I've been wanting to get better sound in my 1997 Ram 1500 but wasn't going to go nuts on a new head unit, amp(s), and speakers. I like the dash/look and kinda like that joystick of a fader/balance control. Then the 6x9 in my driver's door started to sound like paper mache. I thought I might do a temporary fix with some 'liquid rubber' and re-seal the cone (assuming that was the issue - but it was not, speaker junk).

So, I'm going to replace that speaker, and might as well buy ...6 new speakers, (2" tweeters & 6x9" in doors, then 5.5" rounds in back I believe). Anyhow, my real question here is: Looking at the speaker & wiring having removed the drivers' 6x9:

There are 4 wires in the harness to the speaker, not 2. Whatever new speakers I buy, they ain't gonna come with the wiring harness connector(s) that these speakers have - and I don't believe they're 2-way speakers...but now that I think about it maybe they are (see pics, little center cone in the middle. What is the wiring scheme for these 6x9s? Maybe black is NEG & gray is POS for the low tones and red is POS and green is NEG for tweeter??





Is this a 2 or 4 ohm speaker? I assume 4 as I bench tested resistence on the 2 poles where the wires go into the cone of the speaker and I got 3.5ohms resistence.

 

From what I can tell looking at the FSM the premium Audio setup is somewhat wonky. For the front the radio drives the tweeters directly but for the lower frequencies there is a low pass filter and amplifier attached to the speaker itself (hence the 4 wires). The rear speakers are amplified as well but don't have the separate tweeter.

 

Upgrade both the head unit and speakers, You won't be sorry. Load all the songs you want on a memory stick and play it for hours.

 

Link to manual w/schematics: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...e-manuals.html
Find your year, click to view/download. Look for 'Audio system'. Below is a sample from my year truck.
It would be risky to salvage the crossover amp attached to the existing speakers, so it might be easier to get component speakers with a seperate crossover & amp than to do a bunch of splicing. Search the forum for others' stereo upgrade.
Good luck!

Wire colors may not be the same as here.
FSM

 

Thanks JD GA.

I thought I was smart, but after lookng at the wiring diagram for my truck, .....I'm not. No freakin' idea how to extrapolate this image with the wiring harness(es) in my truck. 4 wires go to the 6x9 but no idea how to install a "regular" 6x9 with a 2-wire setup. I even tested for voltage and can't figure who's POS and who's NEG. Same on the tweeter. At this point, i think I'll just rip it all out - radio/amp ...whatever and throw it in the trash. These "Infinity" speakers are very low quality ---- paper cones, lightweight magnets. But man, way more complexity than is called for, in my humble opinion. Wanh.

 

This post covers the Infinity speaker wiring in my 98, and how I rewired aftermarket speakers.
Maybe that will help.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ml#post2878048

 

Thank you; great write up! But you have a 6-pin wiring harness in the door and mine's a 4-pin (for the 6x9) and 2 for the tweeter. Haven't taken off the rear seat panels to expose the 5.25" speakers. Grrrrrrrrr.

Reading about your 1.5 Din adapter and wiring connector, I found this on Amazon, I wonder if this will work: Doesn't the wiring connector depend on the radio/head unit I buy?

 

So at a guess, if you’re tweeters are on a separate plug, the remaining 4 wires are 2 for the speaker channel and 2 to power the amp… it shouldn’t take too much to figure out which is what… likely two of the four are the same colors both sides will be the power.

The two connectors in the kit fit the vehicle… you splice them into the connector that comes with the head unit you buy.

 

I ain't no rocket scientist but I play one on the Internet...

Ignore the "optional" stuff that's just because in a truck with power windows/locks the speaker wiring goes through a shared connector. Irrelevant for your issue. On the 6x9s pin 4 and 1 of the connector are power and ground, pin 3 and 2 are the audio signal. Just connect the new non-amplified speaker to 3 and 2 and it should work.

You probably should not use the tweeter with your new setup as it is wired in parallel with the 6x9. Parallel speakers reduce the impedance seen by the amplifier in the radio which might cause issues. Check the minimum impedance in the radio manual.

 

If you replace the speakers, you will need to replace the head unit as well, or, wire in a separate amplifier. The outputs from the head unit to the front speakers are 'pre-amp out'. Low power signal.