I know about half of the world has subs or extra speakers in their Ranger, so where did you guys pick up the lead which took you to the Amplifier and eventually to the component?

Or did you take out your head unit and take it out of the back of it.. Which would actually sound best and make the most sense... but I dont want to do too much damage.

Where is the best speaker lead in?

 

My old Ford MACH MP3 didn't a have subwoofer output, so my Bazooka took the signal off the rear speakers. Just patched into the existing cables. Since the Bazooka is self amplified, it didn't suck all the juice out of the rear speakers.

The new Alpine has sub out, so now it feeds the Bazooka directly.

If you're connecting to the stock system, then you'll need an amp with "speaker level" inputs, since the factory amps don't have a "pre amp" output.

 

If you need a remote turn-on for an amp you can use the accessory wire on the stock stereo harness. I'm not sure of the color though.

 

im not quite sure what youre asking? are you trying to connect an aftermarket amplifier to your stock deck/system? in that case, youll most likely need line converters to convert the lr outs on the deck to rcas. if youre looking for a wire to use as a remote turn-on lead, then evan's suggestion will work!

 

theres a part at radio shack that costs $20. it converts your front or rear leads (your choice) to RA and it is spliced in at the back of the head unit. or you could get an amp that takes leads from the speakers themselves. this is done via a harness then to the amp.

or you could go out and buy a new headunit with pre-amp outputs.

 

My aftermarket radio has 3 pairs of RCA's that are my signal feed to my 2 amps. That's the cleanest way to do it. If you want to stick with the stock head unit, you can use amplifiers with "high level" or "speaker level" input (as opposed to RCA's).

This typically isn't the most efficient or clean sounding, but it can be done. Just tap into the speakers, at the rear speakers if you just want to add a subwoofer, or from behind the factory stereo where all the speaker wire are still together.

You can buy a converter like Chris mentions. Commonly known as a Line Level Convert (LLC). This is better than speaker level input, usually, but can also cause interference on it's own. The less connections the better.

The biggest key is to keep the (typically unshielded) speaker wire far apart from any other power lines used by the truck.