Factory integration stereo wiring harnesses

[dedMann]

I'm trying to be sensible and keep the cost reasonable. Already over $500 in speakers & amp. I found this video with the best sounding (lol) Maverick of the ones I checked out. Ironically I selected the same speakers. The Amp is discontinued and less power than the Key200.4. I have yet to find an all-n-one slim amp that inspires me to spend money. I am now wondering where I am going to pull input for that sub..... I doubt there is ample room to run wiring to an fro within the floor sills.

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[BLUE1870]

The tweeters and door woofers are spliced off the factory wiring. If you want to run them through a crossover that wire is going to be severed at some point. I resolved today just to run new tweeter wiring. Running anything through the doors seems impossible without getting messy. The doors only have 2 wires, they do not loop from the door speakers back to the tweeters. Running new tweeter wiring looks pretty easy, mostly the driver side will need some fishing.

Where does the OEM woofer to tweeter splice occur? Would it make sense to splice a new tweeter wire there or would it be better to run all new wire to the tweeter?

 

[Maggot Toe]

Where does the OEM woofer to tweeter splice occur? Would it make sense to splice a new tweeter wire there or would it be better to run all new wire to the tweeter?

Possibly behind the climate controls, I haven't tore into that yet. I tried to pull the tweeter harnesses out of the dash and back to me so I could see where they come out but they are strapped down pretty securely, all I can do it wiggle them to confirm I'm grabbing the correct wire bundle. I shoved a fiber optic camera back there but my poor camera focus on that doesn't really help me see much.

I'm actually surprised so far how easy the trim has been to remove using trim tools. I probably watched Blakescars2 video 5 times worried I'd break clips. The plastic does nick pretty easy but so far I haven't broken anything taking it apart and putting it together. I bet I could run 2 awg wire in the door channels pretty easily. Running a custom wire harness in the passenger side and amp power wires down the driver side like everyone else is doing is the correct move.

 

[Fil]

Sounds like a solid plan.
I am going to bi-amp, but maybe I should wire to accommodate the LC2i Pro behind the seat in case I decide to amp the back speakers and/or upgrade the sub as you mentioned. Unfortunately, my upgrade options are limited on the hybrid due to the power budget.
I did find a fuse location on the panel to fuse-tap for the Key. Position #24 is listed as unused (spare) in the manual, and it is a Micro2 series. I verified constant voltage and I ordered a tap.

I have decided to remove and abandon my Morel Maximo components as I cannot mount the tweeters without severe butchering. I have the Powerbass components on the way. I will not be plugging the tweeters into the factory harness however. I will run new wires to the Key to bi-amp.

So much for planning and buying equipment before actually getting the Maverick. It was delayed several times and I'm out of my 60-day window with Crutchfield. I suppose I'll eBay the Morels at discount.

What model of Morels? Have you sold them yet? Thanks.

 

[Red Ryder]

What model of Morels? Have you sold them yet? Thanks.

Just the Maximo 6's. No, the woofers are still in the Maverick, the tweeters were never installed.

 

[snowkarver]

Just the Maximo 6's. No, the woofers are still in the Maverick, the tweeters were never installed.

Any additional thoughts on the Morel tweeter fit? I am thinking of doing a set of biamped Tempo Mk II components, and don't mind some dash/speaker hacking - but only if it's "reasonably" possible to fit the tweeter.

The Tempo/Maximo/Maximus tweeters have the same shell dimensions, and I think I saw another install where they managed to get them in with some fairly minor modifications (shaving plastics, etc.)

Thanks for any insight you might have!

 

[Red Ryder]

Any additional thoughts on the Morel tweeter fit? I am thinking of doing a set of biamped Tempo Mk II components, and don't mind some dash/speaker hacking - but only if it's "reasonably" possible to fit the tweeter.

The Tempo/Maximo/Maximus tweeters have the same shell dimensions, and I think I saw another install where they managed to get them in with some fairly minor modifications (shaving plastics, etc.)

Thanks for any insight you might have!

I think they can be made to fit by removing plastic in the mounting location. You'll likely never get the OEM tweeters to snap back in, but why would anyone want that?

 

[colinl]

Exactly. Most likely you would leave the replacement speakers in the truck even if you sell it.

If you have installed costly speakers and want to remove them, while doing that it would not be hard to replace with budget stuff so that the truck still has a functional sound system. The more expensive your speakers, the more you might care about doing this.

And you wouldn't be cutting the next owner short. The stock speakers are horrible, you are doing someone a huge favor even using cheap ~$100 components.

 

[snowkarver]

I think they can be made to fit by removing plastic in the mounting location. You'll likely never get the OEM tweeters to snap back in, but why would anyone want that?

Great, thanks! My OEM speakers always go right into the trash where they belong.

Exactly. Most likely you would leave the replacement speakers in the truck even if you sell it.

Yeah, I consider all my installs permanent. They are stealth in terms of their everyday operation, and I keep my vehicles for quite awhile, so never have a problem seeing the systems go to the next owner, plus I always look forward to the next project.

Also, components should be acoustically matched to the vehicle. I believe people are gravitating towards Morels in the Mav because their warm timbre and soft domes work well in the hard plastic interior. The same speakers sound pretty dull and lifeless in my XC60 - padded leather, wood, soft touch vinyls that break up the surfaces everywhere - so that vehicle sounds way better with Focals or JBLs.

 

[colinl]

Great, thanks! My OEM speakers always go right into the trash where they belong.



Yeah, I consider all my installs permanent. They are stealth in terms of their everyday operation, and I keep my vehicles for quite awhile, so never have a problem seeing the systems go to the next owner, plus I always look forward to the next project.

Also, components should be acoustically matched to the vehicle. I believe people are gravitating towards Morels in the Mav because their warm timbre and soft domes work well in the hard plastic interior. The same speakers sound pretty dull and lifeless in my XC60 - padded leather, wood, soft touch vinyls that break up the surfaces everywhere - so that vehicle sounds way better with Focals or JBLs.

I believe Focal and Morel have had a lot of success with their entry and mid-level products draw people because of the name brand, which they both certainly earned from their high-end products.

I say that as someone who has a set of Focal RSE 165 in my Maverick that I got for $150 on sale.

Not that I'm special because of it, but I listened to Focal at a local shop before buying. The RSE 165 sounded better to me than the Flax Evo because the Flax's metal tweeters sounded very bright on their demo board, let alone in a truck filled with hard plastic and glass. The KX2 is pretty awesome, but I couldn't justify the cost.

I think all of Morel's tweeters are in that same fairly large housing. Depth won't be an issue for any of them. The factory tweeter is mounted in a plastic ring that sits on top of a pocket that is roughly 2" deep. I have bass blockers in there and there's a lot of room for them.

I haven't worked on one but my opinion is the non-B&O system is much more easily used with components since the factory tweeter already hangs off the door speaker. (I guess it is a really cheap component system already.) So you put the component crossover in the door, connect the factory tweeter wire, replace both speakers, good to go.

 

[snowkarver]

I believe Focal and Morel have had a lot of success with their entry and mid-level products draw people because of the name brand, which they both certainly earned from their high-end products.

I say that as someone who has a set of Focal RSE 165 in my Maverick that I got for $150 on sale.

Not that I'm special because of it, but I listened to Focal at a local shop before buying. The RSE 165 sounded better to me than the Flax Evo because the Flax's metal tweeters sounded very bright on their demo board, let alone in a truck filled with hard plastic and glass. The KX2 is pretty awesome, but I couldn't justify the cost.

I think all of Morel's tweeters are in that same fairly large housing. Depth won't be an issue for any of them. The factory tweeter is mounted in a plastic ring that sits on top of a pocket that is roughly 2" deep. I have bass blockers in there and there's a lot of room for them.

I haven't worked on one but my opinion is the non-B&O system is much more easily used with components since the factory tweeter already hangs off the door speaker. (I guess it is a really cheap component system already.) So you put the component crossover in the door, connect the factory tweeter wire, replace both speakers, good to go.

Nice deal on the Focals, those would have been my second choice. Definitely agree that anything on the bright side probably wouldn't play nicely with the Maverick interior. Do you have a build post or thread?

Not that I have my XLT in hand yet, but I believe that the non-B&O tweets are wired in parallel with the doors, with the splice in some unknown location in the dash. So not trivial to drop x-overs in the door - one of the reasons I will likely go bi-amp, along with the ability to DSP the tweeter to correct its awkward location in the dash corner.

 

[colinl]

Nice deal on the Focals, those would have been my second choice. Definitely agree that anything on the bright side probably wouldn't play nicely with the Maverick interior. Do you have a build post or thread?

Not that I have my XLT in hand yet, but I believe that the non-B&O tweets are wired in parallel with the doors, with the splice in some unknown location in the dash. So not trivial to drop x-overs in the door - one of the reasons I will likely go bi-amp, along with the ability to DSP the tweeter to correct its awkward location in the dash corner.

here's the wiring diagram. It looks like the tweeter connects right to the factory door speaker, that's why I was assuming it would be easy to put components in there.

 

[MikeyG]

Any additional thoughts on the Morel tweeter fit? I am thinking of doing a set of biamped Tempo Mk II components, and don't mind some dash/speaker hacking - but only if it's "reasonably" possible to fit the tweeter.

The Tempo/Maximo/Maximus tweeters have the same shell dimensions, and I think I saw another install where they managed to get them in with some fairly minor modifications (shaving plastics, etc.)

Thanks for any insight you might have!

Do you have pics or a link to where you saw someone mount the morel tweeters in a maverick?

 

[MikeyG]

How would I wire up a set of components to the factory wiring? Do you just splice the tweeters into the factory wiring and how would you wire up the crossover?

 

[snowkarver]

How would I wire up a set of components to the factory wiring? Do you just splice the tweeters into the factory wiring and how would you wire up the crossover?

Few options from basic to pricey:

• Replicate the factory style by just replacing the 6.5" and tweeter, using the stock harness. Needs a capacitor (bass blocker) inline as a high-pass filter to protect the tweet. Simplest install, but not much frequency control or finesse here at all.
• Based on the wiring that Colin posted upthread, the factory wiring for the tweet seems to originate at the door speaker (C2421), loop back to C200 which is the audio harness behind the A/C panel in the dash, and then head up to the tweets. If this is true, the x-over could be wired up in the door at C2421, or even behind the dash at C200 with some creative rewiring. Can't confirm this though, don't have my Mav yet.
• Bi-amp the mids and tweets from a multichannel amp on separate channels using either new wiring to the tweets, or intercepting the wires from option #2. No crossover needed.

All theoretical for me, until I can look behind some plastic!

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