Dash speaker wiring check

[Red19]

I’m looking to swap my dash speakers with Kicker 47KSC3504. I thought it’d be a quick connect with metra adapters but the speakers came with crossovers which I’m unfamiliar with. I’m assuming I go three wires of the crossover on the speaker and then cut off the red pieces and splice the positive and negative onto the metra connection to the Jeep? A few pics below. Thanks!

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[mrjakecyrus]

Correct. That’s what I had to do with my kicker speakers and it worked.

 

[Red19]

Correct. That’s what I had to do with my kicker speakers and it worked.

Perfect. Thank you for confirming!

 

[Jebiruph]

The speaker connectors in the Jeep base system wiring harness are wired backwards. It's a good idea to buy one of the cheap Amazon speaker polarity/phase detectors to verify if your speakers are in phase.

 

[Red19]

The speaker connectors in the Jeep base system wiring harness are wired backwards. It's a good idea to buy one of the cheap Amazon speaker polarity/phase detectors to verify if your speakers are in phase.

Great to know. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[SargeDiesel]

The speaker connectors in the Jeep base system wiring harness are wired backwards. It's a good idea to buy one of the cheap Amazon speaker polarity/phase detectors to verify if your speakers are in phase.

There is a free app so you can use your cell phone. Might save you some $$

 

[Red19]

There is a free app so you can use your cell phone. Might save you some $$

Good heads up for anyone else. I got the $12 Amazon special coming tomorrow. Thanks!

 

[Red19]

I got the polarity tester today and wired the speakers after work. @Jebiruph was right and my system was wired backward from the factory. Easy enough fix with the tester and sounds better than stock. Thanks all for the tips.

 

[tkept149]

I got the polarity tester today and wired the speakers after work. @Jebiruph was right and my system was wired backward from the factory. Easy enough fix with the tester and sounds better than stock. Thanks all for the tips.

How did you test and fix?

 

[Red19]

How did you test and fix?

Bought a polarity tester, though there are apps apparently too- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MQ55QHL

Then used this video via Carplay-


If your speakers flash three greens then a red, wire your new ones the same. If they flash three reds then a green, do the opposite. It’s as easy as switching the negative and positive wire to the metra connector.

 

[Jebiruph]

I got the polarity tester today and wired the speakers after work. @Jebiruph was right and my system was wired backward from the factory. Easy enough fix with the tester and sounds better than stock. Thanks all for the tips.

Did you test all the speakers? It doesn't matter if the speaker is wired positive or negative, you want all speakers wired the same. All positive or all negative. If you are retaining any factory speakers, you want the new speakers wired negatively to match.

 

[Red19]

Did you test all the speakers? It doesn't matter if the speaker is wired positive or negative, you want all speakers wired the same. All positive or all negative. If you are retaining any factory speakers, you want the new speakers wired negatively to match.

Yep, I used the polarity tester on the roll bar speakers (use the fade to get these) and then the kick panel ones and they were all 3 negative and 1 positive. I did a loose twist of the metra and the new dash speaker to make sure it was the same 3-/1+. I also wanted to check how well the tester worked so I swapped the loose twists and got 3+/1- so it was working. I swapped back and then crimped and installed for good.

 

[lashlee]

The speakers being wired out of phase (technically not backwards) may not be an "error" on the factory part. In some cases, the audio company doing the design work when it comes to making it sound good in the car may make them out of phase at the speaker to make them be in phase when the sound reaches the ear. Technically, you want all speakers to be in phase when the sound reaches the listener.

 

[Red19]

The speakers being wired out of phase (technically not backwards) may not be an "error" on the factory part. In some cases, the audio company doing the design work when it comes to making it sound good in the car may make them out of phase at the speaker to make them be in phase when the sound reaches the ear. Technically, you want all speakers to be in phase when the sound reaches the listener.

Good call out. I’m definitely not an expert on this so may have used the wrong terminology. If I was to use the factory color coding diagram I had been referring to my install would have been out of phase for my Jeep. The tester made it easy to confirm that I should switch it.

 

[lashlee]

You should make it sound the best at your ear. It may be out of phase at the speaker or it might be in phase. You confirmed the speaker is in phase at the grill, not at your ear.

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