Pioneer GM-X542 owner manual Setting the Unit, Connecting the Unit, Gain Control, Power Indicator

Setting the Unit

Gain Control

If the sound level is too low, even when the volume of the car stereo used along with this power amplifier is turned up, turn gain control on the front of the power amplifier clockwise. If the sound distorts when the volume is turned up, turn the gain control counter-clockwise.

• When using with an RCA equipped car

stereo (standard output of 500 mV), set to

the NORMAL position. When using with

an RCA equipped Pioneer car stereo with

Power Indicator

The power indicator lights when the power is switched on.

Connecting the Unit

CAUTION

•Disconnect the negative (–) terminal of the battery to avoid the risk of short-circuit and damage to the unit.

•Secure the wiring with cable clamps or adhesive tape. To protect the wiring, wrap adhesive tape around it where they lie against metal parts.

•Do not route wires where they will get hot, for example where the heater will blow over them. If the insulation heats up, it may become damaged, resulting in a short-circuit through the vehicle body.

•Make sure that wires will not interfere with mov- ing parts of the vehicle, such as the gearshift, handbrake or seat sliding mechanism.

•Do not shorten any wires. Otherwise the protec- tion circuit may fail to work when it should.

•Never feed power to other equipment by cutting the insulation of the power supply wire to tap from the wire. The current capacity of the wire will be exceeded, causing overheating.

Connection Diagram

	Fuse (30 A)
		Special red battery wire [RD-223] (sold separately).
Grommet		After making all other connections at the amplifier,
		connect the battery wire terminal of the amplifier to
		the positive (+) terminal of the battery.
	Fuse (30 A)
		Ground wire (black) [RD-223] (sold separately).
		Connect to metal body or chassis.

max. output of 4 V or more, adjust level to

match the car stereo output level.

• If you hear too much noise when using the

speaker input terminals, turn the gain

control counter-clockwise.

To prevent damage

• Do not ground the speaker wire directly or con-

nect a negative (–) lead wire for several speakers.

• This unit is for vehicles with a 12-volt battery and

negative grounding. Before installing it in a recre-

ational vehicle, truck or bus, check the battery

voltage.

• If the car stereo is kept on for a long time while

the engine is at rest or idling, the battery may go

dead. Turn the car stereo off when the engine is at

rest or idling.

• If the system remote control wire of the amplifier

• Speakers to be connected to the amplifier should

conform with the standards listed below. If they

do not conform, they may catch fire, emit smoke

or become damaged. The speaker impedance must

be 1 to 8 ohms for stereo connection, and 2 to 8

ohms for monaural and other bridge connection.

• Install and route the separately sold battery wire

as far away as possible from the speaker wires.

Install and route the separately sold battery wire,

ground wire, speaker wires and the amplifier as

far away as possible from the antenna, antenna

RCA input

Connecting wires with RCA pin plugs (sold separately).

Amplifier with RCA input jacks

Car stereo with RCA output jacks

Bass Boost Level Control

LPF (Low-Pass Filter)/HPF (High-Pass Filter) Select Switch

is connected to the power terminal through the

ignition switch (12 V DC), the amplifier will

always be on when the ignition is on— regardless

of whether the car stereo is on or off. Because of

this, the battery could go dead if the engine is at

rest or idle.

cable and tuner.

• Cords for this product and those for other prod-

ucts may be different colors even if they have the

same function. When connecting this product to

another product, refer to the supplied Installation

manuals of both products and connect cords that

have the same function.

Front side

RCA output jack

External Output

RCA input jack

Bass Boost Level Control can boost the level around 60 Hz from 0 to 18 dB.

•Bass Boost Level Control can be adjusted only when the LPF/HPF select switch is set to a position other than HPF.

Set the LPF/HPF select switch as follows according to the type of speaker that is connected to the speaker output connector and the car stereo system:

LPF/HPF Select	Audio frequency range	Speaker	Remarks
Switch	to be output	Type
LPF (left)	Very Low Frequency range	Subwoofer	Connect a subwoofer.
OFF (center)	Full range	Full range
HPF (right)	Low Frequency range to	Full range	Use if you want to cut the

Speaker Channel	Speaker Type	Power
Two-channel	Subwoofer	Nominal input: Min. 60 W
	Other than subwoofer	Max. input: Min. 100 W
One-channel	Subwoofer	Nominal input: Min. 165 W
	Other than subwoofer	Max. input: Min. 300 W

Back side

Fuse (25 A)

High Frequency range	very low frequency range
	because it is not necessary
	for the speakers you are
	using.

Speaker terminal

See the “Connecting the Speaker wires” section for speaker connection instructions.

System remote control wire (sold separately)

Connect the male terminal of this wire to the system remote control terminal of the car stereo (SYSTEM REMOTE CONTROL). The female terminal can be connected to the auto-antenna relay control terminal. If the car stereo does not have a system remote control ter- minal, connect the male terminal to the power terminal through the ignition switch.