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JaeTheDev

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I wanted to add a little more bass in my R1T but really didn't want to modify anything that I couldn't return to stock. On other cars and trucks I've had, I am always down to cut drill into parts since you can easily buy replacement parts online. But that's not the case for Rivian! I landed on this 10" JL powered sub from Crutchfield with their 8awg power kit. I also got the JL remote and RCA to speaker wire adapter.

First off, big shoutout to @Mohelp for his install thread here! He has some great info on power connection, wire routing, and OE plastic removal!

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I poked the power wire though one of the free tentacles on this gromet and connected the wire to the free screw terminal on this power block (circled in green) with a M6 bolt. I attached the main fuse and ring terminal to the end of the wire too, just not in the pic.

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I ran the wire behind the passenger side carpet and under all the side plastics until it entered under the rear seats. I already removed the OE sub and cargo tray using the thread I linked above.

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I attached the ground wire to the OE bolt on the floor. For the ignition source, I found the thicker pink wire in this main harness that turns on when you walk near the truck or open the doors. It is quick to turn off when you leave the truck so it's fine with me. It works the same as a hardwired radar detector using the power behind the mirror.

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The OE sub has 2 wires that plug into it. I tapped those into the RCA to speaker wire harness by pairing both negatives to one wire and both positives to the other. I also had to extend them a little with the extra ignition wire from the power kit. Then I reinstalled the OE sub and plugged in the power, ignition, and RCA wires to the JL sub. It powered right up!

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To hold the sub in place, I cut a big piece of polyethylene foam I had around and wedged it next to the sub. I also zip tied a tool bag in the empty space so I can still use the storage space without scratching the metal floor.

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The last step was to install the remote knob. I wasn't sure if I needed this at first but it makes a huge difference for adjusting the sub while driving based on what you are listening too. I just ran the wire under the floor matt and into the center console storage. I then drilled a hole in the aftermarket organizer to mount the knob. Now I have a stealth way of making adjustments!

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After fine tuning the settings to sound the best I laned on this. I'm not sure if it is because I mixed up the positive and negative when connecting the RCA to speaker wire adapter but it sounds a lot better with the polarity set to 180deg.

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This sub makes a HUGE difference in the overall experience for all music I listen too in my R1T! With the bass knob set halfway all of the time, it adds just a little more bass over the OE sub with a clean sound, not obnoxious at all. If I turn the knob up to 3/4 then the hits really hard and fills the cabin nicely. It's nothing too crazy but IMO this is exactly what the Meridian system was missing.
Im sure this was shown and stated, but I sure did miss it if so. Im looking to do the same with an Audison APBX 10 AS2. Power is straight forward to run. How did you get accessory? RCA to wire jumped from the Meridian sub? Thanks for the help! Semi newbie here. Bear with me please! HA!
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Revin

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Im sure this was shown and stated, but I sure did miss it if so. Im looking to do the same with an Audison APBX 10 AS2. Power is straight forward to run. How did you get accessory? RCA to wire jumped from the Meridian sub? Thanks for the help! Semi newbie here. Bear with me please! HA!
All good! I found that pink wire (pic in first post) for accessory and connected the RCA wires to the Meridian sub wires.
 

paejm

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With all the "my 12v battery died" posts I'm wondering if it would be possible to run this type of setup from the 120v power supply that feeds into the gear tunnel near the OEM sub? All you'd need to do is tap the OEM sub and remove the plastic tray. There would be plenty of room for the equipment below:

Options:
(1) 120v power -> power supply (XS power PSC60 60amp, for example) ->JL microsub+ 10"
or
(2) 120v power -> 15amp trickle charger (XS HF1215) -> low profiles (or small-ish to fit under seat) 12 v battery -> JL microsub+ 10"


*bonus = all the wiring would be near the rear seat (unless you added a remote sub power level knob)
 

mindstormsguy

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The 120V inverter runs off the 12V system, not the HV battery system. So if you try to use the 120V to power an amp, you’ll actually be making it worse.
 

jemkewl

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The 120V inverter runs off the 12V system, not the HV battery system. So if you try to use the 120V to power an amp, you’ll actually be making it worse.
Really? That seems silly, but I don't think I would be surprised.
The HV battery charges 12v while inverter runs?
 

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The HV battery charges the 12V whenever needed (regardless of if the vehicle is on or not). It can’t deal with a totally shot 12V battery though.
 

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Has anyone been able to do this install in a Gen 2 with the base audio? The issue I see is no OEM sub and the sub line out from the head unit seems to be software locked.
 

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That is awesome!!! I have an OE subwoofer that goes on the Driver's side of the back seat tray space (mirrors the passenger side) It was going to be an option for the premium sound but Rivian decided not offer it..... unfortunately my wife wont let me install it :( she thinks the sound is already to loud.
 
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rivwillmke

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Thanks for the guide @Revin! Quick question on whether you wired to low-level or high-level inputs on the JL powered sub. In your post you mentioned...

"The OE sub has 2 wires that plug into it. I tapped those into the RCA to speaker wire harness by pairing both negatives to one wire and both positives to the other"

It looked like you wired the OE sub wires to the low level input of the JL sub. Wouldn't those two lines be considered high level input as they are already amplified for the OE sub?

Appreciate any guidance, thanks!
 
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Thanks for the guide @Revin! Quick question on whether you wired to low-level or high-level inputs on the JL powered sub. In your post you mentioned...

"The OE sub has 2 wires that plug into it. I tapped those into the RCA to speaker wire harness by pairing both negatives to one wire and both positives to the other"

It looked like you wired the OE sub wires to the low level input of the JL sub. Wouldn't those two lines be considered high level input as they are already amplified for the OE sub?

Appreciate any guidance, thanks!
You’re welcome!

I’m honestly not sure. The low level inputs were the first I tried and they seem to work fine for this setup. High level inputs may be better but I never tried them.
 

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Great job on the install. I did lots of car audio installs during college for a living and enjoyed helping folks improve their driving experiencing with better tunes.

The ability to adjust the subwoofer with the bass knob is an extremely useful feature to make sure the subwoofer is properly balanced in output with the rest of the speakers / intended audio level from the artist.
 
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azzurro

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The 120V inverter runs off the 12V system, not the HV battery system. So if you try to use the 120V to power an amp, you’ll actually be making it worse.
I think that's incorrect! The 120V inverter is powered by the HV battery. You will see the orange cable going to it!! High Voltage!!!!! But in order for the inverter to turn on you have to go to the menu and set a timer.
 

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I think that's incorrect! The 120V inverter is powered by the HV battery. You will see the orange cable going to it!! High Voltage!!!!! But in order for the inverter to turn on you have to go to the menu and set a timer.
On gen 2?

I haven't personally dug into the inverter on my truck, but there's an old thread around here (pre-gen 2) where someone did, and there was no HV cable going to their inverter. Maybe this is something they addressed for gen 2? On my gen 1 truck, using the 120V absolutely destroys my battery at idle (presumably because of the double conversion).
 

JamboF4

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Im sure this was shown and stated, but I sure did miss it if so. Im looking to do the same with an Audison APBX 10 AS2. Power is straight forward to run. How did you get accessory? RCA to wire jumped from the Meridian sub? Thanks for the help! Semi newbie here. Bear with me please! HA!
Jae: I’m away from my R1T so I can’t measure: did you consider the 12” version of the same powered sub, or is the size an issue? Thanks in advance. Jim
 
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Revin

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Jae: I’m away from my R1T so I can’t measure: did you consider the 12” version of the same powered sub, or is the size an issue? Thanks in advance. Jim
I did. I think it will fit in the space but it will touch the bottom of the seat
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