2020 JBL Amp Replacement My DYI

So first I gotta say if you're planning on doing this DYI make sure you're ready to spend some time on it. No need for experiance but being a DYI'r helps. I did get stuck on one bit thanks for the help James tech12volt. I ordered my DSR1 pre-programed, Sony 6/5 channel amp, and the needed accessories from James tech12volt. Highly recommended.

Do read your new amp instructions. I got stuck cause i didn't fully understand the remote out. That's where I got stuck and James tech12volt helped me out. REMEMBER James is on the east side of the Mississippi so be polite and understand as good as he is, he also has a life on the weekends.

So I just wanted to replace the amp and keep everything stock, I may upgrade the speakers later. Now for the pictures I may be covering some duh stuff but I think it's good to know.

Removing the seat simple no issue. I did have plastic covers over the rear seat bolts pinch the metal clips and they release easy.



Tilt the seat back and unplug the seat harness's by pushing in the small tabs and gently pulling them off. Don't pull the from the wires. Theres grease under the seat so be careful not to spread it everywhere.


You can now put the seat in the back and expose the factory amp.

You don't have to remove the plastic cover to get the amp off. I did cause I wanted to see how amazing it is.


Remove the door floor guard. I think that's what it's called. You'll need it exposed to run your power wire. Just get your fingers under it from the carpet side and gently tug.


Connect the DSR1 output wires to the amp line in wires (may look different for your install)


Connect the DSR1 TO3 Harness from the DSR1 to the vehicles amp harness you'll plug in all 3.

Connect the TO3 speaker harness wires to the amp. My amp came with a harness so I soldered them and then taped them and plugged it in (again yours maybe be different). I also connected the sub wire I'll point them out on another picture. You can use this link for wire configuration from another post also helpful. Thanks _SP_ https://www.tundras.com/threads/dsr...-1-amp-i-need-some-help-with-the-wires.62094/


Now with all DSR1 and amp wires connected it's time to connect the amps ground. I ended up removing some paint under the existing connector. In the picture it's connected on top I moved it below the existing ground connector (no picture of that move).
Now run the power wire. I found this to be the most difficult because you have to go through the firewall. I went through the rubber grommet on the passenger side. You'll hav etc poke through it if you go this route. Just be very careful because it holds other very important wires.

Inside the cab
Run it along with the other important wire where the door/floor guard was removed from earlier.

Back into the engine area. I used these tabs I got from the greatest home improvement store Lowes with zip ties. Use them to hold the power wire, I ran the wire in the back under the nice cover which has small plastic screws holding it





put the cover back on with the plastic screws. should look like this when done. Wait to connect the wire to the battery.



Back inside the cab. connecting the power wire to the fuse block. Yeah I put it near the amp. I had to use a vise to crimp the connector for the amp to the fuse block.


Everything connected to the amp.

The missing thing again thanks James tech12volt.

Now connect the power wire to the battery and good luck.

 

First, congrats on the upgrade and I completely agree with James and Tech12volts being an awesome resource.
Second, great job on the detailed write-up. I always plan to document things as I go and tend to get caught up in the moment and just wanting to get things done.
Third, I hate to be a negative nancy but it is a bad idea to have that much unfused wire running throughout your truck. You should add an inline fuse within 2’ feet of the battery terminal so you don’t have 12 feet of 4 gauge wire melting across the truck if something shorts out.

 

Thank you for the write-up....this will be very helpful! One comment and two questions:

1. As AZBoatHauler said you absolutely want the fuse on the battery side and most of what I've read is you want it within 18" of the battery and preferably less. If there's a short you want the distance between the power source and fuse to be as short as possible.

2. Why did you choose to power the front door speakers and front tweeters (Inputs 1,2, 7 and 8) with the amp and not the front speakers and rear door speakers (Inputs 1,2, 5 and 6)? I think I'm missing something here.

3. How is the sound?

 

Thanks
I'll order another inline fuse and set it up near the battery.

 

Thanks and answer:
1. Agreed

2. The confusion is in the picture I posted which was from a different post I'm attaching the clean setup cheat. All the speakers got wired according to all inputs except for the center speaker (input #3)

3. The new amp is more powerful and sounds great. I know I'll have to upgrade the speakers because you can feel the raw power just wanting to jump out of the factory speakers. Currently I really only feel good taking it to level 40 which sounds louder then when I maxed it with the old JBL amp. It sounds like the old 60 (max) plus 10 and only at the volume 40 setting.
SO firkin

 

Please bear with me. Why was input 3 (center speaker) the only one not wired? Does the center speaker currently have power? It was my understanding that the center speaker and right/left dash speakers were all powered directly by the head unit which would I believe represent inputs 3, 7 and 8? Unless by “front tweeter” for inputs 7 and 8 are they talking about the tweeters in the door sails? Even if that’s the case, I’m still confused since I thought all the dash speakers were powered by HU?

Any help to clarify is appreciated!

 

I only wired my dash tweeters to the fronts because I ran out of outputs. My new 3 1/2" Kenwood dash speakers have a inline crossover. So it sounds great for me. I should have bought an 8 channel NON DSP amp.


My Center is NOT connected yet it still plays at a good level with the Balance and Fadrer set to Zero (center) I have NO idea why. But they way its setup now it sounds great, Im leaving all the other JBLs Sails, And center for now The front 6x9 JBLs sounded like poo poo. I had ro have the have the amp Gains All the way down. The JBL rears I was able to turn to max while keeping the Master volume on the DSR1 about 1/2 3/4 down from Max. Punch EQ is also about 1/2 way down. When I changed the front Dash and 6x9'. I got a whole new sound! I was able to max the gains and it sound great. The center stage sounds perfect and the Center works and im 100% sure its not connected BY RCA or by the 2 orange wires for that channel.

 

I think I get it. The OP has a 6-channel amp and so he could power 6 of the 7 inputs? I’ll have a 5-channel amp so I’m guessing I’ll have to hookup inputs 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 if I want the amp to power the four door speakers and sub leaving the head unit to power the right/left/center dash and sail tweeters?

 

That makes sense...so any speaker in the dash that you didn't wire through the T-harness is still being powered by the HU.

 

The Sony amp that I got did not have a center speaker input (on a budget). I think it depends on the amp you get it may have the center speaker hookup. I thought I would miss the center speaker but not the case, can't even tell it's missing. Everything is still powered by the head unit the DSR1 takes the place of the Factory JBL amp. So as long as the new amp has all the outputs for all the speakers they will all get power.

 

Plus I did not need 125 watts to a 3" speaker.. lol

 

I'm going to tackle this today. With respect to number of channels vs inputs for the Maestro - James had me piggyback the door mid-woofers with the same door tweeters (Input 1 with 8 and 2 with 7). Do you have a picture of how you positioned the amp? James supplied an amp mount but I'm not sure how to position it or secure it - it's just a carpeted piece with two small feet on onside and no holes corresponding to any mount points?

Thanks in advance! Wish me luck!

 

Sort of I actually took that mount and trimmed it the red lines in the picture. I did this cause I wanted to have exposure to the undersea vent. I also took off the feet off the forward mount piece and on the back mount piece I change the foot with a smaller piece of wood. This gave me a lower mount so that the amp would not rub. This was a just incase. I can send more pictures but I'll have to take them later when I get home.

 

This is great info. Im on the market and will DIY steps. Thanks for sharing.

 

Got her done! Tore the grommet going through the firewall and it’s no longer water tight...any ideas? The other causality was the stupid metal clips covering the rear legs of the front seat - just wasn’t understanding how they work. Not bad overall. Took me from 8am until about 3pm including sound deadening the doors and rear wall.

Night and day difference! Couldn’t hear sub before unless it was the right song and now it kicks playing acoustic guitar. The whole system is much louder and much more balanced. Overall very happy!!!

 

How did you tear the grommet? I should have posted that I used a rat tail file, pulled a string trough and snug as a bug. Sorry this a picture before going through the firewall grommet (see pics below). Your setup looks great.Did you replace the speakers as well?

This is the rope pushed it through with the rat tail file. Taped the positive wire and pulled through.

 

I did something similar using a bent coat hanger but tried to go through the bottom nipple. When I tried to pull it through the grommet partially collapsed into the fire wall so the metal surface of the firewall orifice was visible and the area near the top nipple tore. I had to use needle-nose pliers to pull the grommet out of the hole completely and then push it back in to get it to sit flat. The lower nipple with the power cable is water tight and looks good - I just have a tear through the area of the upper nipple. I believe it's sealed on both the inside and outside and the tear doesn't go all the way though so I'm not too worried.

I think I needed more lube.....

 

The only thing I can think of is liquid electrical tape. Lowes and home depot carry it as well as Amazon. You'll have to clean the grommet well but the stuff really works and it's a brush on.

 

Thank you!

 

3M strip caulk will work better than liquid electrical tape. You can find it on Amazon. It's a soft butyl material (similar to sound deadening) that will never dry up or crack. Just work some of this around the torn grommet and you'll be good to go!

 

Much appreciated!