Base Outer Banks 2021 Bronco Speakers Upgrade Tutorial -- With Stereo Wiring Diagram

[Mattwings]

This is what I am wondering also with the kick panel plug and wiring. Do they simply pass through to the dash or are they parallel to the kicks. That will make a huge difference in choosing the correct ohms and also if you could/should use different ohms between dash and kick

I may pull the kick panel speakers out and verify resistance with the new dash speakers in. Again, I doubt it will be an issue, but I don't want to cook the factory system. Going from 4 ohm to 3 ohm nominal resistance on the dash won't change the load the amp sees much either way, but two 3 ohm speakers in parallel might (2 to 1.5 ohms is a pretty significant change). I am assuming they are wired in series and or there is a passive crossover on the kick speaker or in the kick panel that presents a consistent load to the amp. That could also affect my eventual choice for kick panel replacement speaker. My current plan is to buy mid priced components and just use the mid range speaker in the kick panel, without the tweeter or crossover.

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[peta8368]

yah, that price seems outrageous. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any other seller with that plug/pigtail. I do have to admit that I'm not a pro at this, someone with more experience may have a better idea on where to look.

I did send an email to that seller, to see how many comes for that $78 price tag. If it's 100, then it MAY be doable ordering in bulk. Each person would need 4, so that only needs 25 people on board. We'll see.

Peter

Heard back from Connector Experts, the price is for a single connector.... and shipping starts at $15 for UPS Ground.............................

Guess I know who's never getting my money...

Peter

 

[xmod]

Anyone find the perfect 4" speakers? OP is a fan of JBL, which I can agree with. Had a subwoofer in my living room that nearly tore my first house down to the foundation. ! I am going to start my wish list and sound sampling. I will let everyone know if i find any good deals, or not so good deals with exceptional sound. Would appreciate the same.

I’m looking at audiofrog speakers and JL audio amp.

 

[buzpro]

I'm electrically ignorant so bear with me ..... what's the purpose of this type of wiring?

1. in this set up doesn't the kick panel speaker suck some power out, before it gets to the dash speaker? doesn't it kind of act like a resistor?

2. if you install high end dash speakers will they operate at optimum frequency's in this set up?

 

[BroncoTPA]

Awesome write up and video you guys! Just pulled the trigger on a full kicker cs series replacements. My Badlands should here soon so I'm chomping at the bit to upgrade stuff haha. Didn't feel like going super pricey since I'm not a huge audiophile and just want something "nice". Interested in seeing your update when everything is done and how it is with top up/down driving.

I actually ordered Kicker CS this morning to try them out in ours too!

 

[peta8368]

I'm electrically ignorant so bear with me ..... what's the purpose of this type of wiring?

1. in this set up doesn't the kick panel speaker suck some power out, before it gets to the dash speaker? doesn't it kind of act like a resistor?

Sometimes that is done on purpose. The speakers may have cross over built in, so only certain frequencies are sent to the smaller speakers connected "downstream"

Peter

 

[buzpro]

You can clearly hear the bass distortion of the new speaker. It sounds terrible. The factory speaker sounds muffled but it isn't distorting at least.

this picture was posted earlier .... I don't see how a crossover works like this .... it looks like wires are just connected in series (the Ford connector)

 

[peta8368]

this picture was posted earlier .... I don't see how a crossover works like this .... it looks like wires are just connected in series (the Ford connector)

That's actually a good point. The harness with the black & white wire is actually an aftermarket one, so we shouldn't use that to indicate what the Ford factory speaker is doing. This harness may physically plug in, but wiring may or may not be correct. We'll need to do further testing with the factory 6.5 to determine this. (although i'm not sure how to test to see if a cross over is present...)

Peter

 

[BroncoTPA]

That's actually a good point. The harness with the black & white wire is actually an aftermarket one, so we shouldn't use that to indicate what the Ford factory speaker is doing. This harness may physically plug in, but wiring may or may not be correct. We'll need to do further testing with the factory 6.5 to determine this. (although i'm not sure how to test to see if a cross over is present...)

Peter

I (op) am no where near a car audio expert but I am learning a lot through this thread.

Not sure if it helps but I almost think the 6.5 and dash 4 inch speakers are run in parallel? When I disconnected the 6.5 the dash speakers stopped working, without connecting the 6.5 but simply making a connection between the 6.5 OEM wiring the dash speakers would start working again. I am not sure if that means there is or isn't some sort of crossover but I could not location anything that leads me down that path.

Again, not sure if this info helps at all but thought I would share my experience.

 

[Mattwings]

this picture was posted earlier .... I don't see how a crossover works like this .... it looks like wires are just connected in series (the Ford connector)

Yep, looks like series wiring to me too. There are capacitors on the factory 4" that likely limit lower frequency signals due to the location and smaller size. Hopefully I pick up a bit of "low end" with the Infinity 4" I am adding.

 

[Mattwings]

I (op) am no where near a car audio expert but I am learning a lot through this thread.

Not sure if it helps but I almost think the 6.5 and dash 4 inch speakers are run in parallel? When I disconnected the 6.5 the dash speakers stopped working, without connecting the 6.5 but simply making a connection between the 6.5 OEM wiring the dash speakers would start working again. I am not sure if that means there is or isn't some sort of crossover but I could not location anything that leads me down that path.

Again, not sure if this info helps at all but thought I would share my experience.

I am way removed from day to day wiring, but I think that indicates series wiring as well. Parallel wont see if the other speaker is connected, series needs both speakers (or wiring) to complete the circuit. Or, maybe not

 

[BEM-S4]

Not sure if it helps but I almost think the 6.5 and dash 4 inch speakers are run in parallel?

From my current cars (BMWs) wiring goes from car to kick panel, then kick panel to tweeter (in this case would be dash). Seems like a pretty common wiring setup.

Speakers are easy, my biggest questions relate to the amp. Is there a standalone amp or is it buried in the head unit? Assuming standalone, does anything else reside in that unit that we'd need to retain e.g. CAN BUS? BMW - again my only real experience - if you remove the factory amp your car is essentially bricked if something goes wrong until you put the OEM one back in. I've actually had custom harnesses made to keep both amps installed all the time.

 

[peta8368]

I am way removed from day to day wiring, but I think that indicates series wiring as well. Parallel wont see if the other speaker is connected, series needs both speakers (or wiring) to complete the circuit. Or, maybe not

spitballing here (and not feeling too strongly either way), but it's possible that the parallel split point is built into the connector on the 6.5 speaker's side. This way it guarantees that the 6.5 is connected for the 4" to receive power, possibly for resistance/power reasons.

EDIT: however, if the wiring on the 6.5 goes bad for some reason, it'd still overfeed power to the 4", so that doesn't make a lot of sense... I think I'm leaning toward agreeing that this is a series connection...

Peter

 

[schlava]

I am way removed from day to day wiring, but I think that indicates series wiring as well. Parallel wont see if the other speaker is connected, series needs both speakers (or wiring) to complete the circuit. Or, maybe not

So if this is correct we'd need a 4 channel amp for the speakers not a 6 channel amp(if that's even a thing!). I'd also need to make sure the RMS amp power is no greater than the lowest RMS ratings of the six speakers I choose correct? Also with the stock radio do we need a sound processor to hook up an amp?

 

[peta8368]

I (op) am no where near a car audio expert but I am learning a lot through this thread.

Not sure if it helps but I almost think the 6.5 and dash 4 inch speakers are run in parallel? When I disconnected the 6.5 the dash speakers stopped working, without connecting the 6.5 but simply making a connection between the 6.5 OEM wiring the dash speakers would start working again. I am not sure if that means there is or isn't some sort of crossover but I could not location anything that leads me down that path.

Again, not sure if this info helps at all but thought I would share my experience.

OP, thank you very much for continually providing information, and making that video in the first place. I am thoroughly enjoying this discussion and the research, since I don't have my Bronco yet. When I do get my Bronco, I am sure I won't be able to stay this analytical, and will end up just trying things and see what works.

Again, thank you for taking that first step in this endeavor, and documenting it for the rest of us!

Peter

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