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1992 Prelude Si + JDM H22 + M2B2.

I've been Googling for weeks, have read dozens of threads on several Prelude and Honda specific websites. My driver rear speaker has very low volume and I can't figure it out.

Before going further, here's what I have and here's what I've done:

1. Honda single-CD OEM HU. This is not factory to the '92-96 Prelude, but it's plug'n'play from various pre-'03 Accord and Civic models.
2. Brand new JBL components up front, co-axials in back. 4 ohm 93db. 55hz-20khz'ish.
3. Soundstream 5-channel Class-D amp, mounted under passenger seat. Crimped and soldered and heat-shrunk connections. Wrapped in Tessa cloth tape and tidily routed under carpet and through center section of car, under panels. Interior looks OEM.
4. Metra 70-1720T harness: Metra Part # 70-1720T | Honda Civic wire harness | Metra Online
5. Tang-Band 6.5" open-air subwoofer mounted on custom 6x9 spacer mounted to Factory OEM Optional 6x9 subwoofer frame between rear seats.

• Since the HU is only 4-channel, I ran the sub's speaker wires to the amp's 5th channel (sub) output. For the input wiring, I spliced into the rear speaker high level input wires going to the amp. So, that's eight wires total going to the third and fourth (rear) inputs, a positive piggied onto positive, negative onto negative for the third channel, and same for the fourth channel.

The speakers, sub, amp all sound great. The sub adequately fills in lower octaves and looks completely OEM with factory optional grille over the center mount. Again, the only issue is that LR speaker appears dead in full mix, but when isolating fader/balance to just rear left, there is just some very little sound.

Here's my troubleshooting:

1. Switched LF outputs to LR, and LR to LF. This caused the LF (driver front) speaker to go very low.
2. The input pins at amp side are 5-pin connectors, two positive and two negative and a ground. I switched input channels 1/2 into 3/4, and 3/4 into 1/2. This caused the LF (driver front) speaker to go very low.
3. Unplugged the rear channel outputs, leaving in the rear + sub outputs on input 3/4. This caused the rears to go dead, but the sub remained on with the fronts. Sounded good, but in my head I know it's not right.
4. Called Crutchfield and they sent me a new amp. I plugged it in and, guess what? No change at all.
5. Unplugged the amp and harness and just put the damn HU back into the factory harness. This caused equal sound in all channels, but no sub, and the HU clipped at driving volume.


I think I have been thorough in explaining my issue and what I've done to isolate the problem. Yes, I'm 110% committed to an OEM interior. I'm not going back to an aftermarket HU and I don't want or need a dumb sub box in my trunk. The local car audio shops in my area are 6-weeks out for scheduling... so I came here. While I am not a car audio expert, I am fairly comfortable around 2-channel home audio and repairing/refurbing speakers, crossover, and turntables. This is my first car audio project, and my Prelude (owned since '04) is in remarkable condition.

So, that said, help? Have I made any mistakes? Is my 5th-channel input wiring correct? Have I overlooked any other troubleshooting methods?

Thanks,
Jason
@13stoploss

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