Date: 7-26-08 03:22 From: Grover in El Cerrito, CA Subject: Stereo install question
Hi folks. I'm giving the interior of my car a re-fresh, and part of that was gutting the old speakers which were horrendous. However, I didn't pay close enough attention when ditching the old ones, and now don't know how to decipher polarity to the wires coming from the stereo. Regardless of which way round the wires attach to the speakers, music comes out and I can't honestly say it sounds different either way. Does polarity matter on car speakers? And, if so, how do I definitively figure out which goes to the larger spade on the speaker and which goes to the narrow one? Thanks in advance.
Date: 7-26-08 03:31 From: yeewiz in Concord, CA Subject: Re: Stereo install question
Yes, it matters. But that's based on multiple and every source I have read. Peruse Crutchfield and they will say the same. On Alpine speakers, large spade = +. HTH! _________________ Bob
BMWCCA #4844
1974 2002 Sahara, MM 2400 Rally engine, MM 5 speed and conversion
1976 2002A Anthracite parts car
1991 525i Alpine
2002 330ci Alpine
2007 530xiT Titanium Silver
Date: 7-26-08 03:51 From: Grover in El Cerrito, CA Subject: Re: Stereo install question
Thanks Yeewiz. So assuming the large spade is positive, how do I figure out which lead is positive out the back of the stereo console. I've got to believe they're standardized, my head unit is a Sony if it's any help.
Date: 7-26-08 03:57 From: cj in the BMW Sauber F1 car Subject: Re: Stereo install question
Slide the head unit out. There should be a decal that lists the wire colors on the chassis.
Date: 7-26-08 04:11 From: yeewiz in Concord, CA Subject: Re: Stereo install question
I agree with Cris. You've got to pull the head to find the polarity. If you just don't have the energy to do that, and the wiring from the head looks somewhat competent, then the wire with the black stripe is negative. If not then it's a 50-50 proposition. But then wire it consistently. _________________ Bob
BMWCCA #4844
1974 2002 Sahara, MM 2400 Rally engine, MM 5 speed and conversion
1976 2002A Anthracite parts car
1991 525i Alpine
2002 330ci Alpine
2007 530xiT Titanium Silver
Date: 7-26-08 04:17 From: Grover in El Cerrito, CA Subject: Re: Stereo install question
Sorry. No such luck, the head unit has a sticker for fuses and such, but nothing about speaker output.
Date: 7-26-08 04:21 From: cj in the BMW Sauber F1 car Subject: Re: Stereo install question
Date: 7-26-08 04:45 From: Grover in El Cerrito, CA Subject: Re: Stereo install question
Thanks Cris, that's perfect. From there I can use my multi-meter to track this down.
Date: 7-27-08 08:34 From: Steve73tii in Buffalo, NY Subject: Re: Stereo install question
Sony speakers have the wider stud as + as well.
Sounds like you have figured it out, but I'll float this out there just so someone can tell me what a dumb idea it was: We used to test speakers that didn't have markings or a wide stud by touching a 9-volt "transistor radio" battery to the terminals. There would be an audible "pop" and you could observe whether the speaker cone "pushed" or "pulled" and thereby identify the "+" speaker terminal. Fun, huh?
--Steve _________________ '73 2002tii Agave green #2763558
Date: 7-27-08 02:24 From: jgerock in Alexandria, VA Subject: Re: Stereo install question
The battery trick works great. I used a 9V battery connected to the speaker, then watched the cone movement.
Make sure your head unit (stereo) impedence (ohms) matches your speakers for best performance. _________________ Jim Gerock
BMWCCA # 381868
73tii "Celeste" # 2764081
71 VW Bug
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