Speaker wiring question for 2008 Ranger

One Sick Puppy · Sep 3, 2008

After doing a bit of research, it looks to me like the speaker wire colors for the 2008 Ranger may be different than past years, so I want to be sure that I have the -/+ connected properly.

Here's a photo of the stock speakers removed from the truck. The left speaker is on the left. The left speaker has a solid white and a white w/ black stripe wire. The right speaker has a white w/purple stripe and white w/orange stripe wire.

What I need to know is: which wires are + and which are -. Thanks.

LITTLE FOOT · Sep 4, 2008

it dont matter

exbass94 · Sep 4, 2008

LITTLE FOOT said:
it dont matter

Yes it DOES matter. The wires on the left hand side of each speaker, the ones closest to the tab, are the positive ones. The right-hand side wires are negative.

One Sick Puppy · Sep 4, 2008

Ya, I've been reading mixed information about whether it matters or not. The reason I ask is that I am getting a little snap/crackle/pop sound out of the right speaker at higher volumes, and I'm quite sure the left speaker is wired correctly because the cables that came with the replacement speakers matched the colors exactly, but not on the right. Oh, and now looking on in the instructions for my new speakers, I see that their positive connection is on the right. I'm pretty sure I assumed that both sets of speakers were the same in there polarity orientation, so I probably do have it wrong on the right door. Of course, in the time it took me to post this, I could have just gone outside and removed the door panel. haha.

I'll post back.

RobbieD · Sep 4, 2008

Polarity does matter to speaker phase and proper speaker operation. You can use a 1.5v flashlight battery to determine speaker polarity. Touch the battery across the terminals (with a jumper wire if needed). If the cone moves outward the speaker's polarity is correct to the battery's polarity markings. If the cone moves inward just reverse the polarity.

One Sick Puppy · Sep 4, 2008

Well, as it turns out, it was wired correctly. I guess maybe the amp in my head unit (50x4) is not powerful enough to handle the speakers at the volume and high-loudness setting. I'm using a Pioneer CD head unit and JVC V6835 speakers (240w max). Everything actually sound quite good apart from the little crackling at higher volumes with loudness on. With loudness off, the speakers actually don't sound nearly as good. So, I guess maybe I need an external amp for the speakers to use the loudness setting without crackling, or maybe get a sub and not use the loudness setting.

dburton07 · Sep 5, 2008

when the deck says 50x4 thats not actually how much its putting out, unless its a super deck lol. i have a pioneer deck too and it says 50x4 and its powering polk speakers but its acutally putting out around 22 or so it says on crutchfield. so the crackling youre hearing is probably the speakers distorting because the deck cant put out enough power at high volumes. i can only put mine up to 25 with the SLA on +4 and the loudness on before it starts to sound like shit. external amp is the way to go, thats what im doing in a few weeks. pioneer 4 channel that puts out 60w rms to each channel i think. bitch should crank.

hope this helps

One Sick Puppy · Sep 5, 2008

Ya, I know the 50x4 is just peak output, not RMS. It sounds better now that I set the loudness to low, instead of high. Definitely still better than no loudness at all, but still a little bit underpowered at higher volumes. I may end up putting a small amp in later, but I think I'll wait a month or so and see how I my ears get accustomed to music in this new vehicle and maybe the speakers will wear in a bit, too.

Speaker wiring question for 2008 Ranger

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