Rear door speaker wiring problems

[DaveO9]

Is the speaker wiring in the rear doors a known/common problem? I've been pulling my hair out and there's not much left to do that!

My 2009 Tahoe (LS, base audio system), both rear door speakers were bad. I replaced them, and I assumed everything was working, but now I'm not so sure. I'll never know, cause it's gone.

My 2013 Tahoe (LT, mid-grade Bose system), one drivers side rear door speaker was bad. I bought a decent set of Rockford Fosgate replacements from Crutchfield. Put them in tonight and no sound from either! After a bunch of futzing around, including figuring out how to get the connector in the door jam pried out and removed, I finally figured out it's wiring problems in the door. I can get both new speakers to work by messing with the wire right by the connector at the speaker. I can't figure out if it's the OEM connector (Crutchfield supplied connectors with spade terminals on one end and female connector that matches OEM on the other side) or the wire itself. I'm thinking about just cutting out the connector and replacing as much wire in the door as possible. Just curious if others have had this problem.

The order from Crutchfield also included a bunch of other stuff, including new Alpine Apple Car Play HU, PAC adapter so I should still have steering wheel and rear controls, and a backup vid cam. This weekend's project, wish me luck. Not looking forward to wiring the video cam. Thru the hatch, along the door thresholds to grandmother's house we go.....

 

[drakon543]

its likely either a problem with the oem connector or a problem between the door and the rest of the truck. i have seen the oem connector fail and not just on the speakers in a gm. i have seen the wires break inside the loom/flex tube after years of being bent around.

 

[DaveO9]

its likely either a problem with the oem connector or a problem between the door and the rest of the truck. i have seen the oem connector fail and not just on the speakers in a gm. i have seen the wires break inside the loom/flex tube after years of being bent around.

Thanks, yeah, pretty sure it was the factory connectors themselves. Wire leading up to them looked fine. I just cut them out and wired them directly. There are still removable spade connectors at the speakers anyway.

 

[ccole]

Running a new wire from the center console Bose amp is a fairly easy process(no tools until door panel needed). Remove the trim covers on the door sills and slightly move some carpet. You could use the OEM speaker wire as a pull string to make dealing with the door boots easier.

Reputable car stereo shops should have pins/crimping tool for the OEM connectors if you want to go from A to B with all new speaker wire.

Side note: Make sure your replacement speakers match the impedance of those OEM or you’ll be leaving a lot of output on the table. CDT make a ton of 2ohm options that are cost effective and sound good.

 

[DaveO9]

Running a new wire from the center console Bose amp is a fairly easy process(no tools until door panel needed). Remove the trim covers on the door sills and slightly move some carpet. You could use the OEM speaker wire as a pull string to make dealing with the door boots easier.

Reputable car stereo shops should have pins/crimping tool for the OEM connectors if you want to go from A to B with all new speaker wire.

Side note: Make sure your replacement speakers match the impedance of those OEM or you’ll be leaving a lot of output on the table. CDT make a ton of 2ohm options that are cost effective and sound good.

Eliminating the connectors and about 6" of wire seemed to solve the problem - everything works and sounds pretty good now. Regarding the impedance: the Bose woofers I took out said 3.6 ohms, whereas the new Rockfords say 4 ohms. Is that close enough? I've seen other posts that had me worried all my OEM speakers were 2 ohm, so was relieved when I saw the 3.6.

 

[ccole]

Eliminating the connectors and about 6" of wire seemed to solve the problem - everything works and sounds pretty good now. Regarding the impedance: the Bose woofers I took out said 3.6 ohms, whereas the new Rockfords say 4 ohms. Is that close enough? I've seen other posts that had me worried all my OEM speakers were 2 ohm, so was relieved when I saw the 3.6.

4 Ohm is perfect to replace that 3.6 ohm speaker. I’ve been running the CDT 2 ohm coax in the rear doors for 3 years without issues. A 2 ohm load/speaker typically makes the amplifier double its wattage output. This provides slightly louder volume. In my case I needed more output from the rears since I’m running +/-600 watts to my front door speakers.