New speakers in the Jeep

[P8riot]

I haven't done this in years.. hands on car stereo replacement that is. A drivers/front speaker blew out on the Jeep I've got so I thought.. OK, no problem if I get a chance, I'll buy a replacement when I got a chance - I don't drive the Jeep a lot so.. I'll just do it myself when I get a chance.

We'll I got some nice BA's from Crutchfield.. supposedly 'scratch and dent' - but they are perfect. Crutchfield shipped a great package of adapters for my car and good instructions. But, well, the factory stereo in my Jeep was the 'fancy' one of course and doesn't match any documented materials that they sent me.

SO, right after I pulled the door panel off, removed the bizarre speaker assembly and locked myself out of the Jeep; while I waited for GEICO to send someone out to unlock my keys, I called Crutchfield. OH yeah, the stereo in MY particular jeep has a non-standard wiring harness and amplifier system by Infinity. Aftermarket speakers with it aren't recommended without replacing the receiver.. "Well - OK, how much?", I ask, "Oh, you'll need [insert items here].. so about $400-500 allowing about $200 for a receiver." Hrmm.. OK.. I still like the Jeep.. and my music.. thats not too bad. Well, I double check with the local BBuy.. $500-$600.. well at least I wouldn't have to do it. But they said the same thing.. receiver isn't recommended with anything but the factory (non-existent) style speakers.

OK, so I fiddle with the mysterious black box/amplifier/wiring concoction and discover that the mysterious black box can be removed from the fancy but ancient speaker assembly.. and lo-and-behold.. 2 standard leads to the speaker! Hrmmm... Crutchfield supplied crimp/splice connectors and insulators. So I cut and strip the wires.. and, umm, where are my crimpers.. I've got nice ones.. ummm.. somewhere.. OK hammer (it's nice too).

SO I take the pieces to be assembled into the kitchen (I live in an apartment - thats the workbench) and line up the pieces.. ready.. set.. WAIT.. shouldn't do this on the countertop.. the cutting board is out.. nice impact absorbing surface.. scratch resistant to. OK.. ONE.. TWO.. THREE... BAM! PING! pow! Zing! Ever seen the bullets bounce around in Roger Rabbit? Yeah.. not only that but.. well.. that 'crimp/splice connector' either bloodied my left thumb or the.. well the hammer did. Did I mention the cutting board had pizza grease on it from the night before.. no? Well, it did... might explain the 'ZING'.

OK.. So all that.. 10:30pm.. ONE SPEAKER is in! My thumb hurts A LOT.. but some industrial strength double stick tape for the black box, some solder less connectors (minus pizza grease).. and that one speaker sounds GREAT.. the others are still in.. so I could compare - it's day/night - and the new one is a full inch smaller.

So whats the point of this? It's that no matter what - a basic understanding of amps and watts will take your further than you think.. and if you get ohms.. you are golden (before you comment - yes, it's all relational). Wiring is all standard - BUT these days - people don't understand anything unless a wiring 'harness' is involved. I am not saying don't listen to what techs at Crutchfield or BBuy are saying.. but listen to what the mean.. both techs were correct in their parameters.. the BBuy tech knew my vehicle the best - including the odd wiring set up for that series.

In conclusion.. Crutchfield did a great job supplying the pieces.. and the instructions helped.. but if you are going to do your own labor.. be ready for unexpected configurations. A couple of other n00b observations - I bought 2 speakers because I wanted a pair of new speakers in the front.. but OH.. they come in pairs.. so I actually got 4 speakers! Remember, I am a n00b at this with a smashed thumb so.. be nice. Crutchfield did a great job of supplying the right parts.. don't be daunted by unexpected configurations.

Cheers! - David

[ednos]

Sue them because they didn't warn you about the risks involving your appendages. You can usually get a few million dollars in punitive damages.

[Black_V!per]

You make me laugh. That was quite funny and informative (I too have a jeep with stock speakers, may do a small upgrade down the road).

[Kerostasis]

Speakers, plural? I have a car with a stock "speaker". Yep, just one. In the middle of the front dashboard (slightly offcenter to the passenger side).

It works well enough for most purposes, but any time you try to play something that has distinct right and left soundtracks, you're only going to get one of them at a time. I assume the stock (AM only) radio was set up with a single output to the single speaker, but I did upgrade the radio to a radio/CD player built for a 4-speaker setup. So as long as I make sure the Fade/Balance settings are set to pump all the output to my single speaker, its fine--so long as I didn't want any sounds meant for the opposite speaker.

[P8riot]

Originally Posted by ednos

Sue them because they didn't warn you about the risks involving your appendages. You can usually get a few million dollars in punitive damages.

I think that would go out the window at the two words 'pizza grease'. OH, and the question, 'Mr. P8riot, were you drinking that night?" "Uhhhh.."

Originally Posted by Black_V!per

You make me laugh. That was quite funny and informative (I too have a jeep with stock speakers, may do a small upgrade down the road).

HA! Well.. no you know what you might encounter. The rest of the job took about two hours.. but I was going slow. The upgrade reduced the speaker sizes by 1.25" but the quality really improved. The Jeep was easy to work on, the panels came off with two screws and 11-pops (panel clips). Fortunately, they went back the same way.

No soldering required with the Crutchfield kit that came with it.. and that is a D@&M good thing after my episode with the hammer.. Could you IMAGINE if I had to use my soldering iron! Phew...

[ednos]

P8riot is your real name?

[P8riot]

Originally Posted by ednos

P8riot is your real name?

Uhhhh.. yeah.. but you aren't Fifth so you'll never know. I also named my sone Grenado.. just 'cause Bommando is so cool.