sc 900 wiring

[roy chu1]

I have installed the kenwood head unit, all works fine but the rear boot tweeters don't come on. I don't think the block connector has the wiring for the rear tweeters. Does anyone know where the tweeter cables are and whether they are on the main connector block. I was wondering if the tweeters had their own independent cable.

On the back of the origional stereo, there is a arial cable going into it which was plugged into the back of the head unit, also next to it there was exactly the same cable but it was marked sub. Not sure what this means.

Also the ariel doesn't seem to be working effectively. When I switch it to am, I can hear crackling, it is like there is interference from another amp or device, has anyone else had this problem. I thought is was a loose wire but now I have put the other head unit in, it malkes exactly the same noise.

I can't believe what difference the rear tweeters make on the overall sound of the system.

The plug which was labelled sub, wasn't connected to the kenwood stereo, because there was no method of plug on the head unit so I am just wondering that the rear tweeters might be on the sub cable, not sure if this is true though.

If someone can help me then I would be most appreciative.

Many Thanks

Roy

[foggyjames]

The easiest thing will be to trace the wires back through the car, and find where they go!

This cable that doesnt fit into the kenny HU - is it literally an aerial cable, or a multi-pin? Some volvos can have twin aerials. Maybe this is why the reception is worse now - has this got worse since you fitted the kenny, or has it been so for a while?

I would doubt that the tweeters are on that sub-out lead (an extra power amp just for tweeters?) Are they literally just tweeters, or small full-range speakers?

You're quite right about the tweeters - they don't make much sound, but they're the jam in the sandwich :)

cheers

james

[roy chu1]

The ariel has been like this for a while now, you are correct about two inputs into the head units. I am going to see the wiring coming from the tweeters.

As for the tweeters they are volvo standard placed in the d pillars in the boot. They don't create bass but for high end sound and treble they are exellent.

If there are two ariel plugs for the stereo, which one caters for which.

Cheers

Roy

[foggyjames]

The second aerial is just that - a second one, and the single one should work normally on its own. Are the AM antennae on car radios internal? Anyone wish to butt in here?

Regarding the tweeters, come back to me when you have traced the wires!

cheers

james

IIRC The AM ariel in most car / protable radios is a ferrite rod wound with wire inside the radio, this is why when you turn a corner you reception may cahnge as the orientation changes (much more important than with your FM ariel). This is the best type of ariel to use, the square wire around plastic things you get for home stereos are not the best, but do have the advantage of not having to move your entire tuner, just the areal.....

Stu

[roy chu1]

Hi everyone thanks again for the replies.

James - I have looked at the tweeters and the wiring, goes to the block connector which plugs directly into the volvo amplifier. this why the boot tweeters are not working.

Now the theory is if I feed through a separate set of wiring from the aftermarket head unit to the tweeter this should then power the tweeters. I have done all of this and still the tweeters are not working. I am very positive that the tweeters have not blown or stopped working becuase they worked perfectly with the origional head unit.

One thing I am goin to try is to take a tweeter from the dash and try it out at the rear. If this tweeter does work then my rear ones are kaput, but if they don't then I am assuming they need a amp to power them. I will let you know how I got on.

If the tweeters depend on the amp, then I will after market ones. But then the big question is, which ones will perform nearly as good as the one in the volvo v70.

If anyone can recommend some good performing tweeters to the equivelent or the better standard of the volvo one then I would like to know.

Cheers Roy

[foggyjames]

try making and breaking a connection to a small battery (1.5v AA) across the wires going to the tweeters and see if they click. if so, they are OK.

I recommend the cheap sony ones (XSH-03), which you can get from www.caraudiodirect.com for £20 delivered. They are small, and (when set up correctly) give astounding results, given their cost. You may think they are bound to be cheap and nasty, but I would quite happily pay £50 + shipping for these - they are *that* good.

James

[roy chu1]

Hi James,

I have looked on the back of the tweeters and they are 8 ohms where the head unit puts out 4 ohms. So this is why they are not powering up. They are not faulty there just isn't enough power going through to them.

I am concidering some better tweeters, the trouble is the ones the volvo come with are better than the ones which are sony, however there are another pair which are more expencive and might be equivelent to the volvo tweeters.

I will let you know which ones I have chose, might even go for kenwood, we shall see.

Let me know if you hear of any other tweeters which can kick #####.

Roy

[foggyjames]

Most aftermarket tweeters will be 8 ohm - but some are 4 (I think the sony ones are). Have you heard the Sony ones in a decent set-up? I think they are fantastic, but then again it is subjective :)

The HU isnt 'putting out' 4 ohms - this simply relates to the minimum impedance that it can safely drive. As you are giving it an 8 ohm load, it will have a less stressful job to do, and you will still get good power to them.

In summary, if they are too quiet, it isnt the impedance which is causing the problem.

JBL make a very good pair of add-on tweeters for about £50 - although they are much bigger than the sony ones (this is part of their beauty - they are 1" dia total, and about 15mm deep, so can be stealthed really easily). Kenny and Pioneer also make good ones for about £30-40, but these probably wouldnt be my first choice.

Still, we can but experiment!

James

[pettaw]

This is gonna sound a really stupid question, but you said you ran a separate cable to the tweeters. What did you connect them to? Was it a line level output designed to go into an amplifier or was it a speaker level output designed for speakers. It's worth checking that out first. You could also do the connecting the battery test that I think James has already described. Connect a 1.5v battery across the speaker wires and you should at least hear a quiet click from the speakers if they're in good shape. Might be difficult to hear as tweeters are very quiet anyway.

Impedance that's higher than the label will be fine and will make less work for the amplifier.