Smokin Joe

I am installing a Kenwood DNN990HD in my 2000 C5. (and XM V200).

I am replacing a Pioneer AVH-P6600DVD, Avic-88DVD (nav), GEX-P920 XM.

I have a complete custom system.

The Amp is a JL Audio 5/500, the sub is a 10" JL Audio sub box. The rear speakers are Kenwood 6" mids, and I forget the front speakers, but they are probably the equivalent Kenwood speakers for the front.

I have two issues. First, the sub is not hitting hard at all. I haven't tuned it for the new head unit yet, but there isn't much volume coming out of it, even when I turn the sub volume up high. I tested the input voltage for the front, rear, and sub inputs and they are the same. Is it as simple as re-tuning my system to get it back on track?
I have some good how-to instructions from Crutchfield on tuning the speakers and amp.

Second question. Is there someway to get the display to dim, when I dim the interior light switch? I tried connecting the illum wire to the "dimmer" wire on my wiring harness adapter, but it did not dim with the lights.

I bought the head unit from Dennis at DDMods and I know he would talk me through troubleshooting it. I wanted to ask here to see if I could figure it out before calling. I know he is busy.

Thanks in advance.

I can post excerpts from the instruction manuals if people need the specs on the different units.

0Double D Mods

call me
LOL
Dennis

markcz

Dennis prob fixed it, but....

Connect the orange HU dimmer wire to the gray/black wire under the TC/AH button, that will make dimmer work.

For sub, assuming it's wired correctly, it's prob a setup issue.

Smokin Joe

Thanks. I reset l the levels on the sub and will try setting it up from scratch tonight. I forgot to ask Dennis about the dimming. Thanks for the answer.

spdkilz911

This is what Dennis told me

Smokin Joe

Ok, on a 2000 vette, the wire is not gray/black. It's brown/white, next to the solid orange (power) wire. I tried to use a tap, but it didn't work. I'll cut and splice in to see if that works.

Now...how the hell do I download the update? Kenwood's owner's manual is crap.

Also, I have my songs on an SD card, I auto labeled all my classic rock songs to play under the "album" title classic rock, but the HU separates "albums" by artist AND by Album. So I have like 60 "classic rock" albums, all with the same logo. How do I organize the music...playlists? folders? albums?

Thanks!

0Double D Mods

Smokin Joe

Ok, I found the 1.5 update on Kenwood's site and am downloading it to an SD card where I store my music. I'll update from the SD card.

I hope it doesn't screw up the Bluetooth function, since that seems to work fine and I've heard problems with Bluetooth after 1.4.

Smokin Joe

Thanks Dennis. I found it right after I posted. You must have your account set to page you for your threads!!! That response was fast!

My HVAC doesn't look like the one in your instructions. I have the manual AC.

There is a tan color wire. I'll check the service manual for a dimming function wire.

Smokin Joe

Just checked the Service Manual. The yellow wire (pin J) on the connector on the right (12 pins).

Smokin Joe

Hmmm. Well that didn't work. The unit starts out like 10% dimmer. It doesn't do anything as you turn the dimmer dial down. When you get to the end of the dial, and turn the lights off, the display on the HU goes to 100% bright.

markcz

IIRC, with the manual HVAC controls you'll need to tap the dimmer wire under the dash.

Smokin Joe

Thank you sir. That was it. L pin on the C209 connector under the steering column. I got the exact location from one of your previous posts.

I also read some of your posts which indicate the aftermarket HU is looking for 12v on or off, not really a dimming "voltage."

Too bad for Kenwood though. I actually drive with my interior lights completely blacked out on dark nights on the highway, with the hud dimmed really low. It's one of my favorite features on the car...to dim to complete darkness. No other car I've ever owned did that.

It is what it is so to speak.

Thank you for your help though. Without this forum, nothing would work on my car.

Smokin Joe

Who wants to teach me about the need (or no need) for crossovers, when my HU and amp have frequency filters.

The driver door speakers (midrange) and the tweeters are run off the same cross over.

each door has its own crossover.

My amp is a JL Audio 5/500 and I'd like to get rid of the crossovers.

Thanks!

0Double D Mods

press and hold the MENU icon on lower left of the screen to get into the adjustments for the dimming

markcz

Speakers can only play certain frequency ranges or they'll distort and die a painfull death after a short life, so you have to have a crossover somewhere, either before the amp or after.

A line-level crossover before the amp will split the freq as needed, but will require a separate amp channel for each speaker (stereo components need 4 channels).

If you have components with their own crossover, you can feed the full signal to just two amp channels, and then the crossover does the splitting on the speaker level signal.

spdkilz911

Thanks Dennis. I was getting ready to look this up. The Kenwood is awesome