How do I make the dash speakers in my 97 Talon work with an aftermarket deck?

[jimmybosox]

I got the Alpine CDA-9826 from Crutchfield.com. My car has the Infinity system with the amp under the passenger seat. They sent along 2 small speaker wiring harnesses that are supposed to attach to the dash speakers and plug into a black clip in the speaker cavity. The guy at Crutchfield is certain that each speaker cavity will have an extra clip just for this purpose. I found a thread from a guy with a 95 who found this un-utilized black clip, but it doesn't appear that my 97 has one. At least I can't find an additional clip anywhere near the dash speakers. From what I've read, the new head unit will soon blow out the factory dash speakers. I can worry about replacing them if/when they blow out. Until then, how do I get them working?

 

[91boost]

I don't know, but I am about to do this same exact thing. I thought those 2 smaller harnesses were to bypass the factory amp. I'll have to call my rep and double check.

 

[jimmybosox]

I think they are for bypassing the factory amp. From what I've read, some 2Gs have an extra set of wires and a black connector already running right to the speaker cavities in the dash.

Check the holes where the dash speakers go. If you find the extra wires/connectors, then the speaker wiring harnesses should clip right in.

My 97 doesn't have the extra wires/connectors as far as I can tell.

Here's the thread with pics.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139217

 

[Attack Eagle]

wire the head to the after amp wiring, (see tech article for how to) and have your local electronic shop or custom installer build you a pair of crossovers for the 12 ohm tweeter and 6 ohm woofer...


I ran my factory tweeters on an aftermarket head unit for 4 years with no problems, but they were crossed over.

don't use the speaker leads on the wiring harness adapter, wire the head to the after amp plug.

 

[jimmybosox]

Attack Eagle - thanks for the reply. I found your tech article, but I'm afraid I am too much of a newbie to understand exactly how to get this done.

There's a wiring harness supplied with the stereo that plugs into the back of the head unit. I'm assuming the wires coming from this plug are the ones you say need to be routed down to the area under the passenger seat. Those wires are only about 6" long. What size/type wire should I splice onto these wires in order to get enough length to make the run? Can I get all the different color/stripe wiring from a local stereo install shop? Any tips on how/where to rout the wires?

The amp is located under the passenger seat. I haven't looked at it very closely. Where will the after amp wiring be? Are they labled in and out or something? If I wire right into the after amp wiring, will the factory harness just sit unused behind the head unit?

I don't know what a crossover is. I assume it is some wiring configuration that would need to be spliced in. If I tell an install shop I need a crossover for a 12 ohm tweeter and a 6 ohm woofer will they know what I'm talking about or do I need more info to give? Secondly, where do the crossovers get mounted/spliced?

Sorry for all the questions. Feel free to let me know if you think I should just leave it to the professionals since I have little experience with this. Thanks again.

 

[Attack Eagle]

use standard 16-18 ga wire to wire the 4 speaker channels from the head down to under the seat/ floor passenger side.
the after amp plug is white and looks like a standard wiring plug... the before amp plug is black and looks like a round din style plug.

you only want the adapter harness to get the radio's power, acc, ground, and antenna (if it is an eclipse w/ power antenna).


if don't feel comfortable, try taking the car apart on that side and seeing what I mean... take the pass seat out and remove the amp... I think it will become self explanatory at that point.

use a drill battery or a 9v to test that you have correctly ID'd the 6 different speakers and label them... IF you still aren't sure, head to the local shop and ask them pretty please to install the x-overs for you for the front speakers/tweeters... you should have everything else done.

 

[crazykid]

Sounds like I did something very similar if not the same as attackeagle. Hell I probably had looked at his tech article before to I dont really remember. But I took out the stock amp and spliced some wires together on the white harness (tying together the indash speakers with the door speakers). I put my 2 crossovers (1 for FR left side, 1 for FR right) in with the wiring for the HU. Probably could of set it up better using different crossovers for the in-dash and doors and placing them in the stock amp harness but I only had the 2 and it gets the job done

Oh, for those of you the are like "screw it" and dont care about your in-dash speakers... Wow.. the sound difference is pretty amazing.. sounds a lot better when the in-dash speakers are in use

 

[talontsiawd]

My dash speakers work with an aftermareket deck. My car didn't come with the infinity system but i ended up putting it in later so i know it will work. When i put in my kappa's, the dash speakers still worked for sure. Even if i disconnected my amp, they would still have sound comeing out from the headunit.

 

[Attack Eagle]

general consensus on this forum and others indicates that 95-96 had a second wiring harness (infinity or not) that could be plugged in to power the dash tweets if the amp was absent... 97_up with the infinity system did not have this second prewired plug, thus the need to actually wire them to work after bypassing the amp