Aftermarket stereo
02-06-17, 01:30 PM
#31
^ 12 gauge, wow. That's what I use at home for amps capable of pushing 1000W. At least if you ever need to relocate the battery to one of your doors, you'll be all set. 
I think we've all been there, though, wasting a huge amount of time by trying to not do extra disassembly.
I think we've all been there, though, wasting a huge amount of time by trying to not do extra disassembly.
02-06-17, 02:19 PM
#32
Yeah, the 12 gauge was kind of stupid, but I didn't know anything when I was younger. My friend told me to get 12 gauge wiring from the sub to the amp (Resonant engineering 15" sub paired with a directed 1100d amp) which required 2 to 3 feet, but I figured I would need a lot of wire because of the speakers, so I bought a spool because it was cheaper to buy in bulk. I didn't know that the speaker wires could be much smaller and cheaper. lol
02-06-17, 03:54 PM
#33
Yeah, the 12 gauge was kind of stupid, but I didn't know anything when I was younger. My friend told me to get 12 gauge wiring from the sub to the amp (Resonant engineering 15" sub paired with a directed 1100d amp) which required 2 to 3 feet, but I figured I would need a lot of wire because of the speakers, so I bought a spool because it was cheaper to buy in bulk. I didn't know that the speaker wires could be much smaller and cheaper. lol
I used to spend a pretty penny on Monster Cable before most people knew any better, then learned I could get better quality stuff for like 20% of the cost by buying a big spool. I've wired up several theater rooms with it and still have lots left. I never thought to use it in the car, though.
02-06-17, 08:23 PM
#34
Intermediate
I pulled the drivers door today to replace the hinge. The forward most wiring connection is a pig to release.
I did fish through an 18 gauge speaker wire but am still considering using the stock speaker wires. A continuous twist is just one more example of thoroughness in the design/build and I can't help but think the stock speaker wires will be better than my new double strand. In any case the new wire is there if needed. I'm going to add a connector to the new speaker wires at the kick panel area so the door can be removed without cutting the new wires.
There was also the remants of a poorly installed alarm system in the kick panel. More clean up to do with little room due to the carpet. Looks like pulling the complete interior is on deck so i can get at all the wiring.
I did fish through an 18 gauge speaker wire but am still considering using the stock speaker wires. A continuous twist is just one more example of thoroughness in the design/build and I can't help but think the stock speaker wires will be better than my new double strand. In any case the new wire is there if needed. I'm going to add a connector to the new speaker wires at the kick panel area so the door can be removed without cutting the new wires.
There was also the remants of a poorly installed alarm system in the kick panel. More clean up to do with little room due to the carpet. Looks like pulling the complete interior is on deck so i can get at all the wiring.
02-06-17, 10:15 PM
#35
I did fish through an 18 gauge speaker wire but am still considering using the stock speaker wires. A continuous twist is just one more example of thoroughness in the design/build and I can't help but think the stock speaker wires will be better than my new double strand.
That said, I would leave the stock wiring in place if you don't have a need to change it. Less to be confused about later if you stick to the stock color coding.
02-07-17, 07:08 PM
#37
-Tim
02-08-17, 06:06 PM
#38
Intermediate
I'll dig into the rest of the stereo tomorrow. I've been dicking around with the drivers door. I have a decent but not perfect hinge from the parts car. I have the hinge from my driver out at a machinists place for a bushing rebuild but it won't be done for a week or more. I was hesitating on temporarily rehanging the door with the parts car hinge, but not doing that job is holding me up. Enough diddling, so tomorrow the door goes on temporarily and I pull the rest of the interior and get at the factory CD player and possibly the Nak amp underneath.
The Kenwood DNX893S head unit I bought is purported to have enough power to run the 6" rears and 4" door/tweets without an amp. According to the spec's "Maximum Output Power : 50W x 4 (MOSFET Power IC)"
kenwood.com/ca/car/excelon/dnx893s/ (not sure if this violates outside links ban??)
I'm not a stereo guy so I'm hoping this will be enough poop for the fronts/rears.
It's nice to have the parts car to replace the inevitable broken clips etc and salvage all the little stuff from. Also nice to take apart a car that doesn't matter so much and learn what not to do so as not to break things on the good car.
The Kenwood DNX893S head unit I bought is purported to have enough power to run the 6" rears and 4" door/tweets without an amp. According to the spec's "Maximum Output Power : 50W x 4 (MOSFET Power IC)"
kenwood.com/ca/car/excelon/dnx893s/ (not sure if this violates outside links ban??)
I'm not a stereo guy so I'm hoping this will be enough poop for the fronts/rears.
It's nice to have the parts car to replace the inevitable broken clips etc and salvage all the little stuff from. Also nice to take apart a car that doesn't matter so much and learn what not to do so as not to break things on the good car.
02-08-17, 06:12 PM
#39
Intermediate
My tool of choice for stuff like that is a paint can opener. It can be used to hook onto those hard to reach tabs and depress them so the connector can be wiggled free.
You'd think so, but that wiring is no more durable than anything else. The only broken door wiring on any of my SCs has been for one of the speakers. It is very tidy, however.
That said, I would leave the stock wiring in place if you don't have a need to change it. Less to be confused about later if you stick to the stock color coding.
You'd think so, but that wiring is no more durable than anything else. The only broken door wiring on any of my SCs has been for one of the speakers. It is very tidy, however.
That said, I would leave the stock wiring in place if you don't have a need to change it. Less to be confused about later if you stick to the stock color coding.
I clipped the connectors from my parts car and soldered/heat shrunk them onto the new wires. I can't imagine the wires inside the speaker box are compromised and will not rewire. Using the factory connectors on the new wires will keep things clean and use the standard connections. I'm not a fan of crimped on spade connectors.
I'll post some photos tomorrow
02-09-17, 04:22 PM
#40
Intermediate
I'm confused
I pulled apart the speaker box from my 92 driver. Had a Nakamichi speaker in the door, looked to be the first time it was handled. The wire with black stripe was connected to the positive terminal on the speaker.
The speaker box from the parts car had an aftermarket speaker, striped wire connected to the negative.
Isn't the convention to have the striped wire as negative? If so the factory Nakamichi was wired backwards??
I pulled apart the speaker box from my 92 driver. Had a Nakamichi speaker in the door, looked to be the first time it was handled. The wire with black stripe was connected to the positive terminal on the speaker.
The speaker box from the parts car had an aftermarket speaker, striped wire connected to the negative.
Isn't the convention to have the striped wire as negative? If so the factory Nakamichi was wired backwards??
02-09-17, 06:33 PM
#42
Intermediate
I'm not sure what was going on with the wiring I pulled out but I'm going to make the black stripe wire Negative and label at each connector.
At the scrap yard today i salvaged a number of speaker connectors and 2 wire connectors. I'm going to leave the factory stuff in place and clip in using soldered in factory connectors on my new wires.
The Nakamichi 4" from my 92 driver looked pretty good, although front speakers weren't working with the factory system. I'm thinking as stated previously, that the factory door speaker wires were broken.
My new 4" speaker does not completely cover the speaker box opening, which I assume to be "less than ideal".
I'm contemplating filling the gap with a bead of silicon. I contemplated making a plate of either metal or plastic but think it might buzz.
even with the foam surround mounted on top there is still a gap
At the scrap yard today i salvaged a number of speaker connectors and 2 wire connectors. I'm going to leave the factory stuff in place and clip in using soldered in factory connectors on my new wires.
The Nakamichi 4" from my 92 driver looked pretty good, although front speakers weren't working with the factory system. I'm thinking as stated previously, that the factory door speaker wires were broken.
My new 4" speaker does not completely cover the speaker box opening, which I assume to be "less than ideal".
I'm contemplating filling the gap with a bead of silicon. I contemplated making a plate of either metal or plastic but think it might buzz.
even with the foam surround mounted on top there is still a gap
Last edited by Returd; 02-09-17 at 06:44 PM.
02-09-17, 06:42 PM
#43
Intermediate
Here's what I did for the tweeters. The new ones are a bigger diameter than stock so I had to move the new on rear ward so as not to conflict with the mounting tab on the window surround.
The first photo shows the new mounting hole, the second the finished tweeter mounted and as a comparison a stock on beside it. The point being I needed to maintain a gap between the screw mount (green/yellow) and the tweeter in order to get the window surround on.
The last photo is the crossover spliced/soldered onto the stock connector. I used a dab of blue Loctite on the tweeter mounting screw for good measure. I've got a few other things on the go so I'll finish this up in the next couple of days. Looking at the rats nest of previous alarm system install I'm thinking complete interior removal to get the seats and carpet out of the way to get at the wiring is called for.
The first photo shows the new mounting hole, the second the finished tweeter mounted and as a comparison a stock on beside it. The point being I needed to maintain a gap between the screw mount (green/yellow) and the tweeter in order to get the window surround on.
The last photo is the crossover spliced/soldered onto the stock connector. I used a dab of blue Loctite on the tweeter mounting screw for good measure. I've got a few other things on the go so I'll finish this up in the next couple of days. Looking at the rats nest of previous alarm system install I'm thinking complete interior removal to get the seats and carpet out of the way to get at the wiring is called for.
02-09-17, 09:19 PM
#44
No such conventions in factory wiring - make no assumptions on colors or patterns.
Just be consistent with all 4 speaker wires and all will be well.
Definitely! A plastic or metal plate wiould be fine, but silicone is quicker, easier and will seal it up nicely. Well worth the little bit of extra effort.
-Tim
Definitely! A plastic or metal plate wiould be fine, but silicone is quicker, easier and will seal it up nicely. Well worth the little bit of extra effort.
-Tim