Questions about adding an Amp and Speakers to Advent OGM1 Radio

[wtbrowne]

I have an Advent OGM-1 radio in a 2008 2500HD without the Bose System. I'm adding a Kicker IX500.4 amplifier and Focal (4 ohm) component speakers. The amp will be delivered today - the speakers are in but not yet wired. I thought I'd better ask a few questions before I damaged something. I planned on using the RCA outs from the wiring harness included with the OGM-1 to the low level inputs to the amp but I'm not sure that's correct. The amp can be switched between low level and high level inputs, so it should work in either case.

 

Questions: are the RCA outs on the wiring harness low level or high level outputs? Will using the RCA outs damage anything. I think these outputs were intended for use in the Bose Systems, but they should work for the amp inputs; however, I'm not 100 percents sure about this. Any thoughts on this will be greatly appreciated.

[lilJohn]

Rca`s are low level. you are correct in the thinking of using the harness that came with the OGM-1. also when you do your install consider runnning new speaker wire. (16g-12g)

Also if you run two sets of rca`s you can maintain your front and rear seperation.

[wtbrowne]

Great! Thanks for confirming my assumptions. I ran new wire to the front speakers but found that it's nearly impossible to get a wire through to the rears. I think I'll splice into the rear speaker wires at the door pillar just before they go into the rubber boot and use the factory wires from there to the speakers, not many other choices at that location. I'm running a 50 watt per channel amp, so the factory wires should be fine in this case. The amp arrived yesterday and I have it mounted on the rear cab wall. I was going to run the power wire through the firewall into the cab using an existing grommet but there wasn't enough room for the 4 gauge wire, so I'll be working on that project today.

[aesalazar]

I did as you with the OGM and ran RCAs to the amp. Works great. Just make sure you spend a little extra and get quality RCAs with good shielding. Since they are low level they are much more susceptible to interference like alternator wine and such. When you run it try to keep it as far away from other wiring as possible. I run it down the right side of the "hump" in the middle (passenger side) which didnt have much going on there and allowed for the shortest run. I also ran all new wiring for the fronts but didnt bother with rear speakers.

 

I should mention that i gutted the interior including the carpet to do the install which made things much easier. I was also able to dynamat the entire floor which made a huge difference in reducing road noise.

 

Ernie

[wtbrowne]

Everything is in and it's working! I was pleasantly surprised when I finally switched the unit on for the first time and everything worked. I was prepared to do some troubleshooting just in case - but it all worked. The improvement in sound quality is everything I hoped for. The wiring was a complete kit from Kicker and high quality. I bought a Kicker IX500.4 amp and they add an extra year onto the warranty if you also buy the wiring kit. I had everything out but the carpet and my wife was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get it back together. Took much longer than I thought it would but no one will now the difference in ten years.