Rear speaker cable routing

[Bill F]

I have just bought the facory rear speakers for my '99 Boxster. I was wondering if any one knew te routing of the cable from the rear speakers to the head unit or amplifier. I have the factory CDR 220 unit.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Bill.

:renntech:

[kbrandsma]

Couple of sources listed here.

Boxster Services

[yellowlemon]

Couple of sources listed here.

Boxster Services

There is also an alternate route for the cabling going via the centre console which is allegedly much easier than the passenger sill..... see bottom of attached PDF (from another poster). I believe this won't necessitate disconnecting the battery, so no problems with airbag lights, electric window calibration etc.....

I am going to attempt this soon and must admit the instructions aren't very clear in describing the steps to get the harness routed from the clip on the roll bar, to under the carpet to the centre console. If anyone has some pictures that would be great!

Porsche_Speaker_Installation_Tips.pdf

[Bill F]

Couple of sources listed here.

Boxster Services

There is also an alternate route for the cabling going via the centre console which is allegedly much easier than the passenger sill..... see bottom of attached PDF (from another poster). I believe this won't necessitate disconnecting the battery, so no problems with airbag lights, electric window calibration etc.....

I am going to attempt this soon and must admit the instructions aren't very clear in describing the steps to get the harness routed from the clip on the roll bar, to under the carpet to the centre console. If anyone has some pictures that would be great!

Thanks for the instructions, I will be looking at theis this weekend. While I have the car apart I will check out the "easier softer way" to see if those instructions make sense while I'm sitting in the car.

Bill

[drem914]

Couple of sources listed here.

Boxster Services

There is also an alternate route for the cabling going via the centre console which is allegedly much easier than the passenger sill..... see bottom of attached PDF (from another poster). I believe this won't necessitate disconnecting the battery, so no problems with airbag lights, electric window calibration etc.....

I am going to attempt this soon and must admit the instructions aren't very clear in describing the steps to get the harness routed from the clip on the roll bar, to under the carpet to the centre console. If anyone has some pictures that would be great!

Thanks for the instructions, I will be looking at theis this weekend. While I have the car apart I will check out the "easier softer way" to see if those instructions make sense while I'm sitting in the car.

Bill

The routing though the sill is not hard at all. One of the best things to do is use a fish line from the other end and just pull it though. To get from the back to the front should not take more than around a half hour in and out including, the removal of panels, plugging in the the connector to the head unit and putting back the panels. I was surprised how quickly it went.

[yellowlemon]

The routing though the sill is not hard at all. One of the best things to do is use a fish line from the other end and just pull it though.

So is it better to put the fishline in the front section and pull the harness through from back to front, or would it be easier the other way, ie put fish line in from back of car, and pull harness from front to back.

With the sill route, the scariest part seems to be under the passenger footwell - allegedly the carpet there is attached with plastic cement glue, and I don't want to irreversibly damage anything... !

Is it possible to route the sill path, WITHOUT having to disconnect the battery?

[drem914]

The routing though the sill is not hard at all. One of the best things to do is use a fish line from the other end and just pull it though.

So is it better to put the fishline in the front section and pull the harness through from back to front, or would it be easier the other way, ie put fish line in from back of car, and pull harness from front to back.

With the sill route, the scariest part seems to be under the passenger footwell - allegedly the carpet there is attached with plastic cement glue, and I don't want to irreversibly damage anything... !

Is it possible to route the sill path, WITHOUT having to disconnect the battery?

You want to disconnect the battery so you do not activate the the air bags by mistake.

I found it easier to pull the wires forward. I've only done this once so I could be wrong (not the first time.) This way any slack is up at the head unit and not down behind the roll bars.

Getting the wire along the edge of the carpet along the passenger foot well was the hardest part. Take your time the glue will come loose and will re-stick after you press it back in.

You then run the cable under the foam dash cover and you are at the head unit.

Run the connector up to the head unit, insert correctly, hook your battery back up and reprogram the radio.

Check to make sure your left and right are hooked correctly, test the fade and your are golden. Enjoy.

[RaisedOnPorsches]

Having installed the rear speaker unit twice now (once in my Boxster and once for a local friend), it is MUCH easiler to pull the wire through the passenger side sill than it is to push it. Use a wire coat hanger (something rigid but manipulable enough to shape it so it does not snag inside the sill). You should be able to guide the speaker wire half way into the sill on its own, then pull the rest through with a hooked coat hanger wire. I recommend taping the wire tips together on the speaker wire such that you have a loop to hook the wire hanger through. Good luck. This takes a little time to do, but really isn't that hard.

When you disconnect your battery make sure you have your radio reset code at the ready! Nothing else should need resetting when the battery is reconnected.

-J

[kbrandsma]

After several installs, I have done it a number of ways. You can walk it thru from the umbrella tray with a needle nose pliers. I like to put a 3 to 4 inch section of shrink wrap at the end of the wires. It provides a stiffer wire to push through. Getting it thru is a snap.

[Bill F]

I just installed the speakers this past weekend. Thanks to everyone for the advice and links to the install instructions. I had the center console out of the car to hard-wire my Valentine V1 so I ran the wires down the center console. This is really an easy way to go and the console comes out very easily. I think I had finished the wiring in less than 45 minutes.

:renntech:

Bill