So I am currently installing a set of new Rockford Fosgate speakers in my 2000 XJ8L (Alpine system) and had a question about wiring the tweeters. I have never done a lot of speaker / stereo work, and am much more comfortable with the mechanical side of things, so this may be a simple issue.

I started work on the rear doors first, which have the tweeter built into the door handle. I have these 2 wires from the new tweeter:




I am wondering if I attach these to the 6.5" door speaker here:




Or do I splice them in with the factory Jaguar tweeter wire here:




I am keeping the stock head unit and amp, if that matters.

Thanks!

 

Just finished the install today. I ended up connecting the new rear tweeters to the RF door speakers directly. Also discovered that the previous owner had installed $18 JVC CS-J620 door speakers in the front. Not too familiar with them, but they were very lightweight and felt cheap. Maybe that's why the sound was off? Overall, the RF swap made a huge difference and installation was pretty straight forward. Now has a nice range, crisp, and noticeably more bass.

Tomorrow planning to install the JagCD-HF bluetooth adapter through the CD changer:
https://www.discountcarstereo.com/jagcd-hf.html

 

Today I finished the JAGCD-HF bluetooth module install (https://www.discountcarstereo.com/jagcd-hf.html). This one allows you to retain the stock CD changer and can use it while the module is installed. This is not a major issue for me but I like that there is no permanent modifications to the CD changer and I still have the option to play CDs, if I want. I had ordered it last month and it was backordered, but arrived last week, well packaged.

The provided instructions were pretty accurate and overall I didn't run into any major issues. I definitely underestimated how hard it would be to remove the rear seats / shelf to run the wire! I broke a solid sweat tackling the upper seat backs. Props to the forum for several detailed threads that helped me with the removal.

While I was in there, I realized the stock sub paper surround had disintegrated. This car had been garage kept its entire life, but still succumbed to the sub issue. So I repaired it with the SpeakerWorks kit (https://www.speakerworks.com/6-by-9-...t-p/swk69a.htm). I highly recommend it for $10. No issues with the sub repair kit as long as you follow the instructions.

The JAGCD-HF kit came with several plastic "clip in" connector pieces, which should just clip to the stock wires without needing to cut and splice. I found that they did not adequately tap into the stock wires, so I had to do a cut / strip / solder job in a rather tight space in the center console. Other than that, the kit worked very well. I kept the stock cell phone cover and hid all of the wires. Here are a few pics from the job:










Overall, I spent about $300 for the RF speakers / sub repair kit / Bluetooth module. My goal was to keep the car stock looking while giving a boost to the audio quality. The car sounds great now and with the bluetooth / USB addition, brought up to more current standards. I would definitely recommend it!

 

Myself and KingCharles put Rockfords in ours years ago, so we can attest to the sound. I put a 3rd party (Clarion) head unit in on my end about 12 yrs ago. I'm looking to replace it with a Pioneer or Alpine now.

Nice followup and explanation, we appreciate that.

 

@ Pianoman90

Fantastic work and thanks for sharing. I am in the process of doing this upgrade and did have a few questions for you. Were you able to fit the tweeters in the stock location in the rear door and the front A pillar? If it was more of a custom mount I would very much appreciate some pictures. I will finalize my order with Crutchfield upon hearing back from you.

 

For the rear tweeters, I used half of one of the RF plastic pod pieces (comes in the kit) and inserted the tweeter into it. I secured it to the plastic pod with Dynamat tape. Then it will clamp into the stock tweeter location. It is a bit tight, but it fits well without glue / bolts and does not hit the door panel when installed.

I actually decided to keep the stock front tweeters and didn't swap them out. Everything sounded so good after installing the RF door speakers and rebuilding the sub, so decided I would wait. Sorry I didn't take any pics of the rear tweeter install, but hope that helps.

 

Indeed, my Rockford products are still performing flawlessly !