Starlink Head Unit Removal- Schematics

[rpbot]

in your post you show a screenshot for connection i262 going into the hk amp. do you know which wire is the remote-on/turn-on wire?

 

Here you go - info for FB664UM attached.

 

Attachments with files named 1, 2, 3 are screenshots from wiring pdf file (can sent you over email, could not attach here because more than 250kb is not attachable to the forum).

 

Originally had same problem - while replacing HK amp with aftermarket amp i could not obtain any info from Subaru or HK. Several calls and visits to dealership and emails to techsupports of both companies were not successfull.

I spent couple of months of digging through internet forums to find that info.

 

And yes - I have that weird case when Head Unit is sending only 2 pair of wires to HK amplifier - only for front door speakers.

And yes - I don't have volume control yet from Head Unit - just when making input to Aux, or from bluetooth from the phone - then source device controls the volume. But when playing CD or Radio - no control of the volume. Still to decide what to do furhter...

[BeastCoast]

I have the base model so it has the basic head unit (not sure of the model but it has the red lights around the knobs). Anyone know if I would be able to directly swap a premium head unit without nav and retain all of my functions? I dont have Nav or SXM, Im just looking to switch for cosmetic reasons. Also seems like the premium unit is faster response wise and displays album art on bluetooth connectivity which mine does not.

[rpbot]

SVXdc posted this:

 

2015 models with 7" display and h/k system are doing something different than previous h/k systems.

 

On 2009-2014 models, the HUs still had 4 amplified speaker outputs and sent those to the h/k amp. The amp used those to generate 8 outputs to all of the speakers and subwoofer. The HU still fully controlled balance and fade via its 4 outputs.

 

I don't completely know what's going on electrically, but the 2015 wiring diagram shows:

 

Summary:

 

Just a wild guess, but I think the h/k HUs now have only 3 outputs (left, right, and a mono subwoofer), and the amp handles front/rear fade and volume (remote controlled digitally by the HU). The HU may still be handling left/right balance itself (actually varying the levels to its left & right outputs).

 

[EDIT:] I re-read the diagrams pduncan posted. You have to pay attention to the column "Harman AMP". Looks more like the HU only sends the left & right audio signals to the h/k amp, and the amp handles all of the volume and fade functions (and perhaps balance too), as well as segregating the bands to send to the different tweeters/speakers/sub. All of that controlled by the Interface +/- and Communication +/- pins.

 

In any case, it's looking pretty dismal to be able to swap out just the HU or just the amp. It will probably be all or nothing. At best, you may be able to feed the h/k amp's subwoofer output to an aftermarket sub amp + sub speaker.

 

Start there. Should be fine since the base model and premium model do not have HK amp, but I will leave it to the experts here. Assuming you are talking like model year or same family then the swap should be straightforward.

[rpbot]

I just want to say thanks to all those who contribute on these threads. I know this is a Legacy forum, but the Gen-5 Outback shares a lot and I was able to use some of the information here and kraft the following which I also have posted on the subaruoutback.org site.

 

--

I finished the install of a Kicker 12" CompR 2-Ohm 500W RMS Sub-woofer Enclosure, with Kicker CXA600.1 600W RMS mono amp, 2-Channel LOC, and Kicker Remote Bass Control in my 2017 Outback 3.6R Touring. I have been looking around these threads and did not see one specific to Gen-5 Outbacks, especially 2016/2017 Outbacks with the Fujitsu TEN NAV HU and HK amp, with the level of detail needed to be able to feel comfortable hacking up my wiring harnesses.

 

Let me start by saying that I wanted to keep my car as stock as possible and not mess with replacing the Fujitsu TEN HU w/ NAV and HK amp with another aftermarket product. I really wanted to keep all the controls the same in the HU, allow the mediocre EQ settings to still control the car audio including the aftermarket sub I am installing to beef-up the wimpy sub in the rear-side panel. It's really non-existent as are the rear-door woofers! The front woofers and the three tweeters in the dash sound OK, but now that I have the sub thumping I am going to replace the tweeters and woofers next with something not requiring a tremendous amount of customization and allowing me to continue using the HK amp.

 

I have seen some other comments on these threads about the new Gen-5 Limited/Touring model HU wi/ NAV having line-outs instead of speaker outs from the HU to the HK amp. This is true as shown in Diagram 3: HU to HK AMP Pinouts where pins 7 and 8 are the line-outs feeding the HK amp.

 

Diagram 1: General Overview

Ok, this is really to show a high level view of what I did and where I placed the equipment.

 

Diagram 2: Wiring Taps and Pins

The is my equipment with contact points for each component diagrammed out. You can refer to Diagram 3 and Diagram 4 for specifics of the pinouts.

 

Diagram 3: HU to HK AMP Pinouts

The amp socket pinout should be interpreted as if you are looking directly at the HK amp where the 24-pin (HK amp side) connector "i262" from the HU connects into the HK amp socket. The 24-pin HU plug should be interpreted as if you are looking at the end of the harness plug connector. The colors are correct and I can affirm pin 12 is the turn-on wire for the HK amp. I piggy-backed this for the Kicker amp remote turn-on.

 

Diagram 4: HK AMP to Speakers

The amp socket pinout should be interpreted as if you are looking directly at the HK amp where the 30-pin (HK amp side) connector "R316" from the HK amp routes out to all the speakers. The 30-pin plug connector should be interpreted as if you are looking at the end of the harness plug. The colors are correct and I can affirm all pins are true to the detailed fuctuion. I tapped the 2-Channel LOC (6-wires: ground, ground, L-, L+, R-, R+) as shown in Diagram 2 into the rear woofer speaker outs - pins 14/29 (Rear Left), 15/30 (Rear Right), 3 (Left Ground), 18 (Right Ground). The RCA outs fed the Kicker amp RCA input.

 

I was able to validate some of the diagrams from other posting, specifically the one on LegacyGT threads: URL soon since I am a noob poster here.

 

LegacyGT - chithead and svxdc had some great feedback and posts related to Gen-6 Legacy, but I was able to leverage for this post.

 

I hope these help some of you trying to do the same without completely modding the whole car ... I just needed a little BOOM! to make my commutes more enjoyable! I will post some photos soon ... next week or two of what things actually look like in the car and where you can route the +12V amp power through the firewall. Best of luck!

--

[Solkid212]

Ok so I've searched through a ton of posts but for the life of me can't find the one that matches my radio. I am hooking up a bazooka tube and going to tap into the wires for the speakers. Maybe I'm reading something wrong but it just doesn't look the same to me.

[stavi]

@Solkid212, unless you already bought the bazooka tube I would save you money and get a JL audio Micro sub + (this has a built in amp) or a just one of of there micro subs if you already have an amp. I installed their smallest 6W3v3 microsub and everyone who has been in my car has been blown away by how good/loud the thing sound for such a small footprint.

[Solkid212]

@stavi I have the tube already it has the amp built in. It came with a easy hook up to tap into the wirest I just can find a schematic to match my radio so I know I'm going into the right wires. But thanks for the heads up

[rpbot]

@stavi I have the tube already it has the amp built in. It came with a easy hook up to tap into the wirest I just can find a schematic to match my radio so I know I'm going into the right wires. But thanks for the heads up

 

Happy to try and get you in a good place, but can you share some details on what is available from your bazooka to connect up? I know you mentioned it is self-powered and has some type of connector for the HU, but can you share any more details or photos? If you are trying to connect to a 2016 Subi Legacy Premium, this may be a touch easier to tap as you do not have to figure out the downstream HK amp wiring.

[Solkid212]

Happy to try and get you in a good place, but can you share some details on what is available from your bazooka to connect up? I know you mentioned it is self-powered and has some type of connector for the HU, but can you share any more details or photos? If you are trying to connect to a 2016 Subi Legacy Premium, this may be a touch easier to tap as you do not have to figure out the downstream HK amp wiring.

 

It's called a fast 9999 connector it pierces the wires to get the signal from the front speakers as well as power and the acc to use for the remote. I don't have the HK system or nav in my car. I keep trying to upload pics but it won't let me. Any help would be great let me know if this helps this is a link to the connector the radio is 86201AL68A model FT0054A

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_700FASTBAZ/Bazooka-F-A-S-T-Package.html?tp=1278.

[rpbot]

It's called a fast 9999 connector it pierces the wires to get the signal from the front speakers as well as power and the acc to use for the remote. I don't have the HK system or nav in my car. I keep trying to upload pics but it won't let me. Any help would be great let me know if this helps this is a link to the connector the radio is 86201AL68A model FT0054A

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_700FASTBAZ/Bazooka-F-A-S-T-Package.html?tp=1278.

 

You should refer to the first post in this thread. Here is the link: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/starlink-head-unit-removal-schematics-237457.html

 

This shows you all the details of the pinouts for the rear of the HU. You will be messing with Connector A which has all the pinouts for your speakers and where you will tap the lineouts to wire into that Bazooka quick connect harness you have.

 

I was able to find an image of your HU rear panel as you can see in the attached images 86201AL64A-FT0054A.jpg and 86201AL64A-FT0054A-rear.jpg. They should be the same as in the first post in this thread as previously linked.

 

TheBazooka quick connect you sent a link of is also attached so I can pose some questions and have others view it easily here. The image of the connector is bazzoka-quick-connect.png. I labeled with numbers so you can easily see what I am referring to:

1. Plugs into #5 - at least it seems so from the images.

1a. White/Black (-) Left Front Speaker

1b. Gray/Black (-) Right Front Speaker

1c. White (+) Left Front Speaker

1d. Gray (+) Right Front Speaker

1e. Red (+) 12V Power

1f. Blue/White Turns on remote accessories (e.g. remote turn-on)

Refer to this link and PDF from Bazooka: http://www.bazooka.com/pdf/current/FAST_9999_instr_rev1_sm.pdf

2a/b. I believe these feed the Bazooka tube and would typically be connected to the HU preamp Line-level outs (RCAs), which we already know Subi factory HUs do not have.

3. This appears to be the connector to the Bazooka tube. Should be straightforward.

4. Chassis ground, straightforward.

5. Plugs into 1

 

Here is a cross-walk of how you will tap into your HU rear harness (Connection A) wires, remember you will use the column referencing 'Internal AMP' since you do not have an HK system:

 

Bazooka FASTConnect to HU Connector A Pins/Wires

1a to pin-6

1b to pin-5

1c to pin-2

1d to pin-1

1e to pin-8 (really you can tap any of the +12v pins, but I believe this will work)

1f to pin-3

 

Refer to image Connector-A-pinouts.png. If you pull out your HU and photo the harness I can tell you the exact wires to tap with the posi-connects on the quick connector. This should be enough to get you moving.

 

Refer to the attached bazooka-diagram.png as a reference to the wiring schematic (high level) for your install.

 

Also, I found a couple of images to reference the Bazooka tube in bazooka-100.jpg and bazooka-a200.jpg. It would be helpful for you to confirm which Bazooka tube you have an confirm the connectors. As you can see these images differ in what is available to connect to and will determine how the wiring is done.

[Solkid212]

Wow man thank you so much. I wasn't expecting all of that but that is amazing. I was just worried about using some of this cause the back of my radio looked different. I will be putting it in this weekend and I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again for the help awesome!!!!

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[rpbot]

Wow man thank you so much. I wasn't expecting all of that but that is amazing. I was just worried about using some of this cause the back of my radio looked different. I will be putting it in this weekend and I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again for the help awesome!!!!

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

 

 

I am glad this helped you get comfortable. I used a lot of information from these forums, just trying to contribute back. Good luck.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mcsquared88]

First let me say thanks so much to everyone that's done excellent detective work on figuring out how to mod these systems. This thread has been the single best source of info I've found.

 

I have a 2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited with the 7" nav HU and Harman Kardon amp. The model number on the bottom left front is FB695US. From what I gather, this is the same HU/amp combo that's in some trims of the 2015/2016 Legacy, which is why I'm posting this here. I want to replace just the head unit with an aftermarket one that supports Android Auto, but from what others have posted here, I'm not sure that's possible without also bypassing or replacing the H/K amp with an aftermarket amp.

 

Specifically, on 9/5/2015, SVXdc wrote "Looks more like the HU only sends the left & right audio signals to the h/k amp, and the amp handles all of the volume and fade functions (and perhaps balance too), as well as segregating the bands to send to the different tweeters/speakers/sub. All of that controlled by the Interface +/- and Communication +/- pins. In any case, it's looking pretty dismal to be able to swap out just the HU or just the amp. It will probably be all or nothing."

 

And on 9/10/2015, tornik wrote "And yes - I have that weird case when Head Unit is sending only 2 pair of wires to HK amplifier - only for front door speakers. And yes - I don't have volume control yet from Head Unit"

 

On the other hand, Crutchfield and two local installers claim I should be able to replace just the headunit. Before I realized how complicated this would be, I bought a Pioneer AVH-4100NEX for a great price. It's still sitting in the box. I don't trust myself to do the installation myself, and I'm trying to avoid having an installer start the job only to realize that they can't replace just the headunit.

 

Can anyone confirm this is possible? If it is, what parts are needed? Here's what it seems I need:

* Metra 95-8906HG dash kit

* Metra 40-LX11 antenna adapter

* Metra AX-SUBUSB2 Subaru USB adapter to connect the stock USB jacks on the dash to the aftermarket headunit

* Axxess AXWC-1 or iDatalink Maestro SW steering wheel control adapter

* Metra AX-SUB28SWC-6V wiring harness with 12-volt to 6-volt voltage converter for the OEM backup camera

 

I believe some changes will be needed to the AX-SUB28SWC-6V wiring harness for it to work with this setup, but as I said, this is a start. If there's a more appropriate wiring harness out there that I should use, please point me to it.

 

If it's not possible to connect an aftermarket headunit to the H/K amp, is it possible to directly connect the Pioneer AVH-4100NEX to the stock 8-speaker system? The Pioneer has outputs for front L/R, rear L/R, and sub, but I know the stock 8-speaker system also has a front center channel and the front L/R speakers are split into separate tweeters and woofers, so even that sounds complicated.

 

Thanks again everyone.

 

--Adam

[Nissanfan]

Hello everybody, I've been checking this post since October. Just yesterday, I've discovered something in regards to this topic and I have decided to sign up and share my findings. Hopefully this will help somebody. I tried swapping in Navi into 2015 WRX and ran across the same issue. Long story short, I decided to get non harman version off ebay and call it a day. I've kept the Harman unit around and decided to look inside. I've noticed A2240 IC, which is HA12240 - Bus Interface Driver (AVC LAN). AVC LAN is a system of communication used in LEXUS/TOYOTA systems for decades. This rang the bell. I had a CD Changer Emulator based on ATmega8a and decided to connect it to TX+ TX- on 8 pin connector. It turned on "telematics service in progress". I have checked the resistance between TX+ and TX- and i got reading of about 70 ohms, which is AVC LAN of toyota specifications. Yesterday, I have decided to connect the radio in my other vehicle (Lexus IS300), which has oem amplifier (uses AVC lan). Guess what? Settings turned on. I was able to adjust sound settings, other than volume. I suspect the potentiometer resistances vary significantly between IS300 radio and Subaru Startlink headunit (I'll try to compare, when i get a chance next time).

 

 

[mclarenf3]

It definitely looks nice, but a pretty old version of Android on there. Hopefully a newer version will be available.

[Nissanfan]

Fixed meaning balanced? Truth be told, I don’t know how to check if signals are balanced or unbalanced (standard RCA connectors). Since diagrams show (+) and (-) pins (example: FR+, FR-, FL+, FR-), I assumed those are balanced signals. This would be the first step, if somebody can verify that.

[rpbot]

My posting here has a diagram.

 

...

 

Diagram 3: HU to HK AMP Pinouts

The amp socket pinout should be interpreted as if you are looking directly at the HK amp where the 24-pin (HK amp side) connector "i262" from the HU connects into the HK amp socket. The 24-pin HU plug should be interpreted as if you are looking at the end of the harness plug connector. The colors are correct and I can affirm pin 12 is the turn-on wire for the HK amp. I piggy-backed this for the Kicker amp remote turn-on.

 

I was able to validate some of the diagrams from other posting, specifically the one on LegacyGT threads: URL soon since I am a noob poster here.

 

LegacyGT - chithead and svxdc had some great feedback and posts related to Gen-6 Legacy, but I was able to leverage for this post.

 

I hope these help some of you trying to do the same without completely modding the whole car ... I just needed a little BOOM! to make my commutes more enjoyable! I will post some photos soon ... next week or two of what things actually look like in the car and where you can route the +12V amp power through the firewall. Best of luck!

--

 

I know the HK head unit sends full range fixed level pre-amp signal to the amp. Has anyone with the HK head unit determined how or on which wire the volume signal is transmitted to the amp?

 

I would like to keep the HK head unit but ditch the rest of the system, but having trouble figuring out the volume issue.

 

When you have the HK AMP in connector, i262, pins 7 (grn/lt.blue) & 8 (lt.blue) are the line outs. They have a some type of capacitor on them near the HK AMP connection. Test with a multimeter. The HK AMP does some other things so I would not recommend yanking it.

[Nissanfan]

My posting here has a diagram.

 

 

 

 

 

When you have the HK AMP in connector, i262, pins 7 (grn/lt.blue) & 8 (lt.blue) are the line outs. They have a some type of capacitor on them near the HK AMP connection. Test with a multimeter. The HK AMP does some other things so I would not recommend yanking it.

 

As I have mentioned in the earlier post. HU is communicating using AVC lan. TX+ and TX- are the communication protocol lines (AS you have also said).

 

 

Balanced Audio Signals are still sent through that plug.

 

 

To briefly the AVC lan communication works is Head unit (Address 190) "talks" to Amplifier (Address 440) as to Volume/Fade/Bass/Etc.

 

 

 

Visit Website for good reference of this communication protocol: http://softservice.com.pl/corolla/avc/avclan.php

[lindjosh]

What is the difficulty level of pulling the factory head unit?

[pduncan1963]

What is the difficulty level of pulling the factory head unit?

 

 

 

On a scale from 1 to 10, I would say 2. If you have a Phillips screw driver, something to pry the trim pieces off then your set.

 

Just read the first part of this tread. Couldn't be any more straight forward.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SVXdc]

...

Balanced Audio Signals are still sent through that plug [the 10- & 6-pin Toyota power/speaker type connectors].

 

https://s27.postimg.org/r77apfgxf/audio.jpg

...

 

I see that you've annotated the "INT+/-" pins on the 6-pin connector as "SUB". Have you (or anyone else) determined that those pins are sending the subwoofer audio?

 

I had initially theorized that in my post #27, but then quickly decided that this pair is likely just another data stream for the HU to control the h/k amp. Otherwise, why would they call it "Interface box"?

 

(also, if you can revise your annotated diagram to include the pin numbers, that will help people)

[caheiss]

First and foremost, I wanted to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread in an effort to establish a stable output signal for an aftermarket amplifier in the current generation Subaru with the H/K system. I recently purchased a 2017 Subaru Legacy Limited 2.5i and, although the 12-speaker H/K is probably the best factory system I've owned, I wanted more volume on the low-end. As you all know, the H/K system is pretty complex. I wanted to share my approach to establishing OEM integration of a monoblock amplifier and subwoofer. Special thanks to rpbot for providing the wiring schematic of the 2017 Outback which matched my application perfectly. These detailed diagrams can be found on page 6 of the thread.

 

I first wanted to attempt this installation myself. I've done a couple OEM integrations in the past; however, soon realized that this was a little more complicated than anticipated. Due to the fact that I only intended to add a subwoofer, I opted to use the 2-channel EpiCenter Plus. This would essentially give me a summing and bass enhancement device in one. Adhering to the schematic provided by rpbot, I tapped into the rear deck woofer and right rear door woofer. Power, remote, and ground came directly from the H/K harness (see attached diagram provided by rpbot). When powered on and using various sine frequency tests on a multimeter, there was now a 3-volt signal output in the 80-100 Hz range which fell below 1-volt in the 30-50 and 120-140 Hz ranges. Obviously, this is less than ideal for a subwoofer. It was at this point I opted professional assistance as it was quite apparent that the H/K amp speaker outputs were heavily crossed over.

 

Thanks to Northeast Light and Sound in Hazleton, PA (owner Harry and installer Vinny), we opted to use the Audiocontrol LC6i (6-channel summing device) to tap into all five woofers in the vehicle. The hypothesis was that there are low-range signals present throughout the five drivers; however, various frequencies being sent to each as well as not enough voltage to utilize just two channels for the signal summation. If, perhaps, we tapped into all of the woofers, the summation of the frequencies and output voltage would yield a stronger signal. These guys worked tirelessly to do a very clean, professional install while tapping into the front and rear (left and right) and rear deck woofers. The result was a strong, clean signal output across the entire low-end range. Having installed and owned numerous car audio systems over the years, I can attest that this solution resulted in one of the best car audio setups I've ever owned. The H/K system truly comes to life with the addition of the JL Audio RD500/1 and 10" W6v3 in a high output enclosure. Further, these guys went above and beyond to do a clean install of the bass remote control knob inside the center console. With this, I'm able to adjust on the fly according to song preference.

 

I've attached a photo of the LC6i to give everyone an idea of the install. This is mounted directly to the factory amplifier beneath the passenger seat. If you want to add low-end frequency range to the latest generation Subaru with the H/K amp, do yourself a favor and use at least a 6-channel summing device (the Audiocontrol LC6i is an extremely cost effective and solid device) and tap into ALL FIVE woofers. This technique will ensure: 1.) broader frequency bandwidth and 2.) stronger voltage input and thus, a stronger voltage output. If you're planning to amplify speakers and want a full-range signal, then you'll likely need the LC8i 8-channel summing device in order to add the tweeter output into the summing device. This I do not have experience with but it would be a logical approach. If anyone has any questions, feel free to respond or PM me. This was an exciting adventure and thanks again to rpbot for the detailed wiring diagrams as well as the guys at Northeast Light and Sound for their professional installation and excellent customer service.

[caheiss]

I'll be posting more pictures in the near future when I receive them from the installers. This was certainly a headache at first but we finally went all-in and just summed every low- and mid-range frequency in the vehicle by using all five woofers. I knew this would yield a strong signal; however, I was blown away by the amount of low-end frequency achieved. Quite honestly, you'd never guess I was running a subwoofer off of a factory system. The bass control knob installed inside the center console gives me all the control needed in the absence of a internal subwoofer output control that one would find in an aftermarket HU. Even more surprisingly, the amount of bass accuracy is astonishing. There's now a perfect blend of highs, mids, and lows throughout the vehicle with numerous listening formats.