So there are plenty of threads on how to get to the JBL amp and sub.

like this one, but i would not have removed the front panel like that
How to: Replace JBL Subwoofer

or this one is a good one
How to Remove the Navigation ECU from a 2003 Toyota 4Runner

Here is what you got when you remove the amp. Kenwood makes a nice 5 channel called the XR900.5 that will fit in the oem locatation. I sold my last one a week ago, so i used a X700.5 and mounted that under the passenger seat.


at the amp connector the big one. peel back the harness to reveal several twisted pairs of wires. they are for various speakers thruout the car. here's

what you got:
AT JBL AMP

Front/left pink+ violet- these two will go to tweeters too from the amp
front/right light green+ blue- these will also go to front tweeters too
right/rear red+ white-
left/rear black+ yellow-
rear tweeters are tied together green/white+ brown-
subwoofer brown+ green/white- for coil 1
subwoofer blue/black+ blue/red- for coil 2

RADIO Connections:
12volt constant blue/yellow
accessory grey
ground brown
illumination green

My parts list
Kenwood KFC-X693 6x9 front speakers
Kenwood KFC-X173 6.5" rear speakers
OEM rear tweeters on D pillars
OEM front tweeters in front doors
Kenwood X700.5
PAC LC-1 line level control aka bass knob
Kenwood DNN-990HD previously installed
Metra ASWC previously installed
Bluetooth steering wheel mod (look it up)
Sirius SXV200v1 sirius tuner
Kenwood KFC-XW800f 8" subwoofer

Front doors:
get kenwood 6x9, removed oem crossover. take it out, your ears will thank you later. sounds like butt if you dont. front tweeters are mounted in parallel with the 6x9's from the factory and they have a capacitor style bass filter so you will be ok.



rear doors:
get 6.5" speakers. straight up install nothing special

connections at rear jbl amp:
just run all those connections to your location for your amp. i extended mine to go under the passenger seat. i removed my seat for ease of install.

Subwoofer:
the kenwood 8" sub loves being in that enclosure. i get boom boom with no space taken up. thats how i like it now. i have my convertible with the big bass when i want it.


Power wiring:
Here is a little hint for all you guys. you dont have to run it over to the drivers side from the passenger under seat. you can go thru the passenger side grommet. open your hood look over the fender from the passenger side into the engine. look down at the big rubber pass thru. you will see a little nipple looking thing. get a pair of cutters and snip it. then give the newly found hole a spray of WD-40 or your favorite lube. then poke your 4 or 8 guage power wire thru. You will push aout 6 inches in, then go to the other side under the passenger side and reach up to grab your wire you just ran thru.

NOTE: once you got your power line thru the fire wall. DO YOURSELF a favor. Squeeze a nice blob of silicone glue on the wire from the outside, so you dont get water coming in, just in case.

Picture of the said big grommet on passenger side. also how i routed it along the fire wall zip tied to the brake line so the wire does not fall on the engine.

screwdriver is pointing to the grommet and the wire loom hiding the red power cable





Kenwood DNN990HD



Bluetooth steering wheel mod, added in the right side buttons


PAC LC-1 (bass knob). took it apart and flush mounted it.


OEM amp and OEM sub and 10 years and 172k worth of dust and dirt


Kenwood KFC-XW800f, flat subwoofer. no modification to the OEM sub box is necessary. direct drop in and plug and play! well plug in and wire it up


MSRP for everything installed? $2230!! from crutchfield
Kenwood DNN990HD $1399
Kenwood X700.5 $349
Kenwood KFC-X693 $149
Kenwood KFC-XW800f $169
Kenwood KFC-X173 $99
Metra ASWC-1 $79

Labor should run you about $350
Misc parts $50 (power cables, rca wires, and fuses)

Cheap huh? And Why all kenwood? Kenwood's Excelon products all carry a 2 year warranty, from speakers to amps to radio! Good stuff!


BTW-please dont cheap out on tape. BUY 3M SUPER 33. i know its expensive BUT you are doing this yourself, and saving money...so why not spend some money or better materials. IMHO, you dont need to shrink wrap, but thats personal preference. From folling this guide you will save a bunch of money, spend that money you saved on a good soldering iron. I own 3 Solder-It Pro 150 butane irons. Highly recommend it. Also use Master butane. it is high quality filtered fuel. Use something else and you will regret it with clogged iron. buy 0.7mm Diameter Tin Lead Rosin Core Flux Solder Soldering Wire.
You got questions? fire away

nice write up, nice install.

i am a bit dissappointed in choice of speakers and amp.
kenwood makes great head units, but speakers, subs, and amps mostly
suck except for the highend stuff. for the prices you listed,
you could have gotten some far greater gear.

personally i never use existing wiring when installing amps and speakers.

did you verify the sub enclosure specs were the same for the oem sub
and the kenwood, its a good idea to check these little details .
it can make or break your aftermarket sub.

all in all, nice job, looks good, defineately an upgrade..

Love the write up on this! Gonna do an install on mine although it may or may not be as extensive as this but I will use this as a template. Thanks for your time and hard work.

oh, and by the way, JBL stands for Junk But Loud lol

I have been a Kenwood excelon dealer for the last 6 years. I quoted msrp, you don't want to know my actual cost. I don't want you to hate me. I can give you a idea, this equipment is "demo" with 180 day terms

Yes, I know what I am doing here. You can waste your time and swap out wires if it makes you feel better. Stock wires have been fine for the last 10 years I have been open and the 10 years before I opened my shop.

Btw, all the equipment from Kenwood was excelon stuff, their high end line.

You are a fricken Master.. NO wait.. a fricken WIZZARD!!! when it comes to hands on wiring and tinkering on your Rig.. I definitely commend you on that aspect...

This goes for this particular thread, as well as your other DIY threads

aha.. that would make sense to me(the great price).

what do you have in your convertible?

edit: kenwoods "high end" amp has a thd of 1%... thats horrible

I know thd is bad, most people will not notice it. It's not tru technologies. I have in my vert, 3 jl 12w6, jl 1000/1, tru technologies s44 that John modified for me. Bunch of Rainbow speakers and sold the head unit for now. Since its not seeing the road til spring.

Thanks for the kind words. I am no means a master. I just like to do 12 volt stuff. It seems easy to me. That's why I try to do write ups for others so they can over come their fears of a car. It's really not all that complicated!

I'm about to do the stereo in my convertible now. I can't match that setup, however.

what you got? i have a store full of stuff i can sell you LoL, we can take it to PM if you want

Gshadow when installed your amp, did you just cut the factory harness at the JBL amp and run the wires from there to your Kenwood amp?

Yes, I know I am never going to reinstall the jbl. Trick is cut back the loom covering the harness. You will see all the sets of wires I referenced in the first post taped together. Makes it easier to find out what is what.

You can unplug it from the amp, then on the wire side just strip back the wire and solder your new wires on it. Then if you want to pull your amp out when you sell it, you can just disconnect it and plug back in the jbl.

Ha. Thanks - maybe when I upgrade the 4Runner this winter. This is a great guide.

I bought a bunch of crap off the internet for the convertible, and now it's sitting in my basement waiting for me to install. First, I have to figure out everything since I don't do this professionally. I'm sure it's going to go like "ok, 4 gauge power wire - trip to home depot, crap, I forgot the connectors - trip to home depot. I need heat shrink wrap - trip to home depot." Rinse, repeat.

I'm past my jl faze, but I'm a big fan of rainbow.

So am I, but my wallet is not. Kenwood and my wallet is besties. Believe it or not, Pioneer stuff is not bad for the price, reliable decent sound for the average consumer. My wallet is a average consumer