2002 CLK320 aftermarket radio/speaker wiring
06-22-2012, 01:25 PM
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2002 CLK320 Cabriolet
2002 CLK320 aftermarket radio/speaker wiring
Hi everyone,
I hope I'm not asking any questions that have already been answered elsewhere, but I've been searching the forums for a while and haven't found another thread that matches. In the next week or so I'm buying an '02 CLK320 convertible (only 22k miles!) with the factory double-DIN COMAND and Bose speaker system. I want to replace the entire setup including door speakers, sub and amp. What I'm hoping to avoid is cutting any of the factory wires in case the original system needs to be restored, that would mean running new speaker wires into both doors. Has anyone done this before, tips on how to go about it, knowledge on how much of the doors I'd have to disassemble to get a new wire in there?
Additional plans for the system:
Any tips are appreciated, thanks!
I hope I'm not asking any questions that have already been answered elsewhere, but I've been searching the forums for a while and haven't found another thread that matches. In the next week or so I'm buying an '02 CLK320 convertible (only 22k miles!) with the factory double-DIN COMAND and Bose speaker system. I want to replace the entire setup including door speakers, sub and amp. What I'm hoping to avoid is cutting any of the factory wires in case the original system needs to be restored, that would mean running new speaker wires into both doors. Has anyone done this before, tips on how to go about it, knowledge on how much of the doors I'd have to disassemble to get a new wire in there?
Additional plans for the system:
- Replace the head unit with a TBD double-DIN aftermarket
- PAC adapters to keep steering wheel buttons
- Replace Bose amp with a 5-channel aftermarket unit that can hopefully be mounted in the same place (in the trunk by where the roof folds in? I read up on it but haven't found it myself yet)
- 3x RCA from the HU to the amp
- New 8" sub installed in the factory location
- 2x speaker wires from the amp to both doors
- Replace "front" door speakers +tweeters with 6.5in components
- Replace "rear" door speakers (are they 3.5in or 4in?)
- Find a creative place for the XM antenna
- Find a way to remove the A-pillar trim without breaking it to cleanly mount a microphone and radar detector by the rearview mirror
- Other stuff that I come up with along the way
Any tips are appreciated, thanks!
06-27-2012, 10:26 PM
#2
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Read the thread titled App Radio, It will show you some necessitites for mounting the latest Pioneer double-dins. Also read the threads and find pics regarding amp wiring harness, and wiring of the PAC adapters.
I am partial to Pioneer. I have my mic up next to the factory mic, I just pushed the wire along the pillar with a screwdriver and it's fine. I have my Sirius antenna just sitting on the rear deck, inside the car, and it works fine.
The front door speakers are easy to replace with standard 6.5 components. the rear door speakers are more like 3.5" but you can mod the factory plastic mount to accomodate, just make sure the tweets on the 4" coaxials you select are low-pro because there is not much clearance to the door panel.
I wired 3 sets of RCA to my trunk because I had them, but it sounds very good the way I have it running off the factory amp, so I have not installed my replacement amp for the highs yet. I was going to remove the factory amp and just splice into the facotry wire harness to the door speakers (small gauge, I know, but a lot less work). I also did not replace the rear deck speakers (subs) yet and it sounds good. I have 8" Infinity BassLink sub in the trunk. This is a mild system that provides plenty of full-range sound. I'm too old for all that huge bass groun-shaking stuff. Just a nice, clean, well-rounded sound.
I am partial to Pioneer. I have my mic up next to the factory mic, I just pushed the wire along the pillar with a screwdriver and it's fine. I have my Sirius antenna just sitting on the rear deck, inside the car, and it works fine.
The front door speakers are easy to replace with standard 6.5 components. the rear door speakers are more like 3.5" but you can mod the factory plastic mount to accomodate, just make sure the tweets on the 4" coaxials you select are low-pro because there is not much clearance to the door panel.
I wired 3 sets of RCA to my trunk because I had them, but it sounds very good the way I have it running off the factory amp, so I have not installed my replacement amp for the highs yet. I was going to remove the factory amp and just splice into the facotry wire harness to the door speakers (small gauge, I know, but a lot less work). I also did not replace the rear deck speakers (subs) yet and it sounds good. I have 8" Infinity BassLink sub in the trunk. This is a mild system that provides plenty of full-range sound. I'm too old for all that huge bass groun-shaking stuff. Just a nice, clean, well-rounded sound.
06-28-2012, 05:17 PM
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Thanks for the tips. I was going to start the project this weekend but Crutchfield decided not to ship half the components and it's about 100 degrees in Chicago so this might get pushed back a bit.
I have the convertible not the coupe so there's no rear shelf. I was thinking of putting the XM antenna on the trunk by where the factory nav antenna is if I can run the cable into the car the same way. In my Passat I do have the XM antenna on the rear shelf and it works well.
On your setup did the new speakers just drop in as replacements off the factory amp? I thought Bose components were 1-2 ohm and not compatible with aftermarket 4-ohm parts?
On the convertible I read the factory amp is mounted behind a metal plate in the trunk, if I can find/remove that plate I'll see how scary the harness looks and then either run new cables or splice into it. Already spent the $350 on a 5-channel amp so that thing is going into the car somehow...
I have the convertible not the coupe so there's no rear shelf. I was thinking of putting the XM antenna on the trunk by where the factory nav antenna is if I can run the cable into the car the same way. In my Passat I do have the XM antenna on the rear shelf and it works well.
On your setup did the new speakers just drop in as replacements off the factory amp? I thought Bose components were 1-2 ohm and not compatible with aftermarket 4-ohm parts?
On the convertible I read the factory amp is mounted behind a metal plate in the trunk, if I can find/remove that plate I'll see how scary the harness looks and then either run new cables or splice into it. Already spent the $350 on a 5-channel amp so that thing is going into the car somehow...
06-28-2012, 09:40 PM
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Look for the thread with a pic of the amp harness and inventory of each wire. There are input wires from the HU, and output wires to each speaker. I would pull the old amp and use the snap-on wire connectors to splice the output from the new amp into the factory wires going to the front speakers.
A 5 channel amp is not really ideal for this car because you have 6 speakers (really 8 if you count the component tweets separately, going "fully active" with a channel for each). If I were going to replace the amp, I would get two four-channels, run each speaker separately, fully active on the component tweets. Or at least one 4-channel and another 2-channel to run all 6 speaker locations separately. My sub has the amp built-in.
If you want to go with the 5 channel, I would tie together the rear deck speakers with the small rear door speakers. The original amp uses the rear door speakers as rear fill, so they are tied to the rear fade. Any decent amp should be OK with this; running two small sets of speakers off 2 channels, which would bump the resistance on those channels to 2ohm. The only problem with this is that you will not have independent control of wattage or frequencies to those 4 speakers. The front components would be run off the 2 front amp channels, and a sub off the single channel.
The factory amp is running my new 4 ohm components just fine with the PAC OEM module converting the input signal properly. There are some Bose systems where the amp is actually built into each speaker, that creates a nightmare and everything has to be re-wired from A to Z. Each Bose system is a little different.
A 5 channel amp is not really ideal for this car because you have 6 speakers (really 8 if you count the component tweets separately, going "fully active" with a channel for each). If I were going to replace the amp, I would get two four-channels, run each speaker separately, fully active on the component tweets. Or at least one 4-channel and another 2-channel to run all 6 speaker locations separately. My sub has the amp built-in.
If you want to go with the 5 channel, I would tie together the rear deck speakers with the small rear door speakers. The original amp uses the rear door speakers as rear fill, so they are tied to the rear fade. Any decent amp should be OK with this; running two small sets of speakers off 2 channels, which would bump the resistance on those channels to 2ohm. The only problem with this is that you will not have independent control of wattage or frequencies to those 4 speakers. The front components would be run off the 2 front amp channels, and a sub off the single channel.
The factory amp is running my new 4 ohm components just fine with the PAC OEM module converting the input signal properly. There are some Bose systems where the amp is actually built into each speaker, that creates a nightmare and everything has to be re-wired from A to Z. Each Bose system is a little different.
Last edited by jonUF02; 06-28-2012 at 09:42 PM.
06-28-2012, 11:54 PM
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The convertible only has 5 speakers if you count the front 6.5s and tweeters as one. No rear shelf so no dual subs...there's a single sub behind the rear seats and then the front/rear pairs in the doors.
I did have one more question about your last post - can you recommend some 3.5s or 4s for the rears that have low profile tweeters and would fit behind the door panel without any extensive modding?
I did have one more question about your last post - can you recommend some 3.5s or 4s for the rears that have low profile tweeters and would fit behind the door panel without any extensive modding?
06-29-2012, 12:04 PM
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Ahhh... that makes sense.
I bought Image Dynamics 4" coaxials. They are great value for the sound they produce. I am probably going to get their components for the front soon, but I already had an old set of Eclipse. I had to grind off the top edge of the tweets and they make the door grills poke out a little. Just look for something with a smaller tweet that does not stick out too much. I was thinking about Infinity. I was also thinking about Focal, but would probably take the included grills and replace the stock grills for more clearance. The Focal grills are just basic classy black wire mesh, where the ID grills would look silly.
I modified the plastic mounting bracket to fit the 4" using zip ties to secure them. I just had to cut out a little piece in the back. A little ghetto, but it works without going and building something totally custom. I didn't realize the stocks are smaller than the standard 4", and I don't know if anyone sells a direct replacement.
I bought Image Dynamics 4" coaxials. They are great value for the sound they produce. I am probably going to get their components for the front soon, but I already had an old set of Eclipse. I had to grind off the top edge of the tweets and they make the door grills poke out a little. Just look for something with a smaller tweet that does not stick out too much. I was thinking about Infinity. I was also thinking about Focal, but would probably take the included grills and replace the stock grills for more clearance. The Focal grills are just basic classy black wire mesh, where the ID grills would look silly.
I modified the plastic mounting bracket to fit the 4" using zip ties to secure them. I just had to cut out a little piece in the back. A little ghetto, but it works without going and building something totally custom. I didn't realize the stocks are smaller than the standard 4", and I don't know if anyone sells a direct replacement.
