Wiring for Rear Speakers

[cdmcali]

I am debating buy the new faceplate and installing a new stereo. I know getting to the rear speakers can be quite difficult and I am wondering if the wires for the rear speakers can be used for a Non Common ground stereo. I am still a little unsure what exactly common ground wiring looks like in audio setups.

[BladeBronson]

If also heard that the rear speakers were hard to get to, but I actually found it to be really easy. If you want even a minorly nice sounding setup, you'll want to replace the rears.

[Lwanmtr]

What are decent (not super expensive) replacements for those? new speakers is one of the things Im also thinking about on mine.

[BABIS]

I am debating buy the new faceplate and installing a new stereo. I know getting to the rear speakers can be quite difficult and I am wondering if the wires for the rear speakers can be used for a Non Common ground stereo. I am still a little unsure what exactly common ground wiring looks like in audio setups.

with the new radio I left untouched the rear ground wires and I simply disconnected the (common) front ground wires and wired 2 new ground wires from the radio plug to the front speakers...

[David T]

You can redo the connections at the plug but you will still have the very small gauge wires going back there. If you are increasing the wattage output of the radio you really do need to change the wires. If you still have the original speakers you are going to have to replace them anyway, the cones are all disintegrated from age. The only really hard part is to get the plastic trim loose around the door seal area. If you are slow and careful it isn't that bad.

[bfloyd]

You definitely want to replace your speakers. It's not that hard of a job, but it can be scary separating the plastic trim that's rolled over the door openings. I removed the inner door seals and used a heat gun and a small hooked pick and spent about an hour on each side to remove the interior wall pieces. After 35 years, that stuff is on there good. What you will find is probably what I found... deteriorated speaker cones and cheap wiring. I pulled all of my existing wiring and ran new speaker wires to all 4 speakers.


I installed the power antenna, new Jensen head unit (VX4102), Jensen KFC-415C speakers for the rears, and Kicker ?? for the front. While I had the back wall of the car out to run the antenna wiring, I also ran a rear camera that ties into the Jensen head unit.


There is a good write up here on the forums regarding removing and replacing the radio face plate. I took LOTS of pictures each time I removed something or unplugged something.

Behind the radio face plate is a spaghetti nest of wiring. It looks more intimidating than it actually is. The only existing wires I used from the original Craig radio was the 12v constant power and the 12v switched power.

[cdmcali]

You definitely want to replace your speakers. It's not that hard of a job, but it can be scary separating the plastic trim that's rolled over the door openings. I removed the inner door seals and used a heat gun and a small hooked pick and spent about an hour on each side to remove the interior wall pieces. After 35 years, that stuff is on there good. What you will find is probably what I found... deteriorated speaker cones and cheap wiring. I pulled all of my existing wiring and ran new speaker wires to all 4 speakers.


I installed the power antenna, new Jensen head unit (VX4102), Jensen KFC-415C speakers for the rears, and Kicker ?? for the front. While I had the back wall of the car out to run the antenna wiring, I also ran a rear camera that ties into the Jensen head unit.


There is a good write up here on the forums regarding removing and replacing the radio face plate. I took LOTS of pictures each time I removed something or unplugged something.

Behind the radio face plate is a spaghetti nest of wiring. It looks more intimidating than it actually is. The only existing wires I used from the original Craig radio was the 12v constant power and the 12v switched power.

Awesome Thank you for all the info and Pics. Gonna start looking around for parts and possibly do something next month. I just finished the doing a bunch of interior stuff and gonna give myself a break. I have to fix the new dash pad I installed so maybe do everything at once.

[David T]

Awesome Thank you for all the info and Pics. Gonna start looking around for parts and possibly do something next month. I just finished the doing a bunch of interior stuff and gonna give myself a break. I have to fix the new dash pad I installed so maybe do everything at once.

Another big thing to consider is how you are going to mount the new head. The DIN adapter from DMCH is pricy.There are other ways to do it but it usually involves a lot of cutting. If you are adding a lot of power you may want to run new, larger power wires directly from the battery.

[cdmcali]

Another big thing to consider is how you are going to mount the new head. The DIN adapter from DMCH is pricy.There are other ways to do it but it usually involves a lot of cutting. If you are adding a lot of power you may want to run new, larger power wires directly from the battery.

I will be buying the din adaptor. I have kept every part I have replaced and want to be able to take everything back to stock if I ever desire to do so. How would you run the wiring for the power? Would you use the stock 12v switched and rerun the 12v hot wire?