speaker issues, wattage of stereo, door speaker replacement issues

[fabes89]

I have a 2004 PT cruiser Touring edition, with the 2.4 Liter Turbo. It has a stock deck, and has 6 speakers (two 3.5 inch speakers in the dash, two 6.5’s in the front doors, and two 5x7’s in the back pillars) I have two main questions: First, what is the wattage put out by the stock deck to each speaker, and is there a stock amp built in behind the deck, or somewhere else I am not seeing? My second question needs some explaining. I recently had one of the front speakers blow, (the 6.5 inch door speakers), I bought a replacement (and slight upgrade) speaker, (two polk db651, 3-way speaker) I put the speakers in, using the existing wiring, pretty easy job, took all of an hour… The speakers sounded amazing the first time I turned on the car, no problems… I drove for about 45 minutes, no problems. Spent the evening at a buddy’s house, and left for home… when I started my car up to go home, however, the speakers sounded weak.. I had hardly ANY sound coming from them, and what sound was coming from them, was not good. I knew when I installed them that they were rated at 55 watts continuous power, and that my stereo, most likely did not put that much out… but I figured it would not be an issue. My question is, is it possible that they are just not receiving enough power? Or is it more likely that there is some form of damage to the speakers? I considered a lose wire, but I doubt that, since I soldered the connections….

[slayerdarkcross]

Well I replaced all my speakers in my car besides the dash. The power being supplied is not enough in my opinion. Where as I have to play music louder for it to play normal again.

Currently running 4 Db6501's

[fabes89]

well, i'm hoping to get some more work done on it today to figure out what the problem is, might have to even pop a door off again to get a better look.... i doubt its a loose wire, since both speakers are giving me the grief...

[fabes89]

hey, just took a long look at the set up and can't see any problems, wiring should be fine, speakers fit nicely... ect ect... i had a thought though.. it goes back again to my original question, what are the out put ratings of the stock stereo, now i am curious to find out what resistance the stock speakers ran off of, 2,4,or 8 ohms... the replacement speakers run at 4 ohms, and i thought maybe this is where the problem might lie...

if anyone knows more about the stock deck/stereo, i would much appreciate the info, there is no mention of any of it in my owners manual.... if you know the wattage or resistance of the stock system i would much appreciate any help.

[MX-5]

The OEM radios have 12 watts rms to each speaker. There is no additional external amplifier. The stock speakers are 4ohms. The OEM radios use a DC bias voltage to raise the negative side of the wiring above chassis ground. The dash speakers are in parallel to the door speakers, and use only a capacitor as a 6db/octave crossover.
Driving high power speakers with a low power amp turned up higher than designed can cause the amp to distort in a method called 'clipping'. This distortion can destroy the system.

[fabes89]

okay, thank you for the info! i'll look into finding a good deal on an amp then.... sounds like it's going to be a pain to hook up though....

[fabes89]

so i have done all that i intend to do with my stereo for now:
front: polk db 6501
rear pillar: polk db 5701
sub: polk db 1212
amp: infinity reference series. (300 watts bridged, two channels)
deck: kenwood (can't remember model number) 22 watts RMS 50 peak, two pre-outs, one line in, no usb tho... too much more expensive to get that...

so far everything seems to work great, and sound great, i've been lovin it!
and, it wasn't too expensive, i got all of it in for under 450 (got the amp on craigslist for cheap....)

[oldunclelar]

This question is just something I needed to see. I have a blown door speaker ( it just kinda pops during normal listening, when I turn it up a little it gets worse real fast ) What is the process for removing the speaker? What should I replace it with ( A set from Chrysler or aftermarket ) ?

As always thanks in advance for your help.

[fabes89]

i'd recomend that you just buy a replacement from chrysler unless you want to shuffle out an extra 100 bucks for a new deck or amp. when i put aftermarket speakers in, running off the lower wattage of the stock deck, their performance was just not up to par.

plus it will be an easier install if you get the replacement, the speaker's wire's clips will fit snuggly in place.

as for removing the door panel:

first, you'll have to pull off the panel covering the mirror, fairly easy task, don't worry about being gentle, i have pulled them off several times now, they are metal clips, so breaking them is unlikely.

now you can begin working on the door panel....there are five screws, one of which you'll need an alan wrench to remove, the other four can be taken out with a philips head screw-driver. three of the screws are along the edge of the panel, a fourth is located in the metal door handle. The fifth, (and the one that you will need the wrench for) is located in the rubber handle halfway down the door...

now that the screws are out, you can begin pulling the clips out as well. Be careful here, the clips will not break, i promise you that, but the locking mechanism is connected still, and must be dissconected. For me, this proved easier as a two person job. One person held the door, while the other pulled the lock out of it's clip. (it's tricky because the lock is connected by a plastic piece to a large metal bar, and the plastic piece is liable to break, so, be careful.)

once that is disconnected though, the door should come right off!

the speaker is adhered to the metal frame, a flat-head screwdriver did the trick for me, just peel it off, disconnect the wire clip, and install the new speaker (if you get a stock replacement, this is an easy plug and play install, if not, well, you know the rest....)

also, i found these: Speakers removal HOW TO handy diagram if they help explain better.....


did you just blow out the one speaker then? or are both door speakers out?

[fabes89]

oh wait, sorry, there are two screws on the rubber handly that you will need to use an alan wrench for..