# 2012 Chrysler 200S - Install for a friend, and questions



## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Hi All, I have a build coming up for a friend, same friend I have built for before. Some of you may remember his 2008 Colorado I did with him.

Anyway, brand new car, my first new gen Chrysler as a matter of fact. 

Before I get started with this project, I've got some questions for those who have worked on similar cars before. This thing has a full double-din touch screen head unit, looks like that's staying in the car. I then planned on running a processor (most likely a JBL MS8) from the outputs of the HU to amps/speakers. 

This will be a non-center channel install, which brings up my first question. _I run an MS8 in my Flex, but that has a center channel stock and I make good use of it. Will the MS8 still perform as I have come to enjoy in this non-center channel config?_ Or would something like the Alpine H660 be better for this app? That's something on my mind. 

Second, this car has the stock Boston Acoustics audio upgrade. It remains to be seen exactly what Boston speakers are equipped, as I haven't pulled any panels yet. I'll be getting to that pretty soon I hope. Anybody know off-hand what units they are?

For the amp section, I have a line on an older Massive Audio P950.5 from another friend, which should definitely work. Obviously if I go with the MS8 that's all I'll need, and if I go with something else I'll probably need another few amp channels. 

For the sub section, I got my eye on an Obsidian 12", in a nicely sized sealed box. I really wanted to go with a 15" but this 200S trunk is diminutive and short. When I measured I got a measly 14.5-15" worth of height, and that was pushing it. Actually the whole trunk is so small and needs to hold so much (stroller, etc), the entire system must be focused on maintaining a small profile. Backups to the Obsidian (in case stock is a problem) is the Sundown SA12, and the SSA offerings (have not researched them much admittedly).

For the front stage, I'm going to try and push the stock Boston stuff as far as it will go, but if it doesn't pass muster I've got the gameplan of going with a set of Exodus 6.5" neo's (got a pair in storage) and mating that with a large low-playing tweet in the dash, factory locations.

For wiring, I need some guidance as the factory battery location sucks balls. Seriously Chrysler, what the hell? The battery is hidden, next to the LF wheel. That should be real fun to get to. 

As always, pics as I go. This one will be a long drawn out build as the owner and I will have to work on the weekends when time allows. Thanks in advance to all the onlookers and the help provided dealing with this car. I don't want to muck it up.


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

I ran my MS8 with out a center and with and it was fine either way. I seemed to get more width without the center but still had a focused tight center on the dash.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Excellent. I figured it would be a cakewalk, but it never hurts to ask those who have tried it. You know what would make me happy? Finding RCA outputs on the back of this stock HU. Fat chance, I am sure. It sure looks aftermarket though compared to say, my Flex integrated HU. Touch screen nav, double din in a standard box shape, all looks fairly standard. 

With these hidden batteries, are people connecting the audio gear to the "jump start" connection blocks or are they going straight to the battery?


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## rodneypierce (Feb 2, 2012)

I almost always use the "jump start" post when connecting my power wire. I did it this way in my grand prix as well.

Now, IF I have to run a seperate ground direct, then I go to the battery. But power from the "jumper" post has never been a problem for me.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Since it is for a friend, you might want to look into the jet engine noise problem people are reporting about the ms-8 lately. A loud full volume noise that will at the very least make you **** your pants, and at worst could cause someone to swerve into on coming traffic. Oh it also can't be turned off by simply turning the head unit off and it burns up speakers almost instantly (not just tweeters). 

JBL is working on the issue but no word as of yet.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Oh snap.

So, ... should I go ahead and get the H660 and an extra small 2ch amp then?? 

My MS8 has been good, but goddamn I don't no trouble, especially unresolved trouble.


Ps. I hope you appreciate the gif, I had to look for a while to find one that appropriately conveyed my feelings.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Lol, it was good. 

The h660 is a good option or maybe wait for the soon to be released alpine h800. Which has many more features, as well as an updated autotune.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

And SOOO much more money.

This is to be a budget system. I am thinking, maybe make a remote-in killswitch and put that in the center console w/ the display? A "just-in-case" type thing? 

I bet the MS8 I want to use would have been a previous victim of this failure. The one I want to buy is one of the Harman Ebay $399 refurbs. I've purchased Harman refurbs before with great success.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

The kill switch on the amp remote looks like a good idea, but IIRC someone had the drivers burn up even before the noise became audible. 

Here's a thread on the issue, plus some recent post on it.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-sq-forum-technical-advanced/124001-anyone-ms8-experiencing-airplane-noise-please-read.html 

Starting on post #7828


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Well on one hand, we have a setup here that will be rocking factory Boston speakers, so killing them would not be like blowing some $1000+ drivers. But on the other hand, it will be a daily driver setup in a system that is not my own, so I have some responsibility.

Lots to think about.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

The "Boston Acoustics" speakers just look like the same inferior quality speakers they use in the non-BA system, on every other Chrysler I've seen. It's not like they're comparable to any "real" BA speakers...especially since BA pulled out of car audio, now.

Jay


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> The "Boston Acoustics" speakers just look like the same inferior quality speakers they use in the non-BA system, on every other Chrysler I've seen. It's not like they're comparable to any "real" BA speakers...especially since BA pulled out of car audio, now.
> 
> Jay


LOL.

Wouldn't surprise me a bit. I'll take pics when I get to the teardown phase. Should be "meh".


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

We get alot of Magnums/300Cs/Chargers where the magnet has actually fallen off the back of the speaker and is lying inside the door. Clearly well built speakers. LOL Hope the ones in the 200 are better.

Jay


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

OK, little update and I'll get some pics up here soon, promise. I have spent a couple evening with the car and I've got the beginnings of the system planned out.

We ordered -

MS8 (refurb direct from Harmon...fingers crossed)
Image Dynamics ID15 D4
1/0 and 4 gauge welding cable from the nice guys at www.wireandsupply.com
A Tsunami combo power/ground distribution block (new design, won't short out) for 1/0.
Monoprice 16 gauge sheathed speaker wire, and their short RCA cables

I have a boatload of RAAMmat BXTII sheets left over from my last splurge purchase, as well as the excellent Ensolite peel-n-stick. 

And one of my friends sold his Massive Audio P950.5 to this friend, which should do the job nicely.

Day one we planned out the system and started the deadening process. I pulled the door cards and layed a couple sheets in the door each. Not too bad as far as doors go, it has one of those plastic panels that covers most of the inside of the door, rather than a skeleton design that proves hard to seal up. All of this went without a hitch. 


















We're going to keep the stock "Boston" speakers for now. I pulled them out of the doors, and took a look. They definitely say Boston on them but they are certainly regular whizzer cone style speakers. I am sticking with these for now to see what the MS8 can do with them SQ-wise.

Worth noting that I wrapped foam around the speaker to gasket against the door card, which is about 1 1/4" away from the speaker or so. Plenty of room for a better wood baffle and a different speaker.











Next day we worked on the sub box plans. At first I was all gung-ho about a 12" sub, as I figured that was all that could fit. Then I realized I could sneak in a 15" as long as it was a reasonable one. That's where the ID15 came in, so we built up a decent birch box and got it to fit in the trunk with almost a press-fit against the top of the trunk, when pushed into place behind the rear seats. 


















The next day we went after deadening the trunk. That required quite a bit of material, as it was like a tin can compared with the doors. Especially tinny was the rear trunk lid. All went without a hitch, though. This car has proven to be trouble-free to work on SO FAR.

















My last bit of work done so far was on the power wire planning. Usually this gives me fits with new cars. I ran into a huge bit of luck on this car however. I realized that since it is an auto and a manual is an option on the base model, there is a clutch pedal provision, thus a grommet pre-made. The grommet (I will get some pics of this to help others) is where the clutch pedal mount would appear to normally be, and it is huge and easy to pull. I realized after I pulled that and shoved some wire through that it is going to be a piece of cake. There is no obstruction, or anything in the way, other than a tight engine bay that will require some creative hand placement. 1/0 welding cable fits through with enough room for 6 more of the same, no issues. 

I can't say the same for reaching the battery, however. :laugh:


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Today we got a lot more done, mainly I had to cut the sub box to get it shorter, so that was a little hair-raising. I wouldn't have normally considered doing it at all but when we were testing for fitment of the stroller that has to go back here, it was a tight fit and that was without the sub installed and some form of grille or cover. 

As a result, we took the entire box, and put it on the table saw, and smoothly chopped 2" right off. It worked without a hitch. After that fun adventure, we installed 3/4" hardwood braces, and mounted in a flush-fit slab of wood to serve as the part of the front of the box. On top of that we cut a 1/2" MDF board to make the other part of the front, on top of the flush board. Looks like this before that top board was cut:


















Next the amp rack was started. The rack is kind of a work on the fly, just sorta going with what comes. The idea so far is we have a bottom panel and two sides, and rails are going to attach to that. I actually already mounted the rails but neglected to take a pic of them. They are 14" double-extended, really nice.










And this is where we stopped for the evening.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Oh my, this build never got updated. Sorry 'bout that.

Well, for starters, nobody told me that there was a friggin' amp in the car. That was fun to discover.

Here it is:










What's that you say? You don't see it either? Well, maybe some of you have been down this road before.










That's it , with the fins. So this amp sits behind the glove box, right behind the right front wheel well. So I used LF tweeter, RF tweeter, LF mid, and RF mid outputs from this amp to get a signal to the MS8. From a combination of the MS8's outputs and the 5ch amp in the trunk, I have wire runs reconnecting to the factory wiring. It did take a lot of wire though. Speaking of that, I used Monoprice sheathed 2 and 4 conductor 16 gauge wire. The stuff is simply unbeatable for the buck, IMO. Monoprice usually delivers to my door in a day flat.


























Everything is color-coded, but it definitely gets complex. Now everything is back in place, connectors reattached, just before the glove box door and factory panels cover this up. 










Here's how I ran the MS8 display wire. Techflex'ed along with a signal wire suitable for stealing a 12v ignition signal from the cig lighter wiring.










Here's the MS8 display installed. Yes, it is already powered up. I'm sorta thowing pics in out of order, since I didn't update this thread as I went along the build process.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

The Image Dynamics sub came in. $160 shipped you get a fantastic sub, one that does well in small boxes, like the size a 12 might fit in!










I'm afraid that the ID15 just doesn't get enough good press, or any press at all. Bottom line, great buy for $160 from Sonic.

I suppose now is a good time to show off some cables. I built these myself, and they are my first stab at doing it with these materials. This is Gepco 2 conductor w/ foil shield, Speakercraft shorty RCA ends, with matching Techflex and heatshrink. The longer shrink on one side denotes that the shield drain is on that side of the cable. The yellow ones are in a split Y for the sub amp input. This all took about 4 hours or so. I'm slow.



















This is how we decided to handle the 1/0 power wire connection. I really debated on this for a while. The battery is buried by the wheel well, and this top connection is what seems to be the better way. I actually got into the battery compartment through the wheel well first, before deciding to go this other way. I saw that the majority of important connections actually go through this "terminal", for lack of a better word. The 1/0 ring I used is actually that gold thing in between the factory wiring and the bolt. 


















So to fuse it, I went for a short run back to the top of the factory fuse box. This of course will be getting a fuse in it later.










So, the space in the trunk was getting a little tight, since the box is built for a 15 and the MS8, and Massive Audio amp still need to fit in. This was my solution.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Hours of tedious wiring later, here is the MS8 all ready to go









Sorry about the flare. And the dust on the lens










Next up, I'll show you how we made this a finished product. Since I haven't actually finished yet, that might be a few days.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I like the RCA ends. Where can I get some of them?

Jay


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## chevbowtie22 (Nov 23, 2008)

Looks good so far. So you just bypassed the amp? Thats never a fun process. Lol.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> I like the RCA ends. Where can I get some of them?
> 
> Jay



Purchased at Markertek. But they are available all over. Just google speakercraft rca.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

chevbowtie22 said:


> Looks good so far. So you just bypassed the amp? Thats never a fun process. Lol.


Actually I fully incorporated it. I was unsure of the power output of the stock head unit to the stock amp, and I know the MS8 prefers a meaty signal as long as it is clean. So the signal goes from the head unit to the stock amp, then comes to the ms8, then after processing and amplification goes to the stock wiring. The front door mids are amplified by the Massive P950.5, as are the rear deck speakers. In the case of the rear speakers, they are wired directly from the MS8 to the P950.5, and I do not have a tap from the factory amp to them since it doesn't matter for the MS8 to do its thing. The dash speakers that make up the rest of the two way front setup are run by the MS8's internal amp. 

I was fully prepared to ditch the factory amp altogether but during testing, the MS8 received a clean loud signal all the way to near the top of the volume dial, indicating the factory stock amp isn't hurting things from what I can tell. It also sounds VERY good, with just the stock Boston speakers in their new heavily deadened environment. I have some upgrade ideas for these speakers later, but for now they are really doing a great job.


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## chevbowtie22 (Nov 23, 2008)

Ahh. I'm impressed that the factory amp isn't messing with you.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

So here we go, another weekend down, and some progress on the 200S

As part of the grille, we took 3/4" MDF and slatted it to fit these 1/2" aluminum channel bars I had lying around.









Then, to go on top of that, we used 1/2" MDF to make a cover panel









The aluminum channel bars were primed and painted gloss black, and the slat board carpeted









And the final cover board was finished in silver carbon fiber vinyl I had sitting around
















We're thinking it needs more slats, to really make for a tight design. We built that slat board to handle twice as many, but ran out of channel material so we went with this sparce look for now. But the board can be rebuilt with minimal pain for more, so that's on the list.

What do you think?


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Next phase is to find a way to put in the Exodus 6.5's I've been holding on to. That should be fun. Good thing these doors have some space in the them.

Anything better than the EX6.5's these days?


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