Speaker Re-wiring

[MywifeownsaTJ]

I’m having trouble getting the new speakers installed. I bought Sony 4x6 for the dash, and Sony 6.5 for the sound bar. The wires are still oem so they have these clip connectors for the oem speakers. Will the speakers work if I cut those clips off and hard wire the speakers? My other concern is which color wires are positive/negative. I’ve searched google and can’t seem to find a straight answer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
TIA.

 

[TJ Jim]

So you don’t ruin the oem plugs install a spade connector male or female depending on the oem plug on to the speaker wiring. I’m assuming the speakers came with a plug and wires. Then connect those spades to the oem plug and give it a good tight wrap with good electrical tape.
As for polarity all the speakers I’ve wired in, if you get them backwards you get a bit of distorted audio so you swap them. Never blown one up. Maybe one of the audiophiles on here can give better direction.
I just hate to see oem wiring butchered.

 

[SoCalGlide]

There are speaker wire adapters that will allow you to hook up the speakers without cutting anything.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094F7DLTX/?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[bmcgc]

What year is your TJ? 02 and back use different speaker connectors.

You will need adapter plates to install the front speakers.

I bought the adapter plates and speaker connectors off Amazon for about $25.

 

[WestCoastDan]

If you’re really worried about cutting off the old factory speaker wire terminals to connect your new speakers, you probably shouldn’t be doing the upgrade yourself.
As for polarity of the OEM wires, the connectors are likely different sizes to correspond w/ the tabs on the OEM speakers. The tabs On the speakers are typically marked +/-. This will tell you which wire is + & -.

 

[ChasUGC]

Personally, I don't see the point of keeping OEM speaker connectors, if you don't have OEM speakers. I would much rather run higher gauge wire to my speakers anyway. If you run new higher gauge wires from the radio, it will tell you which wire is + or -. Then, you just match that polarity at the speaker. There are other ways to match the polarity based on which way the speaker pulsates with sound. You can look that up online. But, I prefer just knowing which wire is positive and which is negative and just matching them. I am also not a fan of mismatched speaker size. But that is just my fidelity preference. Bigger is not always better.

 

[TheBoogieman]

If you bought your speakers at Crutchfield, you'd get the speaker and wiring adapters free.

 

[bmcgc]

Nothing at Crutchfield is free.

Some of us just want to replace 25 year old speakers.

I went with the oem speaker size and the P-N-P option.

Quick and easy and moving on to the next thing.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Nothing at Crutchfield is free.

It is for me.

Some of us just want to replace 25 year old speakers.

Then you need to replace the 25 year old head unit too.

 

[bmcgc]

It is for me.

Then you need to replace the 25 year old head unit too.

thanks for telling me what i need to do.

 

[C.J. Roberts]

I’m having trouble getting the new speakers installed. I bought Sony 4x6 for the dash, and Sony 6.5 for the sound bar. The wires are still oem so they have these clip connectors for the oem speakers. Will the speakers work if I cut those clips off and hard wire the speakers? My other concern is which color wires are positive/negative. I’ve searched google and can’t seem to find a straight answer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
TIA.

Here is a link to a Factory Service Manual. It has wiring diagrams in it. To answer you initial question, yes. I cut mine off and replaced them with female spade terminals of the appropriate size. You can get them at a good Ace Hardware.
https://wranglertjforum.com/attachments/2000-tj-service-manual-pdf.362948/

 

[CreepinDeth]

. Will the speakers work if I cut those clips off and hard wire the speakers?

Yes
The connectors are just OEM terminations

When I install a new stereo, I gut all OEM wiring and out in 14-16 AWG speaker wire. Its mainly because I have to reroute it all from the new Amplifier location

You can simply install insulated spade terminals like someone already suggested, or buy a $10 gold speaker terminal kit off Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0972WQZVD/?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[MutantNinjaTJ]

If you bought your speakers at Crutchfield, you'd get the speaker and wiring adapters free.

Then there’s this! Crutch field is you friend when it comes to sound upgrades

 

[WestCoastDan]

Then there’s this! Crutch field is you friend when it comes to sound upgrades

Crutchfield is our friend too as it avoids this type of post.