New to the forum, and new to the Dodge community in general.
We picked up a new 2012 Charger Road and Track edition about a week ago for my wife. The audio system, while having the 8.4N like we ordered, has the standard 276W six speaker Alpine system. That's not what we wanted, but apparently saying "premium audio" on the order form is not specific enough. There is more than one level of premium audio to Dodge.
We are not happy with the sound the system produces right now. My 6 year old Tundra with stock speakers sounds much better to both of us. Now I am weighing my options to fix it.
I'd like to stay as close to stock as possible in the wiring, preferring to swap out the amp to a plug and play one, and dropping in a sub in the rear deck and center dash. However, no dealership here in central Texas can tell me if the wiring harness supports it, or there are different harnesses put in at the factory. I am trying to avoid tearing the car apart until I am ready to do all the upgrades in one go.
I have pulled down the cover in the trunk to expose the underside of the speakers, and I found two pigtail connectors taped together there that look to match up to what should be for subs. However, hooking up a speaker to them as a test produces no sound. No idea if they are not connected at the amp, or if the amp itself isn't wired to output to them as I can't see all the wires colors at the amp without taking it apart.
I curious if anyone has any experience here that can share. I have some evidence from various sites that the 376W Kicker amp will drop in under the dash, but not confirmed. Not even the dealers around here can confirm. A question into Kicker to attempt to confirm has gone unanswered.
If I could go that route, and that magically made the sub pigtails work, I'd be happy. From there, I can go through the car upgrading speakers and be really happy.
Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.
If its the Alpine sistem it should be the 506W 9 Speaker system, thats what my SXT Plus has, nice system IMHO. I dont recall the standard system being branded Alpine. If you orderd it and didnt get it, then the dealer should fix it for you...
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2012 Charger SXT Plus Blacktop Package/Stock for now
If its the Alpine sistem it should be the 506W 9 Speaker system, thats what my SXT Plus has, nice system IMHO. I dont recall the standard system being branded Alpine. If you orderd it and didnt get it, then the dealer should fix it for you...
Dodge offers two Alpine "Premium" systems:
-One with 6 speakers and a 276W amp
-One with 9 speakers and a 506W amp
We definitely have the Alpine branding on the door plates, and I know there's only 6 speakers in the car with no subwoofer. Plus the paperwork clearly states it is the 276W system.
What is interesting is the 276W amp is actually listed as an 8 channel amp.
The dealer says it is a misunderstanding of what we wanted, and they cannot fix it as it is a factory item and not something that is done at the port or dealer. Of course, they can't provide evidence to that, because they can't even tell me if all models share a standard wiring harness.
“Because you can't argue with all the fools in the world. It's easier to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not paying attention.”
― Christopher Paolini
Just go for the gusto and get an aftermarket radio,stock sound usually sucks,the speakers are cheesy!I put an L7 kicker in my stock sub location and a kenwood dnx-9980 two amps,the thing rocks.
If it doesnt hit hard replace the sub and subwoofer.
If its not clear you need to update the tweeters.
But overall a system is the best way to get good sound.Stock is WIMPY.
Just go for the gusto and get an aftermarket radio,stock sound usually sucks,the speakers are cheesy!I put an L7 kicker in my stock sub location and a kenwood dnx-9980 two amps,the thing rocks.
If it doesnt hit hard replace the sub and subwoofer.
If its not clear you need to update the tweeters.
But overall a system is the best way to get good sound.Stock is WIMPY.
I don't want to give up my 8.4N, which has all my navigation, comfort, and sport controls, not to mention the ability to adjust car settings like remote start, rear view mirror control, and passive entry integrated into it just because the output from the amp and the quality of the speakers isn't that great. I guess I wasn't clear enough on my intentions.
At any rate, I've got my hands on wiring diagrams that show all LX models have the same wiring harness for the audio system. I'll find out for sure this weekend.
Just as a follow up to anyone else in the same situation.
While the back half of the wiring harness look to be the same across all vehicles, the front half is not. At least, not when it comes to audio wiring. The C2 connector itself at the amp is the same, but is missing many of the wiring and pins in that connector for the larger speaker systems. Mine only has 6 pins connected while the connector itself can hold 16 pins.
Consulting with ShopKey and having them send more wiring diagrams, there are different harness part numbers that connect to the amp, and they are not easily swappable as they are wrapped into the main harness. It looks like you could splice in the pins and connector the mid-body harness connector on the passenger side. It is not worth it to me since it requires pulling out trim and carpet to reach it.
I've gone with just dropping in Infinity 692.9i speakers and the doors and rear deck, leaving the dash speakers as-in. Sounds much better and it will do fine.
Have you seen anyone switch out the 2012's yet? Im curios because it looks like that screen is tied into a lot of systems in the car. I dont think i would want to do it either.
Just as a follow up to anyone else in the same situation.
While the back half of the wiring harness look to be the same across all vehicles, the front half is not. At least, not when it comes to audio wiring. The C2 connector itself at the amp is the same, but is missing many of the wiring and pins in that connector for the larger speaker systems. Mine only has 6 pins connected while the connector itself can hold 16 pins.
Consulting with ShopKey and having them send more wiring diagrams, there are different harness part numbers that connect to the amp, and they are not easily swappable as they are wrapped into the main harness. It looks like you could splice in the pins and connector the mid-body harness connector on the passenger side. It is not worth it to me since it requires pulling out trim and carpet to reach it.
I've gone with just dropping in Infinity 692.9i speakers and the doors and rear deck, leaving the dash speakers as-in. Sounds much better and it will do fine.
So did you end up doing it? Did you go with the Infinity speakers? I might do this because the system is a bit weak.
Doesn't sound like the dealer is as much of a problem as not knowing what the options are when you ordered. They should have had you verify the info before placing the order, and you should have done more research so you would know to ask for exactly what you wanted and not just give them the vague "premium audio" request.
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