ghetdjc320

Of course, it’s a Tensily 10-06000. The shielding dumps to ground and you can panel mount it if you get a longer version. I just wanted the short pigtail though to add an aux cable to.

Dumping some pics here of what I decided to do. My entire goal was to eliminate noise and interference, providing the cleanest audio possible. I also equalized to gain for the sources across all the inputs (AM/FM/AUX). Pleased to report impeccable signal integrity and zero noise. I’ll post up some more technical info at some point but I’m deep into building out the ultimate MJ stealth audio system at the moment. Keep an eye on my “Tomahawk” thread in epic tech for updates. In a nutshell, I desoldered unused wiring on the preamp to avoid any interference being picked up. I also removed the TP pins and wired shielded cable straight to the board. Instead of using the chasis ground, I used the dedicated signal ground shared by the tuner and tape deck. I rerouted line level cables, attenuated the tuners for level matching, and added some cable management. Also straightened the transistor and capacitor caps. Cleaned the board and conditioned the connection ports, volume and tone controls. Cleaned up the front face and ceramic coated it. Also worth noting that I eliminated the tape player all together. I don’t use it and now the radio has much more internal airspace to route cabling and stay cooler. The old 13pin connector has been folded back and zip tied off for now.

Thanks! I’m also curious to see how it turns out

This is the cluster from my “Tomahawk” build. It took a very long time to source this and put together. This is the 91+ “HO” U.S. style cluster but with the matching uber rare 120mph speedo (not to be confused with the police package speedo which had the blue font). Took me a couple of years to just source the parts for this cluster. 88k miles showing on the speedo.

Before I forget, I've been meaning to cross reference this post and link it here. This is the earliest info I came across on modifying these radios. The post is from 2010 and is from a user I am unfamiliar with though I'm sure many of you you him. Here is the link:

Not personally sure other than I know he was really busy with work. Last I saw of him on CC was just briefly back early this year or end of last. We were working together on a radio project for a couple of years but it fizzled and I lost contact. Having given up on ever seeing that project again, I picked up a couple of radios in the past few months and have been working at demystifying some of the data on them especially in regards to modding them. From what I gather, the first references I found regarding modding these head units date back to some tech posts about 16 years ago from a different user and quite some time before Jeremy picked up and expounded on the subject. Here is the original post I dug up. Going to link this info in the DIY section as well so all the data stays in one easier to find place:

I used satellite. Just told them it's a 97 Cherokee. No issues.

Further testing has revealed something interesting that is my current working theory. While tracing signal flows, you can find the distinct AM, FM and Tape sources all coming to the pre-amp board. They first go through the tone control stages starting with treble, then bass, then volume, then out of the board on that 3 pin jacketed cable to the amp stage. Interestingly though, the balance and fader controls have a separate 6 pin connection that seem to run their logic at the amp stage. So basically, if you want to retain fader and balance controls without heavily modifying the PCB, you'll need to use the speaker level outs. Interestingly enough, when I adjusted the AM gain pot on the main board, I got zero am radio bleed through while using the aux in. Removing (or just disconnecting) the tape deck main plug also accomplishes the same thing. It appears that the AM/FM signal is always present at the preamp stage. But the tape deck logic has a radio mute function when playing a tape, causing the preamp to pickup that signal instead. When we inject audio on those test point pins, we seem to be simply overlaying the radio signal. Quite possible we are tricking a transistor somewhere on the pcb since grounding either of these pins also cuts the signal instantly. Instead of using those test point pins, I'd prefer to desolder them and keep mire wiring shielded as far as possible until it makes it to the board. That should help cut down on a bit of interference I've noticed. The signal to noise ratio seems to be decent but I'm limited in how I can test this. I will say though that I am getting very good audio quality by making some adjustments to the board. And I'm very picky when it comes to audio quality

Of course! Happy to help demystify these things a bit.

Out of curiosity, does this radio have an aux input mod? Take a quick picture of your preamp circuit board. It’s the one with the volume and tone controls potentiometers. If you’re amp is testing ok (which it should) check for a 3 pin jacketed cable (typically grey) that runs from the preamp board to the main circuit board to ward the rear of the radio. Make sure it is plugged in well onto the main board. This line carries the line level audio signals from the preamp stage. The aux input mod uses a pair of factory test points to inject audio into the signal pathways. A simple short to ground here will knock out the audio entirely for the am/fm tuner.

Here’s the beginning of this project. 1/2” birch for the shell which is appropriate for the JL 6.5 subs. Exact dimension tbd but I’m within a narrow range. QTC will be in the .75 range

So I’m reading .15 vac or .21vrms on the preamp audio output. To get this reading I applied a 60hz sine wave input at max volume with tone controls at neutral. This is quite low to run directly into RCA outputs. Given the internal build quality and lack of DSP in this radio, I think the best signal path for amplification will come from the speaker level outputs. I’d be inclined to run a 4 input line output converter to preserve the fader function (in my case I’d use them as a subwoofer bias for my b pillar subs project). I believe someone else noted the outputs as being around .6vrms. Not sure where that reading was taken and with what method.

Audio system under construction at the moment. I’ve long wanted to build enclosures for some compact subs in the b pillars. It’s really an ideal location for them if done right. Started by some careful measuring the other day. Plan is custom enclosures for (2) JL 6.5 W3 subs. Will feed them with either a 3 or 4 channel amp from a customized RX173 head unit with a DSP.

That’s right. Since the case and connections are the same, a parts store alternator would work in a pinch. These mechmans are really nice units. High quality bearings and square copper windings.

Just to confirm, the 3 wire jacketed cable running from the preamp to the back of the board is indeed the line level audio output to the amp stage. This line is volume attenuated and tone adjusted already. A couple of good workable solutions for a clean aux/bluetooth input would be to interrupt the TP371 and TP471 tracers on the board and feed them through a switched input device, or run the preamp output to a DSP with external pots controll. So basically, if you’d like to have RCA pre-outs for an amp, there are a couple of viable options here. The stock amplifier seems like a decent quality unit, but I have not yet determined the frequency response. More to come. I will say, the stock RX-171-173 have some interesting differences but seem very well made.

Ordered up a Mechman alternator. My existing alternator was original to the engine and the regulator was staring to have issues. The mechman amperage at idle is excellent. The goal is to keep alternator voltage at idle vs dipping into battery reserve.

On my MJ I used dynaliner on the firewall since it has an adhesive backing. Dynapad is super nice stuff to work with though. It can be a tight fit near the center co sole to dash area but basically from rocker to rocker and back wall to lower firewall are prime spots for dynapad. Also worth adding some rtv or seam sealer around your floor plugs.

The light grey matches the seats a bit better but the dark gray or charcoal looks significantly better.

The block off plates are part of the gauges cluster bezel piece. If you want to install carling size switches, you need to get the actual mounting base that goes behind the dash. I have piles of them somewhere if I can dig them out.

Time for some updates. I knew I had a small leak on the drivers side but wasn’t sure where it was coming from (still investigating that). Also have a small air gap between the booster and the firewall letting in warm air from the engine bay while running. I also want to improve the audio in the can further and replace the cluster with the new custom Dakota digital system I had made. So out comes the interior. Found a decent amount of mildew under drivers side carpet as expected. Will also be swapping out the seatbelts for some corbeau 3 point harnesses. The Trailcat seats make it a bit difficult to grab the seat belts from the b pillars.

That is one clean floor! I’d check the seam sealer and identify any possible leaks. If it’s all good, do as recommended above. On my last build after I removed and re seam sealed the cab, I por 15d it then raptor lined it. It’s worked great so far. And I did end up using dynapad on the floor with excellent results. I just don’t recommend the mass backed carpet. For me, it started to crumble and our gas horribly after 3 months.

Out of curiosity, have you done cruisers tips? That’s typically the gold standard before firing the parts canon at seemingly mysterious renix issues

Steering play can come from the gearbox itself, the ball joints, the tie rod ends, the track bar, the control arms, the sway bar, the alignment etc. it’s really just a process of elimination. My current and last MJ had super tight steering with zero play. Not quite on par with electrically assisted rack and pinion but very good overall. But it took a lot of work to get it that way. The steering column on the manual does have an accessory position that you can access by pushing down on the key release button typically. At least that’s how my 90 and 91 were.

I’ve never seen one before, but if you still have the wiring harness for it, check and see if one side goes to ground. It’s likely just a simple normally closed or normally open pressure switch that you could harvest off of another vehicle. Does the engine try to stall without it?

What is the switch for? Does it turn on a light or operate another function?