speaker question.

[SpareParts]

I did manage to get the power/grounds hooked up to the amp and the wires ran to it from the HU.
Glad to say the front speakers sound good but i will definitely need to adjust the sound.

 

[SpareParts]

I still need to clean the wiring up at the amp but this is where im leaving off for today.
Just amazing how long it's taking. So much little fiddly sh*t makes it take forever.

 

[adriver]

Of the name brands like Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine and such what would be a good HU under $400?
I don't care about Sirius. I generally listen to Pandora Classic Rock Bluetooth from phone. I need NAV, 4CH with Sub output.

Good luck with that. Nav is what turns a name brand head unit from $150 to close to $1k. You can hunt for deals on ebay, you might get lucky. The only place you are going to find that for $400 is amazon and alibaba, and those head units are junk all around. All the other specs are trash. If you can get past the NAV, then you can find great double dins and fancy phone mounts so you can use nav on your cell and keep it under $400. Otherwise your best option is to hope to find a deal on a new(ish/er) outdated head unit, or search for a used one that's in good condtion.

Started installing the speakers and figuring out wiring today.
Only place i could figure out a place for the power to go through the firewall is a little sketchy. There is maybe a 1/4in space between the wire and inner steering shaft. I have some Teflon anti chafe tape i think i better wrap the wire and shaft with.
View attachment 411432

YOU NEED TO FIX THIS!!! THIS IS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS.
Despite what kind of tape you put on this, it's going to rub through. You don't have 1/4" clearance, you don't have any clearance. I can see the band on the steering shaft as it goes around, makes contact, and rubs off the rust.
What's GOING TO HAPPEN, is you are going to eventually rub away the casing on that power wire. Then that power is going to make contact with your steering shaft, arc, and create a circuit, that will probably burn your vehicle down. You will be essentially running a battery pos power cable, to chassis.


There are other grommets, up to the left. If it's 0awg or smaller, you can put that through the factory hole and add sealant so it doesn't go larger. I would have to look to see what I did. You CAN'T leave it like this.

The speaker wire from the amp was a pita! trying to feed it between the body and door through that rubber tube thing.
View attachment 411436

Those door grommets have two clips and they pop out. You should have some dialectic/electrical grease for your connections. Use that same stuff, and lube the wiring to pull it through those and the rubber tube between.

 

[SpareParts]

@adriver
See this is where pictures are sometimes misleading. The picture certainly looks as you describe but, Bad angle from the camera perspective.
The fact is, that rub mark you see was there before i started from a piece of foam rubbing. I just put the power wire in friday and have not even turned the steering wheel since then. The pictures clearly show the interior torn apart and front seats out.
There is 1/4 in clearance between the wire and shaft. I do plan on securing it better though.
The fuse is installed about 4in from the battery and the wire mostly fallows the factory wires with the thought of, i don't want 4 gauge wire shorting out and causing a fire.

Yes i did pop the grommets off the doors but the angle was still almost to much. I got some wire lube and it did not really help to get the wire through initially it sure did help to pull it though!
I'll post a pic of fuse location and try to get a better angle on the steering shaft/ wire.
I looked and did not see any other place to run a wire without drilling a hole in the firewall but maybe i missed it. I admit i did not look to hard, more of a quick look.

 

[SpareParts]

Fixed one of the most irritating thing about GMT800's to me today.
Showing red when unlocked. It just seems backward to me to show red unlocked and nothing locked.
Now it shows red locked and nothing unlocked.

 

[SpareParts]

Here is a shot of the fuse location and steering shaft wire clearance.

 

[SpareParts]

Here it is all back together but not complete.
I will need to take the door panels off and put the inner plastic covering back on. Wanted to give it a few days for the new stuff to settle in.
After playing with it about 20 minutes i think it sounds pretty good with only two front door speakers.
The under seat sub is still not here and i think for the rear speakers i will get a couple pods and mount them to the rear doors.
Hopefully by next weekend all this will be done!

 

[mountie]

Here it is all back together but not complete.
I will need to take the door panels off and put the inner plastic covering back on. Wanted to give it a few days for the new stuff to settle in.
After playing with it about 20 minutes i think it sounds pretty good with only two front door speakers.
The under seat sub is still not here and i think for the rear speakers i will get a couple pods and mount them to the rear doors.
Hopefully by next weekend all this will be done!
View attachment 411536

I'm exhausted !! That was a lot of work.

 

[SpareParts]

And it's not done yet!
The subwoofer will be here tomorrow. Not sure how i will get power to it yet but ill figure something out.
The rear 6x9's i will mount to the rear cargo barn doors in some 6x9 speaker boxes.
The inside plastic trim parts will not be strong enough to hold them for long so plan is to reinforce it with an aluminum part on the inside. Should make it strong enough.