My adventures in F6B Audio Upgrade

[Papa Tater]

Wow and thanks again. I will give it a try this weekend.

[Jimmytee]

Wow and thanks again. I will give it a try this weekend.

No problem. I forgot to mention that I did not concern myself with the Mute function. This would have to be done outside of the PAC steering wheel adapter for a couple reasons.

One, the handlebar "Mute" button is not a momentary switch. I don't know if it were to be dissected, if it could be converted, but could just be Pandora's box to put it all back together.

Two, there isn't a Mute function to program into the PAC unit for the 8BB under the Clarion program list.

Now the way you could utilize the Mute button would be to interrupt the amplifier trigger signal that turns on the amplifier thus turning off the amp with the Mute button. This would in effect, mute the audio. According to the wiring diagram, though, the wiring for the mut button goes through a different wiring harness and terminates somewhere else. So one would have to either go to the switch, or find where the wires terminate at to wire them up. If the wires had terminated in the same bundle as the other wires, I would have gone the route of wiring up as I mentioned. As it is, it wasn't that important to me.

[Papa Tater]

Finally got some time yesterday to get back on this. Ran into problem bundled the harness and connections forward of the audio box, but I have the stock seat and have no room in between the bottom of the seat and upper rear fender. Just removed the stock audio box completely and turned 888b unit the connections facing to left side of the bike, allowing the factory wiring to come more to the rear. I see that you have a Corbin seat and I know another person was able to put a couple of small amps under there with a mustang seat, no way with the stock seat. Also haven't got the PAC yet, been reading up on the instructions with them and also with yours also. The big ??is which resistors did you put with those wires - and were they the ones supplied with the PAC unit? I'm good more with plug and play and fabrication, but when it comes to figuring that out is above myself even with your detailed instructions. That's my update so far and again thanks.

[Jimmytee]

I actually test fitted mine with the OEM seat as my Corbin was at the upholstery shop at the time. I did end up squeezing almost all the RCA connectors back into the box because there was not enough room for the seat otherwise like you said. But I got it to fit.
Yes the resistors come with the PAC unit. I think there should be a link to the online resistance calculator that is helpful in determining which resistor combinations work best. When you get it I can do my best to help you from this side of things.

[Papa Tater]

I actually test fitted mine with the OEM seat as my Corbin was at the upholstery shop at the time. I did end up squeezing almost all the RCA connectors back into the box because there was not enough room for the seat otherwise like you said. But I got it to fit.
Yes the resistors come with the PAC unit. I think there should be a link to the online resistance calculator that is helpful in determining which resistor combinations work best. When you get it I can do my best to help you from this side of things.

That's the only thing I don't like about 888b, I wish that the connections were like amps and plugged into the unit instead. I may try to push and shove wires back in, it was getting late working on it last night and me getting stupid (LOL).

[Papa Tater]

Jimmytee , how's your PAC controls been working? Mine have been working great sitting in garage - all the time when 1st using. I have ran into issues with the volume down after riding the bike for about a half hour or after using volume down several times it quits working. Volume up and track/station up and also down always work with no issues. Was thinking maybe a connection issue at 1st, but my thinking changed when it started working o.k. on the next ride- day untill I rode for 20-30 mins again it quit working - volume down.

[Jimmytee]

Jimmytee , how's your PAC controls been working? Mine have been working great sitting in garage - all the time when 1st using. I have ran into issues with the volume down after riding the bike for about a half hour or after using volume down several times it quits working. Volume up and track/station up and also down always work with no issues. Was thinking maybe a connection issue at 1st, but my thinking changed when it started working o.k. on the next ride- day untill I rode for 20-30 mins again it quit working - volume down.

Not had any issues with my volume buttons. I've had an issue with my track up button though. My track up button wants to instead raise the volume.
It worked perfectly when I installed and tested it, but after I shrank wrapped everything and had it all tucked away, it started acting as you described only with the symptoms I described. I figure it is one , an issue with the PAC unit or two, there needs to be a larger resistance difference between the track up and volume up functions. At some point I'll dig back into it, but after all the stuff I did to my bike with suspension upgrades, saddlebag openers and so on, I was done. It will wait, and until then I just settle for reaching down to the controller to change tracks.
However, if it were my volume, I'd be more inclined to dig back into it. I've not had an issue with the volume functions. That's probably the most important one. Did you test out your functions with the bike running ? I know the higher voltages from the alternator output can have an effect on the funcions.

[Papa Tater]

Not had any issues with my volume buttons. I've had an issue with my track up button though. My track up button wants to instead raise the volume.
It worked perfectly when I installed and tested it, but after I shrank wrapped everything and had it all tucked away, it started acting as you described only with the symptoms I described. I figure it is one , an issue with the PAC unit or two, there needs to be a larger resistance difference between the track up and volume up functions. At some point I'll dig back into it, but after all the stuff I did to my bike with suspension upgrades, saddlebag openers and so on, I was done. It will wait, and until then I just settle for reaching down to the controller to change tracks.
However, if it were my volume, I'd be more inclined to dig back into it. I've not had an issue with the volume functions. That's probably the most important one. Did you test out your functions with the bike running ? I know the higher voltages from the alternator output can have an effect on the funcions.

I did google it and that's one of the concerns, I too would have too dig back into it as well - even to just get to reprogram the pac unit. PINTA and thanks.

[mrjava]

Man, I need those pictures...
Does anyone know if there is a way to download the pics?

[cdtessmer]

These speakers have sizable crossovers with them that required deciding where to put them. The stock speakers have small capacitor on the tweeter as a way to roll off the low frequencies and the woofer is just run full range. I chose to tuck the crossovers behind the windscreen in the fairing.
Attachment 10647

Attachment 10648



The next decision was to how to mount the tweeters. I've been corresponding with another guy who is doing a similar upgrade. That's how I know that the 6.5" speakers can be made to fit. cooldude He has mounted the tweeters where the stock tweeters are located. He uncased the tweeters as they come, and they fit. This had not even occurred to me when I mounted mine as the tweeters are too large to fit as they come. The tweeters come with two options for mounting. Flush mounting and surface mounting. To flush mount them using the items as they come from Polk Audio, would have required some irreversible modifications to the dash/grill area. I wasn't too keen on that, so I chose to surface mount the tweeters. I had to drill two small holes in each speaker grill screen. This was to accommodate the speaker wire and the mounting screw/bolt. They come out fine IMHO, but I may choose to mount them the way this other guy did. I'm planning on ordering some custom painted screens with the CVMA logo painted on them, and may choose to change the mounting at that time.
The advantage to the surface mounting is that the tweeters can be pivoted for aiming. Not a big deal, but it is a consideration that once they are mounted in the stock location, they are fixed.

Attachment 10649


This brings us to the amplifier and it's hook up. This was the most challenging part of the install. I did not think or plan on the difficulties experienced, but my learning process may help others.

I chose a fairly new / unknown amplifier company named NVX. Their products seem to be mainly available through Sonic Electronix online. This is the amp I chose. I got it for Christmas. Remember theme?

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...NVX-MVPA4.html

It has great reviews and has been bench tested to outperform the manufacturer's specifications. It is also very small/compact. The amplifier was not what made the install difficult. The difficulty came in getting an audio signal for the amplifier to amplify. On the onset , it seemed it should be a pretty straight forward deal. The amplifier has both RCA inputs and speaker level inputs for when RCAs are not present. Sooooo, I initially hooked up the amplifier using the speaker wires from the factory system. I ran them to the speaker level inputs and then ran speaker wire from the amp to the crossovers of each speaker channel. Voila right? NO. It sounded like crap. However, I could hook my phone directly into the amp and it's RCA inputs and it sounded great. So the sound through the factory system was awful. I would put it all back to stock before living with that. It sounded like the input of the new amp was being over driven. So I bought some Low to High impedance adapter ( Speaker level to RCA adapter). The one I chose is supposed to be rated to 50 watts. Same situation. Now I'm beginning to wonder or suspect that the OEM electronics just suck that much. I had too options or thoughts. One, I could purchase another adapter rated to an even higher wattage input. Or two , I could tap into the OEM wiring harness and hijack the pre out signals before they go to the factory amp. Let me digress for a moment.

There was a third option. That involved using the headset signal as a pre-amp signal to the amplifier. There is an adapter that will adapt the 5 pin din plug to an 1/8" stereo plug. The one could use another adapter to then adapt the 1/8" stereo plug to a couple of RCAs. I tried this out. Not with buying any adapters, but I tapped into the harness for the headset and soldered op a couple of RCAs. It worked great, and if someone didn't want to do the soldering, they could use the mentioned adapters. I didn't have the patience to wait for ordering the 5 pin din adapter. There are a couple of caveats to going this route that might be obvious. One, the headset button has to be engaged for the stereo to then work. Two, if someone wants to have their headset fuction normally without the speakers playing too, this won't work. Plus, I use the fading feature of the stereo with my final set up. There is no fading with the headset option. Here is the harness after I tapped into it.
Attachment 10650


What I did end up doing.

I chose to tap into the pre out signals. Now, at the time of doing this, I did not have the Honda Shop manual yet. I now have that. Got it from my dealer for $69. Pretty good deal considering the best I've seen the net was $10 more. The mechanic let me take some pictures of his manual and the wiring diagrams needed. He had to unwrap his manual as it was brand new. They are a very new dealer that opened up about 2 years ago I think . It's where I bought my F6B and they're just 2 miles or so down the road. cooldude I tried to get him to just give me his in exchange for the one I ordered, but he said he'd be in trouble if for some reason Honda were to find him without one on hand..
I removed the tail end body work and removed the OEM amplifier. The amplifier resides in an enclosure by itself behind the rear wheel. I didn't have to remove the amplifier to tap into the signals, but my intention was to put the new amplifier in it's place. The audio signals that feed the amplifier come from the "Audio Unit" located under the passenger seat in a black enclosure. This would be equivalent to what would be called the head unit in car audio terms. The controls on the fairing left side are just that. Controls. I pulled out the amplifier and made the decision to cut the wiring harness in half. The amplifier has three bundles coming from the amp to a plug that plugs into the factory wiring harness. I cut the three bundles mid way and now I had the factory plug with the wires needed. If I ,for some reason, wanted to return the bike to stock, I will have to splice and solder all those wires back together. In those wires are the speaker wires for four speakers ( the bike is wired for all four speakers even though it only has the front speakers) , the wires for the pre out signals for all 4 channels and positive power and ground. I made up a harness, thinking I'd try to use all the factory wiring. This proved unsatisfactory and I ended up only using the pre out signals. Both the factory power leads and the factory speaker wiring degrade the sound substantially. Here is a pic of the harness i first made up.
Attachment 10651



Ultimately, the idea of putting the amp back where the OEM resided , was not going to work. Had I not just lost my patience, I may have been able to figure out a way to make it work, but I was back and forth whether that was where I really wanted it. The enclosure there has a drain for a reason, and I just was not sure how the new amp would survive. Did I mention it's behind the rear wheel underneath the rear fender? The issue was that the wiring harness I built was too long and required too much space and that the new amp had to sit vertically where the RCA jacks protruded above the plane of the enclosure leaving a hump that there was no room for. I could have got some right angle adapters for the RCAs and maybe resolved the issue by modifying my harness, but foooey.

Here is a pic of the amp in the enclosure.
Attachment 10652
Have to split this up again.

Hi, I'm new to the site and to Goldwings. I bought a new 2016 F6B and want to upgrade the audio. In order to install a powered sub in the saddlebag, where do you get the inputs from? I don't want to remove the stock amp yet as my budget won't allow me to spend that much money right now, but I do plan to add two 4" speakers in the fairing using the rear speaker outputs. Can I tap into the + of one channel and the - of the other before the factory amp for the sub? How would that work? Any assistance you can lend me is greatly appreciated.