alright, so i finally got my deck installed, after waiting 2 months on getting a new one because my old one was defective. the deck works fine, does everything it's supposed to, but only the front speakers play anything, when i put the factory stereo back in, all of them work. I asked some people, and they said that the deck i bought, which is an alpine, has a feature where it will protect the speakers if it senses that they have a bad ground or something?

so could that be my problem? and how would i go about fixing this?

i'm also putting one 12" polk audio sub in. it will still be loud in the back, but there will be no treble playing in the back help would be greatly appreciated

 

The rear speakers in my '99 have their own amplifier, it should be hanging on the bottom of the driver side rear speaker. If you had bought the deck from crutchfield they would have included the 2nd wiring harness you need to utilize the rear speakers. If you can find a wiring code you can solder some RCA plugs onto the signal cables going to the rear amp and connect them to the pre-outs on the new deck.

Or, when you run the wires for the 12" sub you can run some speaker wire from the deck to the rear speakers, and take the rear amplifier out of the equation. It's nothing special, 10W to 15W max, so no loss there.

Just so you know, for good imaging up front you really only want bass coming from the rear of the car. My stock system has been screwed around with; I think the previous owner had a full aftermarket setup installed then he threw the stock stuff back in when he sold the car. I'm planning on installing a new deck, removing the rear speakers and either upgrading the amp and installing some 6.5" subs IB in the rear deck or going without rear speakers all together and installing an 8" or 10" sub. The small subs mounted IB in the rear deck would work well enough for the music I listen too, and would save trunk space and weight... Dunno yet.

 

Do as R. Johnson suggested with the RCA plugs, and you'll be set.

Alternatively, you could buy the adapter from Crutchfield, and they should include instructions as well.

Did you do a check to make sure the k-line will function correctly if VAG-COM or any scanner is plugged into your car? Many places won't scan your car if they see an aftermarket head unit because it could litterally fry their equipment. When I installed my aftermarket head unit I checked my k-line and found that it wouldn't interfere with any scanning equipment, so no modifications were needed to be done.

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/aftermarket-radio.html

 

or could i just run speaker wire from the amp to the rear speakers? i have an idea on what i can do, and does it matter if i have the bose system or not?

 

and what to do about a rattling trunk lid? the only thing that rattles is the area where the lock/button for the trunk release is, and that lip that goes over the licenseplate/where you grab on to open the trunk.
is there anything i could do to prevent this rattling? i have an audi, and i'd like to keep it clean sounding when i drive around, instead of rattling like crazy

 

You could run wires straight from the head unit to the speakers. This involves dropping the glove box down if you run the wires on the passenger side, and removing the lower trim pieces. Pretty simple job IMO. And it shouldn't matter if you have the BOSE system as long as the rear speakers have tabs to solder wires to (if you go this route).

Remember to keep your power and signal wires separate. I run the power wire for my sub's amp through the ECU box, and down the driver side of the car, with all signal wires on the passenger side.

 

i need to re route my wires soon
i have them kinda hidden, but still accessible if my set up hadn't worked.
and now it does work so i need to hide them!. planning on doing this all tonight

i have created an idea of how to keep the trunk from rattling, i'll do a write up for a DIY if it works like i hope it does

it invloves a can of "The Stuff" insulation, and removing the trunk lid lining.