|
Hi All,
Just wanted to post an update. I set out to improve the factory system and so far so good. The speakers and CD changer are working great...the 25Wx4 amp is still on order.
I replaced the front door and dash speakers with Polk EX2560 component speakers...tweeters in the dash reflecting straight up into the windshield. Both mounting positions required custom plastic and woodwork. I replaced the rear door speakers with Polk EX602a coaxials. These were sightly modified to allow mounting to existing mount. The rear door Volvo mount ports into the door cavity and causes much booming affect if you set the fader and bass to encourage it. Speaker mounting did not modify any Volvo mounts or harness/connectors.
While in the doors, I found that the plastic mounting pins used to fasten the front door speaker mounts and the door panels will rattle at resonant frequencies and cause a terrible noise. I touched all of these with silicone sealant to dampen them. This noise sounded much like a fried speaker!
I placed a termination board beneath the glovebox (remove box for access). It holds the front crossover networks on the right and a 12-position barrier terminal strip on the left for factory harness-headunit-new amp interfacing. I easily routed new wiring for the dash tweeters. It is impossible to rewire the front doors...all door wiring routes through a huge multi-pin connector at the door hinge. So, I used the existing harness wiring to all four doors. The rear door speaker mounts have the connector built-in so I just soldered to it. The front door speakers had the connector built-in so I carefully cut them off the old speakers and put them on a lead soldered to the new speakers. The entire termination board with harness was assembled on the bench and then set in place and connected to the factory connector and dash tweeter wiring.
Volvo came through with the headunit connectors with terminals. I built an interfacing harness for the 10-pin connector to intercept factory speaker wiring and route same to the barrier terminals. For now, the headunit speaker outputs route to the barrier terminals. Later on, they will be replaced by the amp speaker outputs. Only the speed sensor lead connects straight through to the headunit on this connector. For lack of a crimp tool, I soldered the terminals. Worked fine, although a Dremel grinder was immensely useful for removing very tiny interferances that would otherwise keep the terminals from "clicking" into the connector recepticles.
The CD changer went into the glovebox on the left. A custom plywood block behind and on the right secure it *squarely* in place. The long data cable is required to reach the headunit/adapter. Most of it remains bundled in the dash. The Blitzsafe adapter VOL/ALP DMX works great and is said to autoscan/support all Volvo/Alpine combinations. The only mod to factory equipment I made (besides the wiring hole in the glovebox) is that I soldered the adapter 12v lead onto terminal A13 (Y-VO accessory key-ignition +12v) in the 14-pin power connector at the back of the headunit. This was quick and worked fine. The CD changer power is now switched with the headunit.
I used 16ga red and 16ga black wire from Trak Auto. The insulation holds up well to soldering heat. I put 3' leads on each connector.
Results? The new speakers sound much better than the factory units...much cleaner and more precise. This has the affect of making the bass/treble/fader controls much more useful in accomodating various sound sources. The CD changer works great. Overall, the car sound is cleaner and much more precise and controlable with great imaging by my standards. I am very pleased and have achieved the quality I wanted without the amp. I would even consider skipping the amp, but I suspect an external amp will take the quality one step further by exchanging the headunit's amp 10%THD for MTX's 0.1%THD. I'll go for it!
Here's the latest Volvo wiring data:
SC813 Connection Specifications
Connector AMP (from external amplifier), DIN, 6-pin, male:
Note: Channel connection disables head unit internal amplifier and/or speaker outputs:
Pin Description
Keyhole at 12:00
1 at 11:00 CH 1, front left speaker (+)
2 CH 2, front right speaker (+)
3 CH 4, rear right speaker (+)
4 CH common, speaker (-)
5 at 1:00 CH 3, rear left speaker (+)
6 center remote amplifier turn-on lead (use to turn on amp)
SHD/CHS ground
Connector CD (from external CD changer mini-bus), mini-DIN, 8-pin, male:
Connector A (power), Yasaki, 14-pin, female, [top 1-3, 4-6, bottom 7-14]:
Pin Wire Description
A1* R-W CH 1, front left dash speaker (+), int Y from pin B4
A2* Y-W CH 1, front left dash speaker (-), int Y from pin B3
A3 BL-W power antenna (+)
A4 GN-BN battery (+)
A5 - not used
A6 B ground
A7* Y-GR CH 2, front right dash speaker (+), int Y from pin B10
A8* GR CH 2, front right dash speaker (-), int Y from pin B9
A9 - not used
A10 P 0.75 rheostat (+)
A11 - not used
A12 GN-BN battery (+)
A13 Y-VO accessory (key-ignition +12v), (use to power CD changer adapter)
A14 B ground
*Head unit pins not used after external amp upgrade.
Connector B (signal), Yasaki, 10-pin, female, [top 1-2, 3-4, bottom 5-10]:
Pin Wire Description
B1* BN-B CH 3, rear left speaker(s) (-), Ys to door & column
BN-B at rear left door
BN-B at rear left column
B2* BN-W CH 3, rear left speaker(s) (+), Ys to door & column
BN-W at rear left door
BN-W at rear left column
B3* GN-BN CH 1, front left door speaker (-)
B4* GN-W CH 1, front left door speaker (+)
B5* P-W CH 4, rear right speaker(s) (-), Ys to door & column
Y-GR at rear right door
P-W at rear right column
B6* P-B CH 4, rear right speaker(s) (+), Ys to door & column
Y-B at rear right door
P-B at rear right column
B7 Y-B 0.75 speed sensor
B8* - not used
B9* R-W CH 2, front right door speaker (-)
B10* R-B CH 2, front right door speaker (+)
*Head unit pins not used after external amp upgrade.
Volvo connector parts list:
1 Volvo connector tab housing 10-pin male 9130219-0 $2.65
10 Volvo cable terminal male 9130229-9 $0.54 $5.40
1 Volvo connector receptacle housing 10-pin female 9130220-8 $2.75
10 Volvo cable terminal female 9130230-7 $0.61 $6.10
1 Volvo connector tab housing 14-pin male 9130223-2 $2.56
14 Volvo cable terminal male 9130229-9 $0.54 $7.56
1 Volvo connector receptacle housing 14-pin female 9130224-0 $2.56
14 Volvo cable terminal female 9130230-7 $0.61 $8.54
Until the amp is installed,
Glenn
|
