Bypassing the factory amp in the JBL system.

[cam2Xrunner]

If you have a camry/solara with the JBL system, then your car has an external amp that is mounted behind the glovebox. Not sure if this applies to the gen2 solara or not. If you want to install an aftermarket CD player you are going to want to bypass that amp and use the new CD players onboard amp.

This is very easy to do and doesn't require any special tools.

First thing I always do is disconnect the battery.

Removing the old headunit. To remove the factory headunit you will need to take out the ashtray as well as the ciggarette lighter. Once you have the ashtray out stick your hand in the spot where the ashtray was and pull hard on that. That will release the bottom part of the trim. Once that is detached you will resume detaching the trim by pulling it from the bottom and working your way up. It's pretty easy and you shouldn't have a problem. If you have an automatic it might be easier to put the shifter in low gear(parking brake on too)

Once you have the trim removed from the dash disconnect the power wires for the cig. lighter and set trim aside.

There will be four bolts holding in the brackets that the headunit is mounted to. They are 10mm if I recall correctly. You can also use a large phillips screwdriver but a 10mm socket and rachet is easier.

Once you have those four bolts taken out the headunit will come out. Remove the brackets on the side of the headunit using a phillips screwdriver. You will reuse these brackets for the new CD player and Din pocket.

On the back of the factory headunit there wil be two harnesses going into it as well as the antenna wire. Disconnect all of these.

Fortunately Toyota has prewired another harness that makes it very easy to bypass the factory amp.



The two connector's in the top right corner of the picture will be used instead of the wiring connected to the original reciever.

Use a scosche or metra wiring harness like this one.



http://www.cardomain.com/item/SCOTA02B?vq_id=none
and
http://www.cardomain.com/shop/item.pl?sku=SOUIECHUK

Match up the correct wires from the Scosche harness to the new CD players wires. Reconnect the antenna wire. And test the CD player to make sure it turns on when the key is put on ACC.

Attach the original headunit brackets to the new CD player and bolt it back into place. You can mount it on the top part of the Double Din opening or the bottom.

Toyota sells a nice pocket with a door to accomodate the open space.
IIRC it cost's about 20-30 bucks at the dealer.



Good luck, let me know if you got ?'s

[michaels artic frost]

If you have a camry/solara with the JBL system, then your car has an external amp that is mounted behind the glovebox. Not sure if this applies to the gen2 solara or not...

^^^Same scenario, Gen 2 premium JBL system w/ amp is located behind the glove box.^^^

cam2Xrunner,

Great job on the Tutorial bro!

-M

[bassthrive]

Props! Great tutorial. The tools at best buy and circuit city could really use a look at this. The actually expected me to pay big bucks for an "amp bypass" and a re-wire of the entire car, to which I responded with a big "f*** all that silent bob". Another great reason to DIY.

[TRAFFICBLOWS]

What's the Toyota part no. for the pocket with door for under the head unit??

[cam2Xrunner]

What's the Toyota part no. for the pocket with door for under the head unit??

I ordered mine from a corolla iirc. ANy of them that look like that should work, as long as it is a single din opening.

[JAYDEE23]

install went very easily but no sound from alpine hu..worked fine went removed from previous car

i am knowledgable about car audio so i know everything i did is done correctly however

no sound!

what is the small wire that is similar to the antenna lead from the car except smaller..could this have anything to do with my no sound problem?

as long as i use those other two clips illustrated above it should work right?

i have 2000 solara w/ jbl v6

[JAYDEE23]

i forgot my alpine amp was shut off..duh

anyway for those of you installing an alpine w/ the tilt face/fold down cd access be aware that you will not be able to fit the trim ring if you flush mount the stereo. it must stick out a considerable amount to get the trim ring on

also there are two tabs on the side of the hu that must be bent out toward you so they do not interfere w/ the dash going back into place correctly.

(not the metal cage,you will not use this unless you have a kit that requires it?)



that said the install i did w/ a scoshe (spelling??) kit looks fairly "finished" without the trim ring..those of you really looking for a "proffesional" or "show car" look may want to research first or have it done profesionally

also the internal alpine v-drive amps are considerably more powerful than the stock amp. and they also have the capacity to blow your stockers so use xovers if you have them..set around 100 for rear and front should allow a nice high volume..around 80 for more lowend/broader bass range but be careul w/ the volume..

that said...install is a breeze..

[Vampire]

I've been told that any 90's toyota pocket will work. And without the screws. There are more Toyota apps that will fit but I can't remember. It's late. I took the one out of my dad's 95 tacoma and it fit sweet. Like you found, the generic stuff fits like ... I actually wanted to take the pocket with the door cover from my mom's 96 Camry but she would've killed me. BTW, I went to Toyota to try and order it first but they wanted $40!! Try the junk yard. Gotta be tons of Camrys there.

I know that this topic has been dead for a while, but what is the stock # or where to order (or at least from which year Corolla)? I recently got an aftermarket stereo, but I'd like the covered pocket.

The one I found is a cheap snap-together that has a slight recess and makes thin stuff snag (e.g. a CD - bad habit, i know) where the "faceplate" meets the pocket portion, but at least it's better than the pocketless Metra install kit.

[zippy]

Great write up!

[LatinDragonXJC]

Can you still use the same 6 CD changer?....or do you need a special adapter with the addition of the aftermarket HU?

Because I want to transfer my Pioneer DEH p350 HU to my solara.

[avalon01]

since the JBL uses a external amp does that mean i couldnt just buy the JBL head unit from a wrecked avalon and use it to replace the stock unit?

I really like the factory headunit, changing station buttons respond very fast compared to aftermarket I've tested and, of course, it fits perfectly, where usually aftermarket looks like crap when put in, so I'd like to get a more powerful headunit that was designed for the car which is why i'm looking at the JBL system.

[OKANG]

Can you still use the same 6 CD changer?....or do you need a special adapter with the addition of the aftermarket HU?

Because I want to transfer my Pioneer DEH p350 HU to my solara.

I don't think there's an adapter that does that. Most of the ones I've seen are for adding an aftermarket changer to a stock head unit.

since the JBL uses a external amp does that mean i couldnt just buy the JBL head unit from a wrecked avalon and use it to replace the stock unit?

I really like the factory headunit, changing station buttons respond very fast compared to aftermarket I've tested and, of course, it fits perfectly, where usually aftermarket looks like crap when put in, so I'd like to get a more powerful headunit that was designed for the car which is why i'm looking at the JBL system.

If your Avalon didn't come with a JBL system, then I think you'd be wasting your time by doing such a swap unless you got the wiring harness and the amp. I'm not sure, but I think that's all you might need. The head units themselves could be identical. You'd have to grab the part number from yours and do some research. Either way, I think it'd be a lot of work.

[P Funky]

K, again, the topic's been dead for a while, but I'm planning to do an install of a Pioneer HU. The only part that really confused me about your tutorial is that business about the "Scosch" (spelling?) thing. What's all that about, do I need to buy anything extra other than what comes with the HU, and what really do I need to do with it? (Is there any weird splicing or anything that needs to be done?)

Thanks again, I should be doing it in the next few weeks.

[geminimouse]

K, again, the topic's been dead for a while, but I'm planning to do an install of a Pioneer HU. The only part that really confused me about your tutorial is that business about the "Scosch" (spelling?) thing. What's all that about, do I need to buy anything extra other than what comes with the HU, and what really do I need to do with it? (Is there any weird splicing or anything that needs to be done?)

Thanks again, I should be doing it in the next few weeks.

scosch is just a brand of wiring harnesses. u can go to best buy or something and ask them for a toyota wiring harness for ur headunit.