That is why I pushed the rubber sleeve into the door and used the zip tie trick to get it to run through. One thing I did that I think made it easier, is as I fished the zip tie through, I made sure it did not get mixed up with any existing wires. I actually ran some extra smaller gauge wire as well as the 12 gauge speaker wire so I could add some lighting to the red reflector at a later date.

Chris

 

Good idea HyperSprite, I just wish I had more info before I did mine back then. I think the two spots I had most difficulty in were the door wiring and the panels connecting to the top and back of the 6.5's (removal). Anyway, it can be done and should be done. Oh, one more piece of advice I can say is, remember you still have two sets of OEM wiring you can use later on (the original one's to the 6.5 and the stock tweeter.

 

Hey, I am only standing on the shoulders of giants, I would not have gotten as far as I had if it were not for those that had gone before me.

Good point on the extra wire, I thought about that today as I wired the other side.

Chris

 

here is a stupid question...what are the sizes of my front and rear speakers?

 

6.5 Front and Back, depth is only a concern on the front from what I understand (have not pulled the back out yet).

Chris

 

Wow! I just ran my speaker wire for my MB's today and I can honestly say this was one of the bigger pains in the asses i've ever had. I ended up having to dremel a shitload of the plastic just to get 2 18 gauge wires through. Tomorrow is the passenger side

 

Deceit,

I am planning on installing a set of the MB quart RCE's in the next couple of days. What kind of spacer did you use for the fronts?

 

Your not the only one hcwlsu. As I said above, running wires through the door jam is a pain and also can cause electrical problems if you accidently drill into the metal posts or bend pins inside that connector. Getting the two pieces to reconnect is a lot of fun because there really isn't enough space inside the door jam with the door fully open. YOu might have luck by pushing both pieces inside the inner openning first and start to connect them in there, then push out the inner piece until it pops in place (top first then bottom) and finish hooking the lever. 2 16 g is one pain!

 

Getting the plug in and out is easier if you close the door half way.

The dremel bit I used for clearing the plugs out looks like a drill with a cutter down the spiral (like the rotozip tools have), so I drill straight in and then move it forward and backward to clear out a slot.

For spacers you can use the stock speakers, use a razor to cut out the foam bead then use a dremel to cut the basket out. Depending on your magnets, this may not be enough, check with the window down. Take the grill out as well to check you front side clearance with the panel back on, you may also need to trim a bit on the door panel stringers.

Chris

 

I ran 2 12 gauge, its fun hehe

 

Hate to bump an old thread, but I saw my name in it

I used a dremel to cut out the stockers and I glued the quarts in there with some epoxy. Holds/works great!

 

Running the wire proved to be pretty easy - I just ran the plug and jack outside their normal locations, plugged them together and then ran the drill bit straight thought the connected pair being careful to go straight though both sides.

The real pain was getting the jack back into the hole - it's a tight fit through the mess of factory wires in the kick panel. The biggest pain was getting the plug lined up with the jack and then mating the to together. Between these two operations my hand ended up pretty beat up.

Now I get to look forward to the passenger's side.

 

Yikes. The passenger side is even tighter than the driver's side. Now I've got matching scraped up hands. I even enlisted the tiny wife to see if she could get the jack back into the hole ... no go. This is a real pain in the behind so be careful and go slow.

 

I didnt even run my wire through the wire boot. I drilled a hole, ran my wire under the existing boot, and then covered both the new wire and the old boot with new conduit.

easy enough and works.

 

What gauge and brand of wire do you recommend? I'm about to get a Pioneer DEH-80MP
which has 60watts by 4 and 27 watts rms.

 

Great posts on how to run wire to the doors.
I did this and the first (driver side) door was a PAIN IN THE A@*.
I used (very carefully) a narrow knife and a drill to creat a hole in both connectors.
But the other door was A LOT easier because I used a soldering iron to create the holes. I just carefully bored a hole in each connecter and had it done in about 10 minutes. Worked perfectly. The other door took hours.

Also, I used a thin wire coat hanger taped to the wire to feed it through the rubber loom. Worked great!

 

Soldering iron is the way to go. Took me an hour for the first door and 20 minutes for the second. Great advice, thanks!

 

Using the soldering iron is a great idea...I drilled mine and almost slipped and cut some wires.

 

Great post! I just did the driver's side door and will tackle the passenger side after I rest a bit.

This was a real challenge. It took me longer than I thought it would (about an hour). I don't know if you guys are just that good or I'm losing my touch!

The soldering iron trick is the way to go. Go VERY slow and take your time. Be careful not to let the connector get too hot and warp. Be very mindful of the metal pins inside.

I used a thin coat hanger to fish the speaker wire thru the rubber boot. This turned out to be the most difficult part.

TIP: Cut the plastic tongue from the rubber that joins with the wire harness at the door-end of the rubber. It will make it easier to fish the wire thru.

Check your windows, mirrors, door locks, etc before you put everything back together to make sure they still operate.

If I can get my brackets/spacers made this afternoon (I don't want to destroy the factory speaker) I'll be done with the doors!

FYI, the factory bose speaker is rubbish. The magnet is about the size of a quarter and its made of cheap paper.

 

just subscribing to this thread....lots of good info here...thanks!