1st Gen Front Door Speaker Wiring

[TheLastMarauder]

I noticed that one of my front door speakers was only intermittently working. Upon inspection, I found that the door wiring was BADLY nicked (on both sides). It looked almost like an animal had been chewing on the wires.

What could possibly cause this? The doors were still sealed (and are again), so it's not like anything could have gotten inside and done this. The only thing I can figure is that the wires somehow came loose (possibly when I was changing out the speakers) and have enough slack to be pinched by the window being rolled down. Only a guess.

My other question: How hard will it be to run new wires? I plan to do the front and rear sometime over spring break. Also, what gauge should I use? Keep in mind I don't have subs/amp. What's in there now can't possibly be more than 14 gauge. It's awful.

Also, what path does the existing wiring take through the car? I'm mainly asking about the rear speakers here.

[Kevin]

well, if any of the copper speaker wire is exposed inside of your door, and happens to touch ANY metal inside of your door, it will crackle and sound like ****.. this will also happen when your terminals sucessfully touch the door in anyway. aside from that, i'd say its time to replace your front speakers. your stock wiring is 18 gauge and can wear out very easily after 10 years of abuse. now there is two options as far as rewiring your entire system, are you wanting to amplify the speakers (recommended)? or are you looking just to replace the speaker wire in hope it will sound better than what you have (ie just rewire the speaker wire all the way up to the head unit)? the first option can be a pain in the ass, however, most beneficial, the second option really yeilds no result from my stand point and is a royal pain in the ass. what i would recommend is running 16 gauge wire to all four of your surround speakers (fronts can be routed through the door right below the wiring harness and through the door jam under the weather stripping, granted you use some split loom plastic sheathing to protect the speaker wire, and then ran down one side of the car.. ie drivers side and hidden below the trim molding on the door sill or even below the carpet if you're ambitious enough) (rear speakers can simply be run down the underside of the rear deck and down one side to where you're going to have the amplifier on). also in question would be what kind of after market audio components do you currently have installed? headunit? speakers? from there, more suggestions could be made.
peace

[TheLastMarauder]

Well, it's like this. I know my wiring's bad after some screwing around with the speakers. So I'll be running new wire.

What is this "split loom plastic sheathing"?

As far as the equipment itself, it's an odd assortment of things I got mostly for free. None of it too good.

Head Unit: Jensen(Wal-Marted), plays MP3 CDs, i think 45Wx4 peak, nothing special
Front speakers: Boston Acoustics 4.5" which are rated at 100W
Rear speakers: Pioneer (Also Wal-Marted sadly) 6"x8", rated at 180W or so
Wiring: stock (the problem)
No amp
No subs
Nothing else

I'm not looking for professional sound and I'm far from an audiophile, I just want my stuff to work. Again, I know all my stuff works fine (I've tested it). I may replace the front pair, as they aren't too loud even when they are working.

[Kevin]

well, obviously if it's no major concern to you, just spend the 40 to 50 bucks and pick up a set of pioneer coaxials (basically 2 way speakers) in either 5 1/4 inch or 6 1/2 inch.. should serve you fine. as far as split looming.. it's wire loom/wire covering that just slides over cables, tubes and wires.. you'll commonly see this sold as 'hose dress up kits'. just run to autozone or pepboys and ask for wire loom. aside from that, just run the speaker wire through the wiring harness in the door jamb, cover it with wire loom to keep it from getting fugged up and run it directly to the wires on your headunit (which wires, i couldn't tell you the color layout for your stereo harness)
peace

[TheLastMarauder]

Awesome. Thanks. Somewhere around here I've got the layout for the harness, so I should be set.