JL AUDIO Bluetooth

[Criswhit]

Thanks for tips.... Found the yellow wire and ground, all set tunes are kicking!

[81SNS]

Yes I have the factory head unit. Mine is the Clarion CMD-4. So I would assume your has at least that or better. I had to unplug the aux input that comes from the drivers area though for it to work.

So with a CDM5 do you lose the use of the driver side control?

[RMEngdahl]

I'm doing the same install...
So, yellow is constant power connected to red wire on BT. Then you grounded with an existing wire and used the RCA jacks.

Were the wires labeled well? How did you make connections?


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[neil.anderson63]

Coach, you'll want to find the cable from your aux connection that is under your throttle. It connects to the RCA input on your radio. I think it's a white cable? Bottom outside corner of the radio is where I think mine is. Just disconnect your existing aux input and install your BT.

[amcmac]

I did this install over the weekend. I wired into the "red" wire on the head unit. I was unhappy when i switched from run to acc and lost connection to my phone that i was paired with. I read this thread and decided to redo my wiring. I didn't like the idea of tapping into the "yellow" wire as it would leave the BT adapter powered all the time even when i switch the battery switch to off. In my glove box, I have a 12V receptacle (cigarette lighter). On the other side of the glove box next to the head unit are the wires to the receptacle. I checked them with my multi-meter and they do power off when i turn off the batteries at the switch. I wired up to those and it works just as I wanted it to. Also, I found the information in this thread informative about the "dirty" power of the "red" wire. I thought things sounded better (and worked better) after moving away from the "red" wire. Being that the 12V receptacle is intended for power, I thought it should be as good as anything else for a power source. Anyone have any concerns with the wires i tapped into?

[MLA]

I didn't like the idea of tapping into the "yellow" wire as it would leave the BT adapter powered all the time even when i switch the battery switch to off.

For those that do find that the head-unit is wired around the main switch and battery direct and DO NOT want to have the BT wired the same, then the better solution is to use a relay that draws its 12V from the yellow B+ but it triggered by the blue amp turn-on lead. The BT will share the same battery reference as the rest of the audio, but only come on when the head-unit is turned on.

The 12V supply for an ACC may not share the same battery source as the audio or may be too fare removed from the battery to offer the same noise filtering as we get when we obtain B+ close to the amps. One may get some ground loop noise or other noise if something is plugged into the ACC socket.

[imyourmaster]

JL AUDIO Bluetooth

Amcmac, I am going to follow MLA's lead but I thought the way you installed your BT sounded interesting. I have the same issue with having to reconnect my phone to BT when I turn the key from run over to the acc. Out of curiosity... are you saying the power wire to that cigarette lighter in your glovebox remains "live" when your main battery switch is on with your key in the off position?

[MLA]

Gents,

If your boat's ignition key is controlling the head-unit's red turn-on circuit, rather then worry about the BT having to re-pair, I would take the turn-on off the key switch and relocate it to a rocker switch. Now, neither the BT or head-unit powers off and then when the key is turned from RUN to ACC or from ACC back to RUN.

[amcmac]

Out of curiosity... are you saying the power wire to that cigarette lighter in your glovebox remains "live" when your main battery switch is on with your key in the off position?

Yes and only turns off when i shut off the batteries

[imyourmaster]

Gents,

If your boat's ignition key is controlling the head-unit's red turn-on circuit, rather then worry about the BT having to re-pair, I would take the turn-on off the key switch and relocate it to a rocker switch. Now, neither the BT or head-unit powers off and then when the key is turned from RUN to ACC or from ACC back to RUN.

MLA.... A case of your favorite beverage if you can guess the next question! You've got it!! Where do you disconnect the head unit's red turn on from the ignition switch? DM me your shipping address in the meantime

[MLA]

It may not be red on the back of the IGN switch, but it will be the wire, and likely the only wire, on the terminal marked ACC. Carefully disconnect it, turn the key to RUN and then ACC just to confirm that the head-unit now does NOT come on. If there are more than the one wire, you would have to break out the volt/ohm meter and find which one is for the head-unit.

A volt meter will also confirm that the ACC terminal is the only one thats for 12V when the key is in both RUN and ACC.

[Wicker68]

This is not wire I would suggest. Its just a turn-on trigger for the head-unit and is often times originating from the helm BUSS. This is likely a "dirty" signal and on a boat with dual battery bank, may be coming from the other bank then what the rest of the audio is drawing from. The BT's red wire effects the audio quality and needs to share the same battery reference as the rest of the audio gear. The head-units constant B+ is the most ideal circuit to connect to.

MLA,

I just installed a Blue Seas SafetyHub when I installed my second amp and it has existing power banks to run a fused circuit. Would I be better off tapping into the head unit's constant B+ or running my BT to the SafetyHub? Am I correct to assume that if I ran the BT to the SafetyHub that it would be hot all the time when the batteries are switched on?

[MLA]

Wicker,

If it were me, I would relocate that head-unit constant B+ to that BUSS that feeds the amp, then grab my B+ and B- for the BT there also. This insures all the audio shares the same battery reference.

[Wicker68]

Wicker,

If it were me, I would relocate that head-unit constant B+ to that BUSS that feeds the amp, then grab my B+ and B- for the BT there also. This insures all the audio shares the same battery reference.

That probably would be easy to do as the factory power buss for the house battery is to the right of the SafetyHub (wish they had put more length on that wire from the Perko so it wasn't running in the middle of the compartment).

[jj91]

For those that do find that the head-unit is wired around the main switch and battery direct and DO NOT want to have the BT wired the same, then the better solution is to use a relay that draws its 12V from the yellow B+ but it triggered by the blue amp turn-on lead. The BT will share the same battery reference as the rest of the audio, but only come on when the head-unit is turned on.

Extremely helpful thread for guy like me who knows very little about wiring electronics. I'm getting ready to install a JL MBT-RX. I have a single starter battery. Previous owner installed an amp and wired it to the accessory one rocker switch (see pic - red wire direct to battery; clear wire to rocker switch and ground direct to battery). Can I piggyback off the amp wiring? Run power wire from the BT to 4 pin relay (and the BT ground to the amp ground), from relay - one wire to the red amp wire, one wire to the amp rocker switch wire, and relay ground to the amp ground. Will this work? Or is there a better way to do this?