A few months ago I installed a new pioneer head unit and 4 pioneer speakers in all the doors as the old were blown. I dont know how the original used to sound but unfortunately the sound is awful. No bass and all treble. I have now removed the backseat as I want to install a amp and pull some new speaker cables. I really don't want the speaker cables to be visible in the door and I'm not sure how to pull the cable into the existing black hose between the door. Does anybody have any pictures or ideas on how to place the new speaker cable neatly to the doors?

 

You havent inadvertently reversed the speaker connections.....?

 

No.. Quite sure. I have also tried to let the speakers play constantly for 48hrs. Did not Improve the sound.. I have started to pull new cables to the front doors at the moment. Not too much work but the rear doors look a bit more fiddly. And I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull cables under the carpet. It was very tight..

 

The symptoms you describe are textbook reverse polarity wiring... Might be worth a try?
The standard wiring is well up to the job, as evidenced by the Harmon Kardon upgrade using it, but if you want to run new cables into the rear doors, you will need to strip off the B post trim to gain access to the end of the rubber conduit into the door.

 

I think what countyjag said should help. You don't mention the power output of the head unit. It could be that the speakers aren't receiving enough power and you may need an amp. In that case,try using a mini amp,while they're not super powerful they do allow to turn up the volume just about to full with little to no distortion and can be mounted behind the glove box area, as they are about the size of two cigarette packs placed together. It also makes the wiring easier using the existing stereo wiring. I have one in my XJ40 and it sounds fantastic. You can find them on Ebay for less than $20.I ran the power lead directly from the bulkhead power stud.

 

I have started to remove the b post trim and spliced the remaining speaker cables from there. It was very difficult to pull a new cable through the existing rubber in the door. I have purchased a 1000dollar amp from rockford fosgate so I think that will do the trick. And I will be 100% sure of the + and - this time.. I might as well add a subwoofer now. I also managed to pull speaker cables under the carpet along the door sills so it's going to look rather neat.

 

Spent a couple of evenings in the garage trying to sort out the speaker cables and rca cables. I purchased a fish tape and managed to pull the cables under the carpet. For the front doors I pulled new cables through the black rubber tube in the door but this was harder to do on the rear doors. Ended up splicing the original speaker cables from under the b post trim and hid everything under the carpet. Another evening and I'll be ready to hook it all up to the rockford amp.



"fishing for speaker wire"

Original speaker wire
A bit fiddly to get the wire through on this side.. not much space.


Rca cables pulled under the seat.. not visible when seat is in its normal position

 

Update: amp tested and it's a huge improvement. I still have to admit that the small 50 usd pioneer speakers are crap but I'm a hifi nerd so I'm used to much better high end systems. At the moment though I'm pleased with the upgrade. Maybe I'll get some better speakers in the future... 🤔

 

I ended up with an older rockford fosgate amp because of noise issues in the new amp.. 😐
But it sounds great and there are no visible cables anywhere. It was really nice to go for a drive now and get some quality sound in the car.

I might try to hide the amp away somewhere in the boot. It's a bit massive. I have also prepared cables for a subwoofer so it's to ready to install later if I want to.


Seats got a round of connely cream leather care as well.

 

I replaced the head unit and speakers in mine, too. As well, mine sounds less than admirable. I have similar components mounted around my shop workbench (yes, over the workbench - pulled from a totaled SUV), and it's sounds marvelous, by comparison.

I drive it infrequently enough to suffer through it. But, if this were my daily driver, I'd be in for a similar job.

Thanks for posting your hard work.

 

Beautiful interior, by the way!