Where is the best place to tap into the signal for my high/low coverter? Using the PAC LP7 I think. Also, are the amps in the left side panel of the trunk or is it the thing in the rear deck? What are the wire colors to tap into? Where would you all recommend mounting the 13x6x2 sub amp? TIA!

 

For the high/low converter you can tap into any speaker wire. I suggest a rear speaker or door speaker (not a tweeter).

For the remote wire, you need to test which wire at the factory amp turns on and off with the radio power (not the ignition power). Get a multi-meter (not a test light) and check for a power wire at the amp that has 12 volts when the radio is powered on and has 0 volts when you press the power button on the radio to turn it off.

 

Thanks DJ. The LOC I am using has a remote turn on so I assume I just need to power it and it will sense when the speaker wire has a signal and turn on the amp also? Should I tap into the speaker wires going to the sub in the rear deck or is there a better alternative?

 

I ran my everything out of the harness at the factory rear amp. Much easier than trying to work up top with the rear deck..... I'm going to go back and remove my LOC at some point and run an RCA directly. It apparently sounds better (and is ironically less expensive). You could do this just as shown in the below thread externally on the harness vs opening the factory amp and soldering to the pins as well. This is the thread that I used and got me through my recent install like butter

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...-sub-come.html

 

here are some pics of the box.. I haven't built one since the late 80's lol. Anyway, I wanted it to fit in the back so I incorporated the angle of the back seat, the shelf, and the thing that sits at the top of the trunk. It will be around 1.5 sealed cubic feet. Still need to put in the speaker terminal cup and carpet it.

The plan is to finish the box within a couple days then take it to a professional to install the amp. I'll post more pics as I go.

 

What sub did you decide on?

 

I got the JBL W12GTI MKII and will be running it with the Massive N4 amp. Carpeted the box last night, did a poor job but that is a pain in the royal backside to do. it didn't help that the carpet I used didn't really cut easily it seemed to tear. Also the shape of the box made it really tough for a novice like me.

I hope to finish it tonight and get the install started tomorrow!

 

Here are some more pics, please be gentle about the awful seams on the box. They don't look quite this bad in person. Amp is being professionally installed today so I'll have more final pics later!

 

Well done! I swear the designers of our cars had a good laugh when designing the contours of the cargo area ... For a non-pro build, my hat is off to you!

I sat down with a friend of mine that is a highly regarded and certified tech/engineer in the mobile Audio field to help me design an enclosure to fit in my trunk to replace the JL audio h.o. Vented one I have in there now.... "So what could we design that will sound remotely as good as this box but takes up less space"..... "Nothing"....

My custom box is on the back burner until I determine I really need back my lost cargo capacity.

 

Thanks Abrown,

Why don't you come over and we'll swap boxes for a sec to see if you like the sealed custom box over the pre-fab one? I could probably have made mine a little smaller but the sub has over 10" depth so i wanted to make sure it had plenty of room.

here are a couple pics of the install. The LOC is tucked away somewhere so I couldn't snap a photo of that. The install cost about an extra $100 than they quoted because it takes more time to tear apart a MERC supposedly, the location I wanted for the amp took more time and they had to build a mount plate, and my 0 gauge power cable couldn't reach all the way so they had to splice in some extra. Oh well, it's only money right?

 

Ok, here is my last post on the subject unless someone has questions. I decided to make a grill to cover the sub out of wood instead of buying a universal one. Here are a couple shots of it after sealing and after paint. Thoughts?