[bluejunior]

PS i would like to give a HUGE thank you to all those of you answering questions on the thread, as wel as those putting pics up, its a big help to me and to everyone trying to figure out how to get some real sound in the XJ. Cuz no matter how much you love the cherokee, the stock system BLOWS

[kboyts]

Originally Posted by bluejunior

this configuration is called in series, it INCREASES the resistance your amp experiences, that way the amp in your head unit is given a lower load than it can handle. However if both your rear and your front speakers are 4-ohm (almost all aftermarkets other than infintity and JBL are, but it should say on the box) then you should wire them in PARALLELtwo four ohm speakers wired in parallel grant a 2ohm load to the head unit, which wont blow it, but WILL get more power from it than wiring them in series (which grants an 8ohm resistance). to wire in parallel (once again only wire in parallel if both sets are 4 ohm) to wire in paralle simply tap the wires to the orginal speaker.

To run in parallel tap the positive lead to the roof speaker, and connect it to the positive lead on the door speaker. Then tap the negative lead to the roof speaker, and run that to the negative lead on the door speaker.

IMPORTANT NOTEs ON XJ REAR DOOR SPEAKERS:

1)it is VERY possible that the tweeter on the coax speaker will press against the inside of your door panel slightly, this certainly doesn't ruin anything, and the panel still closes just fine on the three sets ive done like that.

2) i have only attempted the install on '00 and '01 cherokees

3)at high volumes ESPECIALLY without bass blockers the woofer's surround has a good chance of extending far enough to make contact with the door panel, it doesnt kill the speaker, but it does muffle the sound a bit and reduce the speakers life, this happens most often where the door panel curves down to meet the door itself, mount the speaker as far towards the center of the door as possible to avoid this. consider bass blockers for the deepest of sounds.....well deepest for small round speakers....80hz or 100hz to reduce this impact as well

4) in the '00 and '01s that ive worked on, the hole accepts without modification (other than screw holes) 5 1/4 and 6 1/2 speakers, as well as
4x6 ovals if you have them sitting around, up to 2 3/8" deep. This depth may be different for older XJ's but to the best of my knowedge there was no significant change, just be sure to take a tabe measure out there before you by the speakers!

Yes it wilol put out more power which I already stated in my post. But with that increased power means more heat in your amp (headunit) and slightly more distortion. Also you wouldnt want more power to the rear speakers then the front one. That would destroy your soundstage.

Hes not talking about wiring front and rear speakers together. He is talking about having two sets of rear speakers wired together (on the roof in a sound bar, and in the rear doors) And then the fronts running independently.

[rigRoller]

This is a great thread! I recently got into car audio, and put a new stereo and 4 speakers to replace the stock ones, which were pretty bad. However, it turns out the speaker wiring to the front passenger door is faulty. How hard of a fix should this be? Can anyone provide me with a link? I'm also not sure what type of wiring to use.

[rideboarder589]

thanks...im gonna try it this weekend and let you know how it goes

[kboyts]

Originally Posted by rigRoller

This is a great thread! I recently got into car audio, and put a new stereo and 4 speakers to replace the stock ones, which were pretty bad. However, it turns out the speaker wiring to the front passenger door is faulty. How hard of a fix should this be? Can anyone provide me with a link? I'm also not sure what type of wiring to use.

Yeah thats a know issue with the cherokees. You just have to snake new wires from the speakers thru the rubber boot in the doors and across behind the dash to the radio. 12 Gauge speaker wire would be about right, plus most aftermarket wires will have better insulation then the stock wire to help prevent another failure.

[rigRoller]

Originally Posted by kboyts

Yeah thats a know issue with the cherokees. You just have to snake new wires from the speakers thru the rubber boot in the doors and across behind the dash to the radio. 12 Gauge speaker wire would be about right, plus most aftermarket wires will have better insulation then the stock wire to help prevent another failure.

Sounds good. Is attaching the new wire to the old and then pulling from behind the stereo my best strategy?

[kboyts]

Originally Posted by rigRoller

Sounds good. Is attaching the new wire to the old and then pulling from behind the stereo my best strategy?

I wouldn't risk it. There are quite a few things for it to snag on and unplug/damage on the way thru Id feed it thru by hand. Then when you're done, zip tie the wires up out of the way to harnesses and things behind the dash. If you started in the doors you could attatch the new wires to the stock ones and use them to pull it thru the door grommets/tubes. but then Id run it thru the dash by hand.

[bluejunior]

The parts of the dash under the steering wheel and the glove box come out with just a few screws, same for the kick panels, once you do that you have plenty of access to the necessary space to route wires. And if you're running wire just from the head unit, you're perfectly safe just running to wal-mart and buuying a fifty foot roll of 16 gauge wire (go with the 12 if you're thinking of adding a major external amp later). That sounds like a small guage but I rewired my XJ with that when i first got it and i ran 17, then 22, then 35 and now 75 watts through it with no problems at all.

[rigRoller]

Originally Posted by bluejunior

The parts of the dash under the steering wheel and the glove box come out with just a few screws, same for the kick panels, once you do that you have plenty of access to the necessary space to route wires. And if you're running wire just from the head unit, you're perfectly safe just running to wal-mart and buuying a fifty foot roll of 16 gauge wire (go with the 12 if you're thinking of adding a major external amp later). That sounds like a small guage but I rewired my XJ with that when i first got it and i ran 17, then 22, then 35 and now 75 watts through it with no problems at all.

Thanks a lot guys. Sounds like a weekend project. Is the existing wire 12? I'll probably just end up buying some 12, because an amp is definitely in the future.

Edit: this look ok? http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062647

[kboyts]

16 would most likely work out fine. I just suggested 12 becuse the added size and increased insulation would prevent the wires from breaking from the constant door flex like the stocks ones did.

[kboyts]

Originally Posted by rigRoller

Thanks a lot guys. Sounds like a weekend project. Is the existing wire 12? I'll probably just end up buying some 12, because an amp is definitely in the future.

No, the stock wire is probably closer to 18, or maybe 16 at best. 12 gauge would be much thicker and might be slightly more difficult to feed thru the door boot(not sure how much room is in there). Like bluejunior said 16 would work ok if you were only going to use a moderate amp, or you could split the difference and just use 14 gauge.

[bluejunior]

additionally, while I did NOT pull the door panels off in the freezing temperatures in the parking garage last night, but here's where my amps and subs are located, as well as where i mounted my tweeters (havent gotten around to flush mounting them yet.
The subs:

sub amp under the rear bench:

The speaker amp (only visible because the seat is folded down, its hidden between the back seat and the subs):

The door-mounted tweets (i personally like the soundstage it creates):

not sure how helpful this will be but i tossed a pic of the rear door speakers in here:


more pics to come when i have time, space and non-freezing temperatures (or at least a jacket lol), which will be more helpful on the speaker install.

[bluejunior]

Originally Posted by rigRoller

Thanks a lot guys. Sounds like a weekend project. Is the existing wire 12? I'll probably just end up buying some 12, because an amp is definitely in the future.

Edit: this look ok? http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062647

the stock wiring is VERY low gauge, i haven't used it in so long i honestly do recall...but i think it was 18 guage, 12 guage can handle REALLY serious current, like i said, I would trust 16g. after market wire up to....90-ish watts RMS. What you're showing from radioshack would work but TRUST ME, your life will be MUCH easier in the long run if you buy speaker wire that comes in a paired format of different colors, it makes it WAY easier to keep track of positive and negative (which if youre having day long projects like you often do in major system mods....is harder to remember than you'd think), and since the two channels come mated together, you can run the one wire (this is easy with 16g, 12 or 14 its a little more iffy), with both positive and negative leads. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8287043&st=speaker+wire&type=pro duct&id=1172276905725 thats what I use to power my subs, its MORE than capable of standing up to time and high wattages, and due to my ever shifting cargo area, it gets yanked on A LOT with no issues so far.

[bluejunior]

note thats 90 watts over a long distance...say to rear speakers. I use it for my subs, but thats only about a foot and a half of wire for the 360 watts, shorter distance results in much less heat. (who knew physics class could help you in you're most expensive hobby right?)

[01LimitedXJ]

Ive always liked eclipse subs, JL amps, mbquart and boston accustics for speakers. JL subs do sound good, but are pretty pricey. Ive had my eclipses for 6 years now, and they still slam.



15's all the way.