1st Gen factory amplifier locations (JBL, non-JBL, all cabs)

I'm posting this to refer other people to it later. If you have better pics than what I'm posting here, give it up! It never hurts to give more info than is necessary.

First things first, audio info.

There are three amplified audio setups for 1st Gen trucks: (A) Non-JBL stereo with no amp, (B) "premium" non-JBL stereo with non-JBL amp, or (C) JBL stereo with JBL amp. You'll know if you have the latter (C) because "JBL" logo should be silkscreened onto the OEM head unit somewhere. There are a few rare instances where NO AMP exists, only a radio and 4 or 6 speakers, but that's outside the scope of this topic. If you do find there isn't an amp in any of the locations shown here, that's a very important piece of info to know!!

If you find you have an amp in one of the locations provided in this reply, the JBL square logo (often orange) should be silkscreened or sticker'd onto the amp somewhere too. The non-JBL amps were typically Fujitsu models, IIRC, and you should find their info to that effect on the amp body somewhere. But absence of JBL logos on the radio and amp should be a dead giveaway.

The importance of this info is simple: You need to know what your truck has inside so you can order the right harnesses/adapters the 1st time.

If your truck came with an OEM amp, and you want to run an aftermarket stereo, you CANNOT use a standard radio adapter harnesses to get sound. PERIOD. Well, not without mangling the wiring. You must use an adapter to get that nice new replacement radio talking to the speakers, and all your speaker wiring is plugged into the OEM amp! For older 1st gen trucks with the amp in the dash, that's an easy task, because the wiring is in the dash. On the newer 1st gen trucks, the amp is located towards the rear of the cab, which is pretty far away from your dash, which makes wiring fun!. Locations of the amps are a few paragraphs down.

For the newer models, with amp installed towards the rear, the easiest and cleanest reversible way to solve this dilemma is using an 'amp bypass' harness, which (if you buy Metra harnesses, at least) also includes an extra pigtail for the radio, to tap power etc. Metra is my go-to brand, their amp bypass kit is basically one female plug that snaps onto your amp's speaker output wiring, with enough extra color-coded cable to route back up to the dash of your truck (or aftermarket amp, if you're adding one). You probably don't want to be that asshole who wantonly cuts factory harnesses when there's a cheap way to a no-cut solution ... adapter harnesses are king. Or maybe you do, and if you do like to be that person, at least inform the person buying your truck when you sell. But like I said, you'll also get an additional harness to pull power off the dash wiring that went to the OEM radio.

If your truck also has steering wheel controls, you'll want to buy a plug-and-play adapter and a separate adapter to continue using those. If you need more info on that, look a few replies down at the "Metra grid" for my recommendations on how to do it cleanly and easily, and w/o spending crazy money.

As mentioned before, 1st Gens came with OEM amps installed in multiple locations, depending on year and cab type. Sometimes they're in the dash, under the stereo and behind the HVAC controls. In later years, access cabs moved them under the rear passenger seat bottom, beneath a plastic cover, and double cabs behind the rear driver seat on the wall. Generally speaking, if you want to see if you have an amp, you're going to look at one of the following spots, from MOST SPECIFIC to LEAST SPECIFIC:

Double cabs, typically later models. Open the rear driver's door. Fold the rear driver's seat forward. Pop up (or off) the back wall trim panel. Look in this location, on the wall. The non-JBL amp should be smaller/fatter, JBL amp is wider/skinnier. Here is your target area to check:

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Once you pop that back plastic panel off, this is what you're looking for, one of these two silver, finned boxes:

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Later-model access cabs, at least the '05-'06, you'll want to look under the rear passenger seat, inside the cubby, with this door:

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If you find a wide-open storage compartment like you see here, nothing but carpet, your access cab either doesn't have a factory amp OR it's a pre-2005 model and possibly in the dash.

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However, if you find a black plastic cover towards the middle of the vehicle, pop it off and you should find the amp underneath as you see here, once you pop out the plastic push-pins and shift the black plastic cover over.

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Finally, any earlier-model 1st Gen, any cab type, up to 2004 (at least, but possibly later, exceptions exist): You may have your amp in the dash. If you do ... you'll need to pop the dash bezel off. If you've got it, you'll find it above the ashtray and cupholder, but below/behind the HVAC controls like shown here.

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Close-up of that, driver side angle. so you can see how deep it's buried:

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PRO TIP: For folks with dash-mounted amps --- The wiring probably isn't what you'd expect. Your stereo wiring goes first into your amp via two connectors, then back out of the amp again, up to the stereo. Your aftermarket adapter harness should plug into the amp harnesses, NOT the stereo harness. This has confused a number of people, who popped out the stereo and found only one, single odd-shaped plug in the back of the factory radio. If you also found only one plug in the back of the OEM radio, you need to double-check for an amp in the dash.

 

I know a lot about the early access cab behind the HVAC controls style but didn't have much know-how on the rest of the models to have made a thread on it so thanks for putting it all together.

One thing to add is that when you have a amp behind the HVAC controls you'll have the wide single connector that goes in the radio. This leads many to think they need a special adapter harness to make it work (it does exist I've seen one done this way). All you need to do is unhook that factory amp from the connectors that plug into the bottom of it then you have a standard Toyota radio connector set that they used from the late 80s to at least the mid to late 2000's which is really easy to find. Theres no need to keep the factory amp when using an aftermarket radio.

 

You got the "so you wanna buy a 1st gen" thread wrong.

 

Good post with great timing. Thanks shifty!
Just bought my harness so I can replace my dry rotted JBL speakers.

Can you just disconnect both plugs from the amp and remove it completely? From the research Ive seen on here looks like most leave it in place with the top plug still connected. My amp is like the first one shown behind the panel of the rear seat. 06 DC.

 

The wires (2 plugs?) going into your amp consist of the following:

• incoming signal from the head unit
• incoming power and ground wires
• Outgoing signal to the speakers

If you're astute, you'll see the problem with that last one. Your signal doesn't go Stereo => Speakers, it goes Stereo => Amp => Speakers. So unless you plan the tedious task of running new wires directly Stereo => Speakers, you need an 'amp bypass' harness which plugs cleanly into the harness for the 3rd bullet point above (lines to speakers) and gives you enough extra wiring to chase back to the dash to tie into your stereo. It's the cleanest, no-cut, no-dedicated-wiring way to do things.

Some people will tell you, "you'll lose fidelity with all that extra wiring, you should rewire direct!" Here's what I'll tell you as someone that's worked in the industry for a shop that entered vehicles in IASCA comps and placed: Your ears are not going to hear the difference, and unless you plan to compete, it's worthless OCD behavior.

Make sense?

 

Yup. Thanks. I have the

$34 Metra 70-8117 Factory Amplifier Harness for 2004-Up Toyota Vehicles with JBL Sound System

Metra 70-8117 and ready to install just wondered if removing the amp completely would cause some unforeseen issue because the factory wiring was changed.

 

Nope. That's what I did. If anything, it's one less thing drawing power in the car while the key is at ON/ACC.

 

Thanks. I’ll post pictures once I get there. Collecting components at this point. Head unit and back camera and I’m ready to go. Oh yea. Then a dry day when I have time. The hardest part.

 

If you haven't already picked: https://www.tundras.com/threads/touch-screen-head-unit-whos-got-what.65309/

I personally love Alpine (see pg. 3)

 

Yup I’m going Alpine.

 

Another awesome post! You're a treasure to this site, @shifty`

 

Thanks for the helpful post. Seemed like it was of relevance considering this is an audio thread on the front page and shifty seems to be the most knowledgeable active member about audio. But fu(* me, I’ll see myself out.

 

Meh. I don't really care where you post. I'll answer it. It's tangentially related.

I'm always, always going to push you toward JBL for component kits. It's what I used to sell at the shop I worked at, before I really understood how much bang vs. buck you get with their products. There's a reason Toyota chooses JBL for all of their highest-end audio premium setups. There's a reason so many concert venues use JBL equipment, and you'll see JBL logos across dozens or hundreds of cabinets at clubs and outdoor concert events. Their shit is awesome, great natural-sounding reproduction, authentic without muddiness, crisp highs, thundering-but-not-unnaturally-thumpy lows.

By far, the best wide-range bang vs. buck you'll get with these Tundras is in JBL's "Club" series components. You should be able to get most of their mid/tweeter Club series combos in the $140-$180 range from a reputable vendor. My only gripe is, you may need to run to the store to buy terminal spades for wiring things up, sometimes they don't supply everything that's needed for cabling, but you'll find multiple options for tweeter/mid install with every package. It's the only "Aha!" I can warn about.

I think nearly all of their components kits come with crossovers, which for some manufacturers can sometimes suck if you want flexibility, but I haven't found issues with JBL on that stuff yet. You can & probably should supplement with settings in whatever crossover/DSP you choose, built-into HU or external.

Can you get "better" hi-fi speaker setups targeted at very specific, discerning listeners, ala MB Quart, Focal, Morel, DLS? Probably. But it's absolute freaking overkill for 99% of the population, you're usually paying out the nose for it, and it's really not worth considering how much is lost from the compressed, lossy-encoded, and/or streamed audio most people have in their cars. Will I poke fun or jab at people who buy it? Hell no. I personally refuse to blow money on what I won't hear.

I recommend using industrial velcro to install the crossovers, rather than drilling. I can give more details if needed. I haven't installed in a DC yet, but can share pics of where I installed on my AC. Oh - and get speaker adapters from Crutchfield, or direct from Metra if you prefer.

 

Thank you for the excellent info! Based on your previous posts, that's what i figured you'd recommend but wasn't sure if something new had hit the market or your opinion had changed. I am certainly no audiophile, but I'm ready for an upgrade. I'm looking at JBL Club 6.5" (602C) components for the front and 6.5" coax (622) for the rears. Looks like Ama*on has them for $91 and $68 respectively. Sounds like a lotta bang for the buck. Thanks again!

 

That's a hell of a price on those components. I personally prefer shopping with Sonic Electronix. Even they're showing the 602C at $149 and they're often beating everyone. But the setup you just described is basically what I went with in my truck and I'm really happy.

One of the cool things about JBL Club components, especially if you intend to run things off your head unit's built-in amp, they're all using a lower impedance @ 3ohm to milk just a little bit more power out. Just another little way they're thinking ahead of others.

I'd totally change my opinion if someone showed me a better deal for sound output. I just haven't found it. Whatever you do, avoid Alpine components. I love their head units. Their speakers have never done anything for me.

 

Thanks man. I'm looking forward to it, and I'll post impressions when installed. I have always had the same experience with Alpine. Had several high end Alpine single din HU back in the day that sounded awesome. But I once had two Alpine Type S 12s in a sealed box that sounded like absolute dog crap lol

 

FYI to anyone following this thread. Crutchfield is having a great BF sale. Cancelled my Ama*on order and reordered with Crutchfield.

 

Hell yeah! You may find like I did, the OEM speaker Adapters JBL provides will work fine for a seamless install. You'll want to trim a couple of triangular ears off. Should be a bolt-in experience. Always good to drop a dab of silicone between the adapter ring and OEM Toyota plastic baffle, just to avoid vibrations. I also like taping any stock wiring to the door panel with small squares of metal flashing tape. $150 for everything is NUTS!

 

Will bypassing/removing the JBL amp still let you use the steering wheel volume controls when using the Meta harness?

 

If you have steering wheel controls, it means you have a later-model 1st gen truck (04+). You should find at least two white harnesses plugged into the rear of your OEM radio. The 6-7 wire white harness on the left in this pic is the steering wheel control wires, the larger 20-24pin on the right of this pic is radio. For our 2005-2006 year trucks, we can rejoice (I guess), there's also another harness tucked back in the dahs with a reverse trigger wire AND a speed sensor wire on a dedicated harness as shown, and you can use connector 7282-5830 for a no-cut experience to tie into those wires, but you do NOT need to use the factory reverse trigger wire to install a backup camera!!!

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If you have a rear-mounted amplifier and steering wheel controls, you'll need three things to replace your OEM radio with an aftermarket unit. The amp bypass harness, an Axxess steering wheel control harness, and the Axxess ASWC-1 steering wheel control adapter. This will give you the single easiest-possible entry into a seamless upgrade. THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS FOR STEERING CONTROLS, this thread covers that.

For the radio/amp adapter harnesses you need ... METRA is, hands down, the best harness maker in the industry and always has been, though Scosche is great too. What you'll need from METRA differs depending on which system you have, JBL or non-JBL, amp in dash or amp in rear. This matrix below should help you with part numbers (in red), read all the notes in in the grid for important points to help you choose:

(Note the years listed; 2003-2006 are the only years JBL system was offered, IIRC. I know 2005-2006 offered the "premium", non-JBL amplified system. The earlier trucks w/amps in the dash only need the radio harness which plugs into the two wiring plugs attached to the amplifier, if I'm not mistaken)

 

Well shit. Gotta order more crap. Just when I thought I had everything. I appreciate the details. Thanks shifty. I received my Alpine head unit today but got the Crux CS-TJ20 by mistake.

 

I see they're trying to push the Crux unit off on everyone now. I personally think the Axxess unit is better, it programs itself automatically, automatically supports you adding the right-hand steering controls (for phone operations) if you ever do. I think they're pushing the Crux because it gives maintains an extra aux input, but given the features of most modern stereos (unless I'm misunderstanding what it does) which have AUX inputs, I see no major benefit.

 

From what I’ve gathered the crux cs-TJ20 allows the factory amp to still be used along with the SWC. But, as I’m sure others have found, gathering info for replacing stereo/speakers for our gen’s is not so easy.

 

Yes, someone came here a few months back looking for help, and we found the Crux amplifier adaptor box was causing the problem.

I don't recommend making attempts to maintain the amp in these trucks.

 

I replaced my rear speakers with JBL GTO629’s they were 65 bucks on Amazon and reused the factory mounting brackets by just taking the speakers out and using the wiring adapters.
For the front I just got infinity reference components from crutchfield. Any advice for how best to wire them without having to do much cutting of factory wiring? I did get the metra 72-9301 wiring harnesses too. If this is not the best place to post this please let me know. Thanks!

 

I love JBL and cane the hell out of their stuff, it was one of two major brands we installed at the shop I worked at.

You shouldn't need to cut any factory wires. Sadly, I can't fully remember if the Crutchfield adapters for the front door plug in BEFORE or AFTER the speaker wiring forks in the door. I'm writing the rest of this based on the assumption it comes AFTER the wiring fork; if wrong, someone would need to adapt.

For the door speakers, as I recall, the plugs are plastic-welded into the OEM baffle box the speakers are mounted into. Uninstall required no cutting, just:

• Unclipping the OEM wire/connector from outside the OEM baffle box
• Separating the other side of the OEM connector that's plasti-welded into the wall of the OEM baffle box so the OEM speaker can come out
• Pull the OEM speaker out

Reinstall would vary from person to person depending on your setup.

Install with components that come with a crossover:

• Plug the Metra speaker adapter pigtail Crutchfield shipped into the OEM wire/connector you pulled in 1st step above
• Attach the bare-wire end of that pigtail to your crossover
• Run new speaker wire through the hole in the OEM baffle and to your new mid
• Run new speaker wire up and to your new tweeter

Install with single components without a crossover:

• Plug the Metra speaker adapter pigtail Crutchfield shipped into the OEM wire/connector you pulled in 1st step above
• Route the bare-wire end of that pigtail to your new speaker wire through the hole in the OEM baffle and to your new mid
• Run new speaker wire up and to your new tweeter

As for the tweeters, the OEM bracket can be repurposed. Here's how I repurposed mine. The OEM tweeter bracket on my AC truck has a center-post hole in it. Most component systems come with a couple of different cup choices for different mounting situations. JBL almost always includes at least one center post cup in their kits.

 

Thank you very much! I’m going to do all the speakers first then when more funds are available I’m going to replace the head unit. I’m thinking of going with the Sony xav-ax6000. I like how simple it looks but still get wireless CarPlay.

 

Check the thread I just linked with the tweeter stuff. Tons of head unit info in that thread.

 

I have an xav-ax100 in my truck and an ax-200 in my Lexus. They don't make either one anymore but if the new ones are like the old ones they're good units.

 

This post really helped, thanks! I thought I had the wrong harness for a minute but didn't realize there was a (tiny) amp.
So, now I have removed the amp in my 2000 SR5 and hooked the harnesses that were going into the amp into my Metra harness and to a JVC HU. The unit powers up but there is no sound. The wiring seems to be mapped correctly (according to a diagram I found on this forum). Any ideas why I don't have sound?