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[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

SPEAKER WIRE QUESTION


When I did the fronts, just to be sure that I had the polarities correct, I GROUNDed a test-light and put it to each of the wires.

The one I had years ago labeled as " + " would light the bulb and sort of pulse with the music.

The one I had labeled " - " yielded no light whatsoever.


HOWEVER, and this is where it makes me scratch my head, when I did likewise with the rears, I get light on BOTH wires; how is this possible ??

Even so, the speakers work and sound fine.

Thank you all for patiently answering all of my kindergarten audiophile questions.

 

[justinray]

I use to worry about the wire polarities then I got my current truck and all the speakers are wired backwards and it sounds fine. There is no difference whatsoever.

 

[smolkin]

Yeah, you can hear if there's one out of phase easily enough just by sticking your head right next to each one, one at a time, with your fader /balance both in the middle. Much easier than trying to test using lights and meters.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

..i installed a 7" flip out head unit
(speaker, tweeter, and crossover) in my front doors, in the rear it's 4x6? Kicker component, again speaker, tweeter, and crossover

Two questions; what is a "flip out" head unit ??

And, I keep seing the word "crossover"; what is meant ??

Thanks.

 

[riotwarrior]

Two questions; what is a "flip out" head unit ??

And, I keep seing the word "crossover"; what is meant ??

Thanks.

GOOGLE flip out head unit..yiuo'll see one..

Now, speaker wires need to be set to correct polarity for best sound.

One way to do this is use clear speaker wire...usually a tin/copper I use copper for + tin - I am referring to colour here tin/copper colour!

Another is to take a regular AA batter and touch the speaker leads to the wire...if the speaker moves OUT the battery + is the speaker + and visa versa for the - if SPEAKER MOVES IN bat pos is speaker neg! backwards!

Just saying...

Cross over is the passive or active device that seperates the frequencies to the speaker so woofers only produce bass, tweeters produce high notes and mid range same! otherwise they would be full range speaker and suck!

Stay away from speakers with the little added cone in the middle that's a whizzer cone and they suck too!

 

[HammerDown]

here's my setup:

JVC CD Receiver WAV/MP3/WMA/WMA-DRM/iPod & iPhone Audio/Dual USB #KD-R900
Rockford Fosgate Prime # R250-4
Pioneer 4-Way Premier A-series Front 6.5" Speakers #TSA1683R

My OE drivers door speaker died, I hoped to find a replacement to keep it stock but no good.
I just looked at the above Pioneer on Amazon...punched in my year 1988 and it said they "will fit".
However my oe is 6 & 3/16 across (total)
But I'm wondering if that's behind the factory door grill???

 

[whiteboyslo]

6.5s WILL fit. You may need to drill an extra hole or two because it's unlikely they'll line up to the original mounting hole locations, but otherwise they fit. Assuming you're just wanting to ONLY replace the speakers and re-use the original wiring, these will make the speaker install 'plug n play':

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_12713_Metra-72-5512.html

Mike

 

[dizdak]

yes flip out just gives you a larger screen to look at, mine is a touch screen, can play cd/ dvd, watch movies and all... the cross overs help when you have amps it helps cut down the amount of bass and deeper tones that may hit the tweeters.. they aren't meant for the bumps from the music..

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

My OE drivers door speaker died, I hoped to find a replacement to keep it stock but no good.
I just looked at the above Pioneer on Amazon...punched in my year 1988 and it said they "will fit".
However my oe is 6 & 3/16 across (total)
But I'm wondering if that's behind the factory door grill???

The factory speakers have a weird non-symetrical mounting pattern.

This can be seen real well in those nice pictures so kindly provided by Mr. riotwarrior.

If you have power-windows, then the 6.5" speakers are relatively easy.

Like I discovered, if you have manual window cranks, then the added thickness of the tweeters and such will bulge the door-panel such that the window crank will rake hard against the plastic.

 

[riotwarrior]

......Mr. riotwarrior.....

Now that's really friggen funny I gotta tell ya.....and it makes me feel old too....*****





Ya'll got that...it's Mr. riotwarrior now....

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Everyone has been so helpful to me in my speaker endeavors that I thought I would share the little trick I used to mark and fit my speaker cut-outs.

When my new 6.5" round Pioneer speakers arrived, there was a perforated punch-out template made into the paste-board box.

I didn't wish to butcher the box, plus I wanted something somewhat more substantial that the flimsy paste-board.

Using compass, square, and ruler, I drew the pattern on some heavy white paper.

Outside diameter of pattern = 6-3/4", which is the largest diameter of the assembled speaker.

Inside diameter of pattern = 5", which is the size of the cut-out required.

Mounting screw circle diameter is 5-17/32", with four evenly spaced screw-holes.

With pattern accurately drawn on the white paper, using spray adhesive, I adhered the pattern to a piece of 1/2" plywood.

My very artistic/crafty wife then used her Dewalt scroll-saw to accurately cut the pattern/plywood.

I sanded away all burrs and drilled the four pilot holes 5/32"

I located the plywood ring exactly where I wished the speaker, being careful to orient the screw-holes both plumb and horizontal.

Using plain old dry-wall screws, through the four pilot holes, I screwed the plywood ring/pattern onto the door-panel.

I then scribed the inside circle all the way around with a sharp utility knife.

Again and again, I scribed a bit deeper each time, until I had cut through.

I removed the four drywall screws, thus freeing the pattern.

Now, I had the speaker cut-out perfectly sized and located, plus the four mounting holes accurately located.


Seeing as how the store-bought speaker surrounds/baffles/cups were "currently out of stock", and I wanted to get the speakers installed, and I am a poverty-stricken Kentuckian, I made a home-made set from two empty bleach jugs.

Mostly, what prompted me to make these cups was the evidence of rust and slight water damage on the old speakers.

All my weather-stripping is new and in excellent shape, but water had somehow found it's way in there.

I set a square at 1-3/4" and marked a circle around the bottom perimeter of the jug.

I reset to 3" and drew a second mark.

In hind-sight, this would have been far easier if I had attached a pencil to an appropriately sized block of wood, held the block/pencil on the bench, and rotated the jug against the pencil.

Using the utility knife, I cut the bottom of the jug free at the upper 3" mark.

Using sharp scissors, I cut little triangles from the now-cut 3" mark down to the 1-3/4" mark, side by side, all the way around.

I firmly folded and creased each of the triangles outward at the 1-3/4" mark, like petals on a flower.

The jug was sized such that it's inside diameter just cleared the mounting screw-holes.

I held my home-made speaker-cup against the inside of the panel, centered over the cut-out hole, and solidly glued it in place with a hot-melt glue-gun, making sure to seal against moisture.

I cut a speaker-wire hole at the bottom-center to pass the wires through.


I am confident that my home-made speaker-cups will prevent any stray rain-drops from reaching my new speakers.

When time/money allows, I intend to apply a couple layers of that easy-seal stuff that F-350HDLT recommended to the backside of the door-panels, including over my speaker-cups, plus a couple more layers against the inner door skins.


My four new Pioneer speakers are light-years ahead of the worn-out old speakers I had been using; I am well pleased.

 

[Dieselcrawler]

My 94 had the factory amp under the dash. Biggest pos in the world. Damn thing overheats and shuts down. Ford no longer makes them. I bypassed it. Still sounds good.

 

[riotwarrior]

Everyone has been so helpful to me in my speaker endeavors that I thought I would share the little trick I used to mark and fit my speaker cut-outs.

When my new 6.5" round Pioneer speakers arrived, there was a perforated punch-out template made into the paste-board box.

I didn't wish to butcher the box, plus I wanted something somewhat more substantial that the flimsy paste-board.

Using compass, square, and ruler, I drew the pattern on some heavy white paper.

Outside diameter of pattern = 6-3/4", which is the largest diameter of the assembled speaker.

Inside diameter of pattern = 5", which is the size of the cut-out required.

Mounting screw circle diameter is 5-17/32", with four evenly spaced screw-holes.

With pattern accurately drawn on the white paper, using spray adhesive, I adhered the pattern to a piece of 1/2" plywood.

My very artistic/crafty wife then used her Dewalt scroll-saw to accurately cut the pattern/plywood.

I sanded away all burrs and drilled the four pilot holes 5/32"

I located the plywood ring exactly where I wished the speaker, being careful to orient the screw-holes both plumb and horizontal.

Using plain old dry-wall screws, through the four pilot holes, I screwed the plywood ring/pattern onto the door-panel.

I then scribed the inside circle all the way around with a sharp utility knife.

Again and again, I scribed a bit deeper each time, until I had cut through.

I removed the four drywall screws, thus freeing the pattern.

Now, I had the speaker cut-out perfectly sized and located, plus the four mounting holes accurately located.


Seeing as how the store-bought speaker surrounds/baffles/cups were "currently out of stock", and I wanted to get the speakers installed, and I am a poverty-stricken Kentuckian, I made a home-made set from two empty bleach jugs.

Mostly, what prompted me to make these cups was the evidence of rust and slight water damage on the old speakers.

All my weather-stripping is new and in excellent shape, but water had somehow found it's way in there.

I set a square at 1-3/4" and marked a circle around the bottom perimeter of the jug.

I reset to 3" and drew a second mark.

In hind-sight, this would have been far easier if I had attached a pencil to an appropriately sized block of wood, held the block/pencil on the bench, and rotated the jug against the pencil.

Using the utility knife, I cut the bottom of the jug free at the upper 3" mark.

Using sharp scissors, I cut little triangles from the now-cut 3" mark down to the 1-3/4" mark, side by side, all the way around.

I firmly folded and creased each of the triangles outward at the 1-3/4" mark, like petals on a flower.

The jug was sized such that it's inside diameter just cleared the mounting screw-holes.

I held my home-made speaker-cup against the inside of the panel, centered over the cut-out hole, and solidly glued it in place with a hot-melt glue-gun, making sure to seal against moisture.

I cut a speaker-wire hole at the bottom-center to pass the wires through.


I am confident that my home-made speaker-cups will prevent any stray rain-drops from reaching my new speakers.

When time/money allows, I intend to apply a couple layers of that easy-seal stuff that F-350HDLT recommended to the backside of the door-panels, including over my speaker-cups, plus a couple more layers against the inner door skins.


My four new Pioneer speakers are light-years ahead of the worn-out old speakers I had been using; I am well pleased.

Thanks...that's some great info and ideas...Glad your pleased with your speakers....always nice when a plan comes together

and an old friend/mentor told me........ better to ask lots of questions and prove how smart you are than to go into a project head strong and eff things up royally thus proving how dumb you really are!

 

[HammerDown]

The factory speakers have a weird non-symetrical mounting pattern.

This can be seen real well in those nice pictures so kindly provided by Mr. riotwarrior.

If you have power-windows, then the 6.5" speakers are relatively easy.

Like I discovered, if you have manual window cranks, then the added thickness of the tweeters and such will bulge the door-panel such that the window crank will rake hard against the plastic.

"manual window cranks" > ewww > XLT Lariat here baby

 

[HammerDown]

El Bumpo...because I still need a drivers speaker, and researching replacing both with something that fits under the OE grill.