stereo wiring question

the p.o. of my car replaced the original stereo with a sony cd player. doesn't sound like it was wired right;. everything sounds out of phase. i'm gonna replace the head unit with an alpine i bought, along with a 4 channel power amp, but i see that mid 911's utilize a console-mounted fader control. to those who have done these swaps before, have most of you ended up not using this separate control in your installations? seems like it would be easier to just wire from the head unit/amp directly...

thanks

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Adam Nitti
www.adamnitti.com
'85 Carrera
'74 3.0 CS

I did not use the built in fader...I was concerned that the built in fader would not be able to handle the power from my amp and it would add noise. I would recommend heavier speaker wire if using an external amp.

i'm planning on putting the amp in the front luggage area... any suggestions for running new speaker wire from the rear speakers? where is the best place to run wire? thanks again-

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Adam Nitti
www.adamnitti.com
'85 Carrera

The wiring in you car is adequate unless you are going with very powerfull equipment. I mounted a 4 channel amp in the trunk and ran the wiring to these. You can get the plug type connectors to fit these from Crutchfield. I cut a hole and used a rubber grommet in the passenger wheel well after removing the kick panel under the dash. Ran the preamps to the amp through these or you can use the existing pass through above the pedal under the dash. Pretty straightforward altoghether. Give my a shout if you have any questions. I did also replace all the speakers and components.
As far as fader control, get a 4 channel head unit with 4 preamp out to a 4 channel amp. Much better and easier. Michael.

[This message has been edited by 89911 (edited 09-01-2000).]

thanks for the info. very helpful...

can someone confirm these connections for me? i've taken out the head unit, and it appears that my car utilizes 4 pairs of brown wires for speaker connections. 2 of the pairs appear to run from the rear speakers on the floor of the passenger side. the other 2 pairs appear to come from each door, and meet under the dash with what i think are the left and right inputs for the fader in the center console (also brown +/- wires).

the p.o. had connected the front left and front right speaker connections from the head unit to what i think are the 2 pairs of wires running to the fader. evidently, the p.o. was only using the front channel of the head to power all 4 speakers. does this mean the original head unit only used a single stereo amp to power all 4 speakers? can i simply clip the speaker wires before the fader and run them to my 4 channel amp?

sorry if these are elementary questions. just don't want to have to wire this twice.

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Adam Nitti
ajnitti@mindspring.com
www.adamnitti.com
'85 Carrera

[This message has been edited by adamnitti (edited 09-01-2000).]

[This message has been edited by adamnitti (edited 09-01-2000).]

I can't remember the exact wiring colors but here is a way to find out. If you have a multitester, set it to the OHM function. You are now passing a very small current. Touch this to the speaker end terminals and you will here static when applied. If inaudable, raise the ohm level. You really just need this for the rear speakers, the door's will be obvious existing from their respective door. The rear speaker wires travel from the headunit down the passenger side of the tunnel and under the back seats. Once again, unless your wiring is damaged, the OE wiring is 12 to 14 gauge so use it if possible. Michael

Yes, It is not neccessary to use the fader. From a technical standpoint it is better sound quality.Whether you can hear it or not is another question. From a sound standpoint, the less circuitry the better. Like wise the shorter the speaker wire runs the better. As far as speaker wire goes. Smaller gauge wire will skim off the high end if to much power is forced through it. The stock wiring will be fine unless you want really loud sound.Bobby

Every item in the signal chain (fader, equalizer, crossover, etc.) degrades the sound a little bit. Since the new deck will have a built in fader, why not just use it and forget the extra console one.

By the way, what year is your car? Most of the 911s I've seen have air conditioning controls in the cobsole, are you sure the extra fader is from the factory ? Good luck with your system.

(serge, my car is an '85. the fader control is an original piece, fwiw.)

ok. last question. if i follow the speaker wires to the fader and cut them there, will i have enough of the car's speaker wire to reach the hood? looks like a simpler option would be to just splice speaker wire extentions from under the passenger kick plate and pass all speaker wires through one of the existing grommets or a new hole.