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Old Aug 6th, 2016, 04:55   #3
canis
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Last Online: Oct 13th, 2023 05:46
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Chadderton, Oldham
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Mine's a bit older than yours, but the two I've dismantled were identical. One is a 1999 (T), one was a 2000 (V).

Regarding the front speakers, the dashboard and door are wired together, thereby making Front Left (+ and -) and Front Right (+ and -), so four wires in total.

The rear speakers, I think some cars have rear door speakers and shelf/pillar speakers, and I would imagine they are wired together, same as above. Mine doesn't, only the shelf/pillar speakers. In any case, you still have Rear Left (+ and -) and Rear Right (+ and -), so four wires in total again.

So that's eight wires in total, then. Simple enough so far.

The subwoofer on both the cars I've dismantled is passive. I believe some cars have an extra amplifier, I can only dream. The way the subwoofer is wired takes some understanding, but basically the passive version that I have has two speakers, four wires in total. Because bass tones are omni-directional, there's no need for a 'left' and 'right' subwoofer. So the subwoofer needs a mono input, that being the sum of both left and right channels, not one or the other. (A good test for this is "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath, whose introduction has a bass foot pedal which pans between the left and right channels).

This is achieved in a passive system by ... well ... it's easier with two actually, which is why there are two bass drivers in the subwoofer, and why there are four wires.
  • Sub driver 1:
    • (+) --> (+) Rear Left
    • (-) --> (-) Rear Right
  • Sub driver 2:
    • (+) --> (+) Rear Right
    • (-) --> (-) Rear Left

It looks a bit unintuitive, but it works (in cars without rear door speakers). If you need further explanation on this, just ask.

Another important factor, since you said you're installing a new system, is speaker impedance. If you don't know about speaker impedance and the difference between Series and Parallel, how that affects impedance and why it's important, just ask.
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