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Ive read through a good few of the threads here to see could i find the answer but still not clear .
Basically ive installed a double din in my jdm s5 convertible. I bought a mazda mx5/ rx7 adapter which seems to have most of the stuff working.
The front under dash speakers are the only 2 i have working currently.
Door speakers and headrest do not but ive tested the door speaker with the battery trick and its is functioning. Just not getting any signal sent.. Also my audio controller in the center console isnt illuminate leading me to believe the amp isn't getting switched on or getting power.
I dont care if the antenna is working as i will never listen to the analog radio so wont need to use the relay method jackhild59 has thread on.
Is it a matter of getting ign power to the amp wire to get everything going and would anyone know what wire that is exactly?
Couple things to check first
1. Grounds
Factory units expect a case ground to the dash. This is the same with the amplifiers. There is no ground in the harness. If you don't have a good ground to the dash and chassis, nothing turns on. No lights, no sound, no radio.
2. Whats the pinout for your new unit? I do know that the aftermarket adapters from scosche don't have all the wires needed to run a stock setup. I had to order 2 and rob pins from one of them. Post pics of pinout for your new head unit, your harness, and your adapter please. I'll try to look at it this evening.
3. If you have a newer head unit, you won't need the power antenna. The two dash plugs (for windshield and buggy whip) can be plugged together with a y adapter and into the radio for pretty good reception. You would just need to insulate the power antenna motor wire in your adapter from ground to remove that function, or if your head unit supports it in the pinout, we can go from there.
I've been restoring an s5 vert cd player and trying to get it to work in my coupe for the past few months and have a pretty good feel for the system. It gets frustrating when it doesn't just plug in and work. I've also put in all new speakers, and restored the door sub amp. We'll get you going
Sorry i should clear this up a little . The radio powers up, plays music etc . only 2 speakers working ( left under dash and right under dash) no door or headrest which leads me to the amp.
This is the head unit. Pioneer DMH DAB AV Screen double din
The 2 wires circled on the car loom dont have any wires connected to the opposite side of the connector where my harness connects
From reading the manual it seems i need 12v on the blue circled wire for the front door speaker amp. ?
not sure yet what the black circled wire is for.
Ok, here's where it gets confusing. As far as wiring goes, you have your factory stuff, both amps, front speakers, door woofers, headrest speakers, with the factory loom and you have your aftermarket system that you are trying to adapt. There's going to have to be a bit more mixing and matching to get this to work. Been pulling my hair out just trying to understand the factory system and how both of them differ between coupe and vert. So, I'll start with what you have for the stock vert system. I'm not lecturing, just putting out what I have figured out so we can get you up and running as quick as we can.
What you have:
-Stock front speakers - take full-power signal from head unit and make sound - speakers can be upgraded to newer without issue
-Stock door woofers - take full power signal from door woofer amp (under dash) - speakers can be upgraded to newer without issue
-Stock door woofer amp - under dash, takes full power audio signal from stock head unit and converts it so door speakers are subs. This can be bypassed by unplugging the amp and plugging the input and output plugs for the amp into each other. Door speakers will function as regular speakers and you will loose the subwoofer function by doing this. Or you can restore your amp by replacing the electrolytic capacitors. I have done this. It's an easy circuit board to learn on if you are new to soldering, as it has large solder traces to work with. My door amp went from non-functioning to working well by doing this. There are other things to check first though.
-Headrest speakers - take full power signal from headrest amp to make sound for headrest speakers
-Headrest amp - takes LOW-POWER signal from factory head unit and outputs HI-output for the headrest speakers. This is something I'm trying to overcome to adapt an old s5 vert unit to an s5 coupe setup. You will need to address this or blow out your headrest amp/speakers. The difference between s5 coup and vert units was the s5 factory AE unit output full power signal to the rear speakers in a coupe, but output a low level signal to the headrest amp in the convertible models. Same circuit board, different transistor configurations.
What you need:
It looks like you need the amp turn on signal for both amps. Both amps are wired for power coming from your fuse-block (also check your fuses btw). Their power is not supplied by the head unit. However, their turn-on signal is. You are missing the turn-on signal wire in what you have shown. I have to go to work right now, but I'll be back later this afternoon, and have some pictures ready for you.
Also, your factory head unit should have a default with the amp output off. Make sure it is off before turning anything on for testing, so you don't Marty McFly your headrest units.
ya were on the same page. i reckon the signal turn on wire isnt in the adapter loom i got. Im taking for granted the signal wire requires 12v's applied to turn on each amp. but could be a small voltage too for all i know. Im really hoping its a matter of connecting up a ign 12v to the signal wire and presto. then look at replacing speakers for more quality items down the line. Also the headrest speakers are pretty cool to have going. the seats need a retrim so failing this id fire out the seats but would ideally like to try get the speakers going and feel good about spending money on the retrim for max nostalgia.. .
Ok, I think I have an idea what's going on. You'll have to double check this, but...
-In the ebay adapter you bought, you should have a blue/white wire coming from the head unit. According to the pioneer manual online (the pinout is terrible and you could easily mistake it for something else...pages 2 and 3) it says there are two blue and white-striped wire coming from the head unit, there may only be one. This should be your amp turn on signal. If this is the case, the adapter has that 12v OUTPUT connected to the power antenna 12v INPUT. The stock motorized antenna is a 12v input into the stock head unit. The head unit grounds this connection when it wants to raise the antenna for radio mode.
Solution: De-pin (got a plan, try to keep it in good condition) the pin on your ebay adapter shown in the picture here. Check and see if it goes to +12V OUTPUT. If that is the case, move it over on the bottom row next to the front speaker outputs. It should connect to the brown wire on your dash harness, as shown in your picture. Doing this will disable the power antenna that you don't intend to use, and should provide voltage for your amps.
-The wires you circled on the dash harness side don't matter to you for what you are doing. Those are both inputs for the factory S5 AE system. One is the amp turn on from the head unit, the other is the 12v accessory power line.
-The manual for your new head unit does have a disclaimer for blowing out speakers and damaging things. You should take a look at it before you power up those headrest speakers. It has recommended speaker resistances and power ratings on P.2 under TO PREVENT DAMAGE section.
-I don't know if it will work this way, either if you can bypass the headrest amp, or possibly turn your fade all the way forward and slowly work it back, but that might be a way to set it using the stock equipment. However, I don't know what would happen to your system if you did it this way. Obviously matching impedences and power ratings is going to provide best results.
Have you looked over this thread? If you get the outputs from the head unit to the harness correctly, everything should work. It did for me. I believe your adapter is likely incorrect. This thread i am posting is all the help I have to give.
I am out of the RX7 game forever, but there is a soft place in my heart for the S5 Vert.
Ive had a leaky brake master cylinder, from the seals under the filler. The replacements from mazda arrived so have been spending time working on this and fitting a replacement abs pump as thats leaking too.
The radio is hopefully next on the list .
Your wiring suggestion worked a treat. Swapped that one wire
Door speakers came to life. headrest power button toggles on and off but thought the headrest speakers were bust until a bit of messing with the volume buttons. Just needed to be held on to raise the volume up.
Head rest speakers sound great. Door bass speakers are working but at high volume are a little worn and rattly. So might change them down the line. what a mental stereo system for a 32 year old car.
Guess i wont be removing the seats after all
I replaced all of my speakers. The door ones were in pretty poor condition. Make sure you measure first to avoid fitment issues. Not only diameter, but depth. Some of the newer speakers, like the Rockford Fosgates I replaced my door subs with required some door work to make them fit.
What I would do if I could start with an intact system is try to match the original speakers as best as possible. I checked the relative power output of the stock system as listed by the amplifier IC spec sheet, and compared it to the power output of an aftermarket unit I had been using, and they are relatively the same. It was a fantastic sound system back in the day, and only lacks some of the modern features found in a modern aftermarket head unit
The problem I ran into is that the factory system was gutted when I got my car, and I've just been able to build a decent quality setup these past couple years. Im wanting to retain as much of the factory setup as I can in the restoration process. The speakers I picked for the doors did fit the diameter (print out template before purchase to see if your desired speakers will fit diameter wise) but the magnet at the back was deeper than the originals that I didn't have to reference. I had to cut into the very bottom of the window track so they'd fit. No interference with the actual window function, just had to do some door modification.
04-29-21, 07:35 AM
