# Wiring an amp inline with an RNS-315



## [ /dev/null ] (Nov 29, 2010)

I'm the lucky owner of a 2013 tiguan which has the most terrible audio system available (no dynaudio or fender avail on that year). So, I'm going to attempt to make things right by installing an amp inline with upgraded door speakers. I'm searching for a harness that would allow me to connect the amp in-line with theRSN315 and the speakers without having to cut. Does such a thing exist? Better yet, is there an easier way to do this?


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## bubbazanetti (Apr 11, 2014)

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5517869-External-Amp-Sub-in-MKVI-Golf-TDI-w-Dynaudio

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6907544-RNS-315-RADIO-Pin-assignments

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6088193-Upgrade-Headunit-or-install-Helix-amp

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3688498-Install-Subwoofer-and-Amp-with-Factory-Stereo

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...-wagon-audio-upgrades&p=80851563#post80851563




http://enfigcarstereo.com/RADIO_VW_JETTA_06.html



specifically


http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_AAI4_VW12.html


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## [ /dev/null ] (Nov 29, 2010)

Awesome, this is exactly what I need

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amplifier-A...2|Make:Volkswagen&hash=item5ae86c3b1a&vxp=mtr

Thanks!


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## [ /dev/null ] (Nov 29, 2010)

I installed my amp and components this week and everything is working great except for my amp remote turn-on wire. I tapped into the 12v auxiliary plug, however, that line is staying at 8 volts when the when the ignition is off for some reason. Has anyone ever run into that? I'm looking for another 12v ignition source now as my amp wont turn off with that 8 volts being sent to it..


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## [ /dev/null ] (Nov 29, 2010)

Turns out the aux source is dropping to zero after about 10-15 minutes. Does this seem normal? I'm also getting a "pop.. pop pop pop" through the amp when the car "wakes up" by either unlocking the doors or turning on the ignition. I'm guessing once I get the remote wire working there will be enough delay to keep that sound from coming through the amp.


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## [ /dev/null ] (Nov 29, 2010)

I found another key-on power source in the inside fuse panel. Interestingly 3 or 4 of the key-on sources had 8v on them with the key off and only one did not.. :screwy: All is well now!


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## [ /dev/null ] (Nov 29, 2010)

Just an update to my setup. I ended up going with a JL clean sweep and XD400 amp feeding kicker 6.5" components. After tuning the cleansweep and the input sensitivity on the XD - holy S the system sounds good now. It's better than any OEM system I've ever heard. I lost fader capability from the RNS but the EQ still works fine. I'm able to control the front/rear fade with the amp input sensitivity controls anyway. The only weird thing I noticed was the right front channel showed 10v RMS while the other channels showed 17.4 volts while tuning the amp inputs. The voltages feeding the amp as well as the wiring resistance all seem normal so it might be something screwy with the amp. :what: I'll have to give JL a call on that one. 

The only other thing I might do is add a small subwoofer in the back for a little more bass and an in-dash EQ for fine tuning. Other than that I'm very pleased with the setup and the fact that it was completely plug and play - no cut wires!


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## poochieone (Mar 19, 2005)

Gents, 
I'm going to jump into this thread. I have a 2012 passat w/fender sound system/nav. I want to add a full bad ass (more on that later) system with an alpine H800 as the processor. I'll need to keep the Oem RNS510 unit. From my research, I'll need to get the enfig. AAI4 VW12 (don't need the loc) and feed it directly to the alpine's high level inputs. I will then need to use VAG COM to change the eom settings on the RNS510 to 'no amplifier' so that the processing will be done in the head unit versus the oem amp. Is that correct? If so, do I disconnect the wiring to the oem amp? Would I be able to remove the oem amp altogether?
I appreciate any input.
Marco


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## CedarburgTDI (Jul 14, 2014)

I made some upgrades to my RNS-315 in August of 2013. I have a 2011 Jetta TDI Sedan

I replaced the four speakers in the doors with JBL GTO-628’s (rated at 60w RMS), added an amplifier to drive these 4 speakers and also add a 10” Rockford Fosgate P2D4-10 Subwoofer rated at 500W RMS, and a mono block amplifier to drive the sub.



















I wanted to utilize amplifiers that accepted speaker level input, and because I was on a budget I settled on a Kenwood 8105d and a Kenwood KAC-8405. These both have relatively positive reviews and are available many places online. The 2 amps essentially have an identical appearance as well so that was nice for esthetics. These units eliminated the need for line level converters.










Amps are mounted on the underside of the deck lid. I was not concerned with mounting them upside down either, as the 4 channel amp is fan cooled and the mono block amp runs very cool. I located 2 spaces, side-by-side to mount the amps as shown.




























The amps are attached to ¾” thick plywood (painted black) and attached to the underside of the deck lid with ¾” aluminum angle that I attached to the plywood. The mounting locations do not interfere with the trunk light or seat back release cables at all. I used threaded T-nuts in the plywood that corresponded to the 4 mounting holes provided on each amplifier, and then used several 3/16” pop rivets to fasten the assemblies to the deck lid through the ¾” aluminum angle.

I ran 4GA primary power wire from the battery box to the trunk. This cable runs along the driver’s side rocker panel and is covered up by the plastic door sill trims and carpeting (you do need to remove the sill covers to do this. Signal/speaker wires went into the passenger side door sill/rocker panel area on my install.



















In the trunk the 4GA power wire terminates at a gold plated, insulated power distribution block that connects with the 2 amplifiers. Ground and power connections were made with 8GA wire as shown. The Kenwood amps use an auto turn-on feature that powers up the amps on when a high-level input (speaker level input is sensed). This feature works perfect with zero turn-on pop.

I was able to remove all 4 door panels for access to the factory speakers without scratching any plastic, breaking any clips or damaging anything. The factory speakers are riveted in place and need to be drilled out. I did this and then mounted Metra brand speaker spacers in place of the factory door speakers and then mounted my new JBL’s to the spacers. I used the spacers to make sure as much sound as possible made it into the cabin without bleeding in behind the door panel.










To make the speaker connection I did cut off the factory VW speaker connector and soldered and heat shrunk the factory speaker lead to the new speaker terminals. This was the only cutting of the factory wire harness that I had to do. I did have to trim a bit of plastic molding flashing on the backsides of the door panels to clear the rubber speaker surrounds, if you don’t the speaker surround may touch the door panel when mounted and may cause the voice coil to rub on the magnet and kill your speaker.

After putting the door panels back on, I ran wires for the signal to the amplifiers from the head unit and from and the amplifier-output to the new speakers. I used 9-condcutor Speedwire. Basically its 9 individual conductors inside one 3/8” cable jacket. I ran 2 lengths of this Speedwire from the trunk decklid to the cavity behind the head unit. It is a similar process of removing plastic trim to gain access to the rocker panel/door sill cavity on the passenger side of the car. You do need to remove the glove box to fish the wires behind the head unit. In the trunk, both sets of speedwire cable terminate onto terminal strips for connection to the corresponding posts of each amplifier.

To make final connection to the amps and speakers I needed a wire harness that I could insert so I wouldn't have to cut any factory wiring at the head unit. I used a 40-pin VW compatible Quadlock stereo extension harness to plug in between my head unit and factory wiring harness. With this $20 part, I was able to cut the speaker wires (all 8 of them) on the Quadlock extension harness and solder them into the corresponding conductors in the Speedwire.










I made my connections such that the speaker wires coming out of the head unit solder onto the Speedwire conductors feeding the high-level input on the amps and the other Speedwire cable that is connected to the amplifier outputs has its conductors soldered onto the Quadlock harness wires that go off and connect with the door speakers. This arrangement inserts the amplifier in between the head unit and the speakers and preserves the integrity of the factory wire harness. It is most important that when you pull the head unit, to have the battery disconnected, otherwise you will trigger an AirBag idiot light on your dash. You have to disconnect an airbag light at the head unit bezel to remove it. If you do this with the battery connected, the car thinks the airbag light is burned out and will trigger a warning light on the dash that you will need to clear at a dealer or with a VCDS dongle. The warning light will not self-clear.

The last step I chose to take was to disconnect the factory tweeters mounted in the A-pillars. This required carefully removing the A-pillar covers, disconnecting the tweeters and replacing the covers. I did this because I didn’t know what the factory tweeters would sound like when being supplied by my new amplifier. I didn’t want them to sound like crap and I didn’t want to blow them either. I will say that the A-pillar covers were the most memorable part of the disassembly. They are kind of tricky to remove in that you don’t get much indication that you are pulling on them correctly until they finally move and release. They are a very snug tight fit and there are airbags right underneath them. That said, they came off just fine for me, and reinstalled just fine as well.

All in all I couldn’t be happier with my budget install. Mostly because it was my first ever car audio project (I’m 35 and have never messed with car stereos before). My daily commute is all highway, 33 miles one way and I was sick of not being able to hear my ipod tunes loud and clear with all the windows down and the moon roof open at freeway speed. I have gains set so that a volume setting of 20 on the head unit will be my normal maximum. Also, having never owned a car with a real subwoofer, I was blown away with the sound it produces. All told, I am into this upgrade for $545 and have a 740W RMS system that sounds nicer than the Fender option unit and keeps the factory head unit. I even got compliments from a service writer and tech at my local dealership where I get regular service done.

The only quirk of this system, is that when you place a high-level speaker amplifier downstream of the RNS315, RCD510 or RNS510 head unit instead of a 4 ohm, speaker, the head unit thinks that a speaker is disconnected or blown. As such it reacts by removing the fader function from your head unit display under the audio options or setup menu. I can live with that, because I never use the fader anyway. I always keep it centered. The balance option still shows up in the menus. A simple work around to fix this problem is detailed here and only costs a couple bux.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topi...fix/?&p=2168312&hl=fader+control&fromsearch=1 


eBay
KAC-8405 4-Way Amp 300W RMS. $75.00

eBay
KAC8105d Mono-block Amp 500W RMS. $76.00

eBay
Fully Populated Quadlock Connector $20.00

eBay
40' 9-conductor Speedwire. $42.00

eBay
20' 4-AWG Primary Power Wire. $21.50

eBay
Battery lead with 120A AGU fuse $8.95

eBay
JBL GT0-628 Speakers (4). $115.00

Walmart
10" Sealed Sub Enclosure. $29.99

Amazon
10" Rockford Fosgate Subwoofer 500W RMS. $100.00

eBay
5' 8-AWG Primary Wire (Red). $3.95

eBay
5' 8-AWG Primary Wire (Black). $3.95

eBay
Power Distribution Block 4-AWG In 8-AWG Out. $5.50

Menards
3/4" Aluminum Angle (5' Length. $6.00

Menards
3/4" Plywood Remannt. $0.00

Menards
Rivets (Assorted Sizes). $2.50

eBay
(2) 8 Postion Terminal Blocks. $7.50

eBay
(1) 4 Position Terminal Block. $3.50

eBay
Terminal connectors For amplifier connections. $3.50

eBay
4-pack of 8-AWG Ring Terminals. $4.25

eBay
(4) 1" Metra Speaker Spacers. $16.00


Total Project Cost. $545.09


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## [ /dev/null ] (Nov 29, 2010)

CedarburgTDI said:


> I made some upgrades to my RNS-315 in August of 2013. I have a 2011 Jetta TDI Sedan


Wow, just noticed your reply to my thread.  Thanks for the very thorough explanation! The only thing I'm battling right now is equalization. The RNS315 I have really cuts the low frequency response. Is there a way to boost it up? I have installed a JL cleansweep but its still not getting much low frequency


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## CedarburgTDI (Jul 14, 2014)

I have my gains set so I hit the sweet volume spot with the volume dial on the rns315 set at 20 max.

I have the rns315 treble bass and midrange set to zero and I got pretty good low end by fine tuning the gain and bass boost settings on the mono block (subwoofer) amp. I couldn't be happier. 

I'm also not using a clean sweep, sound processor or line out converter. Lastly My amps have high level inputs so it's probably putting its own audio signature on the signal too.

I dunno, maybe I just plain lucked out?


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## ionic (Apr 16, 2007)

Very nice set up:thumbup:

I would love to hear it!


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## atoson (Dec 29, 2002)

sub


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