Mounting idea for a Kenwood powered sub woofer in 380SE

[donbryce]

I made a 1/8" thick steel bracket that is bolted to the antenna support and the left rear taillight housing mounting bolts. There's 2 small bolts welded to the bracket for supporting the unit, which stick through the trunk carpet panel. No vibration, great bass, and very little sacrifice of trunk space.

[jbaj007]

Very clean; unobtrusive. I really like it!

[wjm]

How is the sound in that location? Does it come into the vehicle?

[donbryce]

Well, I'm new to the modern world of car audio, and certainly consider myself an amateur here. From what I've read, the sound produced in the trunk is somehow related to 'cabin gain' or 'transfer function', an effect related to the enhancement of sound below 80Hz, dependent on the interior volume of the car and the dimensions of the trunk/passenger compartments. To me, the sub moves a lot of air in the trunk, which vibrates through the body structure into the passenger area. Human hearing can't detect the direction of the low frequency sound waves, so the effect is to 'fill' the cabin with bass. This little unit produces wonderfully rich, deep bass, but not the ground-pounding pulses the younger folk are making in their imports outfitted with 1000 watt amps. But hey, all I wanted was a simple bass-fill to augment my Blaupunkt Denver, which for the moment is running through the stock speakers and is sounds fine.
I didn't even have to remove the 2 trays in the shelf either.

[wjm]

Well,

I can tell you that this is EXACTLY the product I'm looking for. Thanks for the tip. I'm like you... don't need some big woofers banging the neighborhood and taking up 1/2 my trunk.

Looking at other posts which mention this product, some have installed it on the back shelf, first removing the first aid cover. But it it sounds good in the trunk, then I'd prefer this.

So, how did you make the brackets? Looking at your picture, I can't seem to understand how the 2 top bolts are being used.

Oh yea... how much and where did you buy the unit?

Well I do, but its only 500W. RMS I do, however, keep it tuned down, and use it just to hear the bass line I've been missing from my cd's (Bloodhound Gang, Evanessence, Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage", etc). I only have it because its free (ok... and because I like loudn music).

However, I definitely like the install, very clean, and doesn't block access to the spare. Something I'll keep in mind for my parent's anniversary this summer, since my mom and dad share the '87 300SDL when not driving their respective Dodge products (which turns out to be quite often... I may end up having to find an MB just for one of them).

[donbryce]

I'll try to explain how the bracket was done. I removed the cardboard/carpet piece on the left wall, then used a piece of cardboard cut about 2" wide and long enough to reach along the inside of the fender from the upright in the forward area, next to the antenna, and rearward to the left side of the taillight housing. I added a piece to fit under 2 of the bolts/nuts that hold the housing in place, and another piece to reach the upright in front. The cardboard template was transferred to a piece of 1/8" stock, cut with a bandsaw, then bent to fit snug along the inner fender, with appropriate bends at the ends for the holes to line up at the taillight housing, and for 2 sheet metal screws to attach to the front upright. I added foam tape to the back in case of rattling against the fender. The bolts that hold the unit go in from the backside, through 2 tapped holes in the 1/8" bracket, and are then welded with a mig and the heads ground down to about 1/8" for a snug fit of the bracket against the fender metal. The Kenwood KSC-WA62RC hags on the supplied brackets, drilled to go over the bolts, and is secured with locknuts. As for the unit, check EBay, there's usually one every week for around $175.00. Mine was a discontinued Canadian Tire item.

[wjm]

Thanks for the info.

OK, I found it for $159 here:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/shoptronics/kenpowsub.html

[wjm]

donbryce,

Do you still have the instruction book for the woox? I just got one.. but with book missing.

[donbryce]

That was because it was a store 'demo' and they couldn't find it. However, here's what happened next: I installed it in July 2002, real easy without the manual. In September, it went dead! So, I searched around the net and managed to find a copy of the service manual (not owner's) in English on a Russian website for $10.00, which I downloaded and have. This was a big help to the shop that fixed it under warranty from Kenwood (but doesn't contain any instructions, just schematics and part numbers). It's been back in action since April this year and still works fine. I also found a copy of the owner's manual, but in Russian. From the pictures, and a little help from Altavista, I decided I didn't need the owner's guide anyway. (I'll try and find the site where I got this and post it if I find it again).
Basically, you have a choice of input: a low-level pre-out from your head unit, via RCA cables, or tap into the rear speaker leads. Doesn't really matter which, so I just connected the marked speaker leads on the WooX (4) to the wires going to the right and left rear speakers (easy to do, just go up under the package shelf). Next, connect the marked lead to the wire that triggers your antenna to go up. This is what turns it on when the head unit comes on. Lastly, there is a power wire (12V when IGN is on) and a ground. That's it!

[donbryce]

OK, here's the link to the Russian site for the manual.

http://kenwood.vdlabs.ru/car/subwoofer/active/KSC-WA62RC.html

[wjm]

Thanks for the info.

Since I have an Alpine CDA-9815 that plays CDs/MP3 and XM, I don't want to use the antenna lead, as it will only turn on when the radio is on.

I'll go ahead and run the RCAs from the radio to the unit as well as run the amp lead.

[wjm]

Not sure if this is where you got your schematics from.

http://www.electronicsrepair.net/

and another

http://www.user-service-manuals.com

[donbryce]

I think it was from the second one, but I can't remember. Either way, you probably don't need it unless there's a problem. Mine had a bad power circuit and needed 3 parts. I just installed an Infinity Basslink last night in my street rod. It's a 200W rms unit that really rocks (but takes up twice the trunk space). So I guess the Kenwood is where it belongs, somewhat more dignified and unobstrusive. Hope you like yours.

[wjm]

The harness has a yellow power wire... a black ground wire... a blue wire and 4 speaker wires. I assume that the blue hooks to the radio's amp turn on wire. Correct? How about the yellow? Straight to battery or to the ignition?