Dude where were you when I used to install stereos in my cars ?RU-vid is amazing then again that was 30 years ago ! Great video ,guys don’t go cheap get all the necessary parts and components other wise you will be spending thousand on repairing your cars electrical system!
You’re welcome, it’s nice to have people who take pride in Their installs When I was 18 I spent many hours installing speakers tweeters and mids it was the 90s and everyone had cerwin vega’s like 4 to 6 of them in their mini trucks . I always idolized them . Great install nice box and amp.
If anyone is doing this with Mark Levison system you use the same wires as he did for the line output converter but the remote wire is different. If you look at the amp for the ML system you see there is a separate connector with 3 wires for the power ground and remote. You tap into the smallest wire on that amp for your remote. I verified this first with a multimeter and obviously by testing it with my sub amp when the infotainment is on/off
Thank you so muich !!! I have 2017 is350 with ML system and I was so confuse for a sec but this help so much now I can finally install my signal remote wire
I have a ML system, and im in the middle of adding a sub. Why can't we just disconnect the factory sub and tap into there for the LOC? why does it have to be before it goes into the factory amp?Im really confused about this part.
I rarely drop a comment and I read and read and your video made me confident enough. It's perfect I just added the lc2i pro and to reiterate anyone having issues at high volume you are tapping into the wrong wires.
Yoooo, this makes me feel good. Thanks for coming back for feedback! Glad you were able to do it, it feels so much better tackling it yourself! Thanks Jordan
Just put 12" sub in my 16" is300....had it for 3 hours and it blew. Thinking do I need a lc2i and the shop told me it won't make a difference....said I can't turn it all the way up because of distortion....I wanna turn it up! What do I need to do?
Just put 12" sub in my 16" is300....had it for 3 hours and it blew. Thinking do I need a lc2i and the shop told me it won't make a difference....said I can't turn it all the way up because of distortion....I wanna turn it up! What do I need to do?
The factory amp has a vent next to it and over time moist gets in and apparently corrodes the amp lol sucks man but many Lexus cars have that issue over time due to moist and to replace the amp is expensive bro
Wow thank you Kenny for always posting well-narrated and filmed videos dude! I’m way less scared to work on my IS seeing how many things that you’re able to do alone. Love seeing the evolution of your IS man!
For anyone else, this also works for 2021+ IS 350. The colors are Lavender+ with a stripe. On the factory amp, Blue stripe is the same as the blue cable this guy mentioned and the gray stripe is the gray cable this guy used
thank you for the wiring diagram i was having trouble finding that! one of the channels (left rear) on my OEM amp has static on it, i used your diagram to swap the wires with another speaker and found it has same issue so must be the amp! very sad about that but glad i didnt waste time changing the speaker.
You really should have more subscribers... Your videos are always informative and your car is clean as hell! I have a lot more confidence becausev of the video to do my sub install now. I've had all the pieces for the install for a couple of months. The amp wiring really helped👍
You gunna make me cry :’) I really appreciate you for this comment. Thank you 🙏🏼 honestly I had trouble finding what to wire to on the amp so I just made this cause it’s easier to learn visually than just someone saying something through text.
I just finished my subwoofer install because of your tutorial!! One question,I don't have the Mark Levinson so the remote wire isn't the same. I used the power outlet fuse location for the remote. Is that a constant power or will it turn off when the car is off?
@@bratton86 I don’t have Mark Levinson either...if it’s not the same you can do the fuse like you said I would find the 12v cig outlet fuse since that turns on when the car is on and of when car is off
Lexus makes it a pain to use any aftermarket electronics or high output alternators. I've completely removed my factory set up and head unit, and have dumped a lot of money into the setup. Liked the video, shows anybody can add more depth to their audio set ups. Sick ride, wonder if you went bigger and badder lol. It all starts with adding a subwoofer i swear.
Wow, what timing. I am getting ready to do the same on my 2017 350 IS AWD (Non ML). JL Audio amp and 10" Also using an AudioControl LC2 Pro.. I have been searching for the wiring diagram.. Found it :O)
Great video man! I was gonna put a JL sub in my wife’s IS250, but I didn’t know how those taps work for the factory amp, or what a line converter is. Lol! You gave me hope to give it a shot!
Great info.... took my to a stereo shop and did a shitty job... didnt caught it till a year later when doing other wiring so disconnected everything 👍🤙
Thank you! For my wheels I had 20mm spacers. They came with studs so I didn't have to modify the stock ones. For my tires (indy500) it didn't rub because the tire wall is flat, but if you have the stock tires they stick out past the face of the wheel so it will rub with 20mm. I recommend 15mm if you have that type of tire (dunlop, continental, michelin)
Dude, I think you just help me figure out some of my worries. I'm a little more complicated but same car... sticking with the factory head unit but installing JL13W7 with a JL750HD mono which should would work with this video... but I also have 4 JLC5's and tweeters and a JL600HD 4 channel and was looking at an Audiocontrol LC7I to convert. I'm hoping after watching this video, I will bypass the sub and door speakers from the factory amp without doing anything in the dashboard or with the factory head unit. What do you think?
I just got the same amp went to hook it up from wires of my last amp that was taped behind the factory stereo and all my door speakers power got like cut in half and no bass. Was wondering what to do now and your video just saved me lol. Thinking the factory amp had something to do with it and seems yours is working just fine so ill just tape into there since I'm putting the amp in the trunk anyways.
Hi Kenny, he Rockford R500X1D amp has also high-level inputs to avoid using the line out converter. Is there any reason why you didn't use that input instead of the converter? I'm trying to make a similar installation and i wondering why. Another question: why didn't you diconnect the stock subwoofer? i think it may cause interferences with the new one.
Hey dude, the best video I've come across so far. I wanted to know where did you ground the amp as it wasn't shown clearly. Did you ground it to the cars amp holder? Also there is a battery in the boot on the left hand side (well this is in mine, UK 2017 is300h premier). How comes you didn't use that battery?
Hey thanks! I grounded it to an existing ground on the right side panel. The boot on my left hand side is empty, I know other people put their amps in the other side but yeah mine only has 1 battery at the front. That is very convenient for you though don’t have to go through the fire wall lol
I know this video is 3 years old but do you think the wiring is the same for an is250 non f-sport non ML i cant find anything about the is250(2014) speaker wiring thx for the help.
Great video! Question for you. I noticed that my remote wire location is different from yours. I don't have that small brown wire to tap into. There are only 3 wires in this order. (Thicker black wire, skinny white wire, thicker black wire). Which one should I tap into? I noticed that your factory amp had a "L" on the side. My amp has a "W" on the side instead.
@@johnhernandez9004 I’m not sure if the ml stock amp. In regards to the wires, I followed the instructions on the video for the LOC t-taps to the amp. The positive and negative subwoofers are the same as in the diagram. The remote wire was different. It’s the skinny white wire.
Thanks for posting this. I would like to replace the lexus amp for one that just the the same job, no subs on mine. I'm trying to overcome the classic problem with the standard amp Did you rig this amp to the other speakers? What output were the door speakers etc? How did you know how big of an amp to use please?
My aftermarket amp is just used to power my subs so i matched the wattage to the sub wattage or around. Ive had more powerful set ups previously in my old car but it would drain the alternator so i stay 300-400 watts now
Hey, my brother has an ISF 350 ‘15. And it has the premium mark levinson sound system. However, we find it, or at least I find it not as powerful when it comes to the bass, specially when playing music and you get out of the car, the bass is almost non existent even tho indoors sounds decent. Does this simple subwoofer upgrade you did pairing it with the default audio system helped bring out those bass notes better and louder outside the car? Does it make the car’s trunk vibrate too much or you can graduate the bass level to a point where you still get decent punchy bass without too much car vibrations? Do you have the default car woofers OFF and only using this new one you installed with the rest of the OEM tweeters, etc? I apologize for all the questions together, just trying to find out information to see if it’s worth it for my brother to make a similar upgrade like you did here. Thanks in advance, car looks great btw. Same color as my brother’s, lol. 😄
Hey there! With the sub it definitely is louder on the outside of the car it hits pretty hard, this is only 500watts so it won’t rattle the trunk much. It’s really just my license plate frame that rattles but you can fine tune the amp with the eq adjustments on it to your taste. I have the stock woofer on still didn’t disconnect any of them (door, rear, stock sub etc.). No worries about the questions I hope I answered all of them and thank you!
I have a 1200 watt kicker amp paired to a 12” kicker l7 q class and the only thing that rattles is the license plate. Simple fix was to put a piece of butyl tape around the license plate and it will take it away. Other than that Lexus has pretty damn good sound proofing in their vehicles. I had this sub in 2 different cars a honda civic and a acura integra where everything rattle even the windshield and they had dynamat installed. I experienced no rattle once I addressed the license plate issue.
First off, thank you so much for the informational video! Could you use the 12v remote output from the LOC to turn on the amp instead of tapping a wire from the OEM amp? Edit: In this case the blue wire from the Scosche LOC?
My mark levinson amp took a dumb and none of my speakers work at all... i wonder if I can run an after market amp to play my speakers instead or having to spend 1850 for a NEW factory amp
What's up , ok so you can tap into the factory amp when installing a aftermarket amp and sub ? Bro you need to let me know the ins and outs of this setup please 🙏 I'm Installing on a lexus rc BTW. And how do you connect it all to the radio ? Fort worth 🇨🇱
Its shown all in the video step by step..Since the amp is in the trunk theres no need to go up to the radio like older cars everything is done in the trunk aside from battery connection.👍🏼
Hey thank you! I just left it as is since it is a hard spot to get to. Me saying sealing it off meant trying to position the grommet back into its original location and hugging the wire the best it can and so far there has been no issues
I was told to get a Bass restoration line out converter (LC2I Pro) because apparently the bass turns down as you turn up the volume. Did you have this issue at all? If not id just buy the one you got instead of the lc2i pro which is $130 Great video by the way definitely helped with the amp diagram! I suscribed to your channel! Also Nice Car!
That’s a real good converter, mine doesn’t cut in and out when I turn it up. Honestly I think it does that for people cause they tap the door speakers which sends more audio signals, but no issues for me lowest volume to as much as my ears can handle lol
Hey bro I was thinking of buying a non-ML IS350 and I was wondering how the sound quality is? Is the bass good with the standard system? Does it sound “clean” and “solid”? Thanks for ur help bro
Without a sub it has no bass on a non ML. The door speakers on a ML sound wonderful. Non ML sounds decent stock with settings bumped up but you notice that it is lacking quality and isn't crisp to me. I wouldn't say that stock sounds clean and solid, it could've been better out the door. I know some people have problems with their ML sub going out but even it blown out sounds better than stock non ML lollll. Maybe sometime I will change out my door speakers but it doesn't bother me too much right now. I'd recommend you to go to a dealer with both ML and non ML and test it out. Hopefully that gave you a better insight, good luck with your purchase!
@@KennyVo thank you bro this helps out a lot. I’ve been trying to find some comparisons online but there’s nothing out there. It’s so hard to find ML 350s in my area I hate it. But anyways I am planning on testing both of them out at a dealer!
@@rzxc100 Awesome! I'm sure you've already tried this but if not, cars app and autotrader app are pretty helpful when trying to find ML 350s in specific area. I know some dealers don't list ML so you just really have to look at the center console for branding or at the volume and tune knobs. non ML has brushed silver nice looking knobs and ML has flat white knobs that don't look appealing IMO lol...and a little heads up, if you end up with ML and not liking the knobs they're interchangeable with non ML knobs.
Hey Kenny, a bit of help brotha. I have the exact same model/year and the only difference is our small wire harness on the factory amp. Mine is just 2 solid black wires and a very thin white one. Any other locations you might know of where I can connect my Remote wire too? T.I.A
I appreciate it Brandon, I believe it is the same for the 15 RC's. I found this guide online and it lists on the right side "compatible models" and your car is there. pinoutguide.com/Car-Stereo-Toyota-Lexus/Lexus_IS200T_IS250_IS300__pinout.shtml
Hey bro, I got to the part for the remote wire but I don’t have the little brown wire like your car does. I have a 2015 is250. I just have 2 thick black wires and a white wire on that small pin on the back on the cars OEM amp. What can I tap into since I don’t have a brown wire there like you? Thanks!
I ordered the same LOC but it says to connect it to power and to ground it. Was curious as to why you didn’t have too? Also, why not connect the remote cable from amp straight to LOC instead of having to tap into factory amp?
LOC just grabs speaker signals and converts it to the RCA cables. The remote cable isn't connected to the LOC because remote tells when the amp should turn on and off, therefore it needs to be connected to factory amp wire with voltage that turns on when the car is on and shuts off when the car is off. If you wire it the way you are saying, it will always stay on.
Just upgraded to a 200t recently and have been wanting to throw my aftermarket sub and amp from my Fusion into it. Does your stock woofer still get power? I only want my aftermarket one to work and “disable” the factory woofer to get cleaner bass out of it. Thanks! Love your videos too! Texas IS gang 💪
For my set up I still have the stock woofer hooked up. If you want just the aftermarket one on, you can just unplug the stock woofers terminals, I believe the are accessible through the trunk directly underneath the stock woofer. I haven't really looked directly in that area but other cars I have messed with were just exposed there lol. Thanks very much and yes Texas strong!
Hey thanks! yes it can be done to all IS's. I am not sure if the amp is the same on the previous generations but if you find the wiring diagram online and find the positive and negative locations for the stock subwoofer are different than mine just use the one you found and the rest of the install is pretty much the same.
Correct! This is because our door speakers and stock sub lines go to the amp so it’s cleaner to do it all there. Only one going up is the positive power line and a bass controller if you want it.
No worries! the screen is a 10.25" android unit made for this vehicle that supports apple carplay. I have two versions of the screen shown on my channel also. (wired carplay and wireless)
Yo bro! quick question, my speakers and amp were blown out. no music, no nothing. Lexus is charging my 3k for this and some other guy is charging 850... I was wondering would I be able to use the methods you did in this video on my car. Would it work? or will i have to have ALREADY working amps and speakers.
What I did just adds a sub for bass. You wouldn't really hear any music. You need to change out your amp and speakers to do what I did. You can probably find a used amp off ebay or junk yard and swap it yourself, its plug and play, from there you can run your music to see which speakers are blown or working fine.
Just subbed! I thought I saw this comment before, but I can’t find it, nor a solution. I followed your video, step by step, got it all sorted in my 17 is200t. But when I finished testing it and it sounding amazing after 6 hours of installation, I found my radio would not turn off. The stock head unit would still be on, I’d exit the car and it would beep 3 times and I could no longer lock/unlock the car with the key fob. Strange. Only solution was to remove the fused power cable to my amp from the battery. Any thoughts? (I did tap into the same brown remote wire)
Question my remote wire and other cables are not the same as yours. Its two bigger ones instead of more colored cables. Got the subwoofer wires all tapped just need the remote cable. Any idea which one I would need to tap into? It's a 2015 is 350 fsport
on that plug with the 2 big ones is there one more in the middle? i heard people tapping to that one. if not others have tapped to the fuse box cig fuse
How did you open that trim in between the seat and door? I have a UK hybrid version and a hybrid filter is located there, but a video shows that is should be done from the boot (trunk)
I have 2 kicker 10's wired in series, did everything you did in the video. and when i barely turn the bass volume knob up, it gets extremely louder with like a centimeter of a turn. how do i fix this?
i am thinking it's because at 4:50 when you twisted both the 2 positives and 2 negatives, maybe i just needed to use only one positive and one negative wire? im using a 2 channel amp but only using 1 channel since the subs are wired in series. would that have caused the issue?
I'm struggling man, I got everything hooked up and the sub works. But for some reason when I put the sub deeper in the trunk, it stats to buzz more and more, not following the beat of the music?
NICE!! GOOD S**T!!! Hey, i gotta question. The place where you insert the FOG LIGHT, is it easy to remove the 'black piece/cover'? Can it be popped out by using a wedge tool or do I need to go behind the wheel well? Thanks.
You have to go behind the wheel well. You can also go from directly underneath the car popping the corners of the under tray/splash guard off to get access too
Someone in the comments said they have ML and everything is the same except for the remote power line, its on a pin with 3 wires and tapped into the smallest/skinniest wire
So if you’re not using t taps can you just tape the converter channel wire to the subwoofer and the other grey wire or you gotta tape them and put them back?
Hey, I got it off Club Lexus forum. If your connector has 3 wires others said that it is the skinny white wire of the 3 wires on that connector. Hope this helps!!
@@KennyVo thank you bro I was looking all over the forums but I couldn’t find my connecter that has the two black wires with the white one in the middle.
i think my subwoofer burned out and i need a new one, how do i get in there though is what i am trying to find out to make sure i get a right replacement because i feel no base anymore 😢
its right behind the head rest of the rear seats and if you go in the trunk you can see it above also. I would play some music and sit back there to see if it is distorted. Did you change your equalizer settings to adjust the bass?
Nice clean install. I couldnt tackle this job so I had this done at a shop for my sub. 12" alpine type r. Except I noticed that my amp is always powered on even when the car is off. Thats a problem because like you said, it drains my battery. And I connected my starlights to the amp so I wouldn't have to have wires everywhere.
Thanks man! Nice one of my friends has that sub and it sounds great. Have you gotten the power on fixed yet? I know some people do a fuse add on from the fuse box at the 12v/cig port fuse.
@@KennyVo since the shop did mine im thinking about going back to them to fix that wiring because I wouldn't trust myself. I don't know the first thing about crimping, soldering, fuses and what not. Like adding the fuse add from the fuse box lol
Hello, I have a broken amp (stock). Will installing an aftermarket one the way you did solve the problem? Thank you in advance. Greetings from the Netherlands (Europe)
Yes same install, except for the remote wire. Theres going to be 3 wire connectors in your amp and you will choose the one with 3 wires on the connector and tap the thinnest one for the remote wire. This is from others in the comments with Mark Levinson
Do you have the oem speakers on the car? If so how are they holding up with the new amp and sub? I have a 2016 IS non ML and want to upgrade my sound system
Yeah I have all the same speakers throughout the car. It sounds fine to me paired together, all I was aiming for was more bass and that's exactly what I got lol.
@@KennyVo Nice. Have you tried looking for aftermarket speakers? I’ve had a lot of difficulty finding speakers for the front doors that fit. I’d like to replace all the speakers.
Do u need the stock amplifier to run all the speakers because my stock amplifier is shocked and im not getting no sound so i can run a aftermarket amplifier or do i have get another stock amp?
the stock one is where all the door speakers run to so you need a stock one. if you go aftermarket itll probably cost way more because of changing the harness and figuring out what each pin/wire is specific to.
@@NateWxrld Remote wire tells the aftermarket amp when to turn on and off. Do you have the Mark Levinson system? Others have said theres a pin connector on the amp with 3 wires, and to tap the smallest wire on there for your remote.
Hey, it is the same procedure! I read on a forum that the the ES uses the same pin numbers (6 & 21) to grab audio and the power is the same. I am not entirely sure on the remote wire on the amp but its most likely going to be the smallest wire on the pin again. Here is the forum I checked out for the ES. Someone at the end of the thread has nice info and pictures listed. www.clublexus.com/forums/es-6th-gen-2013-2018/803908-2015-es350-subwoofer-install-w-pics-3.html
