flawlessly and I almost forgot what a difference it really does make!

Also, I had previously had it wired the original, through the new harness, way. I had the installer wire it the new way described on here, splicing into the original green plugged harness. I have to say, it does seem cleaner and more natural than I remember. I remember it just being obnoxiously thumpy. Now it seems cleaner. Thanks to all the guys on here for the instructions and pictures so that I could guide my installer through the whole process with them. Haha

 

[MajorAR]

I'm installing the Kicker Sub this weekend.....SCREW version. Thanks for all the help in this thread. I may be contacting some of you guys.